PDP, OMISORE AND THE BATTLE NEXT TIME
Politics, as we know it, is the turf of ideas where rigour of thoughts and balance of mind dictate acceptability of any leader in civilised lands and climes. Anything short of that is an open invitation to an unsolicited crassness, brigandage and anarchy. But as an evolving democracy, Nigeria has a lot to learn from other liberal democracies where civility putatively drives the process of governance.
The only redeeming grace for a fledging democracy as Nigerian's is to nip in the board instances of cultivated and premeditated violence where instigators or perpetuators are punished of such dehumanising approach of extracting or expropriating the people's mandate. Those who steal their way into public offices through violence and subordinate the will of the people are less likely to deploy the nation's collective patrimony for the good of the same people whose volition they flagrantly derided. This is evidence from the PDP style of governance in the last 14 years by selling Nigeria assets to a selected few at give-away prices and, mortgaging the future of our children to imperialists. The ideology of the ruling party is to undoubtedly spread poverty among the people either from east, west north or south.
This has been the case since the present democratic engagement and it pays off for a while until the will of the mass of Osun people prevails. Until Nigerians come to the realisation and consciousness that no army of tyranny - however formidable - can terminate millions of voices calling for change, as we have done in Osun, it will be foolhardy to assume that democratic ethos will be guarantee because we think so.
Recently, you would have every reasons to chuckle if you are an ardent follower of the politics of frivolity and incendiary playing out in the State of Osun. As the state is transforming rapidly as a result of mammoth undertaking of the state government some renegades are trying to hold it back with an air of vehemence and bravado. The people of Osun who are savouring their hard earned liberty and freedom in a now sublime and urbane state are already jostling for permanent retention of that growing urban renewer efforts.
The PDP and its minders wouldn't have any of such. They want to take the state to pre-industrial era where modern days amenities as provided by ACN/APC administration are seen as a mirage that must be disrupted and prevented at all cost. They missed the point. Their outline on compulsory governance and strategies have problems taking a pass. They have chosen the wrong time and place to do battle; lack confident in their battle tactics, not knowing when to attack, when to withdraw, and how to conserve their ammunition.
The humiliated Senator Iyiola Omisore in the last Federal election and his party are wont to remind us of that sordid past where campaigns were deadly and elections were wars. Granted that elections in Nigeria since we gained flag Independence have been marred by one form of violence or the other, including "Operation Wetie", but turning it into a past-time in 21 century calls for concern. Not only are they gloating over it, they are hell bent on achieving cult of personality by all means and at all cost to the detriment of the electorate. Therefore, their case against Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and ACN weakens their moral taste for justice for approaching a Federal High Court, seeking a redress on frivolous issue.
PDP and Omisore had on May 13, 2013 approached the High Court, seeking an order of the court to demolish a billboard sponsored by a member of House of Representatives representing Ife Federal Constituency, Honourable Rotimi Makinde. Others joined in the suit as defendants were the Inspector General of Police IGP, the Director-General, Department of State Services and Commissioner of Police, Osun State Command.
Also, included as defendants in the suit were the Governor of Osun State and the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice. Omisore and PDP claimed that the billboard with an inscription “Tijakadi Ko” depicting a scale with one arm consisting of the state logo and the other arm consist of instruments of violence like axe, gun, cutlass, military and Yoruba caps and glasses.
The PDP claimed that the cap and glasses are insignias of campaign of the Senator. The party through it counsel, Mr. Kehinde Adesiyan urged the court to order the IGP and Police Commissioner to destroy the billboard and also prosecute the House of Representatives member if found to be the sponsor, saying the court should stop further erection of the billboard.
But counsel to Makinde, Mr. Abiodun Olaide, objected to the suit on the ground that plaintiffs have no cause and right of action against the defendants, adding that the suit is incompetent, having been commenced by a wrong procedure. Justice Babatunde Kuewumi in his ruling lambasted the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, gubernatorial aspirant in the state, Senator Iyiola Omisore and the party for instituting what the court described as a “frivolous matter” before it.
With this judgment, PDP and Senator Omisore have opened themselves up to further ridicules. One, it shows that they are not abreast with the laws of patent rights that no one can take a trademark case to court except you actually own the trademark. Patent infringement is the commission of a prohibited act with respect to a patented invention without permission from the patent holder. Infringement is only possible when an individual or group of persons use or sell patented invention. In the same vail, it is territorial and its violation occurs in countries or states where a patent is in force.
Interestingly, this case has opened the much awaited question whether Senator Omisore and the PDP can truly be exonerated from the electoral bloodbath the State of Osun has been made to go through since 1999. By the way, why should they been laying claims to volatile insignias on billboard that are designed to discourage election violence? What is more, the billboard in question is merely calling on the good people of the state to stop being used as cannon-fodders in violence instigated by visionless politicians.
Second, even if the billboard strikes at the core of their violence inclination is not enough reason to pull it down. The information the billboard conveys is more important than the sum total of the PDP or Senator Omisore's personal grandstanding and selfish-interests which only remind us of the primitive state of nurture where life is brutish and short.
There is no amount of intimidation that can change Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola's resolve to reorientation the people to shun politics of violent. The State of Osun is already heaving a sigh of relief in that direction that truth has triumphed over evil, at last!
Written By Biodun Eyinola