A child cannot be so daft that he wouldn’t recognise his own mother. Omo o le gò k’ó má mo iya è… This Ibadan-ish proverb is for all the political party members or supporters reading this. I am not saying that your choice of candidate in the coming elections should be determined by what one Sam Nwaoko is going to say here. Indeed, we all know what we want and how we want them. My thoughts were triggered by the desire to listen to Bimbo Adekanmbi, the governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples’ Movement (APM) in Oyo State, in his open baptism, and how he would fare on The Morning Show of Arise News Channel last Tuesday. And I am glad I did.
That Tuesday morning, I stumbled on Mr Abimbola Adekanmbi. The Morning Show. I had just tuned in to the TV station that morning in-between some errands, and there he was. I had turned on the TV as a routine, but I couldn’t believe my luck! That interview was one thing I had craved so much and when I chanced on it, I felt really very lucky. Fortunately, what I was doing could wait, so I had a very easy choice of temporarily jettisoning some of those chores for a few minutes to see the programme.
Some days earlier, when one issue that concerned Oyo State was on the same TV station’s ‘What’s Trending’ segment of The Morning Show, the panelists had said they too had not heard the Oyo APM candidate speak. It might also have meant that they hadn’t heard from him… In any case, the calling out sounded more like a challenge to the man, the political party he is representing and his ambition.
That open call-out by the crew of Dr Reuben Abati, Ayo Mairo-Ese and Rufai Oseni ignited my interest. Even though I was curious, I was still triggered. I craved to hear the man and hear from him. I desired to hear him speak and address not just the people of Oyo State, but Nigerians who are desirous of knowing the kind of people who are going to be governing them from 2027 – even if, as we have come to know now, it means that they would only be some far-away, fringe participants if they would at all.
I was even more triggered because I know, and had heard Senator Sarafadeen Abiodun Ali who is flying the flag of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the same election. Although I have not listened to Senator Ali on his 2027 governorship ambition, I can infer from previous experiences what he sounds like and how it might go. Recognition of a person begins from little things like a voice you have come to be familiar with. So, in some ways, I am familiar with the voice, diction, and a few of the nuances expected of Sarafadeen Abiodun Ali.
However, I don’t have any such thing with APM’s Adekanmbi. I could say I had never listened to him. And, I cannot confidently wager that I had even heard him. Besides, from my mind of innocence, a casual look at Adekanmbi’s photos presents him to me as unprepossessing. Indeed, that came from a place of honest assessment of a guileless bystander. I had my impressions, which were more in the red than they were in the green. I was not convinced by what I saw in posters and billboards. So, those impressions of the man I see in his photographs and in political posters created a basis for that urgent need to hear him, and listen to him and assess him – from my little cocoon.
What does he sound like? What would he sound like? Would he pass the numerous soundchecks of the other monitoring spirits in the house called Gen Z? Deep down, I wished that everything works with regards to how he sounds and that he was balanced enough to curry some favourable contentions. Would he set himself up for verbal ridicule by these curious and sometimes unfiltered young people, with regards to how he sounds? Would ‘Bimbo Adekanmbi ‘clock it’? I was indeed curious, and this ‘curiosity made me ask’ questions.
Thinking about how the Oyo APM flagbearer would come across made me reminisce on my first meeting with Senator Teslim Kolawole Folarin. That first meeting was a few months before the 2003 general election. He was the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for Oyo Central senatorial district. You could not easily get as much information on individuals and phenomena as you can nowadays. This is the information age. So, I went to my meeting with Teslim Folarin with the very little information on his person I could get. My first impression was quite interesting. His nonchalant headgear was the first signpost; I found it awkward for such a young man. Today, OloyeTeslim Folarin’s headgear will always speak, but regardless of how crude it might appear to people, the man was quite polished and tasteful. He even spoke with a London accent!
Back to Adekanmbi. I left what I was doing and sat down in front of the TV. I grabbed the TV’s remote control and pumped up its volume. Did I hold my breath? Maybe. I didn’t even remember NEPA, that wicked arbiter strikes at will, and who could strike. So, I heard ‘Bimbo Adekanmbi. I also listened to him. I waited for reactions from the judges still around me at home before I said, ‘This man sounds way better than I had thought.’ And upon that, I could not deny that he is quite intelligent and sharp!
‘Who is he?’ My wife too was interested in what drove me to the TV with such seriousness. ‘That is ‘Bimbo Adekanmbi’, I said without thinking, eyes still glued to the TV show. ‘Oh, that’s the man who wants to take over from Seyi Makinde. I think he is very confident and intelligent,’ she concluded. Her comments were casual, but I trust she had it ‘clocked’. She had often seen how some of the guests on The Morning Show had caved in under the weight of what those presenters at Arise News Morning Show do to their guests. She might have seen one presidential candidate who obviously talked himself into his own mortification on the show last week. The man was literally dragged through the mud created by his own answers, when he could not competently defend the academic qualifications he spoke so proudly about in answer to some questions. The panelists even jocularly called ‘Vietnam’, which meant something to those who saw the interview.
So, I heard Bimbo Adekanmbi at last. I also listened to him. He did not stutter; he did not falter. He did not beat about the bush. He was steady. I liked what I saw, and I bet the Arise News Morning Show crew must have been impressed too. Just a day after Adekanmbi, the PDP governorship candidate in Abia State, Dr Kelechi Anosike, also featured on the Morning Show. I do not think he made as much of an impression on me as Adekanmbi did. Dr Anosike was too eager to impress and muddled issues up. So, I decided to write the impression of Oyo APM’s Bimbo Adekanmbi which I took from his appearance on that ubiquitous programme. He made my morning, regardless of the brewing drama from Rufai Oseni.
As good as Adekanmbi was on the show, I don’t think that he answered Mr Oseni’s question on how to fund his campaign well. I had expected him to explain the fact that campaigns are usually funded not just by a candidate. Campaigns are funded mostly by the candidate and his ‘team’, the team being a conglomerate of like interests. This could be made up of friends, political and business stakeholders, party stalwarts and even godfathers. Some of the godfathers might even not be politicians. I had expected him to say that.
In all, I must have judged a book by the cover. I had expected a typical Nigerian politician. But I was wrong. It is also a pointer to the fact that one should not rush into conclusions about individuals, groups, a people and phenomena. It is always better to view all sides and weigh or appraise perspectives before arriving at conclusions.
Now that Adekanmbi has answered the call of that stellar team of Arise News TV, I challenge the station to call out others in the Oyo State governorship race. They need to speak also and be seen for what they are.