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Let Obaseki Stew in His Own Juice by Adekunle Bademosi

Many factors will stand against the re-election of the outgoing governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki at the September 19 governorship election. But very importantly, his decision not to carefully select those he picked as enemies and refusal to heed the advice of unbiased Edo indigenes, who urged him not to escalate his political war with his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiohmole, would haunt him.

Rather than bury his ego, Obaseki did not only fight Oshiohmole, he ended up pissing off most of the prominent leaders in the state and notable members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and started building his own political structure that could not even survive the party primary selection stage of the nomination process.

Perhaps, when the governor narrowed down on a very prominent Edo son, businessman and renowned philanthropist, Captain Idahosa Okunbo, as the possible choice for his replacement, he did not hesitate to launch a desperate and aggressive smear campaign against the retired commercial pilot.

Obaseki’s resort to taking his fight to Okunbo would definitely have negative consequences on his second term ambition for obvious reasons.

One, it gave him up as a desperate politician. Two, he pissed off a lot of Edo indigenes, because they considered the oil magnate an easy going individual, who does not deserve to be humiliated and thirdly, it portrayed the governor as a disrespectful person. This is more so because Okunbo said it repeatedly that he was never interested in the Edo governorship.

But the man Obaseki chose to attack has an impeccable personality and also enjoys a lot of goodwill among his people. Little wonder, one Hon. Marvelous Zibiri, who was believed to be acting the governor’s script said, had described Okunbo in unprintable names, because of an encounter the businessman had with the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 1995 and for which he was exonerated.

Although Zibiri later recanted and apologised profusely, his deliberately careless statement soon released a floodgate of reactions that nearly consumed him, such that the governor’s camp, believed to have instigated him, also immediately abandoned him and left him to his fate.

Then another one, Adaze Emwanta, wrote equally false narratives about Okunbo in what confirmed that the governor’s men had been assigned to start the character assassination project against him.

He was very embarrassed by how recklessly the governor targeted him and so also were his friends from home and abroad. The people were amazed at the deluge of falsehood that was maliciously created to destroy his hard-earned reputation and lower it before the general the public all in the name of politics.

Okunbo had narrated that in 1995 during the era of General Musa Bamaiyi as the NDLEA Director-General, a petition was written to the anti-drug agency, querying how he came about his wealth and acquisition of choice properties. But he immediately instituted a legal action against the NDLEA in a case with charge No: MOT/L/163/95 at the Miscellaneous Offences Tribunal, Lagos.

It was concluded that the prosecution had not made out a prima facie case to warrant him to even defend himself, and as such, was discharged and acquitted of all charges on a ‘no case’ submission.

“I’m wondering what I had done wrong to deserve these reckless, false and malicious attacks on my person from individuals associated with the incumbent administration,” Okunbo lamented during the attack on him.

Though he said he had endured deliberate character assassinations from people he described as “beasts of no gender,” an apparently disappointed Okunbo added: “I would no longer gloss over any intentional mischiefs that do incalculable harm to my person, name, business and brand.”

Many Edo State indigenes did not take kindly to the governor’s course of action. A number of them came to the open, not only to defend the person of Okunbo, but to also condemn the orchestrated and coordinated attacks. The people were collective in the description of Okunbo as a man of impeccable integrity.

Admonishing those running the errands of attacking Okunbo, a lawyer and Apostle of Edo renaissance, Daniel Osa-Ogbegie said, “if one is sent an errand of a slave, one should carry it out as a child (a freeborn).” He meant that they were doing the wrong thing and should not just do it because they were pushed to do so.

Just as the Latin word: Vox populi, vox Dei, meaning the voice of the people is the voice of God, a long list of people from different walks of life had come out to vouch for Okunbo’s impeccable integrity.

Former House of Representatives member, Hon. Sunny Aguebor, who described him as a man of integrity, said the attack on him was baseless and unfounded.

“You have built a name and business empire for yourself over the years. You are a man of strong character. Sir, I advise you to kindly disregard the cheap, malicious character assassination. It does not deserve your precious time. My father told me only a tree with fruits attracts stones. You are a big tree with so many fruits, so stones are expected,” Aguebor urged Okunbo.

Also, reacting to the attacks on Okunbo, a lawyer and Assistant Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State, Mrs. Bisi Idaomi, assured the philanthropist that the people of the state would take up his fight if the governor’s men do not desist from peddling further falsehoods against his person.

Idaomi said: “Here is a man, who does more for our people, leaders, students, women from Edo extraction than those in the present Edo State government – sending one of your aides to insult and peddle falsehoods about our son would be resisted by the ordinary Edo man and woman within the ambit of the law. This is a firm promise.”

To another former House of Representatives member, Hon. Samson Osagie, Okunbo is as an inestimable asset in Edo’s socio-cultural and economic framework saying, “Those whose official duty is to malign and pull down others usually don’t go far in life. We must continue to extoll our own frontline generals in business, politics, administration and in all facets of human endeavours.

“For those with power today, remember there is nothing permanent in life, not even our positions today. We stand with Captain Hosa at this moment of the ineffectual attempt of some carpet beggars and unfriendly people to undermine his humanity,” he said.

The publisher, Mid-west Herald and former Commissioner for Transport, Hon. Orobosa Omo-Ojo, also lent his voice to the discussion. He eulogised Okunbo’s sterling records as a youngster. He said he had been “tested and polished by the vagaries and the whimsical arbitrariness of Nigeria’s economy and political uncertainty. Like precious metals, the storm only brought out your gem!”

Others like Hon. Razak Edo-Osagie said Okunbo’s intimidating and progressive profile has been a source of worry to some, including his friends. Also, Hon Festus Ebea and many more commentators assured him that the people would resist any attempt to malign him.

