Everywhere you look in the country, there are dominant political players, local and national; pockets of individuals and families who wield influence in public office, or out of it, as the power behind the throne.
These profit only a few, yet political dynasties are not easy to dislodge, despite a large swathe of opposition from academics, politicians, journalists, and talakawas.
Mario Puzo’s fictional creation, ‘The God father’, based on the real life Sicilian Mafia lifestyle of Italian crime families and the daily activities of the family head known as Capon de Tutii – which means boss of all bosses – captures the characters of political godfathers and families in Nigeria.
Like Tutii, they dictate and appropriate almost everything for their benefit, irrespective of how it affects the welfare of others. They position themselves, their children, and siblings in vantage positions for the gain of the family.
They create dynasties that produce a succession of people who, through various means and forms, maintain power, influence or authority for generations.
Nyako dynasty
Murtala Nyako, who was impeached as Adamawa State Governor on July 15, 2014, ran an intriguing home front while in office. He has four wives, all educated and accomplished – Zainab, Halima, Binta, and Asmau.
He could not make up his mind on who should be first lady and made all of them to operate at the same political level.
He created a “zone” for each wife: Binta, First Lady (Abuja Affairs); Halima, First Lady (Health); Zainab, First Lady (Political Affairs and Mobilisation); and Asmau, First Lady (Home Front).
Each first lady allegedly had a monthly allocation of N50 million.
But that was not even the problem. When it was time for Nyako to appoint the state chief judge (CJ), he was too political for his own good. In 2012, he wanted Binta (a respected judge) to be CJ, but the National Judicial Commission (NJC) turned him down.
Adamawa has not had a substantive chief judge for three years. At a time, there was no acting chief judge, just because Nyako wanted his wife to fill the position. The last substantive CJ was Bemare Bansi, who retired in 2011.
Until he was impeached, Nyako, a retired Chief of Naval Staff, was trying to position his eldest son, Abdulaziz, a retired Naval Commander, as his successor.
His calculations were, however, disrupted when he defected from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC).
With the move, he courted a number of enemies, including President Goodluck Jonathan. So, the impeachable offences he committed five years ago were dug up by a House of Assembly dominated by the PDP.
Nyako was showed the way out of Government House, Yola, in a way that seems to put his political dynasty on hold for now.
Saraki dynasty
The Olusola Saraki dynasty in Kwara State is one that has never hidden its penchant for political authority since it started 60 years ago.
Saraki, a medical doctor, joined politics in 1964, but his power did not begin to spread all over Kwara until he deployed federal influence when he was Senate Leader between October 1979 and December 1983.
After politics, he returned to making money in business. His wealth, combined with his status in the Ilorin royal court – he was the waziri (prime minister) of Ilorin, a city which dictates Kwara politics – made him the de facto kingmaker.
No civilian governor has emerged in Kwara since 1979 without the endorsement of Saraki or his children.
Adamu Attah, who was not related to Saraki became Governor courtesy of his blessing. Mamman Lafiagi, who was not a relative, was also hand picked by him to become Governor. And Cornelius Adebayo got Saraki’s support before he occupied the office.
In 2003, Saraki started positioning his immediate family members into strategic positions. That year, he moved against his protege, Governor Mohammed Lawal, who only served one term.
By this time, Bukola Saraki, a medical doctor like his father, had learnt the ropes of politics sufficiently to be entrusted with power.
Bukola won the governorship in 2003 under the platform of the PDP. He defeated Lawal, the flagbearer of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP). This proved the shrewdness of Saraki in a tight political situation.
In 2007, Bukola sought re-election and, after a fierce contest, trounced his closest rival, Gbenga Olawepo of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN). Again, it was his father who made that possible.
The year Bukola won re-election was the same year his sister, Gbemisola, was also re-elected as Senator; and another sibling, Laolu, became Adviser to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua, and a member of the extended family, Ope, was made Bukola’s Special Assistant on Student Affairs.
Gbemisola was elected a member of the House of Representatives in 1999. Thereafter, she served two terms as Senator between 2003 and 2011.
Before the 2011 election, Saraki introduced a second version of his dynasty to pursue the family’s political interest on two fronts. One was led by himself (after he left the PDP for the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), the other by his son, Bukola, who remained in the PDP.
Saraki took Gbemisola to the ACPN where he made her the governorship candidate in 2011.
But that same year, Bukola decided that Abdulfatah Ahmed, one of his Commissioners, should take over from him as Governor.
After the election, which produced Ahmed as Governor, Saraki reunited with Bukola in the PDP.
