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For the sake of the electorate ahead of the September 19 governorship election, the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related matters Commission should promptly commence investigations into certain allegations of abuse of office raised against the incumbent governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki.
When news broke that the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related matters Commission (ICPC) had been petitioned to investigate some allegations of financial malfeasances raised against Governor Obaseki, two quotable shares from two globally renowned personalities quickly came to mind.
First was the American whistleblower, who copied and leaked highly classified information from the National Security Agency in 2013, when he was a Central Intelligence Agency employee, Edward Joseph Snowden and claimed that, “There can be no faith in government if our highest offices are excused from scrutiny – they should be setting the example of transparency.”
The former United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan is of the view that “If corruption is a disease, transparency is a central part of its treatment.”
Bringing these views home to Edo State, where the state holds governorship election next month, the onus of ensuring transparency and that the people retain their faith in government absolutely lies with the ICPC, a body constitutionally charged with the responsibility of exposing corruption among public officials.
The agency should dig down into the details provided by the petitioner and let the electorate and other Nigerians know the veracity of the allegations. The implication is that where the governor is found culpable of these allegations, voters can make up their minds on what to do with him at the ballot and on the other hand, if exonerated, he would not be deprived of the much-needed support.
Interestingly, the allegations contained details that are easily verifiable.
A member of the governor’s new political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ward 3, Orhionmwon LGA of Edo, Andrew Egboigbe, in a petition titled, “Petition against the unfairly advantageous awarding of Edo State Contracts to Afrinvest Limited by Governor Godwin Obaseki”, alleged that the governor abused his office by awarding inflated contracts to his company, AfriInvest Limited, an action that is contrary to the provisions of the constitution.
The petition already marked as received by the commission on Monday, August 3, 2020, also alleged that Governor Obaseki has been converting state funds for the purpose of setting up a regional bank awaiting approval by the Nigerian apex bank, the CBN.
Hence, Egboigbe charged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stand true to its core mandate of promoting sound financial system in Nigeria by declining the approval of the proposed regional bank purportedly linked to the governor and to investigate alleged payment of state funds into private accounts.
The petitioner alleged that Governor Obaseki, who founded his company, Afrinvest Limited in 1994 and stepped down as Chairman, Board of Directors in 2016, when he could no longer retain the position after he became governor, has been giving undue advantages to his firm, contrary to the provisions of Section 19 of the ICPC Act 2000.
Noting that despite the fact that the company remained “associate” as stipulated by Section 2 of the ICPC Act 2000, the governor’s emergence as governor has resulted in unprecedented financial boom for the company, whereas the governor and the company were unable to support his first term campaign with N10m.
“Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s emergence as governor suspiciously coincided with financial boom for Afrinvest Limited, leading to the firm winning contracts, notably from Edo State Government and making astounding profits it never posted since establishment.
“On one specific occasion, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, abusing his office as governor, single-handedly, without the approval of his cabinet and the legislative arm of government, awarded a I.8 billion naira consultation contract on the Water Storm Project to Afrinvest Limited without justification of the inflated sum and the nature of the contract,” the petition reads in part.
If investigation proves this allegation right, Governor Obaseki would have acted in contravention of Section 19 of ICPC Act 2000.
Egboigbe further alleged that, “The security votes of Edo State, increased to an annual sum of 7.5 billion naira by Mr. Godwin Obaseki, since 2018 has been deposited in Afrinvest Limited bank account, and serves, alongside other illegally obtained profits, as the starting capital used to resuscitate Primus Bank, which Mr. Godwin Obaseki, acting through his proxies, is now seeking approval for, to operate as a regional bank.”
The governor’s main challenger, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has had the feeling that something was fishy about the security votes, not just because it was arbitrarily increased from N6 billion to N7.5 billion but because the police wasn’t getting enough to genuinely police the state.
In a maiden edition of his live broadcast on his Facebook page, Ize-Iyamu stated that: “The present government has not been able to show any serious commitment to the security funding of the state. Every month, the governor collects millions as security vote and gives the police little. That does not show commitment to security. The amount is not even enough to fuel vehicles.”
He expressed concern that Edo State was perhaps the only state in the South-south region without adequate investments in technology, which could be deployed to tackle crime.
“In this age, what is our investment in technology? Edo State might be the only state in the South-south that does not have trackers that can be used to trace kidnappers. The government must show sincerity in combating crime,” he said.
On the abandoned Water Storm Project, which Egboigbe alleged was awarded to Obaseki’s Afrinvest, Ize-Iyamu restated his commitment to ensuring its completion, even as he expressed surprise that Obaseki chose to not complete it when he became governor.
