Amosun entered politics in 1998 during the transition programme initiated by the military government of General Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd.) to return Nigeria to democratic rule.
Instead of joining the Yoruba-dominated Alliance for Democracy (AD), and the political platform that was closely associated with Afenifere in the Southwest, Amosun aligned himself with the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which had a strong connection with the Northern oligarchy that destroyed Nigeria in the past.
In 2003, Amosun leveraged the Tinubu’s EmiLokan connection into the Abeokuta politics and worked with then-President Olusegun Obasanjo to support Gbenga Daniel from Ijebu East for the Ogun State governorship, while he himself contested for the Senate and won.
And the political calculation at the time was that after Daniel, from Ogun East, completed one four-year term, power would shift to Ogun Central, giving Amosun the opportunity to contest for governor.
However, events did not unfold as expected. Daniel sought and secured a second term, upsetting the earlier arrangement.
Amosun appealed to Baba Obasanjo for support, but the former president insisted Daniel should complete two terms.
Amosun got frustrated by the development. He then left the PDP and joined Muhammadu Buhari’s ANPP, the move that elevated his political profile in the Southwest and brought him closer to Buhari.
He dared the incumbent governor, Gbenga Daniel and contested for the governorship election under the ANPP party against Daniel, but he lost.
Now that he has become a political leader in the Southwest, Amosun was chosen to represent his party (ANPP) in early merger discussions among opposition parties, including Bola Tinubu’s Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), the ANPP, and Buhari’s Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), ahead of the 2011 elections.
Although the merger was not concluded before the 2011 presidential elections, Amosun joined the ACN and contested the Ogun State governorship election, reportedly assuring Tinubu, then the party’s national leader, of his loyalty.
As governor of Ogun State from 2011 to 2019, he was widely credited with major infrastructural projects, especially in Abeokuta, the state’s capital and other towns, in the state.
He constructed dual roads and overhead bridges in the state. The achievements that boosted his standing in Ogun state and some parts of the Southwest.
Over time, Amosun started viewing himself as an independent political force and Godfather in Ogun State.
He influenced federal appointments under Buhari, including ministerial and ambassadorial nominations, and was seen enjoying direct access to the president.
In fact, Buhari listened to him more than any other politician in the southwest
By 2019, near the end of his tenure as governor, Amosun openly opposed his party (APC)’s preferred governorship candidate, Prince Dapo Abiodun, and backed his own preferred successor, Adekunle Akinlade.
This was widely interpreted as a challenge to party authority and eventually led to his suspension from the APC after the general election. But with the Buhari’s influence, the suspension was lifted after six months.
However, despite his efforts to install his preferred successor (AA), Dapo Abiodun won the governorship and consolidated control of Ogun State’s political structure, effectively reducing Amosun’s influence within the state.
Losing control of the party machinery in the state diminished Amosun’s access to appointments, patronage networks, and grassroots mobilisation in Ogun state.
That notwithstanding, there is little doubt that Amosun has strategic political leadership skills. He built a wide network of loyalists in Ogun State and beyond, especially through his ties to Buhari and northern political circles when he was in power. However, that influence and connections were weakened when he was no longer controlled the political structure of his party in the state.
In politics, public perception is critical, both in Nigeria and globally. Amosun’s conduct during the APC campaign period in 2019, particularly his opposition to the party’s eventual winner, damaged his reputation among many party loyalists and members of the public, with critics portraying him as overly arrogant and self-centred.
