The controversy about the ownership of Lekki Concession Company (LCC), the organization running the Lekki toll-gate where Lagos former Governor, Fashola recently find a hidden camera need to be put to rest. Though the ownership of the LCC has been linked to many but we can tell you for a fact that the Chairman of the board of the company that was established in year 2006 is occupied by Dr. Tunji Olowolafe, a very close friend of the former Governor of Lagos State and current Minister of Works and Housing Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola.
Dr. Olowolafe is a 1984 graduate of Medicine from the University of Ilorin, Kwara State, after which he worked as in the health care industry across various parts of South Western Nigeria before he co-founded Deux Project Limited, a Nigerian civil engineering, construction, consultancy, and maintenance company as a partnership with Dr. Olatunde in 2000.
He’s a major investor and leader in Public Private Partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects and this include him serving as Chairman of Lekki Concession Company and Eko Rail. He’s also the Chairman of GZ Industry Limited, the only can manufacturer serving the Nigerian market.
Sources close to the government of former Governor Fashola can attest to the two forming a bound that sees the then Governor entrust the medical doctor turned contractor with many things. The governor is said to have made popular a statement over the years whenever any major developmental contracts comes up for mention in Lagos Council Meetings then which is, “I think Lafe can do it, I trust him”.
Dr. Tunji Olowolafe
Those in the government then says Dr. Lafe as he was fondly called in the corridor of power then was Lagos biggest contractor during Fashola’s time as Governor and we can confirm they are still pretty close going by the heartfelt message he penned during this year birthday celebration of the Minister of Works and Housing in June.
Olowolafe in his piece of eulogy to the former governor “As governor and minister, BRF always championed a Pan-Nigerian, development-oriented style of leadership, everything he does revolve around this idea. I am yet to observe so closely any leader in his generation possessing such passion for making life better for as many people as possible”.
With the event that happened in a past not too long ago and the relationship between Fashola and Dr, Lafe, the feat to miraculously discover a camera on the premises of the toll-gate is seen as a deliberate attempt by the minister to take the heat off his friend.
“We depend on this stream for cooking and washing, we also drink from it in the dry season, when the only well in the village dries up,” said Segun Coker, a resident of Aderupoko, a farming community in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Just like other residents of the community, Mr Coker, who is in his mid-20s, said he has never drunk water from a tap since he was born.
“Our mothers and forefathers also drank from this stream,” he said.
According to the 2018 national budget, the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority (OORDBA), a federal agency under the Ministry of Water Resources, should have built a new borehole in Aderupoko as part of the Zonal Intervention Project (ZIP), but the villagers can only point to a borehole abandoned 12 years ago.
“We don’t have any borehole here; maybe it is the one that was abandoned many years ago,” Mr Coker said.
He took this reporter to a nearby bush: “Here is it, they sank it there around 2008, but they did not bring any tank, nor pump it for us. We don’t have a generator to pump it ourselves,” he said as he cleared some of the bushes with a cutlass for easy access to the derelict borehole.
The head of the village, Olugbenro Coker, said that due to the absence of potable water in the village, inhabitants are constantly falling ill with strange illnesses.
The only well in Aderupoko
“We thank God for life. We encounter different diseases and sicknesses. I am sure there are many parasites in that stream that we cannot see with our eyes,” said Mr Coker.
The people of Aderupoko may have to wait much more longer than they can imagine before a potable water facility is provided in their community, as the federal agency had listed the village as among a number of villages in the area it claims benefitted from borehole facilities in 2018.
However, a PREMIUM TIMES investigation has revealed that instead of building the borehole facilities in villages where they are needed, the agency, OORBDA, diverted many of the boreholes to private properties, including the house of a former head of state, Ernest Shonekan, and the farm of a former lawmaker representing the constituency, Segun Williams.
The Motorised Borehole Project
In 2018, N20 million was approved for the provision of 12 motorized boreholes for the people of Abeokuta South federal constituency in Ogun State. The project was nominated by Mr Williams, who represented the constituency in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019; the project was domiciled in the budget of OORBDA
Mr. Williams did not indicate the exact locations of the boreholes, a common practice by lawmakers that makes it difficult for journalists and civil society organisations to track these projects and hold the government accountable.
“I do not know anything about the execution of my constituency projects.” Mr Williams said when asked about the locations of the boreholes. He asked this reporter to contact OORBDA for that information.
The managing director of the OORBDA, Olufemi Odumosu, told this reporter over the phone that not all 12 boreholes have been built as only 50 percent of the fund budgeted for the project was released.
Upon sending a written request, OORBDA provided a document containing the locations of the boreholes, the contractors, as well as the total amount released by the federal government for the execution of the projects.
It was stated in the document that six of the 12 boreholes had been sunk with five at 100 per cent functional level and the other one at 0 per cent. It was also stated that of the N20 million approved, N14 million was released to the agency, which is 70 per cent of the contract sum, contrary to its managing director’s claim that 50 per cent of the fund was released.
Mr Odumosu would later argue in another letter to this newspaper that the N20 million allocated could only fund six boreholes and not 12 as stated in the budget.
“It is important to note that we awarded only six boreholes under the budget head under questioning. The appropriation was N20 million which can only award six boreholes,” he said.
While studying the document, PREMIUM TIMES observed that three of the addresses were not in Abeokuta South federal constituency, where all 12 boreholes should have been located. The addresses were in Abeokuta North and Odeda local governments, which are in Abeokuta North/ Odeda/ Obafemi-Owode federal constituency.
Public boreholes “gifted” to Shonekan
PREMIUM TIMES’ search for locations of the boreholes provided by OORBDA revealed that three of the multi-million water projects were diverted to private properties, inaccessible by the public, and exclusively for the use of the owners of the properties. This newspaper could not find the locations of the two other boreholes the agency claimed were completed and at 100 per cent functionality, as their locations were vague.
Our search traced one of the boreholes to the Abeokuta residence of Mr Shonekan, while two were diverted to a farm owned by Mr Williams.
Before setting out to Mr Shonekan’s residence, a journalist (he asked not to be named for fear of being harassed by security operatives) who has reported from the city for several years, told this reporter that Mr Shonekan’s residence, which is beside the Ogun State secretariat of the National Union of Journalists in Abeokuta, was always locked. He said occasionally security personnel were seen loitering inside the compound.
This reporter visited the house twice but found it locked. Some residents of the area confirmed that the house was always locked and was not opened to the public.
“I don’t know the owner of the house but I once learnt that it belongs to a top politician. It is always locked anyway,” Sodiq (he did not state his surname), a resident of the area, said.
When asked why a project meant for the public was diverted to the house of Mr Shonekan, Mr. Odumosu, the MD of the OORBDA, confirmed that the borehole, which was approved for public use, was built there because Mr Shonekan requested for a borehole.
He said the agency could not deny the former head of state “the privilege” because he is “one of Nigeria’s past presidents.”
He, however, argued that at the time the borehole was sunk, the former president’s house was accessible to the public and that the agency got the approval of the lawmaker, Mr Williams, to oblige Mr Shonekan, a former head of an interim regime, the request.
“The house was open and accessible to the public as at the time the borehole was sunk. So, if at the time of your findings the house is not accessible to the public, we are not aware of this development,” he said.
