By Daniel A. Noah Osa-Ogbegie
As I watch with amusements the desperate bid by Adams Oshiomhole to pull a wool over the eyes of Edo people in his unholy bid to ensure he demarkets Asue Ighodalo so Edo people would reject the only candidate with a robust agenda for Edo state and vote the taciturn and reticent candidate of the APC, Monday Okpebholo, a man who openly said he didn’t need a manifesto to be able to govern Edo state, I recall that Oshiomhole’s ambition to establish a hegemony in Edo like Tinubu did in Lagos did not just start today.
Adams Oshiomhole was massively supported to be Governor of Edo state by Lucky Igbinedion and Capt. Hosa Okunbo, using Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu as the field marshall. The understanding between Oshiomhole and his sponsors was that Pastor Ize-Iyamu would succeed Oshiomhole. Immediately Oshiomhole was sworn in as Governor, he created machinery to twart that agreement through series of political shenanigans. He also ensured he had very vile open confrontations with Chief Tony Anenih and Chief Gabriel Igbinedion so as to break any obligation he had with them prior to his governorship and emerge as the sole power determinant of Edo state. The way he ruthlessly did this between 2009 and 2015 should be a course for all students of Machiavelli school.
In 2016, Oshiomhole came very hard on Pius Odubu, for daring to aspire to be Governor of Edo state after goading him on much earlier without Odubu knowing that he was merely using him to upstage Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, who Oshiomhole had (has) a morbid fear of. Once Ize-Iyamu was out of the way in 2014, it was easy for Oshiomhole to pulverize Odubu to ensure his choice, Godwin Obaseki emerged as the APC candidate in 2016. Odubu has not recovered since then, but for oshiomhole, nothing can stop in his way of being Edo’s Tinubu.
It is quite clear today that Adams Oshiomhole did not support Godwin Obaseki for any altruistic reason. He supported Obaseki because he thought Obaseki would be a puppet Governor while he, Oshiomhole, remained the puppeteer with the strings backstage ala Tinubu’s Lagos.
There was a manifestation of this in the earlier days of Obaseki’s government when Oshiomhole nominated the Secretary to the state government and all the commissioners after earlier nominating the Deputy Governor. There was hardly any political appointment in Obaseki’s first term that Oshiomhole did not noninate. It became hard for Obaseki to accept when Oshiomhole went on to change all those who won the APC primaries in 2019 for his own choice, including those in Obaseki’s immediate constituency of Oredo. Oshiomhole also did same in Philip Shaibu’s constituency. It was at this point the bubble bursted and the realisation dawned on Obaseki that what Oshiomhole always wanted was a lame duck Governor, a puppet that he could always manipulate from anywhere.
Edo people have always detested this kind of arrangement of a puppet Governor controlled by a puppeteer. It was why they massively supported Oshiomhole against the earlier godfathers. It was why they joined in chorusing Oshiomhole’s adaptation of Ize-Iyamu’s “no man is God” and Oshiomhole’s “one man one vote” mantras.
Edo people want their Governor to be answerable to them and not to any godfather. Oshiomhole’s desperate quest to emerge as the sole godfather of Edo state threatens this disposition of Edo people to have an independent Governor who is only beholding to them and not to any godfather.
Oshiomhole never believed in Monday Okpebholo. Information out there is that he privately derided him while pushing for the candidacy of Dennis Idahosa, a man he sacked in 2015 as his Commissioner, alleging that the said Dennis Idahosa was a fraudster. If Oshiomhole sacked Denco under the allegation of fraud, why was he going around frantically to ensure he got the APC Governorship ticket when APC had aspirants like Osagie Ize-Iyamu, Mike Onolememe, Prof. Osunbo, Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, Prince Clem Agba, Dr. David Imuse et al? The answer is simple: Oshiomhole continued with his quest to have a puppet as Governor so he could emerge as the Tinubu of Edo, since his experiment with Obaseki failed woefully and disastrously.
Adams Oshiomhole went on to push for Denco to be running mate after failing to make him the APC candidate, losing to the candidate of Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President.
Adams Oshiomhole has publicly described Monday Okpebholo as a slow engine. This description is mild, given Oshiomhole’s real evaluation of Okpebholo. Do Edo people want a slow engine, according to Adams Oshiomhole, to be their Governor at this time? Do they want a fraudster, again according to Oshiomhole, to be their Deputy Governor?
The other day, Oshiomhole appeared on national TV to attempt to disparage Asue Ighodalo, a man he has earlier praised before the pressure of this election kicked in.
Who made Oshiomhole the moral police of Edo state? Should Oshiomhole be talking on matters of morality or spending time in the gulag for his monumental mismanagement of funds as Governor of Edo state? How did he build his massive villa in his village which Chief Dan Orbih referred to as Mobutu Sese Seko villa? How did he build his state of the art castle in Okorotun, Benin? A time will come when a government that did not know Joseph will emerge and books will be opened and Oshiomhole’s selfish quest to be the ultimate Edo godfather would be quashed forever.
Edo people must band together again to show to Oshiomhole that he can not choose for us. We are not his slaves. We must reject another of his attempt to be the godfather of Edo as we do not trust his judgement, often laced with inferiority complex and the selfish need to satisfy his implacable hedonism.
Only one candidate has come out with a plan for Edo. Only one candidate is talking to Edo people, with the message of prosperity. Only one candidate has the profile of the Governor Edo needs at this time. We must support and elect the candidate with the character, personality, competence and temperament. The candidate with the vast exposure and contacts to move Edo forward. That candidate is Asuerinmen Ighodalo, the candidate of the PDP. Pay no heed to professional politicians who seek to protect their political interests, now congregating with their kindred spirits in the APC to twart the will of Edo people. Say yes to prosperity and good governance.
DAN Osa-Ogbegie is a Benin based legal practitioner and spokesman of Asue Ighodalo.
