The word ‘godfather’ has different meanings to different people. In Nigerian politics, a godfather is a ‘big boss’ that maintains political control of a territory by ensuring that either he or his self-chosen appointees are elected to govern such areas.

They include the rich and political influencers who contribute to campaign funds of some candidates with the aim of winning elections.

Over the years, Nigeria’s political godfathers are those that build loyalists around themselves and use their influence to manipulate the rest of society. Sometimes, they block the participation of others within their political sphere and dictate party candidates.

These godfathers in most cases become powerful due to the important leadership positions they hold or have held, their wealth, their ability to mobilise grassroots support, amongst others.

In the recently concluded elections, some godfathers maintained their grip in their areas of control while many others were humiliated. Presidential and National Assembly elections were held on February 23, while state elections were held on March 9.

PREMIUM TIMES reviews how some political godfathers were defeated in the 2019 elections.

Bukola Saraki

The Saraki dynasty is a very strong one in Kwara State. Before Mr Saraki, his father, the late Olusola Saraki’s political structure was such a strong force that except you align with him, you were not likely to succeed as a politician in Kwara State.

The structure had produced six governors in the state since 1979.

Mr Saraki who has been the President of Nigeria’s Senate since 2015 could not deliver Kwara for his party in both 2019 presidential and governorship elections. Worst of it all, he also lost his re-election bid to the Senate.

He was elected governor of Kwara in 2003 through the help of his father. After his tenure, he refused to support the candidature of his sister, Gbemisola. Instead, he supported the incumbent governor, Ahmed Abdulfatai, who floored his sister against the will of his father.

In the build-up to the 2015 election, Mr Saraki joined other aggrieved governors of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to form the nPDP. The nPDP would later join other parties to form the All Progressives Congress (APC).

That did not affect his control of the Kwara’s political machinery as Mr Saraki’s new party, APC, won the 2015 general elections in Kwara.

Mr Saraki’s troubles, however, started after the 2015 elections when he defied the APC, to emerge the Senate president; working in cahoot with PDP lawmakers.

He, eventually, left the APC for the PDP in 2018 and sought the presidential ticket of the latter. He lost the primary to Atiku Abubakar.

Things, however, got worse for Mr Saraki as he lost his senatorial seat. His anointed candidate for governorship was also defeated in all the 16 local government areas in the state with the magic of “Oto ge”. Overall, the PDP lost woefully in all the 2019 elections in Kwara.

Except the PDP presidential candidate succeeds in his challenge of President Muhammadu Buhari’s electoral victory, Mr Saraki may have to be a ‘spectator’ in Nigerian politics in the next four years; the first since he became a politician.

Godswill Akpabio

Godswill Akpabio is a former Senate Minority Leader and former governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015.

During Mr Akpabio’s tenure as governor, he was able to build a strong political structure for himself in the state. He, however, could not save himself in the 2019 race.

Mr Akpabio, who left PDP for APC last year, lost his bid to return to the Senate in Akwa Ibom North West Senatorial District. His new party, APC, also lost all the elections in Akwa Ibom.

Before the elections, Mr Akpabio was so confident that he could not lose elections in the state. After all, he helped install the incumbent governor, then a political neophyte in 2015.

On July 16, 2018, while speaking at a rally in Ikot Ekpene, he said: “Godswill will be done again and again irrespective of the political party.”

The following month, he decamped to APC after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari earlier in London.

Mr Akpabio came into the political limelight in 2002 when he was appointed Commissioner for Petroleum and Natural Resources, Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs and also Lands and Housing.

He used his Office as Commissioner for Chieftaincy and Local Government Affairs to build political structures across the 31 Local Government Areas in Akwa Ibom State. He defied the then governor, Obong Attah, to emerge the governorship candidate of the PDP in 2007 and was elected governor. Since then, he’s had a firm grip on the politics of Akwa Ibom.

He was, however, humbled in his own game as his new party, APC, lost all the elections in Akwa Ibom.

George Akume

George Akume is another ‘godfather’ whom things did not work in his favour during the last election.

Since his election as Benue governor in 1999 on the PDP platform, Mr Akume has held a firm grip on the politics of Benue. After he completed his tenure in 2007, he moved to the Senate. He won his Senate seat again in 2011 despite defecting to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and was elected the Minority Leader of the Senate.