“The water storm project cannot be abandoned. I didn’t initiate it, but we must commend those who planned it. Even four years ago, when I was contesting, I commended the foresight because flooding is a major challenge in Benin.
“To abandon the project the way it has been abandoned is imprudent and wicked, especially coming from a governor that was part of its conception. Afrinvest was involved in the financing of the water storm project. How do you rationalise a governor, who was part of that process to now decide that he is not interested in the project?” Ize-Iyamu lamented.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Media Campaign Council of the All Progressives Congress (APC), through its Chairman, Prince John Mayaki, who was until recently the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, has sustained its accusation that the Obaseki administration was emptying the state’s treasury by sponsoring nefarious political activities, fake protests and campaigns of calumny.
Talking from an insider’s perspective, Mayaki opined that Governor Obaseki has been chasing shadows, while neglecting important governance issues, especially the management of flood and protection of lives and property.
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) and Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) listed Edo as one of the highly probable flood-risk states in the country.
The campaign council said: “The warnings by NEMA, based on the predictions of NIMET and NIHSA, that Edo is among the highly probable flood-risk states in the coming months, should send alarm bells ringing on Osadebey Avenue (Government House, Benin), as a matter of priority for the government.”
Etsako East, Esan Southeast, Ikpoba-Okha, Oredo, Etsako Central, Esan Northeast and Ovia Northeast local governments were identified as flood-risk areas in the predictions of NIMET and NIHSA.
Definitely, this governor isn’t finishing well let alone securing another term. But, in all, Edo’s money must be properly accounted for.
An Abuja High Court, presided over by Justice Suleiman Belgore, has granted orders of injunction restraining the Edo State Government and its officers from making further defamatory publications about business mogul, Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo (popularly known as Capt. Hosa).
The defendants to the suit are the Honourable Attorney General of Edo State sued as the 1st defendant, and Crusoe Osagie joined as the 2nd defendant.
Crusoe Osagie, as the Special Adviser, Media and Communication Strategy, Edo State Government, signed the defamatory publications in question.
A statement issued by Media Adviser to the business mogul, Samuel Ajayi, said the orders were given on Monday, August 10, 2020 in Abuja.
Quoting from the court ruling, Ajayi said the court granted, among others, orders “restraining the Edo State Government, whether acting through the first defendant and or 2nd defendant, its agents, representatives, officers, servants, proxies, assigns, trustees or any other person howsoever described, acting directly or indirectly for the Edo State Government, from publishing, causing to be published, circulating, further publishing, reporting or publicising the publication captioned ‘Okunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo Governorship Elections,’ and or any other related defamatory publication by any means whatsoever, including publications by/on print, electronic and social media platforms.”
In a suit filed by counsel to Captain Hosa, Dr Adedapo Olanipekun, the business mogul and elder citizen of Edo State, had sought an order restraining the defendants, by themselves, agents, representatives, officers, servants, proxies, assigns, trustees or any other person, howsoever described, acting directly or indirectly for them from publishing, causing to be published, circulating, further publishing, reporting or publicising the publication captioned ‘Okunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo Governorship Elections,’ and or any other related defamatory publication by any means whatsoever, including publications by/on print, electronic and social media platforms including publications in The PUNCH and THISDAY newspapers.
The senior advocate had also sought a declaration that the defendants’ publications of 20 July, 2020, captioned “Okunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo Governorship Elections,” which appeared on pages 26 and 53 respectively of The PUNCH and THISDAY newspapers, were false, fabricated, misleading, malicious, unfair and defamatory.
He also sought an order compelling the defendants to wholly retract or withdraw the false, fabricated, misleading, malicious, unfair and defamatory publications of 20 July, 2020, captioned “Okunbo, Oshiomhole making plans to disrupt Edo Governorship Elections,” which appeared on pages 26 and 53 respectively of The PUNCH and THISDAY newspapers, from The PUNCH, THISDAY and any other platform/newspaper same was published.
Captain Hosa, through his counsel, is also seeking the sum of N4,000,000,000 (Four Billion Naira), “being aggravated and exemplary damages for the embarrassment, inconvenience, losses and damages done to the claimant’s person, character and interests, as a result of the defendants’ libellous publications of 20 July, 2020; (with) cost of legal representation/action assessed at N50,000,000.00 (Fifty Million Naira).”
Heritage bank Plc in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), under the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing in Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) has continued to drive improved investment outcomes and job creation.
Through this partnership, Heritage Bank is not relenting in its efforts at boosting the agriculture base of the nation to make farming profitable to stakeholders and attractive to the youth.
Recently, the apex bank approved the disbursement of about N75billion as loan to farmers in the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) under the Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing in Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL).