The prevailing scenario was aptly captured in Osa-Ogbegie’s response to Emwanta where he said, “Wẹ will nọt accept Godwin Obaseki’s recourse to strangulation of the businesses and politics of Ẹdo sons and daughters anymore. There are better ways of playing politics without all these shows of desperation and aggression.

“It is gratifying to note that a majority of Ẹdo people is pleased with Captain Idahosa Okunbo. I am sure the palace is also pleased with him. God Almighty and Enikaro oghe Ẹdo hia will continue to serenade him with all good things.”

This is a brief capture of how people responded to attacks on Okunbo by the Obaseki-led government. It showed that the people didn’t want their son messed up in the otherwise intractable political war between Obaseki and Oshiohmole and that is the general feeling among a majority of the people and so it has to stop.

Despite the advice not to do so, the governor successfully made an enemy with Okunbo and that is one enemy too many, because though he is not a politician, he enjoys a huge support among the people of the state and that support is now working in the favour of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

The governor’s predicament would have been minimised if he had taken heed of the advice of the Okanlete of Esan Land, Major General Cecil Esekhaigbe (rtd), who as far back as early 2019, warned him to desist from going into the election, quarrelling with those that supported him to win his first term election.

He suggested that instead, he should forge a working alliance with them. But the governor felt otherwise. He added more enemies to his battles. And when he began to receive torrents of endorsements for second term and acknowledgment of good performance by his so-called supporters, Esekhaigbe (rtd) told Obaseki that the endorsements were not enough to win him a reelection.

He said any attempt for the governor to alter the political structure on which he came to power would have negative impacts on his reelection.

“He (Obaseki) should be conscious and resist the temptation of being misguided by the assumed support of many political soldiers without weapons. It is obvious that the political class in the Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) is yet to realise the need for genuine rapprochement between the Governor and his predecessor.

“Every well-meaning APC stalwart should support the state party chairman towards this rapprochement, as they must be conscious of the fact that Edo State is not a one-party state. This is not the time to play the ostrich and subterfuge is not a virtue.

“I am not convinced the governor has enough ammunition from these drumbeats of war and proliferation of endorsements. The imminent battle is a needless one as it fails the requirements of jus in belloand jus ad bellum (a just war and a justification for war).”

Surely, Obaseki is aware that he has a very formidable opponent in the person of Ize-Iyamu, whose ambition is a response to calls by notable leaders, who consider him capable of putting his wittiness to work in policy formulation, ensuring more even distribution of wealth, proper management of human and natural resources.

Although the jury is already out, it is only proper to let an irreverent and ungrateful Obaseki stew in his own juice. September 19, here we come!

– Bademosi wrote from Okpella, Edo State

Hadiza, You Need to Do Soul-searching By AbdulMumuni Nureni-Bello

Isn’t it an irony that Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, a self-effacing, patriotic, hardworking, sincere and compassionate individual, has been continuously drawn out of his beautiful and enviable private life, just because a pretentious cartel that feigns to ‘hate money’ but lives a life that only money – perhaps illicit money – can sustain wants what he has?

It therefore belies logic that a private individual, who has continued to invest his hard-earned money into staggering, commendable philanthropy, to ultimately improve the cause of humanity, is the target of the sudden attacks of some people, both on the political and business fronts.

But that’s easy to decipher, anyway. They desire what he has, not just in terms of money or influence, but good deeds, character and sound upbringing. Even the Holy Book talks about the spirit of envy and victimisation. It condemns it, because it’s evil; not of the Lord.

The latest spin against this illustrious son of Bini Kingdom was from the stable of the Editor, Saturday title of the THISDAY Newspapers, Yemi Adebowale. It’s been a long time I read a title editor of a major national daily plunge cheaply into the arena with mutilated facts, discarding every iota of circumspection.

First, this was disturbing somewhat, because journalism, like a few other great callings, is guided by basic and simple rules, however, considered by its practitioners as golden.

Thus, for a title editor of a major and prominent national daily, balancing accounts is sacrosanct, whether it is a column, analysis, feature or basic news story. But, in the event, that your facts had not been confirmed, the rule says, leave out. You cannot claim to be under any form of pressure to the detriment of the credibility of your company and the hard earned reputation of other people, whom you can only aspire to be. Pray you get any close.

However, after researching into Adebowale’s kind of person, it was not disappointing to learn from some of his colleagues, both within and outside the newspaper company, how he is wired. He accords details and research no respect.

One would be committing same offence to, therefore, reel off some of the commentaries about him. But to the THISDAY management, there’s a lot to do to help him. The likes of Adebowale requires periodic re-training to measure up to standard in every definition of the word, if he must start to live up to billings.

That said, it is also disturbing to note that anyone would be back in this station and on this very matter over the Secured Anchorage Area (SAA) of the Lagos Waterways, managed by the Ocean Marine Solutions Limited, a going concern owned by Captain Hosa and which has lived up to its reputation over the last 14 years.

There’s no debating the fact that the Managing Director of Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman has more than an official interest in the SAA and does not hide it except for the likes of Adebowale, who would rather gloss over the obvious but focus on sheer pizzas and flashes – without any substance whatsoever.

Even if the renowned love of Hadiza’s life was a stakeholder in the sector and wanted everything to go his way, did it mean others with equally critical stakes in the sector and the Nigerian project should be destroyed on account of the billionaire in question?

Let’s revisit the facts again, perhaps, for the record. There’s no gainsaying the fact that the cooperation and support provided by the Ocean Marine Solution Limited (OMSL) to the Nigerian Navy in securing the Lagos delineation of the nation’s waterways has been the biggest relief savoured in recent time against unceasing pirates’ attacks, which in turn has boosted revenue significantly.

