Godfatherism A Nigerian Invention That Must Be Dismantled — FCSC Commissioner

Federal Commissioner at the Federal Civil Service Commission, Henry Idahagbon, has described godfatherism as a “Nigerian invention” that poses a threat to genuine democratic development.

Speaking in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, Idahagbon, who represents Edo, Ekiti and Ondo States at the commission, said the concept must be “consciously dismantled” for democracy to thrive in Nigeria.

According to the former Edo State Attorney-General, the idea of godfathers manipulating the political process is alien to developed democracies.

He noted that while influential political figures exist in every democracy, their roles are not meant to override the democratic process.

Idahagbon argued that Nigeria’s democratic space must be freed from the stranglehold of individuals who see politics as a personal empire.

He called on political parties and electoral stakeholders to promote internal democracy and allow competent candidates to emerge without interference from political heavyweights.

Idahagbon said, “But there is nothing that can be compared with the Nigerian concept of godfatherism, that is why I said it’s a unique Nigerian creation, a Nigerian invention.

“In Rivers and Edo, we have seen and still seeing the negative impact of godfatherism. Those two states represent perhaps the worst specie of godfatherism in Nigeria.

“At the peak of the Obaseki and Oshiomhole imbroglio, we saw Obaseki practically declaring Oshiomhole a person of non-grata in a state that he governed for eight years. I remember we had to arrange for private security to escort Oshiomhole from the airport to even get to his house.

“On many occasions, his cars were stoned, but for the fact that they were bulletproof, he would have been injured. And I happened to be the only person who was in his house the day thugs came to attempt to bomb down his house.

“And the same thing is playing again in the River states. We have the minister of the FCT, who keeps breathing down the neck of Gov. Siminalayi Fubara because he brought him to power.

“So it’s something that the Nigerian political class have to now consciously dismantle.”

Idahagbon, who was Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice during Oshiomhole’s administration, emphasised the need for governors and even presidents to leave for good when they leave office.

“When governors and presidents leave office, they should leave for good. They should not be engaged in the process of determining their successor. In my opinion, political actors want to determine who succeeds them because of two factors. They want protection when they leave office.

“So if governors do well, like I believe Gov. Alex Otti of Abia is doing in his state now, you don’t need to determine who succeeds you, anybody can succeed you if your records are clean.

“So we should consciously, like Oshiomhole during his campaign and tenure said, ‘say no to godfatherism, and embrace one man one vote, one governor one vote’.

“I think that mantra should become a national mantra, one man one vote, and let us say no to godfatherism because it has negative implications for our polity,’’ the federal commissioner added.