By Sufuyan Ojeifo<\/p>\n
The aphorism by the Yoruba that \u201cwhoever does something that is
\nunusual will experience a consequence that is unusual\u201d perfectly
\nmirrors Edo state governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki\u2019s self-inflicted
\npolitical bind. Having stirred the hornets\u2019 nest with the June 17,
\n2019 controversial inauguration of the State House of Assembly, a
\ncontraption that bears his imprimatur, he has been at the receiving end
\nof assaults from stakeholders and arbiters from within and outside the
\nstate.<\/p>\n
Obaseki is, understandably, hysterical, seeking for critical support and
\nlegal ways to stave off the onslaughts against his position. Although,
\nthe prospects for survival in the short term look good, yet, in the long
\nrun, they may diminish irredeemably. In a circumstance such as this, in
\nwhich a political solution is possible, a smart politician would have
\nscoffed ego and retraced his steps in surrender to wise counsel to issue
\na fresh proclamation for proper inauguration of the State Legislature.<\/p>\n
But nudged on by a motley crowd of narrow-minded advisers, associates
\nand beneficiaries of government largesse, it is not always easy to
\nsubsume ego in supremacy battles in which illusions of victory hold
\nsway. This has been the tragedy of Obaseki\u2019s governorship. Those
\nadvising and encouraging him to defy the directive by the presidency,
\nthe national working committee of the APC and the National Assembly for
\nthe issuance of a fresh proclamation do not love him. They are certainly
\ndoing so in furtherance of their selfish political interests.<\/p>\n
Indeed, when the chips are down, they will naturally take a walk,
\npossibly cap-in-hand, to the other camp, for forgiveness and
\nreconciliation; and, Obaseki will be left in the lurch alone, an
\nill-fated, deflated, pathetic power monger and serial anti-party actor.
\nFunnily enough, many of the advisers were, perhaps, either nowhere close
\nto him or did not give him a chance of becoming governor in 2016.<\/p>\n
Out of persona animus, they must have kept their distance when the
\nformer governor of the state and national chair of the APC, Comrade
\nAdams Oshiomhole, anointed him as his successor and practically put him
\non his back for governorship electioneering across the state in 2016.
\nThe Oshiomhole momentum that produced the Obaseki governorship was sui
\ngeneris. Oshiomhole did the talking and dancing at campaigns while
\ncandidate Obaseki just managed, most of the times, to let off some
\nsmiles and read from prepared texts.<\/p>\n
Today, Governor Obaseki has challenged his chi (god) to a fight. I do
\nnot care about the concerns being raised and insinuations being made in
\ncertain quarters over the resurgence of a godfather\u2019s tendency on the
\npart of Oshiomhole. As the leader of the APC political family in Edo
\nthat produced the Obaseki governorship, Oshiomhole\u2019s stake-holding in
\nthe enterprise is critical and validates his responses and actions,
\nwhether overt or covert, at saving the APC in Edo state from Obaseki\u2019s
\nmismanagement of victory.<\/p>\n
In fact, I am in _consensus ad idem _with those who subscribe to the
\nview that any action(s) that tends or tend to discount the
\nOshiomhole\u2019s political influence in the manner that Obaseki had
\nplotted his predecessor\u2019s political eclipse should not be allowed to
\nflourish on the grounds that it mirrors political treachery that is
\ncapable of bringing down the entire APC structure in Edo.\u00a0 Obaseki\u2019s
\noriginal gambit was to dismantle Oshiomhole\u2019s political structure and
\nsupplant it with his in the build-up to the 2019 general election.<\/p>\n
The political plot would have been seamlessly achieved had providence
\nnot thrust the position of national chair of the APC on the laps of the
\nIyamho-born labour unionist and politician. One may not know the
\ngravamen that precipitated the conflict between the godfather and his
\ngodson as a former governor of the state and former national chair of
\nthe APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun indicated in a chat with journalists
\nin Benin ahead of his 80th birthday, however, I disagree with his
\nsuggestion that because he, as national chair, did not interfere with