Anyone would appreciate this more, when the situation is juxtaposed with the experience of investors and stakeholders in the Port Harcourt axis of the waterways, the home state of the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, where the pirates have continued to have a field day, without as much a resistance from any security architecture put in place and designed for such purposes.

But in Lagos, with the cooperation and support that the OMSL has continued to give to the Nigerian Navy, the state now has its Secured Anchorage Area (SAA) sufficiently protected, a situation that is not only encouraging to investors but has further motivated stakeholders to function more effectively.

It’s bad enough that some stakeholders had earlier approached the NPA leadership on the need for better security funding for the Lagos waterways, to which it replied it could not muster the amount of money in question, before they turned to OMSL for this effective and mutual cooperation, which has continued to yield desired results.

This also informed why stakeholders in the industry frowned at a recent order, which allegedly came from the Hadiza-led NPA, threatening to arrest and sanction operators at SAA. That was to say the least, disturbing and counterproductive. The stakeholders even wrote a letter to that effect to the president, Muhammadu Buhari, and had it published in some of the major national dailies.

On the contrary, as a function of procedure and protocol, assuming there were allegations of infractions, which must be entered properly for record purposes, the right thing to do would have been to report the development to the Nigerian Navy, which in turn, would investigate such claims and take appropriate action to stem the tide.

But to sit in the comfort of her office and out of sheer vendetta, victimisation and favouritism, dish out orders to the Navy to arrest vessels they were meant to protect, not only questioned her understanding of the operations of that sector but also spoke to getting unduly involved in a purely business and security concerns.

To think that the agency under Hadiza has no alternative security architecture in place in the event that the frustration of OMSL continues, the resort to rethinking the allegations of sabotage in the many attacks by the pirates might be inevitable.

To support this position, which her spin-doctors were blinded to, not only did the Senate clear OMSL and give it a clean bill to continue with its good work of assisting the Nigerian Navy to protect the Lagos waterways by providing the much-needed logistics after listening to the submission of stakeholders; the OMSL has also enjoyed commendation from foreign partners for doing an irresistibly good job at the Lagos waterways.

In addition, the submission by Captain Hosa on the operations of OMSL at SAA during the Senate hearing was so stellar that he left the chambers with his shoulders high and other stakeholders as well as the legislative committee members proud of him. He knew the issues and sold them conveniently without resorting to lies or cheap blackmail.

Therefore, to fault Adebowale’s submission that Hadiza “came to the job with a reform agenda, largely, to block leakages of revenue and stifle contractors from taking advantage of the NPA to line their pockets with money due to the federal government”, the opposite has been the case. He would do well by doing some soul-searching.

Sadly, Hadiza came to the job with crass immaturity and gross inexperience in a highly technical turf and rather than take the pains to learn the intricate nuances, she’s been preoccupied with just one agenda: to protect the business concerns of an individual, known in the industry as the love of her life. How is that doing the job of the federation entrusted to her or executing a reform agenda?

There’s no way to spin this, picking on Captain Hosa alone is a clear indication that there’s more to it. Adebowale mentioned some other interests but not the names of those behind them. He, however, went all out depicting Captain Hosa in his compromised mindset, because Adebowale thought the retired commercial pilot was his pay master’s problem at NPA.

As an editor of the category that THISDAY generously but erroneously placed Adebowale, he would have saved himself some embarrassment, if he had spoken to other stakeholders, say in LADOL and the BUA Group and asked how much of victimisation they had so far suffered in the hands of Hadiza, just because she was and is still determined to protect the interest of just one man. I’m sure they would speak to him off-the-record to, at least, cure his poisonous ignorance.

It was, therefore, not surprising in any form or shape that people, who were supposed to supervise as well as guide a delinquent and irreverent MD would also go on a national television to corroborate lies and fictions, only to justify their premeditated plans against an innocent man, who is legitimately doing his business and following the laws of the land.

The interesting thing is that the heads of both the ministry and the agency are products of the approval of the Senate, the same way the senate had given SAA a clean bill of health to continue with its operations. We either live by the laws of our land or quit when we are too big to be guided by them.

Captain Hosa has chosen to be a patriotic Nigerian, who would do right and seek justice, wherever and whenever his rights are impugned. The current play at SAA is not an exception. He is by far more of a blessing than those, who are abusing their privileged positions today. But tomorrow, when they are no more, posterity would speak to their records too, in clear unmistaken language.

– Nureni-Bello wrote from Abuja

ZENITH BANK FETES CUSTOMERS IN THE “ZENITH BETA LIFE” PROMO

Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s leading financial institution, has commenced its “Zenith Beta Life” Promo to reward customers of the Bank with gifts every week starting from 31st July 2020 to 30th July 2021.

During this period, fifty (50) customers will be selected via raffle draw each week and rewarded with gifts worth NGN30,000.

The Promo is open to existing and new Zenith Bank customers with the following raffle qualifying criteria:

– maintain a minimum deposit of NGN5,000 for the period;

– request and collect a Zenith Bank Card; and

– download and register on the Zenith Mobile App or register for *966# EazyBanking.

Zenith Bank Plc is recognised as one of the most customer-focused financial institutions in the country and was voted the most customer-focused bank in Nigeria for the retail and SME segments in the 2018 KPMG Annual Banking Industry Customer Satisfaction Survey (BICSS).

A clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in the deployment of innovative products, solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions, Zenith Bank has clearly distinguished itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service quality, unique customer experience and sound financial indices.

