The fact that Edo state has improved under Godwin Obaseki after 8 years is no longer the argument. Edo state is generating electricity, Edo secretariat is totally rebuilt, civil service reformed etc the fact that Edo state wants to continue improving after Obaseki is also not an argument. So why is it then that the Edo 2024 elections has seen an unprecedented number of candidates running for Governorship, more than at any time in the history of Edo State.
Stranger and more important questions continue to come up, including why Godwin Obaseki, the man who has improved Edo State over the last 8 years is rumored to be relocating to the Florida diaspora when his tenure ends this year, an action very unlikely from any Nigerian Governor in the history of Nigeria. Lastly, his favored candidate and business partner, Asen Ighodalo, a man with all the so-called qualities to succeed GO as Governor has now gone around campaigning by himself, telling everyone who cares to listen that he is on his own and not carried by GO.
So, what are GO’s problems? Why is he so unpopular? Well, according to GO, the reason why he is unpopular and has been over the last 8 years, is that he stopped the Edo resident politicians from stealing Government funds. This is not close to the total truth.
GO may have stopped the looting in Edo State by diverting Edo contracts to non-Edo residents which he audits. Over the 8 years he has condemned all Edo politicians as criminals and has displayed no intention of teaching them better ways of governance. He has stolen all their legacies for himself and the people he has brought in, and he wants to leave Edo with a candidate that will watch his back.
Everyone can now see through GO and that is why he is in a conundrum.
The attempted total takeover of governance in Edo State by trickery, lies and wickedness is failing. If GO had done things well, Edos would like for him to continue more than the 8 years if they could, but rather the people cannot wait to sweep out any memory of GO from the state after 8 years.
He tricked Oshiomhole in APC, tricked Dan Orbih in PDP and Edo people saw all this. Tricks and lies are not the Edo way, we are BOLD! Once GO got to Osadebe Avenue he became a fearsome emperor, one who abandoned all the people who worked for his success and one who did not care who he fought openly in Edo state. Edo’s saw him and realized there are more reasons to GO’s actions than simply saying he is preventing politicians from chopping the money. GO has come with an ill-prepared plan to takeover Edo State by deceiving the people.
I was a small child when Ambrose Alli was Governor of Bendel State, and his performance was 100 times greater than GO. I can guarantee to you that Alli did not build all those schools by himself. There were others, but why don’t we know what their names are? What about their legacies and their families? Will they get the chance in another state that GO is giving nonresident Edos in Edo State? How did Prof. Ambrose Alli build up to 200 schools, free education, free books, paid bursaries, and the people he did that for could not save him from the federal Government. GO is not like Alli but he is robbing people of their legacies in their own state by calling them criminals. You cannot rehabilitate them, they are useless- so you bring people to Edo state to make Edo money, convincing Edo people for 8 years that all their local leaders are not good enough while paying non Edo residents.
From the start, there was a concern that the technocratic system of Obaseki would bring a shock to the Edo system if he did not handle it well. Today, we can safely say it was not handled well. The strategy to trick all Edo politicians behind closed doors to get him to power has backfired. Why can he not tell them what he is going to do and stick to it. Edos were watching and believe me we do not hate them like GO. They are closer to us 100% than a Governor who never lived amongst us.
When it comes to the accusation of chopping government money, Edo resident politicians have been accused of having inadequate capacity, inflating contracts, or not executing them all. Surely the answer to this is not to bring in other Edos or Nigerians (non-Edo State residence) into the state. This is where the huge miscalculation started. Our Royal institution has always granted any Edo Governor counsel when needed to improve management in Edo State. Nobody has been above the state. However, If the reports are to be believed, GO’s government is not faring well with our Royal institution either. How? GO has managed to do the unfathomable bearing in mind his family’s history with regards to Edo’s history.
Whether it’s intentional or not, one cannot say, but GO’s plan appears to be to exterminate the Edo politicians on their own tuff, on their own structure, by tricking them to hand him the keys to Osadebe Avenue, an office he would never attain without their support.
World examples compared to GO’s Edo plans will draw simple conclusions. Arsene Wenger featured an all-French arsenal team in England, when England hired a foreign coach as their national coach, they had a clear plan to improve the standards of the upcoming English players and coaches to get to the same level of the foreigners. Today the English national team is flourishing and ranked 4th in the world with a local English coach at the helm. Edo Governorship is about to be replaced by another non-Edo resident without a plan. The question we should be asking now is, is Edo State 8 years away from another mercenary technocrat?
I have nothing against Asue Ighodalo, who personally I think is a very brilliant man, but he is not resident in Edo state. Like GO, he is a mercenary with no political history in Edo state except for GO, whose is trickery.
Edo state is not peculiar politically as they would like to call us, we are just truthful even when we are losing. GO should have told his political party the truth about what he was going to do internally, if you cannot win there, you cannot win here. We are not trickish. He seems to have forgotten why they supported him in 2020.
As for Edo 2024 elections, we wonder whether GO can pull it off and get Asue Ighodalo elected. I don’t know, but the message that Edo is sending to GO is that they want their own in charge. Someone who knows them and will carry them along, whether it’s training, reforms, or otherwise, qualities that did not interest GO for 8 years.