By Adesina Soyooye
The disclosure by Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, that Chief Femi Fani-Kayode,FFK, a PDP chieftain, and former Aviation Minister, has dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress, APC, did not quite come to anybody as much of a surprise as the photographs of FFK, Bello, and the Caretaker Committee Chairman of the APC/ Governor of Yobe State, Mai Mala Buni, splashed all over the place Monday and Tuesday.
The photographs were taken after a closed door meeting, Monday, between the two APC stalwarts and FFK in Abuja. They were the most unexpected photographs ever. Until the photographs, FFK was the nemesis of the ruling party and President Muhammadu Buhari.
But there, FFK, whose caustic tongue, almost, on daily basis, lashed Buhari, APC and everything they stand for, stood, relaxed, and discussing comfortably with the two APC chieftains.
Not a few people were shocked. They were frozen. Mortified. It couldn’t be possible. They were seeing double. So they cleaned their eyes, and confirmed it was FFK indeed. Wonders, they say, shall never end.
When, therefore, Bello announced, FFK’s new status to a crowd on Wednesday, the ground had been softened, thanks to the photographs, for the news.
Said Bello: “Our brother and friend, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, has joined our party in good faith. He’s joining our party to add his own positive energy and make contribution into ensuring that APC is a party to beat.
“Remember that Chief Femi Kayode was a foundation member of this great party. Due to misunderstanding, he decided to port elsewhere. Now, he has decided to join our party, approached me, and by the mandate given to me, by the party, I must not segregate or discriminate against any individual”
FFK, was to later issue a watery contradictory statement, saying he was still a member of the PDP, but admitting he has been discussing across political parties. So, between him and Bello, who does one believe?
Most commentators agree it is Bello; that FFK is talking tongue-in-cheek; that afterall, as Bello said, it was FFK who approached him asking to be registered as an APC member. Would Bello be careless enough to make a public announcement of FFK’s APC status if it was not true? Of course not.
Ahmad Bashir, Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on new Media has, sarcastically, welcomed FFK to the party.
“Welcome to the Almajiri Peoples’ Congress.”
On Tuesday, Bashir was one of those who, angry at FFK’s desire to defect to the APC, said he, FFK, would not be welcomed to the PDP by most APC members.
FFK’s choice of who to first approach in his bid to go the APC was on point. Aside from being the Chairman Youth Mobilisation Committee of the APC membership Revalidation and Registration, Bello is close to Buhari’s heart. He is one of the surest ways to get to Buhari’s heart, and that of his wife, Aisha.
Of all the APC Governors during the 2019 elections, it was only Bello, that Mrs Buhari went out of her way to campaign for.
Bello calls Buhari father. He is Buhari’s adopted son, politically. If FFK planned to get to Buhari, going through Bello was a sure bet.
After his discussions with Bello, who FFK suddenly introduced as his brother and friend, Bello took him to Buni, where the three men held discussions and took the published photographs which, at once, triggered disbelief and shock.
What would push FFK, PDP’s attack dog, the nemesis of the ruling party, to visit Yahaya and Buni, and beg to defect to the APC? What pushed him to hold a meeting with them, thus putting his credibility on the line? Whatever would happen to his reputation?
Since early 2019, or late 2018, when FFK dumped the APC and made a surprise return to the PDP, he has been attacking the APC. He has called the party and its leadership all kinds of names – satanic, devilish, murderers. Almajiri party. Decayed party. And worse.
There is no name he has not called Buhari. In deed, a few days ago, an open later which he wrote to APC Chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, where he ridiculed him and the party, and slammed him for helping Buhari come into power, made the rounds in the Social Media. Was that a the-more-you-look-the-less-you-see- letter?
He had on more than one occasion said he would never be a member of the APC, and that that would happen only over his dead body. He held members of the party in disdain.
FFK: ” Cow-lovers and corrupt looters, looters that have brought nothing but death, division, mysrey, poverty, incompetence, shame and destruction to our nation and our people. They will burn in hell forever.”
Many months ago when there was a rumour that he had decamped to the APC, FFK railed:
“Those that claim that I have joined them and seek to link my good name to such a blood thirsty, blood lusting, accursed political association of Boko Haramist, Fulani herdsmen, genocidal maniacs, ethnic cleansers, mass murderers, ethnic supremacists, religious bigots are mad. I am committed to opposing the APC and those that are in their ranks, for the rest of my natural life. And I will NEVER join them no matter what. They are nothing but darkness whilst I stand for the light of God and truth.”