Meanwhile, contrary to Mr Odumosu’s claim, no provision of law qualifies Mr Shonekan for a privilege such as claiming a public utility for his private use.
Former presidents and heads of state get annual entitlements from the federal government but personalising a public project is not one.
As a former head of state, Mr Shonekan is entitled to N350,000 per month as upkeep allowance, three vehicles due for replacement every four years, two personal staff and five security personnel.
He is also entitled to a fully furnished office and residential accommodation, protocol within and outside Nigeria, free medical services, and 30-days annual vacation within or outside Nigeria
PREMIUM TIMES could not get Mr Shonekan to comment about the borehole built in his residence because he was under the weather at the time. However, his wife confirmed that the borehole in their Abeokuta residence was given to them by Mr Odumosu.
“I know we have a borehole in the house in Abeokuta and Femi Odumosu did it for us but the Chief is sleeping now.”
When asked under what circumstance was borehole made for public use was given to Mr Shonekan, “Well, I can’t answer that question. The Chief is not feeling too well,” she replied.
When told that because the residence was always closed, members of the public, who the water facility was meant for could not access it, Mrs Shonekan said she did not think Mr Odumosu wanted the public to have access to the borehole when he agreed to build it in their residence.
“I don’t know whether it should serve other places. Well, it is in our compound. I don’t know whether Odumosu wanted other people in the community to come for it.
“If Odumosu said he gifted one to Chief Shonekan, and I have confirmed that there is a borehole in the house, what else do you want?
“I know that there is a borehole in our compound and I know that Chief Odumosu was a party to the borehole being there and the borehole is working. That is all that I know,” she said.
Two boreholes diverted to lawmaker’s farm
On paper, OORBDA stated that a borehole was built in Aderupoko village, which is in Odeda local government. Although Odeda is outside Abeokuta South federal constituency, where the boreholes were originally intended for, it could have been perhaps justified if they had been built in the village for public use.
However, in a move that reeked of self-centeredness and misappropriation of a public utility, the borehole was diverted to a farm owned by Mr Williams.
OORBDA claimed that one of the boreholes was sunk in the Papa area of Osiele in Odeda, but this reporter found out that it was, alongside another of the five boreholes, built on a farm of CrossBridge Nigeria Limited, owned by Mr Williams.
On the farm, the boreholes had inscriptions showing that they were government-funded. The one for Osiele and the one for Aderupoko village were seen meters away from each other on the farm.
PREMIUM TIMES observed that the farm occupies several hectares of land and the closest community to the farm is several kilometres away. Richard, a farmhand, told this reporter that the boreholes were used to water crops on the farm.
Richard was, however, reluctant to disclose who owns the farm. “I don’t ‘really’ know the owner of the farm. I was recently employed to work here.”
When our reporter returned to the farm on September 1, one of the workers, who identified himself as Isaac, said the owner of the farm was nearby. He volunteered to take our reporter to where the ‘oga’ (which is Yoruba for the boss), as he referred to the owner, was but stopped on the way to call him and seek his approval.
When Isaac told the owner that he had a journalist with him who wanted to see him, the man at the other end requested that the journalist disclose his mission on the phone.
Isaac handed our reporter his phone and the latter disclosed that he had come to make findings on the borehole projects facilitated by Mr Williams and sited on the farm.
“You have seen the projects, what else do you want?” ‘a voice at the other end of the call retorted and ended the call.
After the call, Isaac said: “it is like oga don’t want to see you o.”
This reporter has had a few conversations with Mr. Williams in the past and the voice of the “oga” was very similar to that of Mr Williams. When asked for the contact of his boss, Isaac declined. “Oga is a politician, I can’t give you his number. Try to understand, do you want him to sack me?”
During the conversation, Isaac disclosed that the farm has been in existence for “close to 10 years” and both boreholes were recently sunk and only serve the farm.
While leaving the farm, our reporter wrote down a phone number on the farm’s signboard. Truecaller, a smartphone application, revealed the identity behind the phone number as Akintunde Festus
Our reporter called this number posing as a potential business client and requested to speak with Mr Williams. The man on the other end admitted that CrossBridge farm belongs to the lawmaker. He, however, stated that he would forward messages and requests to Mr. Williams.
“This is not Honourable’s direct line but you can tell me about the business, I would forward your message to him,” Mr Festus said.
When contacted to respond to our findings, Mr Odumosu argued that Abeokuta is “the same town” irrespective of the separate constituencies and that projects are distributed for the benefit of the masses, hence the reason that some of the boreholes were sunk in other local government areas outside Abeokuta South.
“Abeokuta is unique in its federal constituencies as members of the House of Reps can be elected into power in either of the four constituencies. As such we do not limit projects cited by any facilitator, as long as it falls within the same town and is beneficial to the masses,” he said in a letter.
He further stated that the locations for the boreholes were chosen by the former lawmaker.
Contrary to what Isaac told this reporter, Mr Odumosu said his agency was not aware that there was such a farm when the boreholes were sunk.
“As at the time of award of the contract of the drilling of boreholes at Aderupoko Village and Papa Osiele, we did not see any sign of a farm in existence, as we met some rural dwellers (Igede) on the ground at that time who are in dire need of potable water.
“We do not know CrossBridge farm is as well as the owner, as the name is brought to our notice for the first time,” he said.
‘This is a witch-hunt’- Segun Williams
When asked the rationale behind sinking two boreholes funded by the government, in his farm and serving the farm only, Mr. Williams took offence at the question. He said the reporter had no business tracking government project and accused this newspaper of “witch-hunting” him.
“Why are you tracking government projects. What is the benefit? PREMIUM TIMES is not a government agency. Who owns PREMIUM TIMES? Where is your publisher from? Are you a journalist by profession? What did you read?, he asked angrily.
Mr William then confessed he was the boss that answered the call when the reporter visited CrossBridge farm but boasted that the reporter has no evidence to prove that he owns the farms.
“You were in the farm, right? When they called me that somebody was in the farm for the projects, the first question I asked is if you are a tracking agency that wants to track government projects. You know the agency handling the projects, and you saw the project. Why must you speak to the honourable member who facilitated the project?
“How did you know I own the farm? I said I was in the farm, did you meet me there? What evidence do you have that I own the farm? You can see that your intention is indicting.
“Don’t bother to explain anything, I have been very civil with you. PREMIUM TIMES did not employ me. PREMIUM TIMES did not vote for me. I am not accountable to PREMIUM TIMES,” he said.
“The first thing that should concern you as a journalist is: One, the federal government budgeted money for a project to be done; was the borehole sunk? Yes, it was sunk. Who sunk it? So and so person. QED! Is the money wasted? Federal government budgeted for boreholes to be sunk and it was sunk. What else is your business?
“The federal government gave money to a federal agency to sink a borehole and the borehole was sunk by the agency. You have no business with where it is sunk. Oh! Whose farm was it sunk? Why did they sink it in Lagbaja’s farm? That is not your purview. If you are not witch-hunting, what is your business asking who own the place?”
“It is because I know the intention of people like you, that is why I asked who your publisher is. We politicians, we know ourselves very well.
“You are just an NGO. Is that not so? You want to carry out government task. You want to help the government when the government did not send you. You want to go and wake a dead (body) that is already sleeping; you don’t even know how to wake the dead.