The loan guarantee scheme is a public-private sector initiative set up to transform the country’s agricultural sector. It was initiated by the CBN, the Bankers’ Committee and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, to guarantee 75 per cent loans provided by Deposit Money Banks (DPB) to farmers as part of efforts to transform the country’s agricultural sector.
Speaking on the several CBN intervention scheme and private sectors’ partnerships, which have accumulated to thousands of job creations, the MD/CEO, Heritage Bank, Ifie Sekibo, noted, “under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP) and the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Heritage Bank is positioned to provide on-lending funding to aggregated farmers in the 2020 farming season to grow various products that will serve as raw materials to the processors, thereby ensuring market linkages and access to the market as well as reduce importation and conserve Nigeria’s external reserves.”
According to him, Heritage Bank is also supporting the drive for cash crop commodities that would boost Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, which President Mohammad Buhari’s administration has always been cautious given the dangers the continuous reliance on imported food items pose to its efforts to create jobs as well as develop and diversify the economy.
No doubt Heritage Bank’s unswerving lending to agriculture sector has earned it deluge of accolades to its portfolio.
Heritage Bank Plc earned the Nigeria’s Most Innovative Banking Service Provider in 2017 and 2018 that were bestowed with the inaugural Nigeria Sustainable Banking Award convened by the CBN “For Sustainable Transaction of The Year in Agriculture.”
The Nigeria Agriculture Awards (NAA), at its annual event convened by AgroNigeria (The Voice of Nigeria’s Agriculture), to appreciate immense efforts of those who have contributed to the success of the agriculture sector in the country, announced Heritage Bank as the Agric. Bank of the Year.
According to NAA, Heritage Bank was selected in recognition of its footprints in the Agric. space, especially the Triton Aquaculture Project.
Also, Heritage Bank Plc which has been adjudged the lead settlement bank for Gezawa Commodity Market (GCMX), has collaborated with key stakeholders to revolutionise the agricultural value-chain.
The collaboration was aimed at providing fully integrated ecosystem for commodity Exchange.
Heritage Bank was appointed the Lead Settlement Bank and Transaction Adviser to GCMX and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the two firms, whilst over 10, 000 farmers in 3000 cooperatives in the 44 local governments of Kano States were hosted.
The partnership between Heritage Bank and the Exchange has continued to facilitate the ease of agro commodity trading in a more structured way, especially with the closeness to the Dawanu, the largest grain market in Africa.
The two-in- one movie thrive on the lesson that parents are the ultimate role models for children. It was produced and directed by the Ibadan born talented role interpreter himself. Giving details about ‘Funfun,’ Balogun said ”Every words, movement and action come with effect on the children. No other person or outside force has greater influence on the child than the parents”
Saidi Balogun, a name to reckon with in the industry with well over 30years experience, the mulit-talented Actor and singer has produced a lot of movies in recent time like Eti Keta,You or I and Modupetemi.
He is also reputed as the first and only African man to produce a two cast movie in Africa. He is out this time with what priviledged industry watchers have labeled a powerful blockbuster.
FUNFUN (Purity) shot in different towns and cities in Nigeria is ready to hit individual home screens this August. The movie which was bankrolled by Whitefield Hotels Ilorin will be Marketed and distributed by Olasco Films and will be released in Yoruba and English on DVD by August 10, 2020 while it will come alive on YouTube ApataTv on August 11, 2020.
A host of fantastic stars paraded in the movie include; Adunni Ade, Femi Adebayo, Bolaji Amusan, Sola Olaibi, Yinka Alabi, Kenny Ogunde, Nkechi Blessing, Mustipha Sholagbade, Wumi Toriola, Samuel Ajirebi, Basira Badia and Sunkanmi Omobolanle
Other professionals who worked on the movie are: Exec. Producer: Oluwole Kajola, Written by: Timothy Enietan Matthews, D.O.P: Ismail Salim and Mojeed Ajao, Continuity: Bosun Otayemi, Coordinator: Muyideen Raji, Production Manager: Kenneth William
History has a cynical way of repeating itself. A few months to the 2018 governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Lagos State, it had become crystal-clear to former Governor Akinwunmi Ambode that the party was not keen on returning him for a second term.
The party was unequivocal in its stance that Ambode had towed the path of dishonour by abandoning an otherwise flourishing and effective Lagos developmental blueprint but running a one-man show in government.
Indeed, at the time, Lagos had virtually retrogressed to its pre-1999 days, when humans jostled – breath to breath – with mountainous heaps of refuse for space on the streets; traffic was chaotic and virtually all the roads in the state had become deplorable. Crime and insecurity were pervasive and the people lived in constant fear.
