Category: Politics

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

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 got a call from Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in early 2016. I had never met him but someone had given him my number. He said—- “My name is Osagie Ize-Iyamu. I would like you to come and work for my campaign. I have seen several of your articles and one thing that is not in doubt is that you love Nigeria. Well, Edo State is Nigeria. Here’s a chance to get your feet in the mud.”

I was bowled over, thankful that someone so esteemed had recognized my work and at the same time thrown a challenge. You challenge an Esan man to your peril. We do not back down. He sent me a ticket and I flew to Benin to join him at dinner. Before my trip, I had called up some of my friends in Benin to ask them questions. Who was this fellow? What does he stand for? What are his antecedents? Everyone I spoke with, friend or foe, had one thread running through their assessment of him—- a common refrain about him was——-That guy is a leader.

Our country has been in search of people who would lead from the front. Since the demise of the First Republic when the titans were vanquished in an unfortunate coup and subsequent counter coup, Nigeria has been in a state of suspended animation. Nothing has been spared the hurricane of military governance that blighted the moral, economic, political and ethical fabric of our country.

However, Edo State was in some measure, spared the disaster that befell the nation in those years because we were fortunate to have Samuel Ogbemudia and Professor Ambrose Alli. Those two, helped to stop the general slide of underdevelopment that enveloped the rest of the country. In my discussions and interactions with Osagie leading up to the elections of 2016, what I saw was a man who was very single-minded and focused on the task ahead, calm, rarely agitated and always ready to listen.

These are attributes we need sorely in Nigeria but which, sadly, have been missing from the political landscape. As the 2020 elections are upon us, we need to take a cursory look at Edo State in the last four years. One thing is clear. Obaseki is no longer an unknown quantity.

In 2016, he barely spoke a word. Oshiomhole spoke for him, interviewed for him, danced for him and sang for him. Obaseki just stood by Oshiomhole’s side, smiling, almost handsome, compared to his godfather. We all wondered, mouths wide open, our brains spinning. How could a man stake so much for another human being? Oshiomhole at the time reminded me of John the Baptist. John, humbled that he would baptize Jesus, quickly became small in his own eyes and we all know that John was no small guy. A man who could confront Herod and challenge him that what he had done by taking his own brother’s wife could not have been a small guy by any measure.

However, when he saw Jesus—— he declared without equivocation ——- he must increase and I must decrease. Even though I was working for Ize-Iyamu at the time, we could not but admire Oshiomhole’s total endorsement of Obaseki and his willingness to stake his own future on a man he barely knew. We then concluded that Oshiomhole must have known something we did not know.

After my candidate lost, I joined him for dinner one evening and I asked him what he was going to do next. His reply surprised me. “Well,” he said, “we have a governor who has been elected by the people and affirmed by the courts. I will work with him if he is willing to accept help. The guy does not really know the people and the people do not know him but we can help him.” I had tears in my eyes. It was comforting to hear those words coming from a man who had just lost an election to which he had devoted so much time and resources through the past year. Such is the metal from which Osagie Ize-Iyamu is forged and the Cloth from which his character is cut.

As Obaseki’s tenure began to unfold, we were at first hopeful that he would bring great development to the State when we saw construction equipment prowling the streets of Benin, fixing roads. I was impressed. The press coverage of his achievements were positive and everyone began to applaud his choice. It did not take long for him to bare his fangs and begin to growl at his benefactor. He rode roughshod over all the political blocs Oshiomhole had deployed to take him to Osadebey House. In Macbeth by Shakespeare, King Duncan famously expressed the lines—— there is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face —after he was informed that the Thane of Cawdor had been executed for his crimes of treason. I do not know Oshiomhole. I have never set eyes on him in close proximity. All I know of him is from press coverage of him when he challenged the Obasanjo regime as he fought for the rights of workers. Everyone loved him and late Gani Fawehinmi begged him to run for president. The man went to Edo State to run for governor, and helped along by people like Osagie, he ascended the throne at Osadebey House. The relationship between Osagie and Oshiomhole got complicated to the point that Osagie felt he needed to get out of the way completely to allow Oshiomhole do his job, unhindered. He did.

When Oshiomhole completed two terms and nominated Godwin Obaseki to succeed him, one thing was clear. Oshiomhole was not going to let Godwin Obaseki go into the field against a tried and tested political giant like Osagie Ize-Iyamu in Benin by himself. He would be eaten for lunch. Oshiomhole had to deploy everything in his arsenal to fight for his nominee. For people like me who had a front seat in that epic battle, the day Obaseki began to spew venom at Oshiomhole, I called up friends in Benin to confirm if he had not been misquoted. He had to have been. No way. Alas, it was true. Obaseki had gone to the trenches very quickly to wage war against his benefactor. I saw a screaming headline that read — it’s fight to finish. Obaseki would take no prisoners. He would stop at nothing until he not only tore down Oshiomhole but also put him behind bars after a hurriedly assembled Commission of Inquiry which implicated his benefactor in heinous crimes. I found that laughable because he was by the man’s side for seven years as trusted economic adviser. If he saw the wrongs at the time, why did he not expose it and resign?

Everything Obaseki has done to Oshiomhole speaks to his character as a human being. The reader may draw his or her own conclusions but this is my view when it comes to the nature of Nigerian politics. I do not like godfatherism. It may be beneficial in some cases but I think it is mostly bad for our democracy. If a man has enough confidence in himself and in his own ability to galvanize a followership, he may form his own political party and run for office.