In recognition of its track record of excellent performance, Zenith Bank was voted as the Best Commercial Bank in Nigeria 2019 by the World Finance and the Best Digital Bank in Nigeria 2019 by Agusto and Co. The Bank was also recognised as Bank of the Year and Best in Retail Banking at the 2019 BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BOFI) Awards.

More recently, the Bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria, for the third consecutive year, in the Banker Magazine “Top 500 Banking Brands 2020”, number one Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital in the “2020 Top 1000 World Banks” Ranking published by The Banker Magazine, Best Bank in Nigeria 2020 in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards 2020, and Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020.

Oshiomhole Has Always Campaigned in Poetry By Abiodun Adekunle

It may not be out of the context of a sincere analysis of the Edo political space to assume that the former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is a major issue in the September 19, 2020 governorship election.

Apart from the two major contestants, Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC, the other person directly linked to the two is Oshiomhole.

It was Oshiomhole, who brought Obaseki in 2016 and sold him to the people of Edo. But to convincingly market him, he had to destroy his main challenger, Ize-Iyamu. The aftermath of those scathing words, left in the trail of the pastor’s destruction, is yet to subside.

Interestingly, four years after, the situations have switched places. Oshiomhole no longer wants his beloved friend, Obaseki, who had done everything humanly possible to destroy his benefactor without as much a reason other than blackmail. And, in his place, Oshiomhole would rather the man he claimed was a no-do-good some four years ago.

Today, on both sides, Oshiomhole comes handy as a principal campaign tool. While the PDP thinks the former APC chair had done sufficient reelection work for them four years ago with his strident de-marketing of the pastor, the APC is struggling to explain that his words do not hold true of the person of the pastor.

It is, however, smart and strategic, that the APC has tried to let those things remain in the past and refusing to engage the opposition on a cheap character debate. But are the words of a campaigning politician in an election really bankable, especially, those that have not been subjected to scrutiny or thorough fact-check?

It was a former governor of New York, Mario Cuomo, one of whose sons, Andrew, is the current governor of New York and another, Chris, with the CNN, who said you “campaign in poetry and govern in prose”. There’s nothing more to add, because his words are self-explanatory.

Although a renowned political blogger in the US, Kathleen Kelly Reardon, tended to disagree a bit because of the misinterpretation that seems to be adduced to it often, not much could be taken away from it still.

She wrote: “Whenever I hear this phrase, I shudder. It’s usually said as if we’re supposed to accept that candidate lying during election campaigns is fine. Recently, CNN’s Chris Cuomo attributed this phrase to his father, Mario Cuomo. But out of context it can have a different meaning than his father intended.

“I remember hearing Mario Cuomo speak eloquently at Stanford University about how getting rich is fine so long as you give back. He cared about the underserved and also about the truth,” she explained, a disposition that is not far from Oshiomhole’s.

Continuing, she explained further: “Elizabeth Kolbert of the New Yorker considered the poetry vs. prose phrase one of many melancholy ones Mario Cuomo repeated. These tended to have a dose of reality within them gleaned from years of experience in politics.

“Campaigns do involve putting one’s best foot forward from the perspective of those you wish to influence. But this observation is not an acceptance of political duplicity.

“Words matter. The more we hear ‘campaign in poetry and govern in prose’ as advisory, the greater the risk that lying will become acceptable even as it dupes the electorate and undermines democracy.

“Campaign in poetry and govern in prose can be misused effectively to justify duplicity by the duplicitous among us. When that happens, we’ve abdicated our responsibility to expect honesty from those who aspire to lead,” she added.

The truth is that Oshiomhole is not duplicitous as the writer fears in her submission, but simply campaigning in poetry by putting his best foot forward, only for election purposes, which of course, turned out as he envisaged. And to be honest, this has always been Oshiomhole: campaigning in poetry!

What Reardon did not envisage, also, is the inanity of the opposition to misapply mere campaign rhetoric for a thoughtless mischief. Unfortunately, for the PDP, the Obaseki they are desperately hawking to sell to the Edo people, they also condemned just months ago, alleging he had stolen all of Edo’s money.

Therefore, if in their reckoning, all they were doing at the time was play politics, in what slant are they going to dismiss the obvious that Oshiomhole, four years ago had only campaigned in poetry without meaning a line of all he said about Ize-Iyamu, more so that none of those things could pass a simple test?

It is public knowledge that Oshiomhole talks too much and does not always filter the words that proceed out of his mouth. This does not change the fact that Oshiomhole is by all standards a good man, who means well for his people of Edo State and Nigeria in general.

On the contrary, the PDP and the Edo people must be wary of the nature of Mr. Obaseki, who history has vindicated today as coming from a family of traitors that hold no loyalty to friendship or reciprocity of good deeds. He delights only in his greed. He had said far too many kind things about a man, who made him what he is today than to turn around and deny himself.

This is why we will rather pay attention to a man, whose worldview and philosophy are deserving of a serious study, owing largely to his underpinning historical character traits and whose treachery should not be entertained or tolerated by anyone worth his salt, especially those who boast enviable upbringing.

Thus, in the September election, the problem is not what Oshiomhole said four years ago and which have been found to be untrue. The problem lies in the fact that a certain Governor Obaseki is today living true to the warnings handed Oshiomhole, when he mooted the idea of fielding him as his successor. If there’s anyone who is duplicitous and undeserving of the votes of the Edo people, it is the double-faced Obaseki, whose unconscionable nature is irredeemable.

*Adekunle wrote from Lagos

Obaseki’s Intolerant and Sadistic Leadership By Yakub Mohammad

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki appears to have added a new preference to his unkind character traits and it’s called SADISM. He’s suddenly developed an intentional penchant for delighting in the misfortune of others. And as a political neophyte, spurred only by the irrationality of his infantile choices, his inability to strategically channel his bile, especially for logic-driven results, is quick to expose him and his petty ecstasy.