Ambode had lost his marbles and Lagos was no longer working but he was adamant on a second term. Yet, a negligible section of the populace was still sympathetic to him. They believed, rather that, he was being unfairly treated by his godfathers, and party leaders, until that Sunday afternoon in late September 2018.
He had called a press conference to speak on the forthcoming primary election and other topical issues in the state. The media had congregated on the lawn of the Governor’s Office, Alausa – a typical American tradition. Without much formality, Ambode burrowed into his prepared speech and it read smoothly until he segued into spilling dirt about his major contender, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
He told a bewildered populace on a live television that Sanwo-Olu did not have the mental capacity to run Lagos, because he previously underwent treatment for mental health challenges and challenged curious residents to proceed to Gbagada General Hospital to obtain the records by themselves.
Until he decided to contest for the governorship seat, Sanwo-Olu was an appointee of Ambode as General Manager of the Lagos State Development and Property Corporation.
Ambode also stated that Sanwo-Olu had a criminal case in the United States of America for spending counterfeit notes in an American club. If Lagosians were shocked, Ambode’s aides, who were privy to the original script, were mortified. That wilful resort to personal attacks and character assassination was not part of the script, some of them confided in close associates. His fate was sealed therefrom.
Even after leaving office, Lagosians never forgave him. For a governor, who also started pretty well, succeeding the iconic Babatunde Raji Fashola, Ambode decided to go rogue, dismantling structures and processes laid by his predecessors to the detriment of the people of Lagos State. It is so bad now that his name has become a euphemism for regressive politics.
Alas, it is this same pathway to political and electoral hara-kiri that Obaseki has chosen to tow, warts and all, forgetting that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it as the guinea pigs of history.
Ordinarily, by now, he should be on the home run, with his catalogue of achievements enough to earn him a second term rather, his sordid stewardship continues to haunt him and dog his electioneering.
More perplexing is that his Make Edo Great Again MEGA slogan is an appropriation, showing lack of ingenuity and perspicacity, of American President, Donald Trump’s campaign slogan four years ago. Obaseki had four years to make Edo greater but he frittered the opportunity away on the altar of paranoia and power-drunkenness, electing to fight rather than work with party leaders and state stakeholders.
Whilst he hasn’t publicly described his opponent in the September 19th governorship election in unsavoury terms, his proxies are out in full force with their puerile and purblind propaganda.
Days back, a news report surfaced on social media claiming that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, was HIV positive.
A phantom test result to that effect also made the rounds while one Dr. Lizzy Oghenerume, purportedly an official of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), where Ize-Iyamu’s wife, Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, is a Consultant Orthodontist, has claimed that she had been diverting anti-retroviral drugs “meant for poor people who have the disease in the state to her husband to keep him alive, so it is no news that the APC candidate has the disease.”
The Ize-Iyamus have graciously ignored the so-called Oghenerume and her repellent and reprehensible tales in the understanding that if she truly existed, she was just a pawn in the hands of Obaseki and his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, acolytes.
These are, indeed, desperate times for Obaseki, who is staring defeat in the face and like a drowning man, is clutching at everything in sight to stay afloat. Unfortunately, for him, and his cheerleaders, this is a lost cause. Edo State indigenes have their minds made up on a change of government and Pastor Ize-Iyamu ticks all the boxes in what they desire in a candidate.
So, no matter how much mud is splattered the APC candidate’s way, the people can decipher the truth. Even Obaseki’s immediate family members know the truth; they have seen the light and have unanimously declared that it is either Pastor Ize-Iyamu or nobody.
So, Obaseki deserves pity. The ringing endorsement of his opponent by his relatives further underscores this. At Ize-Iyamu’s private residence in Benin City recently, some of the governor’s relatives led by his first cousin, Victor Obaseki, admitted that although the governor was their kin, he would not get the support of the family.
Victor stated: “I am here today in the company of my cousins to support Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, the executive governor, is our cousin. Generally, the Obasekis have their way of doing things. We are a different branch of faith. We are supporting our brother, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, with unalloyed support fully for him. I have supported him before, and I would continue to support him. We would do all our campaigns for him without let or hindrance, fully from the bottom of our hearts.”
Following suit was the Deputy Speaker of the Edo House of Assembly and member representing Akoko-Edo Constituency I, Hon. Yekini Idiaye alongside four other members of the Assembly, who pledged their support to Pastor Ize-Iyamu, bringing the number of elected members, who have done likewise in the Edo Assembly to 17.
Barely 48hours after declaring his support, Idiaye was impeached by the Assembly, a sad testament of Obaseki’s intolerance and imprudence that have blighted his administration and which would ultimately cost him the election. No doubt, the September 19 election is already lost and won. Congratulations to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu!