Most of those given appointments in the administration of Ahmed were members of the ACPN, who returned to the PDP immediately after the election.
Among them are Chief of Staff, Toyin Sanusi; and Eductaion Commissioner, Saka Onimago. Both were Saraki’s right hand men.
Sarakai died on November 14, 2012 but the dynasty continues with Bukola taking charge.
Bukola is now responsible for the installation of the governor, council chairmen, commissioners, special assistants, and federal lawmakers from Kwara.
Tinubu dynasty
In Lagos, former Governor Bola Tinubu holds the ace in politics. His wife, Oluremi, is a Senator, and his daughter and son-in-law hold key positions in the state’s political structures.
The dynasty began in 1992 when Tinubu was elected to the Senate in the short-lived Third Republic.
After the election on June 12, 1993 was annulled, Tinubu became a founding member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), which mobilised support for the restoration of democracy and recognition of the presidential election won by Moshood Abiola.
He went into exile in 1994 and returned to the country in 1998 after the death of military dictator, Sani Abacha.
In the run up to the 1999 election, Tinubu was a protege of Alliance for Democracy (AD) leaders, Abraham Adesanya and Ayo Adebanjo.
He won the primaries for the governorship in a competition with the late Funso Williams and Wahab Dosunmu, former Minister of Works and Housing; and went on to win the governorship.
In a tactical maneouvre, Tinubu left the AD for a new party, Action Congress (AC), later renamed Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).
In the 2011 election, he allegedly gave Oluremi the senatorial ticket of the ACN at the expense of Senator Muse Muniru, to contest the Lagos Central senatorial seat.
Tinubu’s daughter, Sade, and his wife’s elder sister, Lola Akande, both picked tickets for the state House of Assembly; and his son-in-law Oyetunde Ojo, the ticket for the House of Representatives.
Tinubu’s daughter, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, is the Iyaloja-General (market President General) of Lagos State, a post held by his foster mother, Abibat Mogaji, who died in 2013.
When Tinubu ended his tenure in 2007, he imposed his Chief of Staff, Babatunde Fashola, as Governor. This led to the defection of Jimi Agbaje, Adikwu Bakare, and others from the ACN to different parties.
Shagari family
This famous Shagari family in Sokoto State produced in 1979 the first elected President in Shehu Shagari, whose father, Aliyu, was the head of a village named after the family.
Shagari’s political history dates back to the First Republic when he joined the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) on which platform he became a member of the House of Representatives in Lagos.
Shagari lost his son, Abdurrahman, a rising political star, to the ADC plane crash in 2006. He was Sokoto State Health Commissioner (1997 to 1999) and Special Adviser to Senate Presidents from 1999 till his death in 2006, which truncated his plan to be a federal lawmaker.
Sokoto State Deputy Governor Mukhtar Shagari, was Water Resources Minister in the Olusegun Obasanjo presidency. Aminu Shagari is a member of the House of Representatives.
Mukhtar, Shehu Shagari’s nephew, is the PDP leader in Sokoto State. He is married to Shehu Shagari’s daughter.
Aminu is Shehu Shagari’s son. He was one of those who joined Governor Aliyu Wamakko to dump the PDP for the APC.
Ubah family
Chris and Andy Ubah share the political leadership of this family.
Chris, who was a member of the PDP Board of Trustees, was reputed to have singlehandedly made Chris Ngige Governor of Anambra State in 2003.
But on July 10, 2003 he turned round to change the political history of the state by forcing Ngige to resign in a ‘civilian coup d’tat’.
Chris was so powerful that he dictated the political pace in Anambra until Peter Obi became Governor in 2006 after the courts sacked Ngige and installed him as the winner of the election that brought Ngige into office.
Chris is back in some political reckoning as he parades himself as one of the strongest leaders of the PDP in the South East.
In 2007, Andy became Anambra Governor after a dubious move that denied Obi from contesting the election. He, however, reigned for two weeks before he was sacked by Appeal Court for Obi to continue in office.
Andy became Adviser to Obasanjo on Domestic Affairs where he wielded enormous power, and later Senator on the platform of the PDP.
As the 2015 election process begins, the trees of political dynasties will be watered and new seedlings planted.
Budding dynasties
Kogi. Ibrahim Idris, who became Governor in 2003, ensured the election of his brother-in-law, Idris Wada, as his successor when his tenure ended in 2011.
Ondo. Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s brother, Femi, a professor, became the Vice Chancellor of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, after Mimiko came to office.
