By John Mayaki<\/p>\n
If Adams Oshiomhole were a woman then we would have safely concluded
\nthat Governor Godwin Obaseki is romantically obsessed with him. Why
\nwouldn’t one conclude such when Obaseki has used all his resources in
\npursuing Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; why won’t we conclude such when
\nObaseki, with all his might, soul, spirit, energy, and strength have
\ngone after Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole?<\/p>\n
On the pages of the newspapers, on podiums with microphone, in
\ndiscussion with close friends and allies, and even in his sleep, we have
\nlearned, the name of the National Chairman of the governing party
\nhaven’t left his lips.<\/p>\n
The most recent activity in this bout of obsessive affinity is an
\narticle sponsored by Godwin Obaseki and published on the 20th page of
\nMay 11 Vanguard dispatch. Written and signed by Pastor Joseph O.
\nOsagiede, the purported publicity secretary of the Obaseki disillusioned
\nfaction of APC in the state, we are well aware that Obaseki is the true
\nspeaker who, masked and can only perform from behind, allowed his
\nexpression to come through the witless writing of Osagiede Joseph.<\/p>\n
The article, demonstrating Obaseki’s obsession with Oshiomhole, without
\ndisappointment began, even from the title, with going straight for
\nOshiomhole. But after that, it made no haste in sliding into
\nself-denial, into willful blindness to the truth, into a sweaty effort
\nto revise truth. “Oshiomhole’s Aspirants Working To Fracture APC In
\nEdo,” the headline read, revealing the deliberate ignorance of Obaseki
\nand his refusal to understand and accept that his seat as Governor of
\nEdo State is under review, up for the grabs, and open to transparent
\ncontest. To be clear, there are no Oshiomhole’s aspirants working to
\nfracture APC in Edo State.<\/p>\n
There is rather, independent-minded, capable and competent aspirants
\ngunning for the gubernatorial position in Edo State. Obaseki, like a
\nchild born into privilege, with a silver spoon shoved into his mouth by
\nthe benevolent spirits of the universe, remains lazy and entitled and
\nincredibly attached to a transient power. It is not a bad thing to want
\nthe sugar benevolently slotted in your mouth to remain there; the bad
\nthing, however, is a refusal to prove one’s mettle, to contest for the
\nperpetual remaining of that sugar in your mouth.<\/p>\n
And so that is Obaseki, a man who has four years of unmitigated failure
\nunder his belt, as the governor of Edo State. An undemocratic tyrant who
\nis at loggerheads with accountability–the very soul of leadership. The
\ndazed and confused leader who in the place of tangible and provable
\nprojects has countless signed MoU flying around in the cabinet of his
\nadministration. A sleepy and confused leader who had, over and over,
\nmade incredulous mistakes in advertising renovation contracts outside of
\nhis authority and constituency, in a nonexistent location, and for
\nnonexistent structures.<\/p>\n
But those are minor crimes. This is a petulant man-child who went on
\nnational TV to promise a torrential rain of blood and fire on persons
\nwho do not cue-into his second term ambition. A man brazenly devoid of
\ndiplomatic wisdom or leadership charisma. A governor sitting on a pile
\nof potential corruption charges awaiting fruition upon his eventual
\nbooting out of office. An incompetent wildling wanting to machete his
\nway to sustenance in power and for this he had used state agencies to
\nabuse power, demolishing properties belonging to perceived enemies,
\nsending official thugs and police after upright individuals who had
\nrenounced his inept government.<\/p>\n
And yet he speaks of ‘fracturing APC in Edo.’ Does a deity join in
\nmourning the man he had killed? Does a stinking man lament that the room
\nis smelling? No, of course, except he is Godwin Obaseki. Because this
\nvery man who swore 10 out of 24 Edo State House of Assemblies
\nlegislators-elect, hijacking them at the dead of night and foisting a
\nspeaker on them, while alienating 14 members who were all APC members,
\nis today speaking of fracturing Edo APC. The same man who had refused to
\nemploy the expertise of Edo State professionals, qualified members of
\nhis own party, and other stakeholders is today clamoring about
\nfracturing Edo APC. A man so unfit and terminally unable to lead his
\ncamp that his Chief of Staff resigned and abandoned him a few months to
\nan election. Yes, there are fractured things in Edo State and they are
\nGodwin Obaseki, Godwin Obaseki’s mental health, and Godwin Obaseki’s
\ncrumbling political camp.<\/p>\n
It is not surprising that the masked speaker in the article in question
\nexpended too many paragraphs in highlighting the imagined achievements
\nand legacies of Obaseki. Since it is Obaseki speaking through Joseph,
\nsuch is just a mere megalomaniac display of insecurity. No true achiever
\nreally advertises his achievements. For Obaseki, there are no
\naccomplishments, no legacies, no achievement, just Obaseki, a dark shiny
\nhead of putrid nothing taking an aimless stroll through the corridors of
\npower. Is it not the man who, for four years now, has been taking loans
\nafter loan, grants after grants, claiming to be applying those to the
\nagricultural sector of the state but who got afraid after an NGO wrote a
\npetition against him that he began an emergency reconstruction of the
\nagricultural facility in Iguoriakhi?<\/p>\n
Even in the said article, Obaseki’s brutish tendency glimpsed its face.
\nIn the seventh paragraph, Obaseki speaking through Joseph’s writing
\nsays: “As a matter of fact, Oshiomhole should be careful and not take
\nthe state government’s benevolence for granted, particularly as pertains
\nthe host of financial and legal infractions perpetrated in his tenure.”
\nHere, the Tasmanian Devil threatens violence, hoping to strongarm the
\nparty’s National Chairman into cowardly shivering by mentioning the
\nState Government’s ability to sue and investigate on the former
\ngovernor’s financial dealings.<\/p>\n
Obviously, there is nothing there to be investigated and sued for, but
\nthis posturing by the Obaseki’s government provides an insight into the
\nmentality and workings of the administration: collusion, intimidation,
\nabuse of power, abetting of crime, and leveraging on evidence to the
\nunholy benefit of the administration. By a slight of the mind, they
\nreveal this dangerous character to the public, imagine then, the
\nseverity of the things they have done in the private.<\/p>\n