The outgoing Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has, by the way he cavalierly manipulated the conduct and outcome of the September 28 governorship election, proved to the entire world that he is an unkind Mafioso. Having unsympathetically arm-twisted ambitious individuals within his Mafia group, supposedly in Edo State, as typified by the All Progressives Congress (APC), he got most of them to kowtow to his predetermined agendum of foisting Godwin Obaseki on the party as its governorship candidate. It was not surprising that he resorted to extreme self-help in his desperate bid to railroad an Obaseki governorship on the people.
What mattered most to Oshiomhole was how to ensure, at all cost, the emergence of a successor that would cover his questionable tracks. The truth, really, is that anybody, in his shoes, enjoying the backing of the Federal Government, would do the same thing. This is understandably because his political survival and the assurance of protection against post-office inquisition for the alleged mindless misappropriation and plundering of the commonwealth of Edo people could only, in his vain imagination, depend on the successful enthronement of a surrogate as a successor. He has, perhaps, forgotten recent history of surrogates, under the current dispensation, who have become thorns in the flesh of their predecessors and benefactors.
The action by politicians, which I have always believed to be ungodly, is to deliberately plan to rig out opponent(s), and burden the actual winner to run to the tribunal to prove that he or she actually won the election. Such a scenario always places the opponent in a position of disadvantage, particularly if the defendant is the governor or party in power. This is the situation in Edo where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has already filed a petition before the Election Tribunal in his bid to reclaim what he strongly believes to be his “stolen mandate.”
Indeed, three, if not four things, I believe, continue to serve as encouragement to Ize-Iyamu on his voyage of reclaiming his “stolen mandate.” One, there is a precedent in the State, which involved the current dramatis personae. In 2007, Oshiomhole, who was sponsored by Ize-Iyamu’s Grace Group on the platform of the then Action Congress (AC) for the governorship election was defeated by Professor Oserhiemen Osunbor of the PDP. But, because Oshiomhole believed he won the election, he deployed his labour activism background and experience by making the State ungovernable through incessant street protests during the period of the case at the tribunal and court. He intimidated and blackmailed everyone. He caused the court to resort to vote cancellations virtually turning it into an electoral body that recomputed the votes and awarded victory to him. That was how he became Governor in 2008. A vast majority of Edo people believe that this should happen in this current case between Ize-Iyamu and APC’s Obaseki.
Without wanting to act contra bonus mores, knowing full well that the matter is sub judice, I can only interpose at this point: that I hope the PDP and its candidate have been able to file solid, provable cases of election manipulations, over-voting, rigging and other infractions that the tribunal can latch on to admit that the applicants have substantially proved their case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendants. A key step is to avail the tribunal with the authentic results and prove the same in order to effectively counter the results that INEC announced on the basis of which it declared Obaseki as the Governor-elect.
Second, Ize-Iyamu and the PDP appear to enjoy the support of the people as evidenced during their statewide campaigns and as demonstrated by the ease with which the people have been easily mobilized on several occasions to embark on peaceful street protests in Benin since the INEC announced Obaseki as the winner of the election. It takes a popular, confident and genuinely shortchanged party to do so. The critical argument that subsists in many quarters in Edo state is there was no way the people would have rewarded the APC with the votes that gave it victory, considering its perceived anti-people policies, ranging from multiple levies to excruciating tax regime.
Third, it would appear somewhat remarkable that Oshiomhole, his Governor-elect and others who worked together to subvert the will of the people, would find it difficult to celebrate their so-called victory. They know such celebration is misplaced because the victory in their kitty is stolen; and, it is only a question of time that there will be a just recompense, if not at the tribunal and the courts of law, certainly in the court of God. God’s judgment is right! The Bible says, in Proverbs 20:17 that “stolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth.” (New Living Translation) If the consciences of these election riggers are not dead and seared, they should live under the burden of real quilt until the guilt is exorcised through the legal process that culminates in issuing victory verdict in favour of the actual winner of the election.
Perhaps, the fourth thing is the current pressure that the APC Federal Government has piled on the Judiciary. I hope the Judiciary, which is now hung on the cross by agents of the Executive, has learnt its bitter lessons. It has the opportunity to reinvent itself and prove to the entire world that it is a dependable custodian of the Temple of Justice. The Edo governorship election petition offers that opportunity. It is expected that the judicial officers will resist possible overtures from any quarters and deliver judgment on the basis of facts adduced and proved.
But while we anxiously await the petitioners and the defendants to lock horns and treat us to legal theatrics and fireworks, the new godfather has continued to irritate us with his predictable and old-fashioned antics of political vendetta and outright persecution of those who pitched their tents against him and his surrogate, Obaseki. Take, for instance, the suspension for seven days, from October 26 to November 1, 2016, of the Onojie of Uromi, Anselm Aidenojie, as widely reported in the media: the showmanship of political power was unnecessary. However, the new godfather, would want to humiliate the royal father for allegedly having sympathy for the PDP candidate, Ize-Iyamu. For an incident that allegedly happened on the Election Day when an APC woman, Ms Betty Okoebor, misbehaved and was called to order by the Royal Father, thus making it impossible for the APC to win in any polling booth in Uromi, Oshiomhole decided to punish the Royal Father.
Oshiomhole had earlier directed the Royal Father to apologise to the woman and the State Government; otherwise, he would stand deposed as the Onojie of Uromi. This parody of Uromi royalty is unconscionable. But the woman, who is a loyal subject of the Onojie, wrote to Oshiomhole, to plead that she would not be in a position to accept such apology as it would amount to sacrilege. This is proper upbringing and respect for tradition on her part. But the Governor is causing aggravation instead of building bridges of reconciliation, kindred spirit and bond. This is quite sad. We are witnessing the last dance steps of a neo-godfather whose underbelly will be exposed, not many months hence.
There is no doubt that Oshiomhole, who loves power and grandeur, but pretends to be an austere labour man, is completely sold to the bad habit of abusing leaders, attacking the characters of elder statesmen, embarrassing Traditional Rulers and royalty as well as undermining time-tested traditions for personal and self-serving political expediencies. This lover of public space has fully unraveled but will soon be displaced and Edo people will be spared his petulant ranting and antics.
Written by Sufuyan Ojeifo, the Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch Mmagazine.