Among the three names submitted for the job, Mimiko, who is the Visitor to the school, picked his brother.
Femi represented Ondo in the recent national conference, which many opposed, saying ruling the state should not be a family affair.
Delta. Former Governor, James Ibori, attempted to create something of a dynasty when he was in office between 1999 and 2007.
At the end of his tenure, he installed his cousin, Emmanuel Uduaghan, as Governor, whom he had appointed Health Commissioner from 1999 to 2003, and Secretary to the State Government from 2003 to 2007.
Imo. Governor Rochas Okorocha appointed his son-in-law, Uche Nwosu, first as Deputy Chief of Staff and later as Lands Commissioner, and is positioning him to either succeed him as Governor or become Deputy Governor if Deputy Governor Eze Madumere, emerges helmsman.
End game and competing forces
The bottom line for all the political dynasties is the perpetuation of individual and family. However, voices are being raised either to oppose or compete with them.
Adamawa. Nyako’s ambition is at best on ice, at worst dead, as a result of his disgrace from office through impeachment.
Kwara. Agitation is being reignited against the Saraki dynasty, as some indigenes lament its grip on the fortunes of a state still poor after 47 years of existence.
Among the new campaigners is Bilikisu Gambari, sister of the Emir of Ilorin, Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, who reiterated in an interview published in TheNiche on July 20 that many Kwarans have been clamouring for freedom.
Gambari said many Kwarans complain that the Sarakis have dominated every aspect of their lives, including electoral franchise, and want change in the 2015 ballot.
Lagos. Tinubu’s influence is under fire from all fronts. He wants to impose Ambode Akinwunmi as Governor after Fashola serves out his term in 2015, but is up against the wall of opposition from several members of the APC.
Ondo. The political influence of Mimiko is likely to decline after his tenure or if he joins the PDP. One reason is that Kingsley Kuku, who is Jonathan’s Adviser on Amnesty, is regarded as the state’s PDP leader and he may not concede ground to him.
If Mimiko remains in the LP, there is no guarantee that he will still enjoy popular support. If he hand picks a successor, the candidate may not win election because of the dynamics of politics in the state.
Delta. There is a groundswell of agitation that the Ibori family has dominated the politics of the state for too long.
Opponents say after the tenure of Uduaghan they will prevent anyone from the family from occupying the office of governor. The opposition comes mainly from the Ijaw, led by Edwin Clark.
Anambra. The influence of Chris and Andy Ubah has been greatly whittled down since the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) became the ruling party in 2006.
Chris is a leader of the PDP in the South East but that does not affect the dominance of APGA in Anambra.
Imo. Today, many think Okorocha is not popular, having dumped APGA for the APC, a party not in the good books of most South East political stalwarts. Winning a second term is not guaranteed. Even if he does, his influence is likely to evaporate after his tenure.
Facts Sheet
Murtala Nyako
•Has four wives – Zainab, Halima, Binta, and Asmau
•Made Binta, First Lady (Abuja Affairs)
•Halima, First Lady (Health)
•Zainab, First Lady (Political Affairs and Mobilisation)
•Asmau, First Lady (Home Front)
•Each wife allegedly allocated N50 million monthly
•Wanted to make Binta state chief judge
•Wanted eldest son, Abdulaziz, to succeed him as Governor
Shehu Shagari
•President (1979 to 1983)
•Father, Aliyu, village head
•Son, Abdurrahman, Health Commissioner (1997 to 1999); Special Adviser to Senate Presidents from 1999 till his death in 2006
•Son, Aminu, House of Representatives member
•Nephew, Mukhtar, Deputy Governor. Was Water Resources Minister
•Mukhtar is Sokoto PDP leader
Olusola Saraki
•Senate Leader (1979 to 1983)
•Picked Adamu Attah, Mamman Lafiagi, Cornelius Adebayo, and Mohammed Lawal as Kwara Governors
•Son, Bukola, Governor (2003 to 2011)
•Daughter, Gbemisola, Senator (2007 to 2011)
•Nephew, Ope, was Bukola’s Special Assistant
•Bukola picked Abdulfatah Ahmed to succeed him
Bola Tinubu
•Senator in the Third Republic
•Lagos State Governor (1999 to 2007)
•Picked Babatunde Fashola as successor
•Wife, Oluremi, Senator since 2011
•Daughter, Sade, state lawmaker
•Wife’s elder sister, Lola Akande, state lawmaker
•Daughter, Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, Iyaloja-General (market President General) of Lagos State
•Post held by his foster mother, Abibat Mogaji, who died in 2013