I suffered a momentary pang of shock recently, when I learnt of the lies being joyfully spread around by the Edo State governor amongst his close-knit allies. The embattled outgoing governor of Edo State has been propounding to his sycophantic cliques, his new theory on why the All Progressives Congress (APC) does not stand a chance in the September 19 governorship election.

According to him, a certain individual from the northern part of the country, who used to assist the ruling party by arranging some dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is no more, and therefore, the party would be unable to muster enough funds for the election, which automatically leaves him in a position of strength as the incumbent.

How more wicked, satanic and insensate can a character be, all in the name of an ambition? His excitement, when others suffer misfortune is both legendary and incomprehensible. This also underscores why all the good people in Edo State today are standing in a camp different from his.

For eight years, Obaseki headed former Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s economic team and managed the state with him, literally taking the decisions from behind the scene. This, understandably, was the reason Oshiomhole, against all odds, deemed it fit to push him forward as his successor, because not only was he with him for that long, he was in charge of the state’s economy.

No sooner had he assumed office than he started seeking the fall of his benefactor as the national chairman of the APC, aligning with Oshiomhole’s traducers in the party to victimise and denigrate him till he was eventually pushed out of his position as the APC chairman.

To get him into office, Oshiomhole did everything within his reach, including projections that were never to be and allusions that were later proven overtime as incorrect. But to pay back, he’s done practically everything, including telling palpable lies and painting Oshiomhole black. It was the ‘cutest thank you’ ever in appreciation of all that Oshiomhole did for him.

But he didn’t stop with Oshiomhole. He’d probably read some puerile laws of power and decided to go after everyone, who contributed to his success, as not just his payback for their good deeds to him, but also to gloat, if misfortune eventually befalls any of them.

This, of course, brings to mind, the speed at which he went after Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo. Curiously, this started after some people moved to get Okunbo into the governorship race, an overture he expressly turned down.

But on getting this hint, Obaseki went after the retired commercial pilot. Although he did not want Okunbo to run for the position, he never sat with him to solicit his support. Yet, the only time he made a remark about the governorship to Okunbo was at a reception in Lagos, where he derisively addressed him as “Incoming Governor”, to which Okunbo immediately dispelled and reiterated that he wasn’t interested in the office of the governor.

Coincidentally, as Okunbo narrated recently in a lengthy press statement, on the same day that the reception held in Lagos, the story of a move by the Nigeria Ports Authority against Okunbo’s company, the Secured Anchorage Area (SAA), was published in some of the dailies.

The story had insinuated again that Okunbo was interested in the Edo governorship, even when intelligence had reached the Edo-born businessman and philanthropist that Obaseki was the one behind the rumour.

“As God would have it, while in the company of some friends at the governor’s house in Benin, on one occasion, I confronted him that he was the one behind the attack on my company. In a bid to defend himself, he put a call through to someone in Lagos and, perhaps, mistakenly left the phone speaker.

“He asked the person at the other end: ‘Why is the MD of NPA worrying Captain?’ and the man replied: ‘Godwin, I thought you said this man was fighting you. The MD of NPA is fighting your battle for you.’ I quickly told him that I had caught him. On this occasion, I had witnesses and, if further probed, names could be mentioned,” Okunbo narrated.

Okunbo also recalled that, when Obaseki was the chairman of the National Economic Council’s Ad-Hoc Committee on Oil Theft and Pipeline Vandalism, “I got a feeler that a damaging report was going to be written about my company by the Committee.

“I was then given an opportunity to address the Committee on the matter to defend my company and its job. My defence was excellently delivered, but at the end of the day, when the report came out, it was still damaging even when I had complied with my threshold and responsibilities.

“It is sad that Governor Obaseki has been paranoid about me even before he became governor, for reasons best known to him,” he noted, adding that he had since known that the disagreements “between Comrade Oshiomhole and myself, during his eight years administration in Edo State, were orchestrated from the background by Governor Obaseki.”

Need I say more that, Obaseki is irredeemably evil and sadistic and that ingratitude remains his stock-in-trade? How does anyone situate the video of a colleague-governor, Abdulahi Ganduje, conspicuously placed at a roundabout in Benin, just because he is leading his party’s campaign in September? What joy does it give him?

How do you even start to define the character of a governor, who ordered a crackdown on his people in a campaign period? Do I need to say it more expressly that he lacks wisdom, patience and the perseverance required to occupy his current office? He is simply innately wicked hence his going after all the illustrious sons and daughters of the state.

It’s in Obaseki’s interest to stop looking at the rear mirror of bringing back the untruths about Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, because it helped him to win the 2016 election. He should look at the windshield of the future of what Ize-Iyamu has to offer the Edo people in the next four years and if he must look at the rear mirror, then he should tell us all what he too has done for the Edo people in the last four years, definitely not on power-point presentations of things that have never happened.

The general belief is that he actually has nothing to campaign with and his only escape is to attack the character of his opponent and try to discredit them. Obaseki has nothing to offer Edo and when given the chance in the last four years, all he has done is to impoverish them and sold to them projects only on paper with propaganda and nothing to show on the ground. But he has kept his social media rats busy, promoting paper presentations of his achievements and encouraging them to abuse their elders. Is that the 200,000 jobs he promised the youths?

Well, whoever it was that Obaseki claimed was no more but had always provided financial back-up for the APC through the CBN, it is yet to be seen how Obaseki too would survive the post-office financial scandal that is definitely to come on his trail after the September 19 election. Fingers crossed!

