Politics is perhaps the only battlefield where men are applauded loudly while walking unknowingly toward their own destruction. It is a theatre of smiles hiding daggers, of handshakes masking calculations, of loyalty rented temporarily until ambition suddenly defaults on payment.
And nowhere is this brutal reality currently playing out more dramatically than in the unfolding spectacle between Hon. Desmond Elliot & Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief Of Staff to the President.
What we are witnessing is not merely a disagreement between 2 politicians. No. This is a collision between political creation & political creator. A classic battle between a beneficiary of power & the structure that manufactured him. It is the age-old conflict that emerges when a man begins to mistake access for ownership, favour for independence, & borrowed influence for personal invincibility.
Before proceeding, let me state clearly so emotional interpreters do not deliberately derail the essence of this discourse: I do not know Femi Gbajabiamila personally from anywhere. I am neither his spokesman nor an APC propagandist. This is simply political observation stripped of unnecessary sentiment & examined through the cold lens of realism.
Because whether people like it or not, politics is not governed by wishes. It is governed by structures.
And structures, especially in Nigeria, do not reward emotional idealism. They reward alignment, loyalty, patience, usefulness & strategic obedience.
That may offend many people. But offence has never altered reality.
Too many people analyse politics as though it is a Sunday sermon about fairness & equal opportunity. It is not. Politics resembles chess far more than morality. Every move has consequences. Every alliance comes with hidden clauses. Every elevation creates future expectations. And every beneficiary of power eventually faces the dangerous temptation of believing he ascended purely by personal brilliance.
That temptation has buried many political careers.
There is a reason wise elders say the man who falls into a ditch becomes a lesson to those behind him. Human beings rarely learn from advice; they learn from visible consequences.
This current drama is one of those consequences.
For 12 uninterrupted years, 3 complete terms, Hon. Desmond Elliot enjoyed one of the most stable political runs imaginable in Lagos politics. That did not happen by accident. In a state as politically sophisticated & ruthlessly organised as Lagos, longevity is never a coincidence.
People were persuaded to step aside for your ambition. And step aside they did, without obvious disobedience or rancour.
Ambitions were managed.
Calculations were made.
Structures were deployed.
Doors were opened.
Resistance was neutralised.
Political capital was spent.
And towering above that machinery in your domain stood Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila.
Now let us be intellectually honest enough to acknowledge the full truth. Gbajabiamila didn’t just support Desmond Elliot merely out of humanitarian affection. Politics is transactional everywhere on earth. Influence is an investment, not charity. The political godfather gains prestige, dominance & strategic expansion by producing loyal proteges. The proteges gains access, protection & elevation. You ride on the neck of a tiger to get power. Power that your own influence couldn’t get for you.
Both parties benefited.
But here lies the central tragedy of this entire affair: the moment the arrangement no longer perfectly favoured the beneficiary, the structure that once appeared wise, benevolent & indispensable suddenly became “evil.”
That transformation is what many observers find deeply troubling.
One cannot happily ride on the back of a tiger for over a decade, wave majestically to the crowd while enjoying the elevated view, & then suddenly begin screaming that the tiger is wicked simply because it now demands control of direction.
The tiger did not change.
Its nature was always the same.
Only convenience changed.
And this is where the matter transcends politics & enters the territory of character.
Because gratitude is easy when receiving favours. The true test of character emerges when the favours slow down, when entitlement collides with limitation, when ambition hears the word “No.”
That is when men reveal themselves.
Some emotional supporters now shout, “Gbajabiamila is not God!” This outpour is actually what inspired this write up.
But such reactions completely miss the substance of the matter.
Nobody called him God. But in the real sense of it, he was a god to Desmond when all was good as he then had the magic wand that could sort out things. And Desmond was willing to bow to that then, without a care!
Yet politically speaking, Gbaja undeniably functioned as the principal force behind Desmond Elliot’s sustained rise. In the political ecosystem that produced Desmond, Gbajabiamila was not a spectator; he was the architect of access.
That is simply reality.
And reality does not become false because it sounds uncomfortable.
This is why many experienced politicians understand an uncomfortable law of power: if you choose to eat at a king’s table, never forget who owns the palace. The mistake many proteges make is confusing temporary comfort with permanent authority. They begin to believe applause belongs entirely to them, forgetting that political applause is often heavily engineered.
In truth, many public figures are not as powerful as they appear. They are merely standing inside borrowed umbrellas during political rainfall.
The moment the umbrella shifts, their true exposure becomes visible.
This is also why political elders insist on caution before entering certain alliances. Some even demand oaths of loyalty from shrines before offering support. Harsh? Perhaps. Primitive? Maybe. But such practices emerged from repeated betrayals & political rebellions by beneficiaries who developed selective amnesia after tasting influence.
Power has a dangerous side effect: it can make beneficiaries forget the staircase that lifted them.
And that forgetfulness often marks the beginning of political downfall.
Now, does this mean godfatherism is morally perfect? Certainly not.
But morality & political reality are often uncomfortable neighbours.
Many citizens complain endlessly about political structures while simultaneously benefiting from systems of influence themselves, whether through family connections, tribal alliances, friendships, mentorships or patronage networks. Human society itself is structured around access & influence.
Politics merely amplifies it ruthlessly.
Until the method changes, those who desire relevance within the current political architecture must understand the rules governing the game. One may dislike those rules. One may criticise them passionately. But refusing to understand them while attempting to operate inside them is often political suicide.
You do not enter a chess competition & begin demanding the freedom to move bishops like horses.
Systems reward those who understand systems.
This is why the conduct of some old-school politicians still earns quiet respect. Men like Babatunde Raji Fashola are frequently referenced not merely because of intellect, but because of discipline, restraint & understanding of political timing. There is dignity in transition. There is wisdom in measured disagreement. There is strength in knowing when to advance & when to retreat strategically.
Not every battle must become a public inferno.
Not every disappointment must become warfare.
Sometimes survival itself requires silence.
At the heart of this saga therefore lies one timeless lesson: never mistake borrowed power for personal ownership. The crowd cheering today may actually be applauding the structure standing invisibly behind you.
And when that structure withdraws, reality arrives brutally & without apology.
Politics is not emotional.
Politics is not charitable.
Politics is not sentimental.
Politics is power.
And power, unlike friendship, rarely forgives forgetfulness.
Shior.
#desmondelliot #femigbajabiamila #surulere1 #maestromediablog #maestrolifestyl #apc #loyalty #politics #structure
