By Sufuyan Ojeifo<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The outgoing Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has, by the
\nway he cavalierly manipulated the conduct and outcome of the September 28
\ngovernorship election, proved to the entire world that he is an unkind
\nMafioso.\u00a0 Having unsympathetically arm-twisted ambitious individuals
\nwithin his Mafia group, supposedly in Edo State, as typified by the All
\nProgressives Congress (APC), he got most of them to kowtow to his
\npredetermined agendum of foisting Godwin Obaseki on the party as its
\ngovernorship candidate. It was not surprising that he resorted to extreme
\nself-help in his desperate bid to railroad an Obaseki governorship on the
\npeople.<\/p>\n
What mattered most to Oshiomhole was how to ensure, at all cost, the
\nemergence of a successor that would cover his questionable tracks.\u00a0 The
\ntruth, really, is that anybody, in his shoes, enjoying the backing of the
\nFederal Government, would do the same thing.\u00a0 This is understandably
\nbecause his political survival and the assurance of protection against
\npost-office inquisition for the alleged mindless misappropriation and
\nplundering of the commonwealth of Edo people could only, in his vain
\nimagination, depend on the successful enthronement of a surrogate as a
\nsuccessor.\u00a0 He has, perhaps, forgotten recent history of surrogates, under
\nthe current dispensation, who have become thorns in the flesh of their
\npredecessors and benefactors.<\/p>\n
The action by politicians, which I have always believed to be ungodly, is
\nto deliberately plan to rig out opponent(s), and burden the actual winner
\nto run to the tribunal to prove that he or she actually won the election.
\nSuch a scenario always places the opponent in a position of disadvantage,
\nparticularly if the defendant is the governor or party in power.\u00a0 This is
\nthe situation in Edo where the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship
\ncandidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, has already filed a petition before
\nthe Election Tribunal in his bid to reclaim what he strongly believes to
\nbe his \u201cstolen mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, three, if not four things, I believe, continue to serve as
\nencouragement to Ize-Iyamu on his voyage of reclaiming his \u201cstolen
\nmandate.\u201d\u00a0 One, there is a precedent in the State, which involved the
\ncurrent dramatis personae.\u00a0 In 2007, Oshiomhole, who was sponsored by
\nIze-Iyamu\u2019s Grace Group on the platform of the then Action Congress (AC)
\nfor the governorship election was defeated by Professor Oserhiemen Osunbor
\nof the PDP.\u00a0 But, because Oshiomhole believed he won the election, he
\ndeployed his labour activism background and experience by making the State
\nungovernable through incessant street protests during the period of the
\ncase at the tribunal and court.\u00a0 He intimidated and blackmailed everyone.
\nHe caused the court to resort to vote cancellations virtually turning it
\ninto an electoral body that recomputed the votes and awarded victory to
\nhim.\u00a0 That was how he became Governor in 2008.\u00a0 A vast majority of Edo
\npeople believe that this should happen in this current case between
\nIze-Iyamu and APC\u2019s Obaseki.<\/p>\n
Without wanting to act contra bonus mores, knowing full well that the
\nmatter is sub judice, I can only interpose at this point: that I hope the
\nPDP and its candidate have been able to file solid, provable cases of
\nelection manipulations, over-voting, rigging and other infractions that
\nthe tribunal can latch on to admit that the applicants have substantially
\nproved their case beyond reasonable doubt against the defendants.\u00a0 A key
\nstep is to avail the tribunal with the authentic results and prove the
\nsame in order to effectively counter the results that INEC announced on
\nthe basis of which it declared Obaseki as the Governor-elect.<\/p>\n
Second, Ize-Iyamu and the PDP appear to enjoy the support of the people as
\nevidenced during their statewide campaigns and as demonstrated by the ease
\nwith which the people have been easily mobilized on several occasions to
\nembark on peaceful street protests in Benin since the INEC announced
\nObaseki as the winner of the election.\u00a0 It takes a popular, confident and
\ngenuinely shortchanged party to do so. The critical argument that subsists
\nin many quarters in Edo state is there was no way the people would have
\nrewarded the APC with the votes that gave it victory, considering its
\nperceived anti-people policies, ranging from multiple levies to
\nexcruciating tax regime.<\/p>\n
Third, it would appear somewhat remarkable that Oshiomhole, his
\nGovernor-elect and others who worked together to subvert the will of the
\npeople, would find it difficult to celebrate their so-called victory.