Mohammad wrote from Abuja

Access Bank Provides Financing Opportunity To Female SMEs Across Africa

As part of its promise to continuously provide financial and business skills to female entrepreneurs, leading retail banks in Nigeria, Access Bank Plc has unveiled the second edition of its Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton programme.

The Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Africa 2020 Campaign is designed to provide female-owned businesses across Africa an opportunity to access to finance and world-class business training as well as mentoring opportunities. This programme has been designed to create an enabling environment for female entrepreneurs to grow their businesses.

Speaking at the launch of the second edition of this initiative, Ayona Trimnell, group head W Initiative, said, “Access Bank has been a leading advocate for women’s economic empowerment in Nigeria and this is the key motivation for the ‘W’ Initiative which caters to the women economy particularly in the areas of capacity building and creating networking opportunities for women”. She further stated that the Pitch-a-ton is an expansion of the Womenpreneur Business Workshop, under the Bank’s women proposition, the W Initiative.

“We launched the Pitch-a-ton initiative last year in line with our value proposition as the No. 1 Bank of Choice for women in Nigeria, and we got a tremendous amount of applications with innovative business ideas. This year we want to do more and we want to reach out to more female entrepreneurs not just in Nigeria but across Africa. “As a responsible financial institution with a huge presence in other African countries, we want to give the same opportunity to other female entrepreneurs in Ghana, Rwanda, and Zambia as well as Sierra Leone, Gambia, & Congo to apply and participate in this year’s edition of the programme.

This Election Is Ize-Iyamu’s to Lose by Ifeanyi Nwaneri

Amidst the din and disgrace that heralded Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and his high profile guests into the palace of the Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku’ Akpolokpolo Ewuare II, Saturday, July 25th, as part of his second term electioneering, some voices echoed loudest; they were that the governor is a total failure and an irredeemable liar.

Echoes of ‘Obaseki, Ole (thief)’ reverberated around the hallowed grounds of the ancient kingdom. These were not paid thugs at a random political rally; they were the voices of everyday indigenes and subjects at the palace of a most revered king and father of the state.

The people of Edo State idolise their King, as such, if they were not harried and frustrated with Obaseki and his administration, they would not have chosen the Oba’s palace to vent their anger, frustration and disappointment. So, the shared sentiments could never have been bought. Interestingly, what happened last Saturday was not an isolated case.

In September 2019, while attending the 74th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United States of America, alongside other governors and government officials, Obaseki, on his way into the venue, was heckled and booed by disgruntled natives, who had laid siege to him.

They hurled expletives at him for his below-par performance in office while chanting, yet again, ‘Ole’. The video of the embarrassment made the rounds on the social media for several days.

It is instructive, therefore, that the ignominious welcome of the governor and his Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, acolytes, was a ringing testament to how badly the people want him out of the Government House.

And, they cannot be blamed. This was a governor that they unanimously voted for just four years ago with the mandate to take the state further than his predecessor, the intrepid Comrade Adams Oshiomole. Oshiomole had set the state on a path to prosperity, as many acknowledge across the state and beyond.

Obaseki was just supposed to build on the legacy of his predecessor. However, he whimsically derailed and plunged the state into retrogression, while battling his benefactors and depriving the people of quality governance.

The widespread opinion in the state is that the people have not had it so bad in terms of his reprobate and regressive leadership. From Egor to Etsako, Agenebode to Auchi and everywhere in between, it is the same story of Obaseki’s underwhelming performance, promotion of insecurity, brigandage, unemployment and divisive politics.
Largely deemed to be suffering from a narcissistic personality disorder, Obaseki, the people of Edo believe, has evolved into an imperious and intolerant governor. It is either his way or the highway. Now, the chickens have come home to roost.

The people of Edo State are on a mission to rewrite their narrative by pitching their tents with a man they affirm understands their plights and what needs to be done to better their lots from the first day in office. So, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in the September 19th governorship election has his work cut out for him.

Beyond his pastoral calling and heritage, and meritorious service to the state since 1999, Ize-Iyamu is widely popular and seen as very grounded.

The people reckon that more than the incumbent governor, who lost the plot long ago and has seen his administration careening to the craters, Ize-Iyamu understands, where the shoe pinches them and has the personal and political resolve and readiness to right the wrongs of Obaseki. What has further convinced the people is his thoughtful and thorough blueprint for the development of the state aptly titled: ‘The Simple Agenda’, which by every definition a manifesto of hope.

Therein, he clinically analysed the problems besetting the state and proffered practical and profound solutions. According to him, the potential of the state are huge in terms of the ability to attract tourists, investments and quality jobs, but the current security situation in the state makes the realisation of these potential unrealistic and unattainable.

“The state of insecurity assumed its peak, when Governor Godwin Obaseki cultivated and nurtured the habit of fanning the embers of divisive politics by making unguarded statements, particularly with words and phrases as ‘crush,’ and ‘my second term is non-negotiable.’

His determination to physically assault any fellow party faithful, who aspires to run for governor or is not willing to support his ambition has created a tense and volatile environment.”

To this, the APC candidate avers: “Edo State under our charge will build brand new security architecture,” Ize-Iyamu said, while also accusing the governor of failing to address the high rate of unemployment, which he posited had resulted in youth restiveness in the state.

“Youth unemployment and under-employment is a huge nightmare in the state, with eight out of 10 qualified youths unable to find jobs. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that Edo State has a high rate of youth unemployment at 25.1 per cent. The rate of unemployment in Edo State increased from 19.6 per cent to 25.1 per cent in the same quarter of 2019. This is contrary to the promise of creating 200,000 jobs.

“The unemployment situation largely accounts for the prevailing incidence of youth restiveness, which manifests in high rates of armed robbery, kidnapping, thuggery and cultism. Edo State is now literally a sanctuary for disgruntled youths, who invariably vent their frustration and anger over their social marginalisation of law-abiding and hardworking citizens,” he said.