“You are saying they put it here, why didn’t they put it here. Did you facilitate the project? Was it your boss that facilitated it? You can put me on tape. I know your type. From what he is saying, he has gotten drunk already. You can put me on tape if you like.
“Your motive is sinister. You found boreholes on his farm, then what is your business? Do I sleep there? Are there no beneficiaries there? Is there no community there? Do I sleep there? I have a borehole in my own house.
When asked who the beneficiaries of the boreholes are, he said, “do yourself a favour and go and find out. Do you expect me to tell you? No!”
Contrary to this claim, two of his staff, Richard and Isaac, had told this reporter that the boreholes are used to water the farm. Isaac also told this reporter that “the village nearby is very far from here, that other side. I never see people come fetch water here o.”
This reporter reminded Mr. Williams that he had nominated the boreholes for Abeokuta South local government as indicated in the 2018 ZIP, but two boreholes were sunk in his farm in Odeda local government and another one (not located by this newspaper) in Abeokuta North
Mr Williams echoed the argument of the MD of OORBDA, Mr Odumosu, that the people of Egba are homogeneous regardless of the different constituencies.
“As an Egba man, because of the homogeneity in Egbaland, we and one unbreakable and unshakable. One can be voted for wherever in Egbaland. My staunch supporters, who are from my maternal extension live there and stay there. If they come to me and say they need water, should I tell them to go away because I am in Abeokuta South? Some of those in Odeda voted here. So, should I tell them I am not their son again because I am in the South?”
When told this reporter could not locate two other boreholes said to have been completed, Mr Williams said he told the agency to locate one of them in Asero, in the house of a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), whom he identified as ‘Adogun’.
“You know Adogun, a chairman in APC. I asked them to put a borehole in his house in this area. He is a staunch supporter. I told them if it cannot be there, they should not put it anywhere else, I will take it to another place. The borehole is sunk there by Ogun-Osun. They did an extension for other people outside the house to also benefit from the water. I have to compensate those that stood by me during the election. Do you know what it takes to win elections?,” he asked.
“You compensated supporters with government-funded projects?”, our reporter asked for clarity.
Mr. Williams replied: “Yes, what is it meant for? To compensate PREMIUM TIMES? What is constituency? Your constituency is people who voted for you. Will you take a project and put it where people did not work for you? People who voted for PDP, you expect me to go and give them borehole there? People who voted for APGA, should I give them borehole there? Why didn’t the federal government nominate ministers from APGA? Why did they nominate only from APC?”
Mr. Williams said he was aware that one of the boreholes was given to Chief Ernest Shonekan, but he refused to state the rationale behind such a gift.
This investigation was done as part of the UDEME project.
The corridor as it sounds is just a term to describe the place that people sit to wait for their turn to see the General overseer of the mountain of fire and Miracles ministries, DR DK OLUKOYA and I happened to be a beneficiary of the work of that place, described as the spiritual clinic by those that have
experienced the raw power of God on display in this almost 200 square meters of open space.
This is just an office space, as a matter of fact a place that can be described as the GO’s office, counselling room, situation room, or a place of intercession. It’s a place where you get a closer look and witness the power of GOD move through the general overseer as he reaches out to those possessed, oppressed, depressed, confused, mentally ill, insane, sick, handicapped and so on, a place where you will meet people from all works of life, seated with prayer points praying and waiting for their turns to see the Doctor, either for financial aid, church activity approvals , spiritual problems, church matters, charity work and all sort of activities, this is a place that I can say traffics over 1000 people daily, trooping in and out for one issue or the other.
In this environment, people display different kinds of manifestations, from vomiting different kind of creatures, rolling on the floor like serpents, tearing off their clothes, becoming violent, speaking in strange languages, behaving like wild beast, shrieking out loud, voices speaking through people, and lot more.
There was once a case of a man, who was under the influence of the Holy Ghost fire, immediately the General Overseer started praying, he tore open his trousers to reveal his manhood that has a serpent fork tongue, this is a place where the power of God is always and fully demonstrated and this of course happens when the fire of God move into the midst through the man of God Dr D.k Olukoya.
These scenarios on the other hand are not recorded to be televised like some ministries do, but are phone recorded to show to those whom have put up these displays unconsciously or subconsciously for them to see the handiwork of God and how deeply rooted they are to the powers that have taken them captive.
So I was really disturbed having been a witness to the raw power of God in this same corridor, watching this daughter of the son of perdition, Maurine Badejo from the marine kingdom, speak ill on social media of the wonder working power of GOD that goes on in the corridor as it is fondly called, mind you it’s just an office where people wait.
This daughter of jezebel was talking about women being fingered and ladies virginals been wiped with handkerchief at the corridor, haaa, madam destroyer , from what part of hell did that kind of thought come from ? But how? When? And how can it happen? Impossibility cannot even describe the word because I would like to ask this Marine possessed lady a few questions
1. Is there a secret room where these activities go on, or are we talking about same open corridor were
tons of people move in and out and have over 15 clergy personnel’s taking care of activities?
2. Do these false allegations take place in the open or behind some closed doors that doesn’t exist?
3. Can Marine Maurine give us proof or provide videos or evidence of all she has been saying about the
corridor? A lot of us are typically aware of her paid callers, but at least can she get one person to come
out and say that these things have happened to him or her?
4. Are there any reasons whatsoever this woman is after the house of God with such venom from the
abyss, with cake baked lies that she is serving to people who know not the true path?
You see Marine Maurine has been touching different ministries but the devil just pushed her into fire and I know for sure that the fire of God of the mountain of fire will consume her in a short time, shedrach Meshach and Abednego seemed like criminals when they were escorted into the fiery furnace, but little did those that threw them into the fire realise that the fire will come out and select them for consumption, I feel for her social media followers who fulfil her money chasing desires through followership on social media. She will indeed fill you with stories that will derail your faith your person and your position, she seem convincing by using emotions and fictions to speak to people , but the truth will always suffice be guided brethren.
If ever a single snapshot told a complete story, the outcome of the Edo Governorship Debate organised by Channels TV last Sunday and capped by “The Conversation” by the Arise News Television a few days after, would have been enough to call today’s governorship election in Edo State a walkover for Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressive Congress, APC.
For the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), what happened that night was a capitulation and repudiation of their otherwise unpopular candidate and his regressive policies as governor, and an embrace of Ize-Iyamu’s call for a change in the direction and total outlook of the state.
The debate provided a telling moment for Edo indigenes across the world to see through the bumbling governor as he struggled to articulate whatever achievements his administration had been vaunting about. He was at best, incoherent and at worst, unconvincing.
Worse, Obaseki failed two major moral tests. First, he claimed that a former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, borrowed recklessly during his administration but conveniently forgetting that he was not just an integral member of the administration, he was also the Chief Economic Adviser to Oshiomhole. What irony! Edo people don’t want a liar as governor!
The second test he failed was when Ize-Iyamu challenged him on his A-Level result, which had emerged that he failed and therefore could only have gained admission into the University of Ibadan with a fake or falsified result. The people of Edo State, obviously, don’t want a governor with sordid and scant integrity.
More fundamental is that there is a fraud allegation albatross on the neck of the PDP candidate, which he has yet to resolve or respond to.
A foremost whistle-blower and anti-corruption crusader, Dr. George Uboh, chairman of George Uboh Whistleblowers Network (GUWN), claimed that they got bank statements from 2015 to 2019 on the Edo State Government showing misappropriation of billions of naira.
