For decades, Desmond Olusola Elliot serenaded our television screens as an A-list Nollywood actor.
In 2015, he took a break from the world of make-believe to wade into the murky waters of Nigerian politics by contesting the Surulere 1 seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
He has been there for twelve years, and his attempt to return for a fourth term has hit a brick wall, as he has fallen out with the godfathers of Lagos State politics, who have settled for Barrister Barakat Bakare-Odunuga.
The Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, at a stakeholders meeting, said that he nearly lost his job at the villa due to the alleged involvement of Elliot in the Obasa impeachment saga.
According to the former Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, he initially defended Elliot before the ‘overwhelming evidence’ of his godson’s involvement in the saga was presented to him.
Elliot has gone ahead to apologize publicly to Gbajabiamila, but he is determined to slug it out at the primaries with the party’s anointed candidate.
In 2019, we recall when ex-Governor Akinwunmi Ambode was up for re-election. He was denied a second term not because of a lack of non-performance but simply because he had fallen out of favour with the Governance Advisory Council (GAC) – the highest decision-making body politically in the centre of excellence.
Elliot performed creditably well as a state legislator with visible constituency projects and effective representation. He should test his popularity with the grassroots by participating in the APC primaries.
Democracy should be the will of the people, which should be supreme, and so this ‘Baba sope’ which is the decisive factor which defines Lagos politics, should be greatly discouraged.
The primaries is slated for May 20th – barely 48 hours’ time. As a stakeholder, having lived in Surulere for 28 years, the place is still dear to my heart, and I take more than a passing interest in its local politics.
The critical question to ask is whether the Obasa impeachment saga happened in 2025, more than a year ago. Why is it now suddenly been used to witch hunt Elliot? We need good governance and not vindictiveness, as it’s too dangerous to allow tyrants to ride roughshod over the will of the hapless people.
Many pundits have said that Elliot will lose as the odds are stacked against him. Whether or not he loses, let him at least make a resoundingly loud statement of throwing his hat in the ring and fighting for the soul of democracy, as this godfatherism wasn’t what the so-called democrats fought for when they were in the opposition. Some posit that if he loses, he should defect to another party and slug it out at the polls next year. That option is entirely up to him, but I am glad that he didn’t chicken out without giving the contest a brave fight.
While his supporters and political pundits alike await with bated breath the outcome of the historic primaries, irrespective of the outcome, he is a hero for daring the establishment and standing up for the democratic tenet of the right to contest at the primaries.
Well Done Desmond Olusola Elliot!
Tony Ademiluyi is a freelance journalist and writer based in Lagos and can be reached at 08167677075