\nThey know such celebration is misplaced because the victory in their kitty
\nis stolen; and, it is only a question of time that there will be a just
\nrecompense, if not at the tribunal and the courts of law, certainly in the
\ncourt of God.\u00a0 God\u2019s judgment is right! The Bible says, in Proverbs 20:17
\nthat \u201cstolen bread tastes sweet, but it turns to gravel in the mouth.\u201d
\n(New Living Translation) \u00a0\u00a0If the consciences of these election riggers
\nare not dead and seared, they should live under the burden of real quilt
\nuntil the guilt is exorcised through the legal process that culminates in
\nissuing victory verdict in favour of the actual winner of the election.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, the fourth thing is the current pressure that the APC Federal
\nGovernment has piled on the Judiciary.\u00a0 I hope the Judiciary, which is now
\nhung on the cross by agents of the Executive, has learnt its bitter
\nlessons.\u00a0 It has the opportunity to reinvent itself and prove to the
\nentire world that it is a dependable custodian of the Temple of Justice.
\nThe Edo governorship election petition offers that opportunity.\u00a0 It is
\nexpected that the judicial officers will resist possible overtures from
\nany quarters and deliver judgment on the basis of facts adduced and
\nproved.<\/p>\n
But while we anxiously await the petitioners and the defendants to lock
\nhorns and treat us to legal theatrics and fireworks, the new godfather has
\ncontinued to irritate us with his predictable and old-fashioned antics of
\npolitical vendetta and outright persecution of those who pitched their
\ntents against him and his surrogate, Obaseki.\u00a0 Take, for instance, the
\nsuspension for seven days, from October 26 to November 1, 2016, of the
\nOnojie of Uromi, Anselm Aidenojie, as widely reported in the media: the
\nshowmanship of political power was unnecessary.\u00a0 However, the new
\ngodfather, would want to humiliate the royal father for allegedly having
\nsympathy for the PDP candidate, Ize-Iyamu.\u00a0 For an incident that allegedly
\nhappened on the Election Day when an APC woman, Ms Betty Okoebor,
\nmisbehaved and was called to order by the Royal Father, thus making it
\nimpossible for the APC to win in any polling booth in Uromi, Oshiomhole
\ndecided to punish the Royal Father.<\/p>\n
Oshiomhole had earlier directed the Royal Father to apologise to the woman
\nand the State Government; otherwise, he would stand deposed as the Onojie
\nof Uromi.\u00a0 This parody of Uromi royalty is unconscionable. \u00a0But the woman,
\nwho is a loyal subject of the Onojie, wrote to Oshiomhole, to plead that
\nshe would not be in a position to accept such apology as it would amount
\nto sacrilege. This is proper upbringing and respect for tradition on her
\npart. \u00a0But the Governor is causing aggravation instead of building bridges
\nof reconciliation, kindred spirit and bond. This is quite sad. We are
\nwitnessing the last dance steps of a neo-godfather whose underbelly will
\nbe exposed, not many months hence.<\/p>\n
There is no doubt that Oshiomhole, who loves power and grandeur, but
\npretends to be an austere labour man, is completely sold to the bad habit
\nof abusing leaders, attacking the characters of elder statesmen,
\nembarrassing Traditional Rulers and royalty as well as undermining
\ntime-tested traditions for personal and self-serving political
\nexpediencies.\u00a0 This lover of public space has fully unraveled but will
\nsoon be displaced and Edo people will be spared his petulant ranting and
\nantics.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Ojeifo is the Editor-in-Chief of The Congresswatch magazine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Sufuyan Ojeifo 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,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-opinions"],"yoast_head":"\n