That way, he would not be beholden to any special interests. If however, a man bows down to another man, be it in a shrine as in the case of Abia State, many years ago, or as in the case of Oyo State in Adedibu versus Ladoja, or in Ambode versus the Jagaban, it is my view that you must play by the rules of the godfather. The godfather never sleeps said JK Randle and nothing could be truer of the godfather in Nigerian politics. Adedibu killed several cows everyday in Ibadan to feed the hungry and pay house rent for the needy and school fees for children whose parents did not have jobs. The political machinery of the godfather has to be oiled for it to keep on spinning and producing the same way you as governor were produced. It is, I believe, a betrayal of the cause for a beneficiary of the largesse of the godfather to turn around and not only despise the godfather but seek to bite off his head. This is where I have always stood on the matter of godfathers.

I do not belong to any cult and I do not like cults. When people choose to join cults or covens and enter into covenants, they owe a duty to that institution. Let it be clear to my reader that I have no part in covens or covenants but let it also be clear that covens and cults have rules. Their overriding rule is not higher than the natural law—- you cannot eat your cake and have it. You cannot approbate and reprobate. This is where I stand and I therefore draw the line. In the matter of Oshiomhole versus Obaseki, I have no doubt in my mind that Oshiomhole is the better man. I applaud him. I respect him. He may have suffered short term setbacks but history will judge him better in this matter. In the old days in Israel, there was famine in the land.

There was no food to eat. Two women came to an agreement. Hear the complainant in her own words to the King as she requested that the matter between her and her neighbor be adjudicated. Hear her: this woman said to me, give thy son that we may eat him today and we will eat my son tomorrow. So, we boiled my son and did eat him: and I said unto her the next day, give thy son that we may eat him: and she hath hid her son. The King looked at them, bewildered. He had his own problems. He wanted to kill Elisha the prophet. Such my friends is the nature of covenants, even evil covenants. There is a price to pay.

Now that the battle lines are drawn between Godwin Obaseki and Osagie Ize-Iyamu, one thing is certain. Obaseki must run on his own record. He promised 200,000 jobs. Did he deliver? Let the electorate shine a light on his period in office and let them judge him. Does Edo deserve four more years of a man who spent the last three years fighting his benefactor? Does Edo deserve four more years of a man who has set the EFCC on all his political opponents? Does Edo deserve four more years of a man who has been revoking C of Os of political opponents and pulling down their property?

Does Edo deserve four more years of a man who has not made new friends in four years as governor but has managed to create so many enemies? I asked this question a while ago of a friend— does Obaseki plan to live in Benin when his tenure comes to an end? My friend just chuckled. I chuckle too. Obaseki was given so much by his benefactor. The people of Edo State gave him so much support. It is my verdict that he has squandered his time in office by essentially scoring own goals.

We have a choice before us in a few months in Edo State. Osagie is prepared with the Simple Agenda. He told me in one of several meetings we had that he wanted to be to Edo State, what Awo was to the Western region. He broke it down in practical terms. He believes that with prudent management of the resources of the State, we can have free and qualitative education and put a laptop in the hands of every child in Edo State. He believes that the State can go into partnership with BEDC instead of fighting them, to improve the state of electricity substantially in the State. He believes that every young man and woman who needs a job should be able to come to Edo State as a mini Nigeria to find one as he plans to embark on an agricultural revolution that would put 6 acres in the hands of every young farmer in Edo State, back them up with infrastructure and capital and have a Commodity Marketing Board ready to purchase the produce for exportation to the rest of Nigeria and outside. He plans to introduce skills acquisition to the school curriculum such that every child upon graduation from Secondary school, would have two certificates. One can send him on a journey to University to pursue a dream. The other can help him to start his own business as a skilled entrepreneur with capital at the ready from a Small Business loan, prepared to create jobs and raise a family.

With these core beliefs, I do not think anyone should be in any doubt that the man whom everyone who has been privileged to interact with, calls — leader, would indeed lead when he gets the chance. Let us all, therefore, join hands to help propel Osagie Ize-Iyamu on his journey to Osadebey house and we must also be prepared to hold his legs to the fire for the next four years. Long live the people of Edo State and may our Oba be blessed.

By Michael Ovienmhada, a Political Commentator, Playwright, Poet and Author.

It is evident that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is still mystified by the hands of God in the current political trajectory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Edo State, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and is therefore struggling to conflate issues in the September 19 governorship election.

The first and most cogent point is that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is not the reason their flustered new intake, outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki is running from pillar to post to save his head in the election. The truth is that Obaseki is a misfit that has been roundly rejected by the people, through whom God the Almighty has raised Pastor Ize-Iyamu as a worthy replacement.

For a man, who has spent nearly four years in office without something tangible to his name outside fighting both real and perceived enemies, it was only a matter of time before Obaseki was shown the way out and it was also simple logic that he had since shut the door of re-election against himself.

Shall we also say the PDP is suffering selective amnesia, when it cited as reason Pastor Ize-Iyamu, may not become governor, the fact that Comrade Oshiomhole, an individual, talked him down some four years ago at a campaign rally, when indeed, it
left out completely what it said as a party asrecently as six months ago.

We recall that not only did the PDP say a badly disapproved Obaseki, who is now its beautiful bride had stolen all of Edo’s money; it gave a blanket remark that the governor was a total failure. This was just six months ago. Whatever changed between then and now clearly tells more of the character in the People Deceiving People political association called the PDP.

The earlier the PDP realises this battle is already lost and won, the better for Obaseki, who might end up squandering the little he is meant to keep for life post-governorship. Let no one get it twisted, Obaseki’s fate has been sealed by God, and the good people of Edo State. Unanimously, our people have said it, loud and clear, enough of the last four years of misfortune as represented by the Obaseki administration.

Not only do the Edo people deserve better, they have better choices from the array of fantastic brains that God has endowed them with. The PDP can dust up their generally precluded oddball, perhaps, for their other roguish uses. But, definitely not  the governorship seat, which has been sanctioned by God and man as Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s.