– Thomas, a public affairs analyst, wrote in from Benin City, Edo State
Nigeria’s leading grassroots telemedicine platform, PreDiagnosis International, has announced its partnership with the Project ECHO Institute of the University of New Mexico, USA for knowledge sharing and transfer on chronic and complex diseases with medical professionals in the country.
According to Dr. Folarin Olasogba, the Chief Project Officer of PDI Telehealth Consult which is the arm of PDI driving the collaboration, the innovative tele-mentoring programme codenamed ‘Project ECHO’ is designed to create virtual communities of learners by bringing together healthcare providers from all over Nigeria and subject matter experts from different parts of the world using video conference technology, brief lecture presentations, and case-based learning to foster an “all learn, all teach” approach.
He said the Project ECHO which stands for Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes is a collaborative model of medical education and care management programme designed to empower local clinicians including consultants, doctors, nurses and technicians to deliver better care and treatment of chronic, common and complex diseases, especially in remote and underserved locations.
He added that PDI as the Nigerian Official Replication Partner with the Project ECHO Institute of the University of New Mexico is undertaking the project to assist the country develop the capacity to safely and effectively treat chronic, common, and complex diseases in rural and underserved areas across Nigeria and to monitor outcomes of this treatment while leveraging the resources of the PDI Telehealth Consult platform.
In his words, “The project is not only designed to use innovative technology to bridge the gap between urban and rural healthcare specialists and providers in the country; it is to help health services providers to better undertake co-management of patients’ treatments, thereby fostering knowledge depth and technical competencies, in addition to reducing professional isolation”.
Dr. Olasogba further explained that by encouraging collaboration and communication between rural and urban healthcare providers and specialists, the Project will help health professionals in the country to become more highly skilled in the treatment of diverse chronic and complex diseases, thus creating a center of excellence in many remote communities.
“Under the PDI-Project ECHO collaboration, healthcare providers in rural and underserved areas of Nigeria will be able to treat their patients with a remote team of specialists in the fields of oncology, cardiology, endocrinology, psychiatry, infectious diseases, pharmacy and substance abuse/addiction, among others. Through this Initiative, PDI Telehealth Consult is trying to lead in the race to build a viable and sustainable national Clinical Knowledge Platform that combines authoritative contents and shared experiences drawn from the expertise available in the Nigerian healthcare community and across the world so that physicians, medical students and other healthcare workers will be able to tap into Nigeria’s largest, most powerful Continuous Professional Development (CPD) network to resolve challenging questions at the point of care for mostly lower-income patients of different diseases,” he submitted.
As the ravaging pandemic of coronavirus continue to rage the world, and the new normal steadily grips the global stage. Businesses, enterprises, governments and almost every facet of life has encountered disruption. But one of the sectors that have enjoyed geometric rise in the midst of this pandemic is the foreign exchange market, particularly in Nigeria.
Popularly called FOREX, stakeholders in the global financial market have continued to display unusual trading skills, as these period require unusual skills to triumph. One training, trading and mentoring firm in Nigeria that has continue to soar higher against the tide of the pandemic is FLOTRADE Investments Ltd; the country’s representatives of Tifia ECN Forex Broker.
Flotrade Investments with her exquisite corporate office sited in the heart of Lagos’s capital city, Ikeja is jointly run by the trio of Ogunrinde Folarin, Aballo Michael and Soneye Abolaji. These young entrepreneurs are thoroughbred Forex trainers, coach, trader and investors with at least 10 years experience each.
With a clients base of not less than 4000, including traders, students, mentees and investors, Flotrade Investments has successfully emerged the new face of profitable forex trading in this part of the country. The firm is a conglomerate of Forex market analysts, with the vision to bridge the gap between the general populace and the financial markets by empowering traders with the right skills to make a living in the forex market.
Speaking about their rise in the market, Ogunrinde; Lead-Partner, Flotrade Investment described the company’s strengths and core values as integrity, zeal, team play, diligence and love for humanity.
“We are a team of young and agile entrepreneurs, we strive for the best every morning. We play and carryout our roles as team players. And we are a company with integrity, we don’t promise too much, we prefer to promise less and deliver more with result. Our love for humanity is also another value that propel us to give the best to our students, so we can create wealth and help the country’s cash in circulation. Diligence and zeal are also another part of us that we don’t joke with”, Ogunrinde enthused.
At their weekly free seminar at the Ikeja office on Wednesday, Bisi Balogun; a trainee, who has been trading with the aid of Flotrade team for 4 years spoke glowingly of the Flotrade team saying, ‘they are a team of competent trainers, and there trading tips are topnotch. I have known them for years, and they have remained my coach and mentor in forex trading’.