This, he claimed, included numerous transfers made into 8-digit account numbers; transfers from the state government to General-Purpose accounts in different banks, including but not limited to Equatorial Trust Bank (which is no longer in operation), Access Bank and Sterling Bank etc.
The allegation is hanging over his head like a sword of Damocles. Refusal to respond to the allegations is being interpreted – and rightly so too – across the state as Obaseki’s typical condescending attitude towards the people. They cannot bear such for another four years.
The APC is, however, not unmindful of the fact that debates or mere allegations of fraud don’t determine the outcome of elections. The character construct of a candidate and acceptability of his manifesto play a key role, which is where Ize-Iyamu is streets ahead of other contestants.
While Obaseki continues to move from one self-inflicted mishap to the other, everything that can go right for Ize-Iyamu is going well. He has campaigned well and widely too.
Ize-Iyamu’s populist appeal is predicated on many factors. He is a son of the soil in the truest sense of the word. He was born in Benin City, the state capital, to the family of Chief Robert Osayande Ize-Iyamu and Mrs. Magdalene Naghado Ize- Iyamu (née Obasohan), both of blessed memory. His father was a revered high chief of the Oba of Benin, ranking second in command until his demise as the Esogban of Benin.
He attended St. Joseph Primary School and Ebenezer Nursery and Primary School in Benin City, and had his secondary school education at Edo College, the premier secondary school in Edo State. He later attended the University of Benin, where he graduated with a degree in law. His law firm, Idahosa, Ahonaruogho & Ize-Iyamu (Solicitor & Advocates), has offices in Benin and Lagos but he has remained in the state.
A major advantage also is his political know-how and grassroots appeal. He was about 27 years old, when he was first appointed as a Special Assistant to the chairman of Oredo Local Government, Chief Lucky Igbinedion. When the latter became governor in 1999, he appointed Ize-Iyamu as Chief of Staff.
In Igbinedion’s second term, he served as Secretary to the State Government. While contributing to the development of the state in his official role, Ize-Iyamu was nurturing progressive and ambitious youths in the state through his I.O Farms Training Institute – a model farm settlement at Ugbor-Amagba communities in Benin City, which has produced hundreds of young agriculturists.
The institute has the triple objective of agricultural training, skills acquisition and youth empowerment, which is a veritable mechanism for the reduction of unemployment, youth restiveness and organised crime. If he could do this as a private citizen, the people know that he can do much more as a governor.
Also, Ize-Iyamu holds sacrosanct revered British economist, Alfred Marshall’s postulation that ‘The most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings’, which is why he has promised that his administration would treat youth, sports, recreation and cultural activities as a business model for job and wealth creation opportunities.
According to him, “The purpose of government is the pursuance of happiness for the greater majority of the people,” and this is laid bare in his well-articulated manifesto of hope entitled ‘The SIMPLE Agenda’ – which stands for Security and Social Welfare, Infrastructure Development, Manpower Development, Public/Private Partnership, Leadership by Example and Employment Creation.
After consulting widely across the 18 local government areas of the state and thoroughly analysing the existential challenges of the people, the SIMPLE Agenda aims to launch Edo State on the path to sustainable prosperity and holistic development.
Like he said at the debate, the potential of Edo State is huge in terms of its ability to attract tourists, investments and quality jobs but the prevailing security situation in the state makes the realisation of this potential unrealistic and unattainable.
Thus, the first prong of the agenda is to build brand new security architecture with the creation of an emergency system like the 911 (the emergency contact number of the United States of America) to address insecurity in the state.
He says, “Community policing programme involving neighbourhood watch and vigilante groups will be established in rural and urban areas. Their main responsibility will be to monitor and gather intelligence for the different security agencies in their domains.”
In the area of social welfare, Ize-Iyamu says among other plans like free healthcare for the elderly, pregnant women and children below the age of five, policies that will protect widows and children of a deceased person from harassment and intimidation will be initiated and enforced. Under such policies, provisions will be made to ensure that widows and children have easier access to the estate, pension and other assets or benefits of their deceased.
The people also appreciate that Ize-Iyamu understands that the development of a state or country depends wholly on the availability of infrastructural facilities – both social and economic – an area, where Obaseki failed spectacularly.
Infrastructure plays a vital role in the improvement of a people’s standard of living and in contributing to a higher rate of socio-economic growth while their absence or degeneration negates development. And, in the SIMPLE Agenda, the APC candidate’s plans for infrastructure development and urban renewal are well articulated.
As part of the comprehensive plans to revamp, reform and restore the ailing health care sector, Ize-Iyamu assures the people that more attention will be paid to the primary healthcare centres and cottage hospitals while a harmonisation of Federal, State and Local Government health care plans and the incorporation of the National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP), will be implemented.
Good enough, his wife, Professor Idia is a consultant orthodontist at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and is familiar with the health sector like a child is familiar with her sandbox.
She joined the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH) as a lecturer in 1997 and has served in various capacities in the institution. She became an Associate Professor of Orthodontics in 2014 and is a Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons. She also attended the Oxford University, United Kingdom, on a Commonwealth Medical Fellowship in 2016.
When it comes to the wellbeing of the people, Prof Idia will not just be an appendage of government; she would add value as an academic, a mother, an indigene and a medical practitioner.
Noteworthy is that her riveting message: that the improved lives of women and girls in the state and the world at large will lead to stronger and safer economies, is proving to be transformational and catching up with the women and the youth demographics. She complements her husband and will no doubt make an ideal First Lady.
Therefore, as you go out to cast that life-changing vote today, it is trite that as one, who desires change in every facet of the state, you would consider your future and those of your family members and everyone around you and desist from selling your votes, but rather make an informed choice in collective interest. With that one vote with you, the future of Edo is in your hand. Do justice to the choice you make today for a future you desire.
Electoral debates are oftentimes about gauging which candidate connects more with voters while presenting policy alternatives to undecided voters. In the end, debates are potential stimulants to the strengths or weaknesses of a candidate.
Last Sunday evening, Nigerians were treated to an intense two-hour Channels Television-organised debate between Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the two leading contenders in the Saturday, September 19 Edo State governorship election. Both men squared off in what was a grudge contest more or less considering the volatility of their electioneering so far.
Not surprisingly, Ize-Iyamu, whose ‘SIMPLE Agenda’ manifesto has caught on like wildfire in the state and beyond, was at his spontaneous and eloquent best. No falsity escaped him. He was cool and composed, comfortable and confident in front of television cameras and a handful of supporters of both parties. He came away with some of the most memorable moments of the heated debate.
Obaseki got off on a wrong footing. Not a few people recall that his claims to political fame and fortune was as Chairman – from 2009 to 2016 – of the Edo State Economic and Strategy Team under the administration of former Governor Adams Oshiomole before he was elected governor.
It, therefore, came as a crippling shock when, tackled on the huge debt profile of the state, Governor Obaseki blamed Oshiomhole saying,
“What happened is that my predecessor in office borrowed recklessly and the federal government had to restructure all the debts that we have taken before I came into office. These included a whole series of bank borrowings, borrowing to pay salaries.
“So, the federal government restructured outstanding obligations to Edo State, to the tune of almost N30 billion. That was what was responsible for adding to the debt stock, not borrowings from this administration.” He also alleged that the immediate past government owed contractors about N70 billion, and pegged the total debt owed by the state at N120 billion.
