Obanikoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a debate for
candidates contesting for the Eti-Osa constituency seat in the House of
Representatives
Babajide Obanikoro, the candidate of the All Progressives
Congress (APC), contesting for the Eti-Osa House of Representatives
seat, believes godfathers have an important role to play in Nigerian
politics.
The candidate said this while speaking during a debate against four other candidates in Lagos on Monday, February 4, 2019.
When asked if Nigerian politics needs
godfathers who control things behind the scenes by sponsoring people for
political office, Obanikoro said their influence is not as overwhelming
as people believe.
He said godfathers have internal influence on the workings of a party but not a general election.
“I’ll tell you that godfathers have
nothing to do with general election. It’s an internal affair. If you
have a party that has a structure on ground, whether you like it or not,
there will be godfathers within that party,” he said.
Babajide Obanikoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at a
debate for candidates contesting for the Eti-Osa constituency seat in
the House of Representatives
Despite understating their influence on
general elections, Obanikoro said godfathers are needed to guide the
young generation of politicians on how to progress.
He named his father Musiliu Obanikoro, a former Minister of State for Defence, and former Lagos governor and APC national chairman, Bola Tinubu, as his godfathers and expressed appreciation for them.
“My father is my godfather. Where do you
want me to put the likes of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu? It’s an internal
affair. I do have godfathers within my party and I appreciate them and
give kudos to them,” he said.
The candidate concluded that the experience godfathers offer makes them very important to the nation’s political process.
He said, “Whether you like it or not, what
they have seen, the experience they have, no matter where you’re coming
from, you can never buy it or have it.
“You need them to move forward, it’s a
synergy, that’s where your ability to negotiate comes in. That you don’t
need godfatherism, that’s a total lie.”
L-R: Ferdinand Adimefe of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN),
Babajide Obanikoro of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Tessy Owolabi
of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Omotesho Bakare of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) and Olubankole Wellington of the Modern
Democratic Party (MDP) at a debate for candidates contesting for the
Eti-Osa constituency seat in the House of Representatives
Other candidates at Monday’s debate are Olubankole Wellington of the Modern Democratic Party (MDP), Omotesho Bakare of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Tessy Owolabi of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Ferdinand Adimefe of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN).
They all denied having godfathers and urged
the nation’s voting population to shun godfathers so that elected
officials can be more accountable to the people and not vested
interests.
