IS OBASA PREPARED FOR THIS?

 

"I am still the Speaker" was the headline in most national dailies last weekend. 

The comment is credited to the impeached Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa who by this statement rejected the decision of his colleagues and may be preparing for a legal battle.

Obasa isn't a stranger in and to Lagos politics. He knows his way around. He knows where the powerhouse of Lagos is. He knows the last voice of command which his colleagues obeyed to impeach him. He knows what to expect if he goes into what some prefer to call the "Battle against the owners of Lagos."

"The decision to impeach him didn't just come from his colleagues. It was a collective decision. The Governor's Advisory Council (GAC) a very powerful body of selected politicians was in the know," says an insider

"Abuja is equally in the know. So is Obasa attempting or trying to question these authorities who when they sleep, Lagos sleeps and when they are awake, Lagos is awake is tantamount to inviting trouble," the insider added.

"Obasa didn't just find himself at the top of Lagos politics by way of becoming a member of the House of Assembly and subsequently the Speaker. There are people through whom he rose. If those people say he should be impeached he can't question their authority," added the insider.

However, in politics, they say don't undermine or underestimate the strength of your opponent. Obasa may have someone or something drumming for him in the bush while he dances this much in public.

Who knows he may just be the catalyst of what his camp and those who toe his line desire.

Many are warning and reminding Obasa that Lagos is a very peculiar state where everything goes through one channel and returns from the same channel. In other words, he may just be alone at the end of this dance and forced to lick his political wounds starting with his impeachment.

But one hopes this dance isn't the one Igbo call "Surugede". Surugede is the dance of the Spirit. Who knows if Obasa has consulted the spirits to have engaged in this dance? I Hope Obasa won't be the person Late literature icon, Prof. Chinua Achebe described as the young antelope who danced herself lame when the real dance was yet to come.

Should the books of the Lagos Assembly be dusted if litigation arises, will Obasa's limbs stand firm in the duck considering that the strings could be pulled from every angle to cripple him.

Some voices around him have been asking him not to embark on this journey. The voices advise him to sheathe his sword and accept his fate to avoid worse embarrassments which could destroy all he has achieved politically.

They remind him of how former Governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode quietly walked away and remained silent after he was stopped from his second term bid.

However, a school of thought says, Obasa just wants to prove that he is not a coward hence, he wants to be seen as fighting back. It says he won't go beyond his statement "I am still the Speaker" which already is perceived as very offensive, an act of disobedience and grandstanding.

We wait to see how this drama will end.