He has also stated unequivocally that the dangerous situation in the state could only be reversed by a change in the leadership that would be tolerant of different views, accommodating and committed to peaceful engagement. And, the people believe him wholeheartedly.

In ‘The Simple Agenda’, Ize-Iyamu asserts that the change that the state requires is not premised on mere sloganeering or rhetoric, but contended that, “We have analysed the challenges facing our state, consulted widely across the 18 Local Government Areas, and based on the APC manifesto, we have come up with a robust blueprint to launch Edo State on the path to sustainable prosperity and holistic development.

“Ours is a genuine road map to transform our state from its present unacceptable condition of underdevelopment to an attractive state with a vibrant economy.”

Indeed, the purpose of government is the pursuance of happiness for the greater majority of the people, which is why Pastor Ize-Iyamu has said his administration would strive to meet this purpose at all times, “and serve the needs of the good people of Edo State efficiently, effectively and fairly through good governance that is geared towards solving social problems in Edo State.”

However, if there was anything that has arguably established Obaseki’s clueless approach to governance and leadership, it was the fact that his trip to Lagos at the weekend where he met with newspapers operators of different categories was a waste.

Can you imagine a governor seeking re-election saying to media operators that he only came to thank them? Really? Thank them for what? He simply does not understand the issues and clearly unable to sell them. Never again will Edo walk the path of Obaseki in her political trajectory. It’s a definite goodbye to leadership misfortune.

*Nwaneri lives in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city

“I WAS WARNED TO NEVER WATCH TB JOSHUA BUT GOD USED HIM TO HEAL ME!” – MEDICAL DOCTOR

A Nigerian medical doctor based in Romania has shared a testimony about how she stopped bedwetting after praying with TB Joshua – a man she was warned by her church to never associate with.

In a video posted to Emmanuel TV’s YouTube Channel, the popular Christian channel with 1.7 million subscribers, Dr Ataikiru Usiwoma revealed she suffered with an embarrassing case of bedwetting since birth.

“It would surely happen every time I slept – daily or twice in a day,” Usiwoma explained, adding the problem persisted during her time in medical school in Ukraine and led her to being withdrawn and introverted.

According to Dr Ataikiru, a Ghanaian doctor advised her to watch Emmanuel TV but she was initially reluctant as she had been told TB Joshua was demonic from a young age and warned to never watch Emmanuel TV in her church in Nigeria.

“They said that if you even turned on the channel, the spirit could possess you,” she recounted.

However, when another Nigerian Pastor showed her a video equally saying negative things about Joshua, she felt a conviction to do investigations herself rather than relying on hearsay.

When she began watching Emmanuel TV, Usiwoma was ‘surprised’ to discover Joshua “calling the name of Jesus”.

According to her, “I continued watching it and prayed with Emmanuel TV and the bedwetting immediately stopped.”

The young doctor said she had not experienced any form of bedwetting for over six years, to confirm the authenticity of her miraculous experience.

“My advice is for anyone who is going through any situation that seems impossible – they should remember that with God, nothing is impossible,” she concluded.

In his remarks on the video description, Joshua stated, “Whatever negative comment people must have made in the past about me, God allowed it so that He can use it to speak strength and courage into my life. Man’s rejection provokes God’s direction. When man rejects you, God would start to direct you.”

VIDEO – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6yu58CoPhc

Capt Hosa Okunbo Has No Connection With Corruption Charges Against Diezani

The linking of a renowned and revered businessman as Capt. Hosa Okunbo to the humongous corruption allegations against former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke is nothing but a ploy by mischief makers to dent his hard earned reputation, a group has said.

Concerned Maritime Operators (CMO), said “All the co-travellers of Diezani are either in exile or in court with her.” It said their is no basis whatsoever to associate Capt. Okunbo with the alleged misappropriation of state funds by the former minister.

Recall, Capt. Okunbo had said “I have never written a statement in the EFCC or any anti-corruption agency to date. If, indeed, I was with Dieziani, will I still be doing business in the NNPC where I am a champion for service delivery?”

For the past four years, a patently false story had been circulating about his purported business dealings with the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, especially as regards the controversial offshore processing agreements (OPAs) popularly known as oil swap involving the former minister and her cronies.

Captain Okunbo, a former commercial pilot, is the chairman of Ocean Marine Security Limited, an offshore asset protection company, rendering services to major oil companies in Nigeria, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC.

The former minister Alison-Madueke has been under investigations since the outset of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2015. The United States Department of Justice had list her and two other businessmen, Kola Aluko and Jide Omokore as persons of interest in a civil complaint filed at a District Court in Houston, Texas, detailing how the duo laundered millions of dollars on her behalf which were used in buying properties in the U.S. and the UK in return for oil contracts.

CMO Chairman, Mr. Tunde Hamzat said: No cowardly soul resides in the likeable billionaire businessman, Captain Hosa Okunbo, because he is no trembler in the world’s storm-troubled sphere. Cowardice and doubt disperse in the blaze of his scorching righteousness because his business and personal ethics are so firmly anchored on the steadfast rock of conscience and integrity.

“The renowned and revered businessman would never use gilded words to mask deceit neither does he brandish fickle principles and statistics to conclude with a false truth. He is, indeed, unlike many rabble-rousers who flashes documents to lock down evidence but never real facts to back their proof,” the group said in a statement that was issued yesterday.

There were reports that more names involved in the multi-billion dollar deal would be revealed as investigations continued.

Hamzat who said he expected the media to end such malicious reports, expressed displeasure on what he called sheer laziness and unprofessionalism on the side of some bloggers who have sustained the misrepresentation of the contract that formed the basis for the misleading publication.

