The Tragedy and Stupidity of Sinking Your Own Ship Before Sail

By Sola Ajibare

A ship cannot sail if the captain and the crew are busy drilling holes in the hull while still at port. That is the exact tragedy unfolding in Oyo APC today. We are watching our party sink itself before the 2027 journey even begins. And everyone within the party knows who is responsible: the “Real FAAJA” group — the same people who tore the fabric of our unity in the first place.

For months now the loudest chant from the leadership has been “party unity and discipline.” It echoes in every meeting and every press statement. But unity and discipline cannot be preached after the crime has been committed. You cannot burn down the house and then call a meeting on fire safety. These same voices never observed unity. They never observed discipline. What they observed, and protected, was their personal interest.

Without consultation, without primaries, and without regard for the party structure, they sat down and wrote a list. Fifty-one names. Handpicked. Imposed. Party discipline was thrown to the wind. Equity was ignored. The voices of ward executives, local government leaders, and members who have toiled for the party for years were discarded as though they meant nothing. In their arrogance, they acted as though the APC belonged to a few individuals.

What happened in Oyo during the primaries was not an election. It was a travesty. It was the worst display of anti-democratic behavior in the history of progressives in this state. People came out to vote, stood in the sun, mobilized their people, only to be told later that their votes did not count. Winners were declared losers. Those who came fifth were announced as winners. The process was audacious, shameless, and deliberate. That was the day the soul of the party was wounded.

Having torn the party apart, they have now remembered the elders. Suddenly the call has gone out: “Elders, please go and convince the members on the need for party unity and discipline.” But where were these elders when the injustice was being perpetrated so audaciously? Were they blind? Were they deaf? Did they travel? The elders were here. They saw it. They watched as the fabric of the progressive family was torn into tatters, yet they kept quiet.

What is more painful is that the energy they are now using to preach unity was not used to warn the Real FAAJA group. No one told them to their faces: “What you are doing will destroy this party. It will be irreparable. We cannot afford to be out of government for another eight years.” That warning never came.

This is the second leg of their foolish appeal. First, they committed the injustice. Now they want us to “forgive and forget” in the name of unity. But in recent history, Lam Adesina taught us the progressive way. He taught us that you can only win elections when you give and take, when you share equitably. That was what built the APC. That was what kept us in power. We do not want to be out of power for another eight years. But we also do not want power at the expense of basic common sense, equity, and justice.

The tragedy is compounded by the fact that the Real FAAJA group is still insisting on keeping their stolen mandates. And the elders? They are either quiet, or they mutter that “the deed is done.” How tragic. How stupid.

Oyo APC is now a sinking ship. The greater tragedy is that the Captain of the ship chose to join the very people drilling holes in it. The State Exco has gone mute. The elders have gone mute. Party members are looking for direction. They are asking, “Where do we go from here?” But there is no answer. The only thing we hear is the dead phrase repeated over and over: “party unity and discipline.”

Let it be said clearly and finally: party unity and discipline is founded on equity and justice. You cannot build unity on deliberate injustice. You cannot build discipline by injuring loyal members. And you certainly cannot do it with people who just walked into the party, who have contributed nothing to its growth, yet are now holding positions and mandates that rightfully belong to the party and to those who built it.

Mr. Captain. Members of the State Exco. Our respected Elders. You cannot ask us to bail water from a ship you are sinking. You cannot preach unity after imposing injustice.

The Real FAAJA group tore this party apart. If you continue to stand with them and protect stolen mandates, then you have chosen to sink with them.

We do not want another eight years in opposition. But we will not accept a party where injustice is the foundation.

Fix the ship now. Respect the members. Respect the process. Or we all drown together.

Sola Ajibare writes from Ibadan, the Oyo State capital