Edo 2016: The War Of Succession (1)

Perhaps unknown to Oshiomhole, as we speak, the foot-soldiers of the Obaseki project are already depositing a lot of collateral damage in the field. How else does anyone explain the wishy-washy suspension they clamped on Barrister Gentleman Amegor, the authentic, duly elected State Vice Chairman of the APC – all under the guise of acting on behalf of the Governor? And this is perhaps a foreshadowing of coming oddities. In the weeks ahead, suspensions and counter-suspensions will rent the air. Right now, the foot-soldiers parade a long list of people to be impeached, fired, appointed and disappointed; and denied patronage at all levels.

By Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan

The Statesman-Columnist bears a heavy burden. Quite often, he is torn between two worlds: even where he constantly has an opportunity to privately advise on critical issues – and that’s the extent to which the political class expects him to go – his audiences still want to know his stand, if only as a pointer to the direction they should be looking at.  

The drum-beats for the 2016 War of Succession to Osadebey Avenue have started. As usual, in the beginning, people play hide-and-seek; and there are denials and counter-denials of people’s positions. That’s how it has always been.

But in all this, there is one man who cannot pretend or stay on the fence for longer than necessary and that is Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole.

The reason for that is simple – he has a right and a duty to be interested in who succeeds him.

We believe Oshiomhole is right in claiming that he has not anointed any aspirant as his successor.

But we are also not unaware that the name of one Godwin Obaseki has gone viral. It is not by accident that the popular press is awash with the name. This is why a prolonged pretense might be inimical to all.

Recently, Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Barr Anselm Ojezua attempted to define endorsement, asserting that endorsement is not an imposition but a mere indication of preference. Good!

We also expected the learned Chairman to proceed from there to inform us that endorsement in itself may not be bad but the use to which we put it could easily promote it to the level of imposition and even transcend godfatherism in its most negative form.

Perhaps unknown to Oshiomhole, as we speak, the foot-soldiers of the Obaseki project are already depositing a lot of collateral damage in the field.

How else does anyone explain the wishy-washy suspension they clamped on Barrister Gentleman Amegor, the authentic, duly elected State Vice Chairman of the APC – all under the guise of acting on behalf of the Governor?

And this is perhaps a foreshadowing of coming oddities. In the weeks ahead, suspensions and counter-suspensions will rent the air.

Right now, the foot-soldiers parade a long list of people to be impeached, fired, appointed and disappointed; and denied patronage at all levels.

They leave a moral message here: If you can’t stand the smoke, get out of the kitchen!

Sometimes, one wonders if these people even realize that the primary is not an end in itself but a means to an end.

By the time they succeed in emasculating and alienating all perceived opponents in the party, who are they going to use to fight the real war? Are they going to win the battle and lose the war? God forbid!

The only credential they parade on Obaseki is that he is a Dangote man. They say Dangote will bank-roll his election and his government.

This is where some concerned Edolites are beginning to wonder at what price Edo State is being mortgaged to non-indigene!

Of all those who have indicated interest in the race, on both sides of the divide, Obaseki is by far the most obscure.

He remains an unknown quantity. We search, but in vain, for a quick background check on him. We are unable to locate him however remotely – in the academics and in the professions. Where has he made a mark?

People must look the role they want to play. A Benin man who wants to govern Edo State should by now – barely six months to the election – be speaking for himself instead of being shielded by others. Such a man must be known by his works.

For instance, were Dangote an Edo man, he – not his PA – would perhaps have been considered as a possible successor to Oshiomhole.

That’s how high Comrade has raised the posts. We all have a duty to sustain that high level.

Since man cannot be judged by what people do not know about him, he must be judged by what people know about him.

The few people who have met Obaseki see him as arrogant, cocky, saucy and egotist. Outside himself, he sees every other person as a tout. This is hardly the stuff of which governors are made.

Essentially, those being portrayed as Comrade’s enemies today are the very ones protecting him from himself. They rightly see the Governor as having done tremendously well for Edo State, that he must not be rubbished.

If six months to the crucial election, this “baby” is not yet speaking for himself but relying on some remote Oshiomhole or Dangote connections to see him through, then, there is something patently wrong.

We may soon require some feeding bottles and a muffler to tie him at our back. Edo people have no better way of expressing their disgust for godfatherism, which, incidentally, Comrade also hates like plague.

We must not fight dirty but the truth must be told. The Governor is perfectly entitled to show interest in who succeeds him.

But the anointing here cannot be an end in itself. It is in the Governor’s interest to carry the people along in the anointing process.

As they say in the colloquial, “Soldier come, soldier go but barrack remains.” The anointed must be subjected to proper scrutiny and due process of purification.

That way, he cannot “cut rope” and disregard the anointing agreement after the departure of his predecessor. The “Barracks” will be around to continuously whip him on line.

This is preferred to the anointing by private treaty, which invariably collapses as soon as the governor leaves office. We have seen this across the nation.

It is not enough that Obaseki can attract investors to Edo State. By extrapolation, that can only mean that Edo State has, in-waiting, a Super-Commissioner for Investments, Energy, Commerce and Industry. How lucky could anyone be?

But it takes much more than that to be an Edo State Governor.

Hon. Josef Omorotionmwan is a public affairs analyst and Chairman, Board of Directors, Edo Broadcasting Service. He can be reached at: joligien@yahoo.com