According to him, the falsehood is being assisted with the ubiquity and freedom of social media and that it had become increasingly clear that maintaining silence further would be misconstrued for consent.

The group averred that neither he nor any of his business entities had ever been engaged “in any deal requiring lifting the tiniest drop of oil, crude or refined. I am not a trader; I have never submitted nor participated in any “Oil Swap” deal, neither do I own a company trading in any petroleum products.”

Hamzat said Capt. Okunba’s over four decades in business spanning engineering and technology, energy, integrated service in the petroleum sector, maritime, security, agriculture and others, integrity has been his guiding principle and a core value with which he has been able to earn trust and confidence of companies and corporations of global repute.

He claimed that Okunbo has never stood before any administrative, judicial or legislative panels to answer any questions related to any shady deal.

He challenged anyone whether in the NNPC, the media or anywhere else to come forward with any evidence that can puncture his assertions while declaring, “I implore cowards and mischief makers who are quick to broadcast unverified Whatsapp messages and the Nigerian media to be thorough, fair and objective in their journalistic responsibility.”

Capt. Okunbo is a globally-certified Ambassador of Peace who has been decorated home and abroad as a Citizen of Humanity. Though his businesses, which have added immeasurable value to the Nigerian economy and philanthropy, Capt Okunbo makes history every hour and industriously adds page after page, volume after volume, as if nature were holding up a monument to his exploits.

One of the few blessed men who started from the scratch, kept their nose to the grindstone and turned seemingly insignificant ideas into behemoth industries, Capt Okunbo is a man that would be sent to Mars and still treat it as a stepping stone to Saturn – the quality of constant invention and self-improvement that has earned him worldwide acclaim and prosperity, he stressed.

“Okunbo exudes the lustre of the proverbial leading light thus distinguishing his persona amid a range of middling men. He radiates compassion, ardour and acclaim that no life’s odd could tame. Having hacked his path to affluence in honest, industrious strides, he spreads out like a bastion of human aspiration even as his exploits become objects of the world affection. Everywhere he navigates, he exudes a spirit of humaneness and generosity that even the world’s finest and most daring philanthropists live in awe of.

“No wonder he was, in 2019, bestowed with the prestigious Order of Lafayette award at the United Nations day for Global Peace. The Order of Lafayette is a patriotic, hereditary, nonpartisan, and fraternal organization established in New York City in 1958 by Colonel Hamilton Fish III (1888-1991), a former Congressman from New York and decorated veteran of the First World War.

Captain Okunbo was especially honoured for his distinguished role in encouraging, engendering and entrenching peace and harmony in Africa and the world at large. He was presented with his award by His Excellency, Robert Blum, chairman of the Order of Lafayette Awards. Present at the auspicious and exclusive awards presentation were diplomats and political and economic leaders from all over the world who had all come to celebrate with one of their own,” Hamzat said.

Kosofe Bye-Election: Prince Ibrahim Ladega States Readiness to Serve

Prince Oladega Kehinde Ibrahim has indicated interest to vie for the vacant Kosofe Constituency 2 seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly, which became available following the demise of Honorable Tunde Buraimoh, who was representing the constituency.

Ladega, as he’s popular called made this known through an official statement signed by his publicist, Wole Adepoju.

The All Progressive Congress member , who has since started consultations said it was not his sole decision to put in for the race but a decision unequivocally made by the elders and those whose influence count, at his ancestral home, Agboyi in Agboyi Ketu Local Council Developmental Area (LCDA).

He further revealed the decision of the elders to push him forward to represent them at the Lagos Assembly, was borne out of the fact he’s known to have always striven to seek development for the area.

“ My people have always known and seen my zeal towards ensuring our place is not left out of the development Lagos state has enjoyed under successive governments and as such they believe if I am at a place like the assembly to represent them, their interest will be well represented and protected’ he explained.

Also, Prince Oladega believes that, as a young man who is active, exposed, performance and result oriented, and as well over the years garnered experiences at the feet of late Senator Bayo Osinowo and the minister for interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbosola, he’s eminently qualified as a round peg in a round hole to take over from where late Hon. Buraimoh stopped, to help take Kosofe Constituency 2 and the state at large to the next level.

Youthful Oladega Ibrahim is a mass communication graduate of Lagos State Polytechnic and a long standing member of Ogudu GRA rotary club. He’s plied his trade with Mitv, Radio Lagos and Unique FM, Ilesha. He’s also a gifted and professional Compeer cum voice over expert, who has handled lot of briefs for Lagos and Osun state government, among other high profile clients. He’s happily married.

A Peep into Prince Oladega Ibrahim’s Profile

Former President, National Association of Lagos State Students (NULASS) LASPOTECH Chapter.
15 Years as Host of a Radio Program [LERE, Radio Lagos]
Award Winning Broadcaster [Indigenous Broadcast Producer 2014, 2017]
Producer of the Award Winning HIV AIDS Television Campaign on the Orphans And Vulnerable Children, General Control and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission [PMTCT], for State Of Osun.
Former Personal Assistant to the G.M, UNIC FM, Ilesha, Osun State.
Media Aide to Late Senator Bayo Osinowo [Lagos East Senatorial District].
Member Media Committee Babajide Sanwoolu Campaign Organization.
Special Assistant to former Hon. Commissioner for Information, State of Osun.
Member Media Committee, President Buhari NEXT LEVEL CAMPAIGN
Deputy Director, Lagos East Senatorial District Campaign Committee
Member, Rotary Club of Ogudu
Facilitator of many educational development initiatives, and an Advocate of infrastructural and human capital development of the people of Agboyi-Ketu