By Austin Isikhuemen
By September this year, a clear six months ahead of us, Edolites and other residents of Edo State will be filing out to vote for a new Governor and a Deputy to replace the outgoing Governor Godwin Obaseki and his Deputy. For now, we do not know who the handing-over Deputy would be, in view of the goings-on at the Anthony Enahoro Legislative Complex at Kingsquare in Benin City. It could be the crucifix-wearing, khaki-clad Philip Shaibu or the rumoured bowler hat and dark suits-donning Hon. Paschal Ikpemoghena Ugbome popularly called Ominimini by his numerous fans in PDP where he has been ‘forever’. Only time, defined as the next few days or at worst, weeks, will tell. Impeachment – to be or not to be. The lawyers are cashing out!
The gubernatorial campaigns in public will kick off on the 24th of April according to INEC’s published Timetable and Schedule of Activities. So now, after the hard-fought party primaries, some of them cantankerous and violent, there is a lull of about two months of engagements with various stakeholders and ‘private’ campaigns across the state. Posters and billboards adorn the cities, towns and villages with large format printers and designers making hay while their sun shines. This has been a veritable window of opportunity for the candidates to market themselves in mini-conclaves and townhall engagements without loud sloganeering. Party members and ordinary people get to hear, see and feel the pulse of the candidates at close quarters as they stay with the candidates on the ground without the presence of motorized platforms and deafening speaker systems.
The parties are many and so are the candidates. Some not so serious candidates who got a few posters printed, pretending to be in the race so as to negotiate ‘stepping down’ largesse and conjure a false sense of importance, have since evaporated! Others demurred at the first sign of the financial outlay required for drinks alone at ward meetings as well as the settlement of the we-are-loyal-my-leader crowd. Some who were deceived to cross over with a promise of the ticket have since realized that those promises do go up in smoke and are not justiceable! The chaff has since been separated from the wheat.
The field is clearer and the serious candidates, rather those who are considered by the voters and the general public as worthy of consideration are few indeed. Monday Okpebholo of APC, Olumide Akpata of LP and Asuelimen Ighodalo are unarguably the front runner trio. The rest have no chance of being a runner-up. But participating, as in the Olympics, is also a worthy endeavour for them. It builds political capital and can provide a negotiation weighting that could come in useful. Afterall, we have seen some folks parading complimentary (call) cards bearing “former gubernatorial candidate” or someone introduced at a public event as “Chief Manafiki, former nominee for the position of Chief-of-Staff”!
We have seen quite a number of these front-running candidates and more, engage voters and the general public frantically using various platforms. Olumide Akpata has been around and about. So has Monday Okpebholo and Asuelimen Ighodalo. But in terms of statewide reach, message quality and the potency of messaging, in my view, Asue takes the cake! His adept use of social media has been phenomenal and impactful. His language has been civil, comradely and empathetic, without gragra, bravura and gbas gbos! The 2-hour long engagement with Eranomigho – a used-based blogger and social commentator – was a masterclass in communication, deportment and civility with impressive display of his mastery of street lingo and youth issues awareness. So was the one with comedian MC Casino which made pidgin English so alluringly persuasive.
We all have a right to endorse candidates of our choice. Choice is the centre-piece of democracy. You can be in a political party and endorse a superior candidate of another party as demonstrated by Collin Powell who, though a Republican, publicly endorsed Barrack Obama in a United States
Presidential election. Locally, during the last Presidential elections here in Nigeria, Kassim Afegbua, then of PDP, publicly endorsed Asiwaju for President. So did Wike. I personally assert, everything considered, that one of the front-runners in the 2024 Edo governorship clearly stands out outstandingly! He has a resume that is good enough for a serious bid for Presidency. Edo State is lucky to have such a caliber of candidate at this time. That candidate, in my view, without any reservation, is Dr. Asue Ighodalo of the PDP. I endorse him without reservation.
Someone I had told this asked me why a man like me who was “Obidient” in the last cycle would be rooting for a PDP candidate now. My answer to him was “Obidients are fierce independents and will only support capacity, competence, credibility and proven integrity wherever found”. I stand by that statement. So does “The New Phase of Edo”, a group that cut across all political strata and works of life, to which I belong. I can also state here that there is a very large group named “*Obidients for Asue Ighodalo*” made up of professionals many of whom run their private businesses while others are in public service, the arts, students in higher students as well as folks who believe in integrity and good governance. I know for sure there will be a massive upswell of Obidients’ support for Asue because the gentleman lawyer, banker, investor and entrepreneur ticks all the right boxes at this time in Edo’s political trajectory.
There will, of course, be those to whom this would sound like an opponent’s treatise. I have no issue with that and I understand their position too. We, in Edo, have never been led by the nose and will majorly, do the right thing that furthers the States interest. Stomach infrastructure would not persuade us this time. Neither will threat of the so-called centre power and corrupt use of security agencies because I do not think Jagaban would want to do Edo any harm through undemocratic arm-twisting. The 2020 elections were an eye opener and my endorsed candidate won.
There are also those who say, “Austin, what did you get as compensation for your massive involvement the last time around?”. My answer to them: *My involvement was not to make a personal fortune from Edo’s resources. It was primarily to support the best, and oppressed candidate, to win in the greater interest of Edo.* There has been no regret in that effort as I can see a lot of developments ranging from education, healthcare, innovation, massive office and road infrastructure, security (I was involved pro bono at the initial stages of the development of the Emergency Response Centre through late Dr. Ona Ekhomu), capacity development in the public service, broadcasting (check EBS infrastructure at Aduwawa) and public communications. My article on Nigeria’s profligacy is in the fantastic rejuvenated Nigerian Observer Newspaper published yesterday and on sale right now.
So, if I did not get a contract, appointment or there is an untarred road that I drive through, but the state benefits in several respects, that is good enough for me. I am ready to debate any of the Obaseki-did-nothing falsehood propagator who see a lot but pretend to see nothing. Did Kenny Rogers not sing *“No one is blinder than he who just won’t see”*? So, as we wait for the kick-off of the campaigns in April, let us use this period to really assess the candidates, on the premise of antecedents (proven track records), capacity, integrity (no unexplained wealth), futuristic predilection by technology capability as well as youth empathy and plans. Those worn-out lame excuses that oratory doesn’t matter and winning by luck can be repeated must be debunked for the lazy thoughtlessness that they represent. They represent a call to remain in the past through an inertia induced by a lack of deep thinking or a mere visceral concern for the fortunes of Edo and its people.
