Date: 2014-10-20

It came as a rumour but I dismissed it with a wave of the hand. I told a friend who first told me that Prof Oba Abdulraheem cannot be so naive to resign his chairmanship of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) to contest - yet again - for the office of Kwara State governor.

He had resigned that seat in his first term as FCC chairman to seek PDP governorship nomination which he and others lost to the incumbent Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed after Senator Bukola Saraki told them he had anointed Ahmed for the job and that was all.

Prof Oba, riding on his then good rapport with Bukola and the everything-goes-mentality of the PDP cabal, returned to the FCC seat despite intense opposition from the man who occupied the seat in acting capacity when Oba resigned. Only God knows what happened to the legal tussle arising from the legality of his return after resignation. But that is now history.

By the time Oba concluded his first five-year tenure in 2013, he had fallen out with Bukola and Kwara State Government. Kwara refused to nominate Oba for a second term at the FCC. Another candidate was nominated to replace the former vice chancellor.

Most Kwarans and indeed Nigerians suspected that the reason Bukola Saraki wanted Oba dropped was simply egoistic and selfish. He wanted Oba out because he was becoming influential; he was already doling out patronage without recourse to Ile L'oke - Sarakis' political assembly.

Bukola's moralist argument that he wanted the seat to go to another zone fell flat because he himself - a saraki - was just leaving governorship seat to occupy the Kwara central senatorial district that his (Bukola's) sister, another Saraki, was just vacating. The world rightly questioned his moral stamina to make such argument. The issue of Oba's second term at FCC became almost a national debate which ended up in his favour as the whole country took turns to challenge the arrogance of Bukola Saraki who his colleague, Senator Nenadi Usman, scathingly criticised for wanting to play god over Kwarans' destinies.

In the end, this last January, Prof Oba was confirmed at the Senate for a second term of five years as FCC chairman - a political appointment I understand is zoned to North central geopolitical zone.

Most Kwarans, including this writer, celebrated his triumph because we saw it as a triumph for the entire Kwarans who desperately want a clean break from the monopoly of Bukola Saraki and his gang. For me and my ilk, we celebrated not because we liked the face of Prof Oba; we celebrated because we just couldn't afford a victory for Bukola Saraki and gang. Such victory would strengthen his tyranny and embolden his sidekicks who are already telling us he's got divine right to be the leader of every Kwaran!

Having been confirmed for second term, Prof Oba was entitled to be the FCC chairman for the next five years - 2014-2018 - except he commits any grievous sins that could warrant his removal as the constitution stipulates. So when I heard that Prof Oba was planning to resign his chairmanship for FCC job I instantly said it couldn't be true. I expressed such view because I felt it would damage the man beyond repair because anybody would be forgiven to call him an overambitious and greedy fellow. Why did he fight so hard trying to secure a second term at FCC only to resign the office just 10 months into a five-year tenure?! Doesn't he know that the FCC chairmanship slot having been zoned to all of North central may not come to Kwara again?! Does he not know that his opponents would be right to say that he places his personal ambition and ego over public interest in the manner he resigned the FCC chairmanship?!

These questions will dog Prof Oba as he seeks nomination to be the PDP governorship candidate. And if he gets the ticket, which I think is unlikely, he has greatly reduced the work of the ruling APC to win Kwara by a landslide because I'm sure most Kwarans would massively rebuke the professor with protest votes. In any case, Prof Oba's candidature will be a hard sell for the PDP for many reasons. That is a topic for another time.

For me, the resignation of Prof Oba from the FCC - for the second time for the same unviable and selfish reason - is the worst political decision he has made. I doubt he will benefit from that mistake.

Ishaq writes from Ilorin.