Silence enveloped the hall as the brows of guests were furrowed in disgust and disbelief. But Ize-Iyamu, who didn’t serve in the administration questioned the integrity of Obaseki, saying, “It is scandalous to attribute the huge debt to a predecessor that you were the Chief Economic Adviser to. Sometimes you seem to forget the role you played in the past government.” That succinct response further reinforced the public’s positive perceptions about Ize-Iyamu.
Another zinger moment was when Obaseki promised to open up the state to endless possibilities, noting that he had created 157,000 jobs so far. At the outset, he said, “I promised to create a minimum of 200,000 jobs within four years. Just before COVID-19, we have created both direct and indirect jobs for Edo people as much as 157,000 jobs.”
He claimed the figures were verifiable via third-party sources such as the National Bureau of Statistics and noted that government’s role was not to directly create jobs but to leverage and create an enabling environment for the private sector.
However, Ize-Iyamu pointedly asked him: “Where are the Jobs?” Facing the audience, he said, “I am sure he is not going to misplace the appointments he is making now as jobs. I know that in the past one month, he has appointed over 2,000 people as SSAs on social media and the rest of them. Those are not jobs. When you say you have created jobs, in what area? We know for example that there is a glaring vacancy in the teaching profession and every school we went to, they practically had no teacher.”
The APC candidate was not done. “Eight of 10 graduates in Edo State don’t have jobs. There is unemployment in the state. The governor was just releasing fake statistics. The little jobs available were given to outsiders. My fellow contestant is not worried about the brain drain in the medical sector.
“This is, according to him, because he wants to do e-diagnostics. Mr Obaseki did not know of the Stella Obasanjo Hospital, which was built over 12 years ago. So, what was he doing when he was in government? He does not even know what is happening in the state.
“I am shocked that the state’s School of Nursing and Midwifery has been closed. The danger is that we will be going outside our state to look for nurses to help our mothers in labour. The government has spent around N16 billion to train teachers, but how has this improved education in the state?”
A contrite Obaseki admitted that there were challenges in the area of employment as, “Human capital development is one of the areas that the government has accomplished a lot. Jobs came from the way the government addressed the problem by creating a sense of purpose to encourage the private sector to participate.”
If the governor thought that he could smooth-talk his way out of his obvious ineptitude and failure, Ize-Iyamu came prepared to point them all out to the world. Insecurity and criminality are rife in Edo State yet, Obaseki said: “What we have done to improve the security architecture was to use technology by creating hi-breed security architecture.”
With all guns blazing, Ize-Iyamu said, “The security challenges in Edo have reached an alarming proportion. The only thing Governor Obaseki increased is security vote but there has been no investment in security. Our state is one of the few in the country with no advanced technology for fighting security. If he had invested in security, the issue of insecurity would have been an issue of the past in Edo State. We can combat human trafficking if we make the home environment more conducive and curb the rural to urban drift. There are laws in place and the federal government is doing a lot to reduce it.
“Our security vehicles cannot fight security. I will introduce tracker and drones to tackle crimes. The personnel deployed in our state to combating insecurity will complement an organised state police but we must work with the federal government and every other stakeholder. Our people must feel safe at all times. Kidnapping is high in the state. We are not showing enough concern. If I were governor, I would have acted on veritable intelligence and mobilised security agencies to flush them out of the forests around Okada-Ofosu road.”
The moderator asked if the Edo Civil Service was over-bloated and what would be done to cut down on the workforce, to which Obaseki said, “The problem is that it is not over-bloated, it is just aged. We need to bring in more people to work for the government; smarter people and we need to train them.”
Reacting, Ize-Iyamu said, “I think the model that the governor has tried to adopt is to reduce the workforce to the barest minimum but unfortunately, whatever savings he thinks he is making, is not seen in capital projects.”
Similarly, Ize-Iyamu accused the governor of excessive borrowing for agriculture without any project to show for it. “In the agricultural sector, the loan that the governor has collected is staggering. He (Obaseki) has collected over N75billion in debts. What did he do with them? All his promises remain unfulfilled although he came in when there was a high windfall in Edo.”
Ize-Iyamu said further that the N2 billion the state invested in Sobe Farm by partnering Saro farms has not yielded any meaningful result, adding, “The Agenegbode Rice Project, N5billion went down the drain. The oil-palm project, he collected N69 billion from the CBN and the money has been shared to cronies.
“No Edo person has benefited from that money. The governor made what I might call a very lame attempt and he failed completely and we are in a very sorry state.” Obaseki faulted the figure but failed to mention the actual amount he spent.
What would have been a Eureka moment for the governor was when the authenticity of his university degree was questioned and he responded thus: “I studied in the Faculty of Arts and the university has said I graduated from the institution. It is very sad that in a country like Nigeria, some people who do not have the qualifications have the effrontery to challenge the qualification of those who went to proper schools. That is a very sad situation that we have found ourselves.”
But Ize-Iyamu fired back. “We do not doubt that you attended the university. The issue is that you failed school certificate. You had no English and Maths, which will make it difficult to enrol for A-Level. And if you got A-Level, why is it that you’ve not been able to present the A-Level, where is the result? You had only three credits without Mathematics and English. That is a moral question. A lot of people are looking up to you as a governor and as a leader.
“Your disqualification by the APC arose from the information that your party now, the PDP, provided, because the PDP, when I was contesting against you (in 2016) said you have no results. Why have you not answered the question? Where is your result?”
Obaseki must have wished he could end the debate right there and then. And it ended ignominiously for him.
Days after the debate, Ize-Iyamu has been receiving commendations in torrents from far and near for his sterling showing. Noteworthy, Governor Umar Ganduje of Kano State, said, “What happened during the debate organised by Channels Television and other stakeholders between Ize-Iyamu and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counterpart, Godwin Obaseki, shows that ours is an issue-based process.
In all the areas discussed, it appears to all that the APC is ready to take Edo State to higher levels. Our outlined programmes in the areas of security, education, health and others show that our party is determined to better the living condition of Edo people.”
Ganduje, who is Chairman of the APC Gubernatorial Election Council, said, “Looking at the trend and manner in which the debate went, it appears to all that APC is in top gear and determined to win the Saturday election and Edo State and its people will be saved from the clutches of underdevelopment and retardation.”
Simeon, a graduate of communication studies, wrote from Benin
In politics, reputation is everything. Political reputation is less what political figures say or do; it is more about what the people see when they see a politician. Conversely, a politician’s character is an incredibly important feature of reputation formation or destruction – as the case may be – in political circumstances. So, it is important to remember that actions will always be louder than words.
Judging by the reputation of Phillip Shaibu, the incumbent deputy governor of Edo State, it is safe to say that his reputation has done more damage to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket in Edo State than the famed incompetence and failure of Governor Godwin Obaseki, the candidate proper.
The question that begs for an answer is: what does Shaibu’s reputation say of him? He comes across as patently unfitting for the office he occupies and which he seeks so desperately to retain, because of his vapidity, irascibility and inability to articulate the achievements of an administration he has been a part of from the outset.
If gravitas and intellection were the lowest common denominator, Shaibu, despite his relative youthfulness – he turned 50 last December – does not appear minimally competent for the office of Deputy Governor.
