by Olabode Odunuga

Lagosians would only deceive themselves if they even entertain the thought that Ambode could be held responsible for his own deeds in office. It is too obvious already that this man is not his own man.

The human nose is one of man’s most crucial properties. It is connected tightly to breathing and of course, life. It brings the pleasure of preferred smell. Could be food or fragrance. It also repels unpleasant smells. Man, in a combination of complex mental activities, which culminates in swift reflex, covers his nose as he pulls away from a very unpleasant smell or draws close to a pleasant one.

As vital as the nose is in the instances above, it cheats man, still, in its absolute unwillingness to smell out an evil person. Better still, smell out a good man. It is therefore, possible for an evil man to smell better than a good man in a congregation. Way better. It is also possible for the good man to smell awful. The nose could smell a dangerous fire in the making, but sadly, it could not smell an arsonist in church. The nose bulks at undertaking such dimension of detective function.

This is the story of Jimi Agbaje and Akinwumi Ambode. The good and the ugly. I am not talking about the seen beauty, which, more often than not ended up only confusing careless suitors further. Agbaje looks good, fit as a fiddle. Ambode, on the other hand looks chubby and wears a pleasant smile. All these physical attributes do not help. They are like sheer cosmetics. The inner man is hardly seen from afar.

What helps is a healthy intake, a sniff of these two men, in the run to Alausa. But help would not come from the nostril quarters. The nose is said to be wicked, for shielding the odium an evil person deserves. It is said to be unfair in its neutrality, as it also bars the whiff of a good man. The import, therefore, should be a daily wash of our eyes like the ancients did, so we could see each day with a fresh peer of eyes. There is no success in looking at today with yesterday’s eyes. The floor comes clear and the day lights up, each day only for sweepers.

One smells like a million roses. The other stinks worse than a skunk. I am perfectly aware that the madam and the brood might disagree, but it is a good thing we are not about the approvals of families, political, nuclear, extended etc. This has to do with public engagements only, as we are aware of the likelihood of the skunk being an efficient husband, a doting father and a perfect club mate. How did Mr. Ambode perform in the employ of Lagos state where he was an accountant all through his service, which spanned about two decades?

Which birds does Ambode fly with? What is the measure of his own integrity? How does he define loyalty in public office? Is it to the people or to a mentor? What information did Ambode give about his roots, which he had since not returned to? Is Ambode a liar who rubs it in or is he given to the truth, no matter how small? Is Ambode going to be his own governor in office or is he going to depend on the reality of another governor, and he simply becomes a majordomo.

All these questions should apply to Jimi Agbaje too. In truth, they have all been posed and answered. We only bring them back, for the benefit of those who are not tracking this season carefully enough. They are mostly ordinary Lagosians, who are sold on the media blitz which buoys the sail of Bourdillon-anointed super servants. Unfortunately, these Lagosians bear the brunt of a vicious and merciless political mercantilism which jailed Lagos since 1999, mostly from the treasury perspective. In Lagos, there is wealth to be found in Bourdillon. If you want anything, go the Bourdillon way or suffer. It could not be democracy. It must be something else.

Ambode has warts all over him. He is sponsored from a very sordid quarters, which rules in spite of the overwhelming preferences of millions. The first sure weakness in his candidacy is his established status as a super servant. Lagosians would only deceive themselves if they even entertain the thought that Ambode could be held responsible for his own deeds in office. It is too obvious already that this man is not his own man. He would not run errand for the people of Lagos. He would run errands for his boss. This is what crosses otherwise straight roads for the gullible. It is bad and tough enough to handle a governor on his own merit, but when he has a chain on his ankles, which is pulled or released from Ikoyi, it becomes impossible.

We do not really have to fret so much to attach veracity to this. Fashola came in, in glorious naivety. He wanted to work his name into the gold plate. He wanted to change the world. Yes, live a good life, but keep his fingers off the depths of the treasury. The surface of the treasury should do. Of course he was thinking like a man who had not really seen billions in his pocket before. He did not know how money moved men like chaff. He sincerely thought he was a better man than his boss. He then shrilled a battle cry against his boss. It was so comic.

The hangers on who clapped him on gave him some fillip. He warred on for a small season against his wily and seasoned boss. He soon saw that he needed the House of Assembly on his side, to fight that lion. Fashola came to realize that he needed the local governments to fight the merchant. He needed the media to take the battle to the doorpost of the adversary. All these are connected to one very serious factor – cash. Lorry loads of cash. The like of which the most successful businessmen in the land could not afford.

The type of cash you only came by if you dipped your hands way down the public purse. The type of cash which arrests the loyalty of the media, House of Assembly, royalties, thugs, judges and all other legal and illegal obstacles. Fashola was overwhelmed, but just because he was not prepared inside his mind for this fight. He thought too small of it. Along the trajectory of heavily made-up service in Alausa, the flimsy application of the intellect to serious public issues typified Fashola as the slight thinker that he is. A man who retreats constantly after a war cry.

It is imperative for the people to decide if they want a governor or a proxy. It is crucial to decide if Asiwaju of the universe, would be selecting or if people want a democracy, in which case, Asiwaju’s vote must be reduced to one. That would be tough, for a man who leverages on very strong political holdings in Lagos to call the shots in most parts of the southwest and at the center. You must approach the project with respect and comprehension. This is one man who said, Muhammadu Buhari would be the APC candidate, and it was so, against great odds. He said Osinbajo would be the vice and it came to pass. Osinbajo is now one of many scary vices. He said Ambode would be the candidate in Lagos and so it happened. Salute the man, but prepare to stop the one-man majority.

Problem is, the man sees the people and the system as adversaries, but the people are yet to see him as the ultimate machine of rapid retrogression. We all will come to that junction sooner or later. Better sooner.

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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.