“In the face of leadership flaws, too many people assume cynical perspectives, rather than do the hard work of building relationships in which they can have more positive influence.”
—Ira Chaleff
By Daniel Kanu
On Tuesday, December 27, Akin Osuntokun, political scientist, strategist, administrator and journalist, was announced as the new Labour Party (LP) campaign Director General.
He took over from Dr Doyin Okupe, who resigned from the position after he was convicted of breaching the Money Laundering Act.
Osuntokun, no doubt, has a wealth of requisite experience and the pedigree for the new assignment having been appointed as Political Adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo between 1999 and 2007.
He was also the director of the Presidential Campaign of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2011 general elections, which makes the terrain a familiar one for him.
Of course, with the presidential election drawing closer, it is expected that with the exit of Okupe, the LP will not settle for anything less, but rather raise the bar in the art of reputation management and political marketing, engaging a round peg in a round hole, hence the choice of Osuntokun.
Osuntokun said that he accepted the appointment without religious or ethnic sentiments given his orientation that Nigeria must be taken away from the culture of sentiments if there must be genuine development.
Expectedly, his appointment seems to have raised a legal issue given the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is insisting that he is still the senatorial candidate of another party, the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), for Ekiti Central Senatorial District.
This was confirmed to Sunday Sun by INEC’s Commissioner for Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye.
In fact, Okoye told Sunday Sun that no individual or political party can at this point withdraw, submit or substitute the name of any candidate taking part in the 2023 general elections.
For INEC to amend the names of candidates already submitted at this point, he said, it must be through the order of a court of law.
Hear him: “The law is very clear on this, as the period for substitution and the period for withdrawal in our (INEC) timetable and schedule of activities, as well as in the Electoral Act, has elapsed.”
But, he made further clarifications that the legality or otherwise of Osuntokun’s appointment as LP’s presidential campaign DG is not within INEC’s purview, but the internal structure of the political parties.
Speaking on the development, Osuntokun, who also was former managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said that his position as the LP campaign DG is a “higher calling” compared to running for Senate.
He said that he has abandoned his senatorial ambition, which he has the right to do so if he chooses.
“The campaign office has issued a press release in that respect. What law have I breached in accepting the appointment? What law has the presidential candidate who appointed me breached in appointing me?
“It is a higher order of priority. Joining the Obi campaign is a higher national priority than any other aspiration. As a citizen of this country, who has a realistic appreciation of what we need to move Nigeria forward, you can’t compare an aspiration to be in the Senate to the position that I have occupied.
“All these kinds of platitudes are unnecessary. In Nigeria today, there is no way I can define my political and moral priorities better than the path I have followed,” he said.
The office of the National Chairman/Presidential Candidate ZLP, Chief Dan Nwanyanwu, in a statement issued last Thursday, affirmed that Osuntokun was not committing any electoral offence as he had officially resigned from the party before his present DG appointment.
“The controversy generated by the appointment of Mr Akin Osuntokun as the DG of H/E Peter Obi Campaign Organisation is uncalled for.
“Akin Osuntokun resigned from the Zenith Labour Party since August 2022 and, therefore, no longer a member of our party.
“As at the time of his resignation, we could not replace him because the window allowed by the Electoral Act for substitution had elapsed. We believe this will put to rest the barrage of inquiries to us in this regard,” Nwanyanwu explained.
For Osuntokun, there are huge challenges ahead. The Obi-dient movement scattered all over Nigeria and beyond is part of his challenge to ensure the unique opportunity is properly harnessed for electoral advantage.
The laudable million-man marches and rallies sweeping across the country by the Obi-dient crowds in support of the presidential ambition of Peter Obi must be sustained, but properly directed for electoral capital.
Of course, the Labour Party, which was rated a small party yesterday, has become a “small party “ taking on the giant parties, APC and PDP, to possibly prevent our national politics from becoming permanent swings from one party to the other. That is a tall order and much is needed in such a battle, beyond just rallies.
PDP was in power for 16 years. APC has been in power since 2015. They are rich, have the reach and are powerful, no doubt. This is perhaps part of the attraction for young people. The majority of the Nigerian youths see the audacity of a small party taking on the party behemoths as a challenge to join in the rescue of our national politics from the grips of recycled men and women that have failed to provide focused and visionary leadership.
Akin Osuntokun was born on November 24, 1961. He is a researcher, administrator, and writer, with experience in media advocacy, policy research and implementation, as well as political analysis.
Osuntokun has served as the managing director of Odua Printing Corporation, sat on the board of several public corporations and also contributing to newspaper columns.
He is the current Balogun of Okemesi, which translates to the war commander of Okemesi Ekiti, where he hails from.