In politics, globally, and in life generally, emotional maturity and emotional intelligence are two different but symbiotic factors essential to maintaining healthy relationships.
Experts describe emotional maturity as the ability to handle situations without gratuitously escalating them. Instead of seeking to blame someone else for their problems or behaviour, emotionally mature people seek to fix the problem or behaviour and always accept accountability for their actions.
No matter the situation, or so the experts assert, emotionally mature people don’t lie in uncomfortable situations. Rather, they face the reality of the situation frontally. And, they don’t resort to personal attacks during a disagreement; they address only the issue. They are not impulsive and don’t speak recklessly. They ensure that they are calm and think before they speak.
On the other hand, emotional intelligence is the ability to identify and manage your own emotions as well as the emotions of others. You can identify an emotion and respond to it rather than react, which is another critical skill.
But those who – like Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State – are deficient in these areas see a breakdown in communication and, ultimately, complications in or the breakup of their political, business or even romantic relationships.
Perhaps, because he doesn’t even know what they are or understand how they work – both separately and in tandem – Obaseki forgot to acquire the skill-set needed to navigate life and politics, which is why the house his predecessor literally helped him build for the collective sheltering of Edo indigenes with sweat and sheer willpower, has collapsed under his watch.
Even the umbrella that he sought refuge under is now leaking porously. Everything that can possibly go wrong with a political campaign is going wrong with Obaseki’s. From the gale of resignation to a groundswell of apathy by the electorate to his ambition, all the indices are that the second term bid of the governor is dead on arrival.
Obaseki and his cheerleaders were in denial all along as they continued to run on their contrived popularity and propaganda but the penny has dropped with happenings in their camp in recent days.
Last Tuesday, Mr Patrick Iyoha, the Director, Obaseki/Shaibu Movement, resigned his appointment with immediate effect, citing personal reasons. The resignation of Iyoha, also a member of the Edo State Waste Management Board, threw the campaign organisation into disarray, as he was the nerve-centre of Obaseki’s re-election bid.
But it was not only Iyoha that resigned within the week. Two members of the State Post Primary Education Board – Mr Gabriel Oiboh, Chairman and Mr Osanyemwere Osawe, a member of the board – also resigned their appointments. Oiboh and Osawe said their resignations followed pressure by Obaseki to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Earlier on Monday, July 27th, three commissioners of the Edo State Oil and Gas Producing Area Development Commission had resigned their appointments. The commissioners – Osamwonyi Atu, Emmanuel Odigie and Rilwanu Oshiomhole – hitherto represented Edo South, Edo Central and Edo North senatorial districts.
Particularly, Odigie said he was resigning, because “The appointment was given to me based on my membership and commitment to the APC. I have contested elections twice to the House of Representatives on the APC platform, as a party loyalist, and based on my principles, I strongly believe it will be unfair to cross over to the Peoples Democratic Party.”
Oshiomhole echoed the same sentiment, adding that as a loyal party man, his resignation was to enable him to work for the success of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the APC governorship candidate in the September 19th election.
The previous Friday, Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Dame Omoua Oni-Okpaku resigned from the state cabinet, joining a long list that includes several cabinet members and senior aides of the governor. These resignations were preceded last May by the shocking exit of Taiwo Akerele, the immediate past Chief of Staff to the Governor.
Those conversant with Nigerian politics and how the government – whether federal or state – works, know that the appointive position of the Chief of Staff is usually given to an ally of the governor or president as the case may be. Akerele was seen as Obaseki’s eyes and ears in the government, the major interface between the governor and the people, stakeholders in the state and appointees.
The blame of Akerele’s shocking resignation was laid squarely at the feet of Obaseki, who was variously accused of having evolved into an imperious and inexorable leader especially as it became clearer by the day that he was taking on too many pointless, ego-driven battles.
When John Maiyaki, a former Chief Press Secretary to Governor Obaseki resigned his appointment in 2019 long before the governor defected to the PDP, he said it was the people of Edo State that are opposed to the governor’s second term, not the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Comrade Adams Oshiomole.
Maiyaki said those, who worked for the election of the governor in 2016 were disappointed that he abandoned the developmental agenda on which he was elected and had subjected the people of the state to abject poverty. He further alleged that it was indisputable that Governor Obaseki has refused to implement the continuity agenda promised to the Edo People in 2016 describing it as a needle to the bubble of lies created by agents of underdevelopment and poverty in the state.
According to him, “It is a decision made after a clear evaluation of the competence, actions, and intentions of Godwin Obaseki, who though admitted to the success of the administration he succeeded, has merely reversed the gains recorded in a futile attempt to create a political dynasty founded on nepotism, ethnic division, corruption, and disregard for the rule of law.
