SIMON EBEGBULEM
That politics, nay, Edo politics became rocket science to outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki, must surely count as the eight wonder of the world, which gaffe can reasonably be overlooked, he not being a student of the Physical Sciences. Not taking heed of Chinua Achebe, one of Africa’s most prolific and foremost writer’s admonitions that: “Those whose kernels were cracked by benevolent spirits should be humble,” remains an unforgivable blunder, anywhere and everywhere. Senator Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, in this case, being Obaseki’s benevolent spirit, being first, to be served with the poisonous chalise, by the very person he aided.
A former co-appointee of the then Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, Major Loye (rtd.), had cause to rummage on how he and others tried to no avail in forewarning the trusting former Number One Labour Leader of Obaseki’s tendencies, to the effect that he was not who he portrayed of himself, fell flat. But, alas! Oshiomhole was simply too trusting.
Play forward to four years after. Those that accommodated him and his later to be discarded deputy and running mate, Phillip Shaibu, under the umbrella of the outgoing Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP, beginning from Chief Dan Orbih, the party’s South-South Deputy Chairman, Chief Nyesom Wike, then Governor of Rivers State, now FCT Minister, and a host of others, too numerous to mention here, were to face similar ingratitude, the stock Obaseki is made of.
Long before D-Day of election, feelers from all the three Senatorial Districts of Edo and beyond, were damning, as to what awaited Asue Ighodalo, Obaseki’s anointed candidate, not only from within the latter’s faction of the PDP fold, but also from that of Orbih’s legacy group.
Though, Obaseki’s body language, made obvious he had come to terms with the reality of defeat staring him in the face, his megalomaniac disposition forbade him acceptance. He would rather seek chaos through inflammatory statements, which of course made no resound with the discerning and good people of the state, who all but knew his time was completely over, and certainly will be acceptable in the person of a surrogate or godson, would he be longer tolerated.
Why then will Obaseki not play the antithesis of the biblical ‘Blind Bartemaeus?”
In the scripture; Mathew 20: 29-34 and Luke 18: 35-43, we are told of the story of Bartemaeus thus:
Jesus and his disciples went to Jericho. And as they were leaving, they were followed by a large crowd. A blind beggar by the name of Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus, was sitting beside the road. When he heard that it was Jesus from Nazareth, he shouted, “Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me!” Many people told the man to stop, but he shouted even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me!”
The Gospel went on, “Jesus stopped and said, “Call him over!” They called out to the blind man and said, “Don’t be afraid! Come on! He is calling for you.” The man threw off his coat as he jumped up and ran to Jesus. Jesus asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man answered, “Master, I want to see!”Jesus told him, “You may go. Your eyes are healed because of your faith.” At once the man could see, and he went down the road with Jesus”.
But not so for Godwin Obaseki, who will not accept, going it all alone, in blind rage. Too many were his baggages; haven destroyed bridges and razed the connects that made him who he became. Not done, he went out of way to open more battle fronts, to as far as the doorsteps of the palace of the occupant of the most revered Royal Benin Kingdom, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Okuakpolokpolo, Oba Uwuare II.
From all indications, Obaseki was banking on rigging mechanism, to win the September 21 off-season state governorship election, with the misplaced fallacy of incumbency at the back of his mind nudging him on, part of which he sought to compromise officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission ,INEC, while simultaneously raising the false alarm, in a misconceived diversionary tactic.
Aside being his own worst enemy, Governor Obaseki justly harvested from the catastrophic and unenviable administrative style of governance he adopted, hounding just about anyone, including elected state lawmakers, 14 out of which he refused to swear-in for his entire first four years in office.
Just as Obaseki never gave a hoot about desecrating nor rubbishing democracy, or assaulting the sensibilities of the people of Edo via fraudulent MoUs, he went ahead to put development in abeyance, including the Gelegele seaport, which he hyped on; touted will bring Edo into the league of first rate states in Nigeria, but failed to deliver on. Obaseki, drew back the hands of time, in infrastructural development, putting in abeyance milestones recorded by the Oshiomhole administration, landmark developments, such as the multi-billion naira Benin Storm Water Project and the ultra modern Central Hospital Project, that was envisioned to make Edo a medical medical tourism point of destination from near and far.
By the twilight of his second term tenure, Obaseki, who had never won any election on his own, had managed to fight to standstills all those that mattered in aiding his rise and political trajectory, and therefore has no one to blame but himself.
It is a wonder that Asue Ighodalo, who prides himself as a first rate lawyer, did not see through it all, as to leaving or allowing his mentor and godfather lead him on in his failed governorship campaign. He swam with Obaseki and should not think much further why he sank along with him.
While Governor Obaseki and Ighodalo, his protege served as bile and bad reminder of what should have been and ought to be to the forward looking Edo electorate, Senator Monday Okpebolo, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), now Governor-Elect of Edo State, beckoned fresh breath, new hope and better vista, that will return the state to the right path and along the right trajectory.
While Senator Okpebholo of the APC focused his campaign on achievable specifics on what he will do towards the return of accelerated development, Obaseki and his alter ego, Ighodalo, went on rumbling, shying away from what is to be expected, in which process they were to further alienate themselves from the long suffering people of the state, including the workers, market men and women, the abandoned youth population and others, who gave their verdict at the poll, in their preferred choice of the APC and its candidate.
Ebegbulem, a veteran journalist, is a former Commissioner for Trade and Investment in Imo State.