A deputy governor with questionable intellect and glaring incompetence is a bad combination but the fact that Shaibu never runs anything but his mouth has further worsened the chances of Obaseki, who also appears to have since lost his governance marbles but laughably still seeks re-election.
More so, is his propensity to always resort to violence and violent threats whenever it jostles him that his days in office are numbered, which many have laid squarely at the foot of his background as a student unionist where thuggery and violence undergirded their conduct.
In political reputation, seemingly small things are amplified and they become big. This is why caution is critical and desirable in handling Shaibu, because, for every act of violence that has trailed the state since 2018, his name is copiously mentioned.
Sometime in 2019, mayhem was unleashed on high profile guests like the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu and Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, when they attended the convocation ceremony of the Edo University, Iyamho.
At the time, the former governor of the state, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, had fallen out with his successor and political godson, Governor Obaseki. Shaibu, as deputy governor, saw the ceremony as a perfect opportunity to show Oshiomhole that power had changed hands.
He reportedly mobilised over 200 ‘Okada’ riders to the venue and the guests were left scampering to safety under a cloud of violent attacks. Those who were not so lucky escaped with bodily injuries and damaged cars.
A few days to the event, Oshiomhole said, “I had information that the deputy governor asked some people to organise 1,000 people to the university community. You can crosscheck with the Inspector General of Police. The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, who delivered the convocation lecture, was also a witness. I conveyed the message to the IGP to prevent thugs from being imported to the place by the deputy governor.
“Some few minutes later the governor himself arrived and Mr. Emefiele went to him and said to him, ‘what are these people doing here?’ Emefiele said to the governor that if those people were there, he wasn’t going to deliver the convocation lecture, because he didn’t come to do politics, he just came to perform a normal intellectual activity, which was the convocation lecture.”
The truth of what truly transpired has not been established and may never be given the dynamics of Nigerian politics, which is why Shaibu’s involvement or otherwise is still up in the air but his name came up again recently, when the acting chairman of the APC in Edo State, Col David Imuse (retd) said there was credible information that Obaseki had a sinister plan involving Shaibu.
Imuse said, “In a shocking revelation, it has been shown that the Edo State government, in connivance with a retired police officer from Kogi State, who has been identified in series of violence plots in Edo State and beyond, is plotting to stage an attack on their own convoy.
“Specifically, an attack on the convoy of the Deputy Governor, Mr. Philip Shaibu in a bid to draw sympathy; pose as victims and set the stage for a new wave of the violent onslaught on the people of Edo State some of whom have fallen victims to the reckless shootings of the governor’s army of thugs and criminals.”
Shaibu debunked the allegation but the question is: why always him? The story is told of how he practically arm-twisted the leadership of the PDP, when he followed Obaseki to defect from the APC last June.
In a party where there was no such overhanging threat of intimidation, Obaseki, as the sitting governor, would have had to choose a new deputy from among the fold of the PDP, which he just joined to placate extant members and give them a sense of belonging.
Not with Shaibu. He huffed and puffed, and threatened and coerced the PDP into retaining him as Obaseki’s running mate. It was a hard pill to swallow but it was the least the party leaders could do else they stood to regret not supporting him.
In a recent viral video clip, Shaibu was seen talking to a group of young men ostensibly loyal to the PDP wherein he was overheard boasting that he was not a coward and, “I have called the CP (Commissioner of Police) that they should arrest those boys. Failure to arrest them, I cannot guarantee peace.”
In fact, the role of Shaibu in most of the violent activities in the state was well summed up by the Oba of Benin, Ewuare II, when during a reconciliation meeting of the gladiators, called out Shaibu as the brain behind many of the crises in the state. More cogently, the monarch said he was reluctant to call him his son, because of his recent disposition to violence ahead of the election. What could have been more pungent?
Interestingly, his wife, Maryam, is cut from the same cloth. If Shaibu had been masking his violent streak with some maturity, she openly revels in it. There is also a viral video of Maryam at a ‘town hall meeting’ where she was heard threatening a cross-section of women that if they attended any other event aside the one organised by her, she would flog them. Some of the women in the audience were much older.
Two interventions are indeed critical and auspicious at this point; that of the National Peace Committee helmed by a former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (rtd); and the imposition of visa restrictions on individuals found instigating violence in the Edo and Ondo elections slated for September and October respectively by the United States government.
Abdulsalami, as chairman of the committee, said they were intervening in the Edo State governorship election, because of the tension it is generating, stressing that if there is no peace, there could not be any election.
At a meeting with Governor Obaseki, Abdulsalami said, “As you know, the purpose of this committee is to ensure that all those involved in this election get hold of their supporters and party people to ensure that there is peace in the state.” The committee oversaw the signing of a peace pact by the major candidates in the election.
Likewise, the U.S Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, Monday, disclosed: “In July 2019, we announced the imposition of visa restrictions on Nigerians, who undermined the February and March 2019 elections.
“Today, the Secretary of State is imposing additional visa restrictions on individuals for their actions surrounding the November 2019 Kogi and Bayelsa State elections and in the run-up to the September and October 2020 Edo and Ondo State elections,” the statement read.
It is fervently hoped that these would serve as a deterrent to those with a lifelong reputation of violence.
Captain Hosa Wells is a consummate philanthropist and a household word in Edo state, emanating largely from his deep impart on the lives of the common man and corporate institutions in the society. Captain Hosa Okunbo is one exceptional Benin man that has used his God given talents, time and treasury for the emancipation of the common man. He’s the hero of the unsung Nigerian who has no godfather to pillar his desires. He is the quintessential egalitarian who transcended the ropes and is today one of the ‘big boys’ of the evolving Nigeria neo mercantile economy. Captain has a cursory disposition towards humility and one of the most unassuming billionaires the black race has ever produced. Captain is very passionate about his string of business and makes humongous successes of them.
From industrial engineering to high tech farming, through the very highly wired terrain of oil and gas, Marine engineering, Hotels, Logistics and real estate. Recently he resorted to newspaper publications to call the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki to order.
His very detailed and well laid out expose` of the dwindling relationship between him and the governor based largely on an unfounded misconception and fuelled by the reelection ambition of the latter, was so well articulated that the Governor had to beat a retreat and openly apologized for his reticence. Capt. Hosa enjoys
enormous good will in the society and being a ‘son’ of the Palace is an added virtue to his integrity. He’s a great mobilizer of the youths of the society and understands the psychology of hunger and wants.
He creates social structures that endures through jobs and employment generation, provision of very supportive scholarship, and health care support facilities. It is on record that he pioneered private hostel development in tertiary institutions in Edo to address the acute deficit in the accommodation of students. He represents the new face of Edo especially in the quest for growth and development. He’s most deserving of National honours and his untiring efforts in industry development, Marine engineering, direct foreign investment into Nigeria makes him outstanding for praises.
The issues of rape has suddenly become a scourge that needs urgent and swift interference of relevant government agencies, many organisations and individual has been clamoring for different and stiffer punishment rapists. The holy Bible according to Deuteronomy 22 verse 25 put the punishment for rape as death.
The 2008 UN Security Council meeting had also passed Resolution 1820, which states that “rape and other forms of sexual violence can constitute war crimes”. Patricia Sellers, a prominent international criminal attorney and special adviser for prosecution strategies to the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court further reinforce the fact that the Yugoslavia and Rwanda judgment enforcement has erased the doubt and established rape as a war crime, a crime against humanity and sexualized violence within the meaning of genocide.