“Certainly, no right-thinking member of the society would support this. It is therefore not a surprise that Edo citizens, high and low, young and old, have abandoned personal sentiments or affiliations, and resorted to logic and core hard facts in their collective rejection of the governor.
“This simple truth is backed by the fact that Godwin Obaseki is presently fighting to earn the approval of his own family members who have since embraced the party and the Edo People’s Movement in the mission to kick out the inept leader from office.” Maiyaki should know. He was Obaseki’s spokesman for three years.
Like Dr Mike Murdoch once said, “A foolish man will enjoy a perfect today and lose a perfect tomorrow. A wise man will forfeit a perfect today to gain a perfect tomorrow. Maturity is the ability to delay gratification.”
Obaseki seamlessly rode into power on the wings of the accomplishments of his predecessor. As noted by Maiyaki, he was supposed to consolidate on the gains bequeathed to him but deviated and took the state many years back. Alas, where the people expected political maturity, they found scapegoating and scaremongering.
His subsequent projections, including paranoia, an inability to self-analyse, and a lack of emotional intelligence will lead to his downfall at the polls.
In the twilight of his administration, especially, Obaseki began treating governance as some spectator sports by fomenting trouble where there was peace with the intent to distract the people from their daily drudgery and to expect somehow, at the end of it all, that the miracle of a better-governed state would emerge.
But there is a silver lining in all these, of course, and the informed electorate of Edo State has fully come to terms with the sure-fire power of their votes to effect a change in government, which they have unanimously consented to do on September 19th.
In the end, it is left to Pastor Ize-Iyamu to help the people sort through all of the debilitating disruptions of Obaseki. He is coming adequately prepared for the job.
Apart from having spent the best part of his meritorious existence in the state, he has acquired, along the line, political maturity and dexterity, and a leadership skill-set that would come handy as he attempts to put the state back in order from the day he is sworn in as the next governor of Edo State.
Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s recent recourse to threats of retaliating violence against his perceived political opponents is rather unbecoming of someone occupying an exalted office as the governor and whose primary responsibility is to protect lives and property.
By many of his actions, outgoing Governor Obaseki has shown very poor temperaments that are not gentlemanly enough for his current job, the latest being his threat to resort to violence if his perceived political opponents perpetrated violence any.
Though some news media reported that the governor issued warning to perpetrators of violence, however, watching the governor’s statement on national television it was obvious that instead he threw caution to the wind while he vowed to unleash violence in retaliation for violence.
Governor Obaseki’s words were clear. “Nobody has monopoly of violence. If they want violence, we will show them violence. So, if you see anybody smashing any car because my poster is on the car, let us know and we will show that person that we are in government,” he said.
He did not stop at that, the governor indicated that his response would be lawless but even at that he would be protected by the immunity that exempts state executive and their deputies from facing the legal consequences of their actions while still in office.
“We will show that we are in government and I am governor and Philip is the deputy governor. We will show them we are the only two, who have immunity in this state. We are the only two today, who have immunity and I am sending a very clear warning,” Obaseki further explained.
The signal the governor sent was that he could use state apparatus to retaliate violence. But that is wrong! As a governor, he is the Chief Security Officer and as such, must not be seen to be perpetrating or encouraging violence for whatever reason. Rather, he is expected to take all necessary actions to move against anyone instigating violence.
By his statement, Governor Obaseki ran foul of Section 12(2b) of the Nigerian constitution, which provides that security and welfare of the citizenry is the basic purpose of government. So, referring to the president as Commander-in-Chief of Armed Forces and governors as Chief Security Officer is not by choice. It is a constitutional responsibility to which they swore an oath to uphold.
The governor’s utterances have continued to elicit responses and increase tension. He has been at loggerheads with his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiohmole, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and a cross section of Nigerians, who had already taken to their social media accounts to castigate him for stooping so low in his desperation to return for a second term.
Speaking against the backdrop of the fracas between the governor’s supporters and his party supporters recently at the palace of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, the former APC national chairman said the governor should have selected better words to quell possibility for violence and not elect to stoke it by his uncouth statement.
“If they want violence, we will give them violence, a leader does not talk like that. All he should say is that those merchants of violence I am pleading with them whether they are in my party or in another party they should take it easy. When a leader on live television says we will give them violence, fire for fire…” Oshiomhole said, noting with disdain that the governor should have been a peacemaker.
The APC Campaign Organisation for the Edo State governorship election, which has maintained that the governor was up to no good and that he plans to unleash violence on it members, described Governor Obaseki as a confused man, who is only speaking out the criminal plans he and his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are hoping to executive before, during and after the election.
The party said the governor and his party, the PDP are aware they had been rejected by the people of Edo State.