So, what changed? What pushed him? FFK profers answers.
In a tweet, he said he met the APC leaders in search of peace in Nigeria. He said he met them “to discuss the state of the nation, national issues, party politics, and the way forward.” He, also said he would meet other stakeholders across board in order to stop Nigeria from exploding.
The questions are who sent him? Who made him the leader? And the ultimate peace maker? Did he discuss with the PDP leadership? It was only on Tuesday night when the story had already broken that FFK thought of visiting former President Goodluck Jonathan to, perhaps, brief him of his decision to go back to his vomit.
Everybody knew FFK was playing with words. That he was headed back to the APC. That he was going back to swallow his vomit.
And many Nigerians have since told him so. They say it is his mannerism. They say it is shamelessly hid stock in trade.They say he did the same when he ditched the APC and joined the PDP. He bad- mouthed President Jonathan and the PDP. He was then an APC foundation member, having joined the party from the PDP.
When he made up his mind to re-defect to the PDP, he simply walked into the Villa, met Jonathan, and a couple of days later, re-defected to the PDP, ending up becoming the Spokesman to Jonathan’s Campaign Organisation.
He did that to President Olusegun Obasanjo, and stopped as soon as he was giving an appointment, first as Minister for Culture and Tourism, and later as that of Aviation.
It was, therefore, no surprise when Yahaya announced Wednesday afternoon that FFK has defected to the APC. The question is why? The answer, they say, is simple. He wants patronage. He wants to play a role in whoever would succeed Buhari in 2023, from the South-west, they say. They say he would back either Bello, from the North Central, or Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, hence his open attack on Tinubu who it is strongly speculated, is interested in succeeding Buhari.
It is yet to be seen how FFK will look Buhari in the face, or Tinubu, for example, after all he said about them. even as recently as a couple of weeks ago. It will be seen how comfortable he will be amongst APC members. How will he operate?
What is known, however, is that he will have it rough in his new party, the APC. Not a few people will treat him like a leper.
Reacting to the then speculation that he was on his way back to the APC after the photographs surfaced, the Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, Dr. Salihu Lukman, warned against his acceptance into the fold of the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying if allowed, it would tantamount to ‘rewarding scandalous behaviour’.
He described as worrisome the pictures of Buni, State Bello, and Fani-Kayode as splashed all over the media.
In a statement issued on Tuesday in reaction to the development, Lukman, said admitting Fani-Kayode would be degrading the party’s progressive values.
He could could as well contemplate “admitting secessionist agitator, Nnamdi Kanu or Boko Haram leader, Abubakar Shekau into its fold.”
Lukeman: “The speculation is that Mr. Fani-Kayode is on his way to joining the APC. The verdict in most media platforms is quite disturbing, but justifiably so, if the news about Mr. Fani-Kayode joining the APC is true.
“That our leaders will be meeting with Mr. Fani-Kayode in such a compromising way, suggesting that he may be on his way to joining our party, clearly indicates that either those of us saddled with the responsibility of advising them have failed or we have been completely cut off.
“How can a person who just few days, if not few hours, ago wrote to one of our leaders and derogatorily and condescendingly condemned his political prospects of emerging as the Presidential candidate of our party, be given such a high-level reception?” the party chieftain queried.
“For our leaders to associate themselves with Mr Fani-Kayode, is simply rewarding scandalous behaviour. Mr Fani-Kayode has fabricated stories, distorted, insulted and damaged information about our party and our leaders.
“The elementary rule of decency would require some good distance between our leaders and such a person.
“Not even the Ward leaders where he is located should be associated with him except for reasons of family ties. By the way, the Caretaker Committee of our party should avoid a situation whereby it takes a decision on issues that are very weighty without consultations.
“On no account should anyone with the kind of baggage of Mr Fani-Kayode be invited to join the party without clearance from a statutory structure of the party? In this particular instance, the National Caucus should be the clearinghouse”.
Bashir, said Mr President may not welcome Fani-Kayode if he decides to dump PDP. He said Fani-Kayode may not be welcomed back into APC if he opts to return to the party.
In a tweet, he wrote:
“If he decides to join the governing party, I don’t think he will be welcome by majority of the party members, who he made it a duty to attack and insult for several years.”
Now that he has gone back to his vomit, as disclosed by Bello, it remains to be seen what the next few months will bring, and how it will be. And who will ever believe FFK again, ever.