\nthe governance of the state under Oshiomhole, therefore, Oshiomhole, as
\nnational chair, should not have interfered with Obaseki\u2019s governance
\nof Edo.<\/p>\n
While the Odigie-Oyegun analogy may appear logical on the surface and
\nonly to the extent that Oshiomhole did not facilitate Obaseki\u2019s
\nemergence as governor, the analogy is malapropos at the level of deeper
\nlogic. While Odigie-Oyegun was not instrumental to Oshiomhole\u2019s
\ngovernorship and there was no basis upon which he could have interfered
\nin the administration, the Obaseki administration was packaged by
\nOshiomhole on the philosophy of continuity of the policies and
\nprogrammes of the APC administration that he superintended over in Edo
\nfor eight years.<\/p>\n
Through Oshiomhole\u2019s political nimbleness, the monumental sacrifices
\nthat he made and the risks that he took confronting the behemoth of the
\nPeoples Democratic Party (PDP), the APC has been able to maintain its
\nhold on Edo as the only state it controls in the entire South-south
\nzone. If there was anything that spoke eloquently for the revalidation
\nof mandate in the APC in Edo state, it was Oshiomhole\u2019s goodwill that
\nwas produced by his pro-people governance approach that got the vast
\nmajority of Edo people to support his administration, especially in his
\nfight to upend the influence of the tribe of obdurate political
\ngodfathers in the state.<\/p>\n
Oshiomhole\u2019s \u201cone-man-one-vote\u201d mantra gave a sense of inclusive
\nparticipation and importance to the masses in the democratic process of
\ndetermining who their leaders would be. His rapprochement with civil
\nservants in the state benefitted from his understanding of the terrain
\nas a former president of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC); and, this
\naccounted for his administration\u2019s decision to implement the payment
\nof N25, 000 as against N18, 000 as minimum wage to Edo workers.<\/p>\n
There was massive infrastructure development, which was largely
\ncelebrated while Oshiomhole was in the saddle.\u00a0 Some of the laudable
\nprojects such as the Benin Water Storm project, Benin Central Hospital,
\netc., were to be continued and completed by the Obaseki administration.
\nHas Obaseki completed them? That is one of the concerns in the APC.
\nWhat of APC’s political structure? How well has Obaseki managed and
\ndeployed it in consolidating the victory of the APC and its
\nadministration in Edo? That is another concern.<\/p>\n
Perhaps, it was the mismanagement of the political structure ahead of
\nthe 2019 general election that created the division in the state chapter
\nof the party.\u00a0 The governor\u2019s failed bid to impose his men who were
\nperceived as unpopular candidates on the party in that election was,
\nperhaps, partly at the root of his grouse about Oshiomhole.<\/p>\n
Whereas, according to a grapevine, Oshiomhole was interested in the APC
\nfielding popular candidates who could win election, Obaseki differed
\nbecause the perceived popular candidates happened to have all served,
\njust as he did, in Oshiomhole\u2019s government; and, to that extent, they
\nwere categorized as Oshiomhole\u2019s loyalists. The subsequent animus had
\nproduced frenzied reactions by Obaseki who was said to have threatened
\non different occasions to align with some governors to remove Oshiomhole
\nas national chair.<\/p>\n
Besides, the governor is always quoted to have declared his readiness to
\nfight. As it is, the coast is clear for him to fight since he has made
\nup his mind to defy the directive of relevant stakeholders to issue a
\nfresh proclamation for the inauguration of the State House of Assembly.
\nI doubt if he can withstand the free for all in the APC with the 2020
\ngovernorship ticket as the prize to win or lose.<\/p>\n
The party\u2019s position on a fresh proclamation, regardless of judicial
\nintercession, is supreme. The support of the National Assembly is
\ncritical. The approbation by the Presidency and the intervention by the
\nroyal fathers in the state, which Obaseki discountenanced, are
\nsupportive. Except, Obaseki has perfected his exit strategy to pick the
\ngovernorship ticket of another party, he is headed for political
\nhara-kiri in the APC.\u00a0 Can he run the gauntlet in the governing party?
\nCan he have his cake and eat it? Time will tell.<\/p>\n