The APC explained that it was the only party campaigning on its documented manifesto, because its sole strategy to win the election is by winning the hearts and the goodwill of the people through well thought-out programmes and policies that will bring relief and erase the failures of the past four years.
Former media aide to the governor, who is presently the APC Campaign Organisation spokesperson, Prince John Mayaki, said: “Despite spending four years in office, Obaseki has neither achievements nor plans to show. He is campaigning largely on empty rhetoric, revisionism, and shameful blackmail and propaganda.
“Election may be weeks away, but the truth has finally dawned on Obaseki. He is on his way to a sound, comprehensive defeat so like all failures, he is already preparing the grounds for his defeat with false, ridiculous accusations.”
Meanwhile in the fallout of the violent exchanges outside the Oba’s palace, Vice Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of the APC Campaign Council, Mr. Patrick Obahiagbon, raised the alarm, alleging that the governor has sinister motives towards Oshiomhole and a business mogul, Captain Idahosa Okunbo.
Obahiagbon claimed that after the palace incident, APC supporters were attacked on the streets of Benin, saying it was “unacceptable to us as a party. How long more can we persuade our teeming party loyalists to hold back?”
The former House of Representatives member, who said the opposition PDP unleashed terror on the citizenry by enlisting the support of renowned cultists in Benin, further alleged that Obaseki is working on plans to arrest the duo of Oshiomhole, Okunbo and other APC leaders on the eve of the election for not supporting him. He also claimed that there was a plan to set Okunbo’s farm on fire.
“The PDP and the governor were planning to arrest and detain the former National Chairman of the APC Comrade Adams Oshiomhole on the eve of the election and also set fire on the farm of billionaire businessman, Captain Hosa Okunbo for refusing to back the second-term agenda.
“Obaseki is planning to continue his persecution of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole with trumped-up and inconsequential charges at the eleventh hour of electoral politics. His plan is to arraign Oshiomhole for a probe that has been revealed as nothing but a targeted political witch-hunt and then deny him bail on eve of election to paralyse the APC.
“He is planning to use COVID-19 as a ruse to neutralise grassroots leaders of our party, the APC on the eve of the gubernatorial election by abducting and detaining them in isolation centers. This way, disenfranchising them and forestalling the political force they would deliver in pursuant of APC’s victory,” Obahiagbon alleged.
Everyone in the governor’s camp who is familiar with some of his major mistakes would agree that apart from setting out to wage a protracted war against his predecessor, his attack on Captain Okunbo is perhaps another major mistake he made in his quest to return to power in the September 19 election.
Though the governor is not without one or two of his supporters cheering him up on his violence agenda, his handlers should be smart to enough to evaluate the negative public opinion that trailed his unfortunate and irreversible commentary on the social media.
A France-based Nigerian scientist, Mr. Oshinubi Kayode wrote: “I just watched ObaGone (Obaseki) on Channels News saying, ‘if they want violence, we will give them violence’. This is coming from a sitting governor and number one leader of Edo State. His handlers should let him know it is a reckless statement. He will lose this election and heaven won’t fall!”
A public affairs analyst, Christopher Sunny was of the opinion that “Obaseki doesn’t know anything about politics and it’s late to start learning. From what is happening now, and for the real and verifiable fact that Oshiomhole alone has won over the voters to the APC candidate, Obaseki now speaks like a frustrated person. He’s lost already.”
For Tunde Olamide, who said he previously has some degree of sympathy for the governor, his position that he would match anybody violence for violence, deprived him of that support.
“I had sympathy for him going into this election, but that was a reckless and irresponsible statement coming from the Chief Security Officer of the state,” Olamide stated.
Kelechi Onyeaka was particularly appalled that rather than issuing threats, he should be convincing the electorate on his policy statements and realisable campaign promises.
“These are some of those issues. No policy informed debate. This has become a norm among those vying for elective offices. No plan for post COVID-19, economic recovery, security and education,” he said.
Soji Oladejo, who is an advocate for good governance said: “When I heard him say that, and the way he looked charged and aggravated, I knew he had lost it. Completely reckless and a grossly irresponsible thing to say by a sitting governor.”
Judging from the governor’s utterance, Kalita Aruku feared that Nigeria might not be ripe with state police yet despite the advocacy by many Nigerians, noting, “You can imagine! Those are the characters we want to give state police to?”
Whatever are the governor’s arguments he should not be carried away with so much rage as to throwing caution into the wind! His ambition is not worth anybody’s life. He could take a cue from a former president of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, who saw defeat and bowed out honourably rather attempting to force himself on the country thereby provoking violence and avoidable bloodshed. Amenaghawon wrote from Owerri in Imo State
