September 19: Obaseki can’t change anything
By Elizabeth Tejumola
As the appointed day for the Edo people to choose their preferred governor for the next four years’ approaches, politicians from various camps and parties are bracing up, leaving no stone unturned to ensure victory for their candidates, apprehensions are rife and political anxiety are shored up among residents and observers alike. Drumbeats and counter-drumbeats of war could be heard at deafening volumes. The closer the election date, the more ingenious some of the political camps have become in their bid to outwit one another.
There is no doubt that the forthcoming Edo governorship election fits as a prototype for the 2023 general election, largely as the real battle for “Osadebe House” remains squarely between the duo of incumbent Governor Godwin Obaseki of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Pastor Odigie Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Both the APC and PDP have worked tirelessly to ensure that enough friends are made and are converted to loyal voters for the September 19 poll.
Politics anywhere in the world is a number’s game and the numbers have to be accumulated. Both Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu have been traversing the length and breadth of the state – from Edo South to Edo Central, not leaving out the much-coveted Edo North senatorial electorate – all in the bid to shop for friends, who would be converted into favourable voters.
Though usually the outcome of any election involving an incumbent office holder, particularly in Nigeria has almost always been predictable, because they usually sway every state apparatus, including the security agents and even electoral umpires to their advantage, usually in a manner that makes mockery of democracy.
Apart from squandering state funds illegally on an election, which usually is their (the politicians) selfish pursuit, it has also become a wise tactic for politicians to woo voters and political influencers with posts, appointments, contracts and other patronages. The power of incumbency is usually arrogated to the advantage of the incumbent.
However, the incumbent in the Edo election, Governor Obaseki has been in the thick of one storm or the other since the warm-up began for the forthcoming polls. He has had a seemingly endless battle of supremacy against his immediate predecessor and benefactor, Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomole. But the former APC national chairman is just one out of the many hurdles awaiting Mr. Obaseki in his bid to have a second term as a governor.
That the political combat for the control of APC in Edo State between Oshiomole and Obaseki ripped Oshiomhole of his APC chairmanship garb is no longer news, but the laurel won by the governor against his former boss, who many believe is neither down nor dead, will be a major albatross for him.
The former governor is surely not relenting in his bid to assert himself, not only in Edo State but also at the national level, where the governor collaborated with some anti-Oshiohmole forces to edge him out of office and he is enjoying the support of many well-meaning Edo indigenes, most of who advised the governor to toe the path of peace without success.
Not a few Edo State indigenes and non-indigenes were displeased with the governor over the roles he played in Oshiohmole’s ouster as the APC National Chairman and now is apparently a time he would be paid back in his own coins.
A major drawback of the Edo governor is his inability to apply enough Emotional Intelligence (EI) and power of retrogressive thinking. These have to do with the way people weigh their weaknesses and strengths.
Obaseiki naively elevated individual brilliance above emotional intelligence, leading to his failure to articulate the pros and cons of his actions. Whereas, in management, emotional intelligence is 70 per cent of application while individual brilliance is only 30 per cent. Thus, successful leaderships across the world in history have thrived on this fact.
The governor didn’t consider the feelings of other Edo APC members, when he turned external forces against a man believed to have over pampered the people during his eight years’ rule as governor. He fought his predecessor, a considered (single) enemy and in the process, offended a greater number of the Edo people.
A man, who could not differentiate between his strengths and weaknesses, is not fit to lead a people or else he would lead to needless crisis. In additional, he lacks emotional maturity.
No wonder Oshiomole is taking to his knees in apology for introducing an “impostor” and an alleged “forger” to the people in 2016. He likened the governor to “a man with the propensity of running a one-man show in a democracy.”
The informed Edo people believe that Governor Obaseki placed personal interest above the common good of the Edo people, especially, those of the APC as he joined forces with perceived enemies to oust a man considered the only voice Edo State could boast of in terms of representation at the national level. He played the spoiler, who cares less for others and so selfishly stirred up the dirt at the bottom of the well after fetching enough water for himself, supposedly.
For this reason, the Edo people are crossed with their governor and he would only measure the impact of his misdemeanor after the election. He was simply shortsighted and parochial, when he joined alien forces to oust Oshiomole.
Oshiomole already played the party supremacy card. The next line of action will be to deploy his political sagacity and his clique of friends within and outside the state to prevent his political mortification as schemed by Obaseki. Oshiomole will play this game with and for his pride. This is more so, because he has a lot of people that matter on his side.
Added to that is the fact that the APC leadership will also advance all available political machineries for their victory in the Edo election.
President Muhammadu Buhari, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Oshiomhole and an array of APC leaders at the national level are all in one accord in their quest to retain Edo for APC. It will go down in the records as the dirtiest political walloping on them (the APC hierarchy) if Obaseki succeeds in deposing Oshiomole as chairman, as is widely believed, and then wins the governorship election for PDP.
The APC for who they are, are under immense pressure to win the election – Edo being the only APC state in the South-south. Pride is at stake. Another factor that might impede Governor Obaseki, which is another clear indication of his poor emotional intelligence, is the issue of the 14 non-commissioned house members, who were sidelined on his instructions.
Edo State House of Assembly has been operated by just 10 out of 24 elected members. The 10 members favoured by Obaseki were inaugurated at an “odd hours” on June 17, 2019, and his agents have prevented the others from serving their people ever since.
In a recent letter to the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN) and signed by their counsel, Dr. Ehiogie West-Idahosa of West Idahosa & Co., the disenfranchised representatives of the people, now 17, including three out of the ten inaugurated since last year, who have all pledged support for Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the APC, they urged the AGF to use his good offices to arrest the desecration of democracy in Edo State.
In the letter with the reference number WIC/AB/W2/1024/20 the aggrieved lawmakers, also loyal to Oshiomhole, said: “Contrary to the standard practice of inaugurating the House with possibly all members present, the governor, on June 17, 2019, chose to inaugurate the House at odd hours with only about nine members in attendance”. They revealed further that the governor has frustrated every entreaty to have their inauguration effected. (TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW)
Tejumola wrote from Abuja