In the land of Nigerian politics, especially during election campaign season, there is never a dull moment, as you can always expect to see political gaffes, diss tracks, and an endless flow of gbas gbos.
Therefore, we’ve decided to jog your memory of some legendary disagreements and grudges that have occurred in the Nigerian government. Here’s a list of some of them, from spanking new to decade-old feuds:
Ortom Vs Atiku
[Image Source: The Nation]
The most recent on the list is the Ortom-Atiku feud. Due to Atiku’s support of the violent actions of the Myetti-Allah in Benue State, Ortom was so pissed that he said he would rather “choose death” than support Atiku. (For context, both Ortom and Atiku are members of the same party, but Atiku is a presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).)
To further show his displeasure, Ortom decided to pull a diss move and went all the way to the Labour Party to support Peter Obi.
But it seems as though the fuel of anger could not be sustained for long, as the governor made a U-turn and decided to apologize to Atiku about his ‘misyarns’.
According to Ortom: “I want to say that the statement people are holding on was not what I meant when I was captured saying that. But all the same, I know that it would amount to logical fallacy. I want to say to those who are so offended by my remarks, I am very sorry. I didn’t mean that.”
Atiku hasn’t yet spoken on whether he’ll gracefully receive Ortom’s olive wreath or not.
Obasanjo vs Atiku
[Image Source: PUNCH]
Accounts vary as to what started the grudge between the ex-president and his former vice. Things got so bad that Obasanjo said outright that he would not endorse Atiku for the presidency in 2006.
The feud remained a thing until 2018. Obasanjo saw the light somehow and decided to forgive Atiku because he believed Atiku had “discovered and repositioned himself”.
But the reconciliation came during a time when both Atiku and President Muhammadu Buhari
[Image Source: Guardian]
Tinubu vs Fashola
[Image Source: Igbere TV]
With the two former governors of Lagos State, things have not always been so rosy for them. Worthy of note is 2018. Tinubu didn’t invite his predecessor to key events like his 10th Colloquium (an event in which Fashola was meant to have testified to Tinubu’s good works in the state).
There were no comments as to why it happened on the Tinubu front, but sources from the Fashola camp said it was a disagreement from Fashola. The disagreement was on outsourcing tax collection to a private company called Alpha Beta (a company that is allegedly owned by Tinubu), instead of collecting it directly.
Anyway, the two seemed to move on from the quarrel as they were seen looking all friendly at a public function in 2018.
[Image Source: Daily Post]
Oshiomhole vs Ize-Iyamu
[Image Source: Vanguard]
The two former Edo State governors got tangled up in a clash of words. This was during the 2015 Edo State governorship elections.
Oshiomhole accused Ize-Iyamu of embezzling Edo state funds and being the source of its underdevelopment. He demanded that Ize-Iyamu should “vomit the N1.2 billion he shared with Dan Orbih which is money meant for defence that he collected from a bank. After that, he will go to jail.”
Ize-Iyamu also countered back. He said that Oshiomhole should officially probe his activities during the eight years he spent as governor.
However, in 2020, the two men seemed to come to an understanding. Oshiomohole described Ize-Iyamu as “a man of God” while Ize-Iyamu said that he needed to be “abused”. This was because he raised his protege (present Edo State governor, Obaseki) to be a bad product. Lmao.
Know more feuds that we didn’t mention? Drop a comment below and show us the light!
