BEYOND THE PRIMARIES IN EDO GOVERNORSHIP ELECTION

Given what we have seen during the party primaries in Delta, where Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, former governor, of  the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed miserably to impose his much cherished  ‘candidate’ on members of his party, while Senator Ifeanyi Okowa surprisingly shot himself up to gigantic reckoning, anything can happen during party primaries in Edo State this year. The implication of any aspirant trying to ride through the back of some influential party stalwarts or jump the fence of transparency in order to snatch party flag is most likely to back fire during the forth-coming party primaries in Edo State.

By Igbotako Nowinta.

Even the blind, the deaf and the imbecile know perfectly well that sooner than later a new Governor will be elected in Edo State this year, and the lucky chap will be sworn in on November 12, 2016.

This is because the way some politicians in the dominant two political parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) are conducting their affairs is as if there will be no life after the party primaries or Governorship election.

The other day I received a text message from one of the governorship aspirants during the yuletide celebrations in December 2015, wishing me and my family the best of Christmas season, and a wonderful New Year.  

I laughed loud and long as soon as I saw the goodwill message because I knew deep down in my mind that the guy who sent the message to me did not mean what he wished me.

That particular governorship aspirant is a hard guy, uncaring, selfish and self-centered; he is somebody with a jaundiced reputation in town, who do not care a hoot about his next neighbor.

But because he is desperate to get noticed he had to familiarize himself with the electorate  by hook or crook.

Is it the ‘war’ game that has started on the internet via face book, wasapp or what have you, where fellow citizens have gone gaga trying to outsmart one another in projecting their choice candidates?

Some governorship aspirants have equally gone reckless and mean in trying to showcase themselves to the public via the social media.

Given what we have seen during the party primaries in Delta, where Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, former governor, of  the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) failed miserably to impose his much cherished  ‘candidate’ on members of his party, while Senator Ifeanyi Okowa surprisingly shot himself up to gigantic reckoning, anything can happen during party primaries in Edo State this year.

The implication of any aspirant trying to ride through the back of some influential party stalwarts or jump the fence of transparency in order to snatch party flag is most likely to back fire during the forth-coming party primaries in Edo State.

The reasons for this are not far fetch! Edo state of today is not the one of 1999 or 2007.The people have been made to undergo some hard tutorials in the process of making their choice for the battle to win the highest political trophy in the land.

I don’t think the good people of Edo state have forgotten the sad fact that the political godfathers had an empire to keep and protect in Edo state; and that a freely organized people was the direct antithesis of the evil idea of empire and a colony.

The tragic fact then was that the downtrodden masses of Edo state were not given needed space to adequately promote and project their interest. That largely contributed to the level of rot and decay which Edo state sank into in April 2007

Therefore, Edo people were consoled by the fact that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the former indefatigable president of Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) indicated his interest to wrestle political power from the godfathers, their cohorts, acolytes and foot soldiers.

As a result of these historical facts the party primaries must be such of nothing but the best candidate should be allowed to emerge via transparent, open, orderly and credible process.

This is important because Edo state must never be allowed to slide back to pre-Oshiomhole days. It is hoped that  we have not forgotten what befell the All Progressives Party (APC) in Bayelsa state.

Certainly Timiprey Sylva was not the best guy that ran for that governorship election! What happened? He lost woefully. Oshiomhole himself can bear testimony to the controversies that surrounded Sylva’s  emergence as APC gubernatorial candidate in that state.

Beyond the forth-coming  party primaries in Edo State governorship election 2016, a strong, experienced, matured, independent minded, intellectually tested, pragmatic and people-oriented, focused guy must be fielded before the electorate in Edo state.

Party leaders and rank and file members that will make the list of delegates during the primaries of the dominant two political parties must never allow themselves to be bought  by any selfish and parochial moneybags.

The good people of Edo state deserve no less, because it will be simply tragic if a wrong candidate emerges as Governor on November 12th 2016, given what the state went through in eight years between 1999 and 2007

Nowinta wrote: Where We Are – A Call for Democratic Revolution in Nigeria.