It is therefore expected that legislators will take the bold step as making sure that rapists are made to pay the swift maximum punishment for the crime tagged crime against humanity.
However, one thing that come to mind when we are trying to ascertain the guilty or the innocent is what I call the Joseph treatment. Since most of the cases enjoying media mention in Nigeria especially those that has to do with celebrities are issues the accusers always dated to years back with no doctor report to back them up, many are of the thought that the case of biblical Joseph may be the case.
If it could be recollected Joseph was accused by his master’s wife of rape even when the story relays that it is a case of fight back of a scorned woman. Findings shows many men have been punished unjustly for such cases all around the world, this write-up will be mentioning few and the consequence on those that were falsely accused.
The story of Daniel Jones of Queanbeyan City in Australia is one story that stand out, the then 25 years old was accused of rape by his fiancée and he was made to undergo more than six (6) years long persecution that cost his parent their life savings of more than $600,000, it took intervention of a new detective to set him from the false accusation of a lady who is supposed to be his wife.
Though Dan did not spend more than months in the prison but his accusation ended up destroying his parents’ more than 30 years relationship and all their life savings while the lady in question Sarah Jane Parkinson was only sentence to 3 years and 1 month period in prison not for falsely accusing Dan but for misleading investigator with no monetary compensation for the ruined family.
Another like that is the case of two young men in New York, USA, who were accused of rape, Gregory Counts, then 19, and Van Dyke Perry, then 21 in 1991, they were arrested and charged with rape. Despite the fact that investigators had no physical evidence. Semen recovered from the woman did not match the two accused men. The prosecution’s case relied heavily on her testimony, and in 1992, a jury convicted Mr. Counts and Mr. Perry on all counts except for the weapons charges. Mr. Perry ended up serving 11 years in prison while Mr. Counts served 26 years.
It took efforts of the attorneys with the Innocence Project in 2012 to reopen the case and with the help of DNA proved the two men were wrongfully imprisoned, during further investigations and questioning the woman who accused the two admitted that the story was a lie. She told investigators that her boyfriend forced her to make the fake accusations.
Though Perry who was released when he was 32 years after spending 11 years in prison was able to pick-up his life, the case is Counts was released when he was 45 years after spending 26 years behind bars for an offence he did not commit and he will have to start picking his life up from there while the woman who falsely accused them left off the hook.
Here some of the cases that is raising the people’s fear that the campaigners for capital punishment for rapists though on track but a law must also be put in place for those who are falsely accusing people of rape and other sexual related offences to face almost the same punishment as rapists, since the two of them will be altering the lives of those at the receiving end.
It will therefore be right for sexual offence activists to join in their clamour same punishment for both rapist and the Josephs.
The volume, velocity and variety of campaigns of calumny against Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo, a billionaire businessman and philanthropist, in the last few weeks, underpin the consensus among the elite and the average electorate in Edo State, that having wilfully taken on some of its illustrious sons, Governor Godwin Obaseki is an ill wind that blows no one any good and should be voted out of Government House by September 19th. Obaseki does not deserve pity of any kind, really.
He self-destructed by scrapping with well meaning apolitical but wealthy Edo sons, who are now all out to see his back. A statesman like Capt Hosa, for instance, is the centripetal force of the governorship election with just one mandate: chase Obaseki out. Prior, he would have remained in the background, because of his professed non-political stance.
But the governor and his administration had mindlessly and serially besmirched him and his businesses. For Capt Hosa, the September 19th governorship election is a battle he is committed to helping Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and the All Progressives Congress, APC, win, not for any ulterior motive but the need to rescue Edo from the impostor in Government House.
Fighting needless battles with people especially those that have impacted the lives of the people for decades remains one of Obaseki’s mortal undoing. He sadly and patently epitomises and embodies the biting aphorism that no man is wise enough or good enough to be trusted with unlimited power.
Pre-2016, Obaseki was dutiful, loyal and meek; virtues that won him over to the Edo State elite, notably, Capt Hosa. For any right-thinking government, whether state, national or international, Capt Hosa is an ace in the hole – an effective adviser and sounding board for economic policies and directions that Obaseki failed to capitalise on his hand of fellowship is one of the major indicators of his administrative and governance ineptness and ignorance.
Yet, in the early days of his administration, Captain Hosa was one of Obaseki’s cheerleaders – supporting, rooting and collaborating with him to make Edo work for the generality of the people. He contended that if Obaseki succeeded, it is the people of the state that would be the greatest beneficiary and if he did otherwise, it is still the people that would bear the brunt.
Knowing Captain Hosa means knowing a man at peace with himself, humanity and his creator. Undeniably one of Nigeria’s most successful and humane businessmen with interests in diverse sectors of the economy spanning petroleum, marine, construction engineering and agriculture, Captain Hosa has given as much to humanity and his native Edo State nay Nigeria as much he has been blessed by God.
Over the years, much as he is not a partisan politician, he has always supported progressive politics and those with the passion and devotion to better the lots of the people.
Because of his commitment to making Obaseki and his administration succeed, Capt Hosa, in 2016, had a meeting with the new governor on how to make the state an investment hub to expand revenue base, drive economic growth, and lessen the financial burden on the public purse so the state government could spend even more on public works.
Believing that he and the governor were in sync, Captain Hosa sponsored him and his officials on an investments pathfinder’s trip to China, because of his firm conviction in private sector-led participation as being the key to the economic and industrial development of the state.
On another occasion, as a guest of the governor at the Edo Convention in Toronto, Canada, he announced the donation of five houses valued at N50million to support Obaseki’s housing project and earn him the goodwill of Edo people at home and in the Diaspora. Capt Hosa did all of these and more without necessarily expecting any patronage from the state government.
The eventual point of departure between him and Obaseki, according to Capt Hosa, was when he started an avoidable fight with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the then APC National Chairman.
“At a time, I spent almost three hours of my precious time in the governor’s house, explaining to him the need to build synergy between him and in the best interest of the development of our state. He was blunt that he was not interested in any peace talk and that he was embarking on a fight to the finish with Comrade Oshiomhole,” Okunbo recalled, in an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Edo people.
A man, who holds firmly that politics is about morals and values, and that nobody needs amoral friends with shitty values, Capt Hosa said he decided to hands off the matter, having done all he could do to engender a peaceful atmosphere for governance and development of Edo.
At the time also, it had become apparent that Obaseki’s style of governance was anti-people and divisive while his strong suit is demonising those who don’t share his base political beliefs. Worse, Obaseki and his rapacious crew pandered towards venality while he made a botch of the state’s economy.
They deified and enrobed him in transcendent garb without commensurate achievements or substance and he believed his own hype and turned a deaf ear to voices of reason. He did virtually nothing to assure the populace that people can stay connected and respect each other even if they differed politically.
Then, Obaseki began a reign of onslaught against Captain Hosa. First was the sponsored and sustained rumour that he was interested in the governorship seat. Despite his strong rebuttal, the Obaseki camp feasted on it. Later, Obaseki, in a press statement, blatantly accused Oshiomhole and Captain Hosa of plans to recruit thugs to disrupt the September 19th election.
