AS the good people of Edo State elect a new governor on September 21, the question that should concentrate all minds is how not only to make the best choice, but also ensure that the will of the people prevails.
As easy as this task is in other climes that profess democracy, it is challenging in Nigeria because of the abounding political demagogues to whom free, fair and credible election is an anathema because they belong to the school of thought which believes that "political power is not going to be served in a restaurant".
When a people believe that political power is not served a la carte, they, "at all cost, fight for it, grab it and run with it" as it was the case in 2023. But as Dike Chukwumerije, the spoken word and performance poetry artist and author, noted: "Nobody who steals political power will use it for good."
Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo State and president of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, is one of such demagogues. More than anyone else, he is leading the Edo must be brought back to the APC column charge.
To be sure, nothing is wrong in Edo people deciding that for whatever reason, they have had enough of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led Peoples Democratic Party government and want to pitch their tent with another political party. Never mind that Obaseki was a member of the All Progressives Congress, APC, until four years ago and, indeed, served his first term as an APC governor. But any such decision is the beauty of democracy as long as it is a product of a free, fair and credible election.
Sadly, that is not likely to be the case because Oshiomhole, obtuse as ever, is polluting the political space with his unbecoming rhetoric. At 72, the former national chairman of the APC is no spring chicken any more. As former governor and now senator representing Edo North senatorial district, his voice should be that of reason and moderation just like the voice of Chief John Odigie-Oyegun.
Chief Oyegun, also a former Edo State governor and APC national chairman, has played the role of a statesman up to the hilt. As much as he would want his party to win, he is also decent enough to appreciate that it is the call of Edo people to make, not his alone. That is what it takes to be a democrat. Not so for Oshiomhole. A man adept at rousing the political rabble, it is either his way or the high way. He is at it again just as he did in 2020 when he led the APC candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, to the political Golgotha.
In my "Obaseki blowout in Edo poll" column of September 23, 2020, I posited that Oshiomhole was the reason why Ize-Iyamu, a man reputed as a grassroots politician, took the drubbing he did in the 2020 Edo governorship election.
"Oshiomhole, former governor of Edo and sacked APC national chairman, is quite a character," I wrote. "Crabby, grouchy and pugnacious, the former Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, president loves picking fights, most times gratuitously. As the Smart Alec he thinks he is, he behaves as if he knows everything. And because he is Mr. Know-All, he is opinionated, intolerant and blinkered. Like every Smart Alec, he is irritating. Little wonder, to borrow a cliché, he is the best hated man in the APC today."
I stated four years ago that Oshiomhole's APC-Obaseki-Iyamu odyssey echoed the allegory of the tortoise who embarked on an ill-advised trip and vowed not to return until he was disgraced. And, indeed, he was humiliated because blinded by infantile hubris and quest for vendetta, he could not correctly interpret the handwriting on the wall even when he saw and read it.
Sadly, the former governor has embarked on the same ill-fated trip once again throwing caution to the winds. Lacking in basic political decency and decorum, Oshiomhole, uncouth as ever, takes pride in assaulting the sensibilities of Edo people.
Emboldened by his new status as a senator and the fact that his political soul mate, Bola Tinubu, successfully snatched Nigeria's presidency in 2023 and ran with it, Oshiomhole thinks now is the opportune time to finish the job he started in 2020 even when Obaseki is no longer on the ballot. In doing that, the former Labour leader has decided to make Asue Ighodalo, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, a collateral damage in his war of attrition with his successor.
Again, supporting the APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebhelo, wouldn't have been an issue if he played by the rules of the game. But he hasn't because he is incapable of playing decent politics devoid of puerile drama, invectives, name-calling and foul language. Edo people deserve better.
I am not from Edo but I strongly believe that Nigeria's redemption lies with the federating units and not the ever-bumbling federal government. I also believe that any state in Nigeria that has an Asue Ighodalo as a governorship candidate should consider itself lucky. I believe that for our country to stand any chance in the comity of nations, the politicians should have a second address. A career politician in the Nigerian context is a fraud, who lives off the state. That person cannot be the selfless, transformational leader that a country at the socio-economic and political crossroads such as Nigeria needs right now.
Ighodalo, a product of the prestigious King's College, Lagos, obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the University of Ibadan in 1981, an LL.B from the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1984.
Having worked as an Associate in the law firm of Chris Ogunbanjo & Co upon graduation from the Nigerian Law School in 1985, Ighodalo as the founding partner, alongside Femi Olubanwo, set up the Banwo and Ighodalo law firm in 1991, thus starting a soaring corporate and commercial law practice in Nigeria that specialized in advising major corporations on corporate finance, capital markets, energy and natural resources, mergers and acquisitions, banking and securitisation and project finance.
He was chairman of the boards of Nigerian Breweries Plc. and Sterling Financial Holding Company, as well as the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, aside sitting on the boards of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc., and the FATE Foundation, an NGO committed to the development of entrepreneurs in Nigeria, among others. And it goes without saying that he made a fortune from his endeavours.
Yet, this leading corporate lawyer and boardroom leader resigned from all these corporate positions and the huge financial rewards in 2023 just to serve his people.
In his resignation letter to the board of Nigerian Breweries in December last year, Ighodalo wrote: "It is with heartfelt regret that I announce my resignation as Chairman of the Board of Nigerian Breweries Plc. effective December 31, 2023. After extensive deliberations, I have decided to offer myself for public service to our dear country. The decision comes with the mixed emotions of a painful sacrifice made to enable my full devotion to the new cause."
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So, it is okay if Oshiomhole prefers a Monday Okpebhelo, a career politician to an Asue Ighodalo, but he cannot impose his preference on the highly discerning and politically savvy Edo people. The difference between the Ighodalo and Okpebhelo candidacies is tantamount to light and darkness. There is no basis for comparison. And those who still insist that education does not matter in leadership after the Muhammadu Buhari disaster in Aso Rock are simply lying. Edo people should be wary of such characters.
And those who are insisting that Ighodalo should be held liable for Obaseki's alleged failures are delusional because truth be told, Obaseki has not failed. Not only that, it is hypocritical for those who argued only yesterday that Buhari and APC's failures had nothing to do with a Tinubu presidency to turn around today to deny Edo people the promise of an Asue Ighadalo governorship on the baseless ground that PDP has failed.
The Edo governorship election is not about political parties. It is about individuals and their capacity to deliver on their promises. Monday Okpebhelo, typical of professional politicians propped by wannabe godfathers has promised nothing and will deliver nothing. Conversely, the promise of an Asue Ighodalo governorship is fascinating. The difference is clear and the choice is that of Edo people to make in spite of Oshiomhole's Surugede dance.
