WHY OBASA WAS A MONSTER OF TINUBU'S CREATION By Samuel Ajayi

WHY OBASA WAS A MONSTER OF TINUBU'S CREATION By Samuel Ajayi

When Tinubu was governor of Lagos State, he had the State House of Assembly in his pocket.

In fact, immediately after he narrowly escaped being impeached over a certificate scandal in late 1999 to early 2000, the first thing Tinubu did was to effectively pocket the House.

But what did he do when he was about to leave office?

He moved the finances of the House to the First Schedule. What does this mean?

Releasing funds to the House of Assembly would no longer require any succeeding governor's assent or approval.

The Assembly could access its funds directly and be self-accounting.

This arrangement was apart from the almost criminal pension scheme for former governors and deputy governors.

Why did Tinubu do this?

He wanted total control of the Executive and Legislative Arms of Lagos State's government as the de facto political godfather.

That is why Lagos is arguably the only state where successive governors after Tinubu have no say or input in who emerges as the Speaker.

They even hardly get to pick their commissioners.

Tinubu has also ensured that no politician with any significant structure, no matter how small, has emerged as governor of Lagos State after him.

Lagos State is also the only state that runs a "collegiate governorship" system through a peculiar arrangement called the Governor's Advisory Council (GAC).

This body can override the governor, albeit not publicly.

When Adeyemi Ikuforiji was Speaker and tried to assert himself, he was booted out.

Mudashiru Obasa came in, initially played the game well, and kept "oiling Bourdillon's political machine" (if you understand what that means), remaining the good boy.

He ran Agege and Alimosho Local Governments like personal fiefdoms.

Above all, he had access to what is colloquially called "bastard money."

As the Yorubas would say, "Owo yi po."

He is also a member of the Mandate Group, Tinubu's original political machinery in Lagos State.

The arrangement that made the House self-accounting allows members to access vast sums of money.

Check for any Lagos State House of Assembly member in your area who is not very rich and acquiring properties left and right.

Then Obasa forgot the timeless lessons from Robert Greene's 48 Laws of Power.

He became heady, power-drunk, and rude.

Governor Sanwo-Olu meant nothing to him. In fact, he saw the governor as an errand boy because, to him, he had Tinubu's ears—or so he thought.

I am happy, like many others, that this charlatan's wings have been clipped.

But he did not just happen to Lagos; he was enabled by Tinubu.

He was a monster of the President's creation.

Tinubu's politics does not elevate humanity. It is rent-seeking and reeks of prebendalism.

And like I always say, he remains the worst thing to have happened to our politics.

Lagos, 14th January, 2025.