Subsequently, an aide of the governor, one Marvellous Zibiri, wrote an incendiary article wherein he described Capt. Hosa as a ‘drug baron’ because he was investigated by the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in 1995 and given a clean bill of health.
It bears recalling that after the NDLEA absolved him of any crime, Capt Hosa instituted legal proceedings against the agency at the Miscellaneous Offences Tribunal, Lagos, where it was established that the prosecution had not made a prima facie case against him that would warrant the tribunal to ask him to defend himself.
Thus, Hon. Justice Tijani Abdullahi, who presided over the tribunal, discharged and acquitted him on a ‘no case’ submission. It was this case that Zibiri referenced and caused to be widely published and syndicated. The article was one of many calculated attempts to bring Capt Hosa into disrepute.
Although Captain Hosa fought back, got Zibiri arrested and the young man, who realised his mistakes, openly apologised. For a man with a large heart, Captain Hosa forgave him and brought him like a son. Zibiri had since written a few articles, doting over the manner of man that Captain Hosa is.
In an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and the people of Edo, Capt Hosa stated bluntly: “This spate of coordinated attacks, with their attendant mode of vicious execution, can best be described as the unconscionable actions by attack dogs and hirelings of the desperate Edo State Government on the watch of Governor Godwin Obaseki.”
According to him, as a good-hearted Edo son, he did not deserve the embarrassing treatment even as his pedigree will never let him to deliberately concoct any wrong against his state and Obaseki.
“I am, however, shocked, bewildered and pained to observe that despite my very sincere, robust and stated commitment to support the anticipated pace of infrastructure development, progress and other social investment initiatives through the deployment of my modest goodwill and network of capital, for which I am eternally grateful to God, alas, the response has been to paint my person with a brush of public odium that verges on mischief.”
Well, the die is cast now. The skunk at the garden party in Edo State will be marched out in September. But the honour, respect and reputation that Captain Hosa had built over the years remain immutable, no matter the antics of detractors. What more, Okunbo is set to be honoured soon on September 11 for the Best of Africa awards, a few days to the governorship election. You can now understand why he remains the ace in Edo’s hole.
– Taminu lives and works in Abuja, the nation’s capital
It is trite to say job creation is crucial for a healthy economy to fire growth and improve the lives of the citizenry. And since the importance of creating jobs is to ensure a stable and progressive society, the electorate and the general public are always keen to know what an intending public office holder/seeker has in stock for them in terms of jobs/employment creation. Therefore, as September 19 approaches, Edo State is also not left out of that consideration.
The level of enlightenment among voters in Edo State ahead the coming governorship election has increased significantly. People are more interested in who governs them and what benefits are available through the various choices as revealed in their manifestoes.
This is where the Edo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and his handlers appear, to be ahead of their main rival, incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki. They must have learnt this all-important fact, because his contract with the people, simplified as the ‘SIMPLE Agenda’, which has long been presented to the public, clearly indicates his readiness to tackle the menace of unemployment head-on.
Manifestoes are the ideas or plans of what a candidate projects to do to address societal problems and the SIMPLE Agenda presented by the APC candidate in Edo State comes as one, which understands the problem of shortage of gainful employment, the right measures for its alleviation and possible eradication.
One way to generate employment is to create enterprises that are self-sustainable. Corporations and governments must be innovative as they seek to solve the hydra-headed problem of unemployment. Reasonable government will achieve so much in doing this with corporate engagements that can justify investment and ensure returns on investment.
Though governments like that of Edo State are different from other conventional profit-oriented entities, and this seems to have prompted the approach that Mr. Ize-Iyamu and the Edo APC have adopted in their blueprint on how to move the state forward in respect of employment generation.
The SIMPLE Agenda reveals that, Mr Ize-Iyamu, when elected governor would embark on the maximisation of every government engagements towards creation of gainful employment for the Edo people. In other words, governments will generate jobs from every programme, project and activity in each of the 18 local government areas of the state.
The “SIMPLE AGENDA”, an acronym for SECURITY, INFRASTRUCTURAL development, MANPOWER development, PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP, LEADERSHIP and EMPLOYMENT creation, is an action plan with the potential to transform lives of the people if followed to the letters.
Ize-Iyamu promises over 75, 000 direct and indirect job opportunities in a well-calculated projection based on job creation through policies and programmes enumerated in his SIMPLE agenda within a period of fours years.
As revealed in the document, every government undertaking aimed at generating revenue would also provide opportunity of gainful employment to the teeming masses, and as well, solve socio-economic problems of the people.
Every policy will serve the dual purpose of wealth creation and economic empowerment and amelioration of the sufferings of the masses.
Not only that jobs will be created in sectors such as education, agriculture and rural development, housing, electrification, fire service, industrialisation, waste management system, employment creation and social empowerment as well as water supply; the promise of the sustenance of existing jobs contained in his manifesto have endeared Ize-Iyamu the more to the electorate.
Government retrenching or downsizing the workforce would no longer be acceptable to the people. They desire a government that would guarantee existing ones and as well create more jobs.
The highest point for the majority observer is the well thought-out Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme through, which the administration will seek counterparting with stakeholders, banks and financial institutions to resuscitate the moribund state-owned industries.
He listed a few of them to include the fertilizer plant, Auchi; Cassavita industry, Uromi; Ava cement factory, Akoko-Edo; fruit juice factory, Ehor; Bendel Brewery, Benin City and Ewu flour mill, among others.
In this, financial institutions, industrialists, Chambers of Commerce, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and other stakeholders will partner the government on resuscitation of failed and failing industries – all in a bid to generate revenue, create employment opportunities and by extension, improve upon the lives of the citizens.
This is undoubtedly a great way to improve on people’s lives. Industrial clusters in the three senatorial districts namely Edo South, Central and North. Each of the senatorial districts will directly mop up at least 10,000 able-bodied men from the streets in direct engagement.
This means at least 30,000 employment opportunities for the Edo people. Edo State is reputed to having 21 per cent unemployment rate as at 2019 and this means that out of about 600,000 job seekers in the state, not less than 30,000 will be gainfully engaged through the Public Private Participation to revamp government-owned ailing industries alone.
The SIMPLE agenda recognises the importance of education and provision of power supply to the continued sustenance of national livelihood and is set to give this proper attention to guarantee a living economy. The agenda will characteristically preserve existing jobs, as well as create additional opportunities.
Any policy with the capacity to create 2000 direct jobs in the electricity-dependent industries and additional 1000 small scale businesses to be aided by the government among rural dwellers is a good bargain for the Edo electorate. 1000 newly found businesses will in turn create at least 2000 direct and indirect job spaces.
In the area of water supply, the document promises to make shortage a thing of the past as existing jobs will be safeguarded while an additional 10,000 construction-related employment opportunities will be created, while the government seeks heavy investments in the sector.
The SIMPLE agenda is clearly a product of many experiences of Pastor Ize-Iyamu after many years in the service of the Edo people in different capacities since 1999.
As a former Chief of Staff and later Secretary to the Edo State Government, he would certainly bring his wealth of experience and knowledge in the various sectors of the state’s economy to bear.
From Education to waste management, the APC manifesto for Edo State will generate more wealth than any past government. The government will partner the private sector to provide a better living standard for the populace in a counterpart arrangement that would also create sustainable employment from emerging corporations while generating the needed revenue for the government.
