Pertinent issues on Edo governorship poll

On Saturday September 21, Edo State voters will have another opportunity to elect their governor who would be sworn in into office on November 12 for a term of four years in the first instance. The campaign season is on, and the frontline candidates jostling for prominence are Dr. Asue Ighodalo of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP); Senator Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Olumide Akpata of the Labour party (LP).

The winner of the election will take the leadership baton from the incumbent governor, Godwin Obaseki, who has been in charge for two terms of eight years – first, on the platform of APC for his first term, and PDP for his second term.

As I have argued in the past, every state in Nigeria ought to be an economic powerhouse – just like Lagos State that can survive without the monthly revenue allocation from Abuja – and attract investors, business leaders, entrepreneurs, conference delegates, visitors, tourists, students, and so on.

If all the 36 states and the FCT, Abuja, can transform into centres of commerce, enterprise and innovation, Nigeria could easily become a one trillion dollar economy. What is required of our governors is to provide visionary and exemplary leadership.

This is my major area of focus and interest in the upcoming governorship election. Edo people want a governor who can create wealth and prosperity through innovation and the power of big ideas.

So which of the three candidates has the capacity, competence, wide network, goodwill, global appeal and experience to build a first-world economy for Edo State? Who is the best fit for the job? Who can Edo people – both at home and in the diaspora – trust to lead them for the next four years?

Edo people who have been engaged in nuanced conversations on this matter, are very discerning and enlightened. I am confident they will make the right choice by voting for the candidate who will make their lives better.

Historically, Edo State has been under PDP leadership until Senator Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole became the governor as APC candidate in 2008 after a court process upheld his electoral victory. However, as Edo people cast their votes on September 21, they must look before they leap. They should shine their eyes!

I have monitored public speeches by the key political actors in all the parties. But I am worried about the egregious comments by Senator Adams Oshiomhole who, ordinarily, should be an elder statesman and leader from Edo State.

Maybe he does not know, but Oshiomhole is undermining his own candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo. Comrade Oshiomhole keeps scoring own goals to the detriment of APC. He announced to the whole world that Dr. Ighodalo, candidate of the PDP, has no home in Ewohimi, his home town. That is a lie from the pit of hell.

He also said that Dr. Ighodalo refused to sleep in Ewohimi after a campaign stop because of “witches and wizards.” Isn’t that an outlandish statement from a political leader? What he tried to do was to de-market Dr. Ighodalo, denigrate Esan people in general and Ewohimi indigenes in particular. He should be told that such comments have political consequences.

In 24 years since 1999, the political leadership in Edo State had been shared between Edo North and Edo South regions. Oshiomhole (from the Edo North region) was governor for eight years while Edo South produced two governors (Lucky Igbinedion and Godwin Obaseki) for 16 years.

In their own wisdom, some of the political leaders believed that political power should shift to the Edo Central region in 2024. But Senator Oshiomhole spearheaded a campaign for Honourable Dennis Idahosa – his favourite from Edo South – to be the candidate of APC, thereby ignoring Esan people. But the plan backfired. Clearly, Oshiomhole did not support the idea initially for the Esan Central region to produce the next governor of Edo State. Esan people have not forgotten that slight.

President Bola Tinubu had to intervene for peace to reign in the party. A second primary, after a stakeholders’ meeting with President Tinubu in Abuja, was conducted in Benin City which produced Senator Monday Okpebholo as the party’s candidate. Hon Idahosa who was initially declared the winner of the primaries before the peace meeting in Abuja, was picked as his running mate. It was a necessary compromise to pacify Idahosa.

Comrade Oshiomhole, a former Chairman of APC and acclaimed leader of the party in Edo State, alongside his backers, tried every trick in his playbook to frustrate Governor Obaseki’s second term bid, but he failed. When Edo people launched “Edo no be Lagos” campaign in 2020, it was a protest response to the well-funded gang-up against Obaseki by the leading political actors in APC.

It was the same tactic Comrade Oshiomhole deployed when he de-marketed Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in 2016 and subsequently presented him as the best man to be governor of Edo State in 2020. What changed after four years? Oshiomhole has still not been able to answer this question.

Pastor Ize-Iyamu, a great political strategist in his own right, lost on both counts. It is fair to concede that Oshiomhole backed Obaseki fully to become governor for his first term in office, but they fell apart and became adversaries. That was also what happened between Obaseki and Philip Shaibu, his erstwhile political ally.

But you never know the ways of politicians; they can be enemies during the daytime and become friends at night. It’s all politics; that is how they roll.

I have provided this backstory to prove that Senator Oshiomhole cannot be trusted: he is neither helping his party nor their candidate with his unguarded public utterances. Should the Senator representing Edo North Senatorial District be the one to tell the whole world that Betsy, the wife of Governor Obaseki, is childless?

That was another own goal by Oshiomhole as he mocked Betsy for being childless and not adopting children with her husband. Can you just imagine how a man who was a leader of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); former governor of Edo State and now serving senator would descend to the level of gutter politics. To prove what point?

Oshiomhole’s reckless and perfidious statement set the social media on fire, and I hope he is able to quench the fire. He actually owes Godwin Obaseki and his wife a public apology.

Betsy did not mention anyone by name when she said Dr. Ighodalo, the PDP candidate, is the only one who has a wife. Betsy made the comment when she introduced Ifeyinwa Ighodalo, the wife of Dr. Ighodalo, during a campaign rally at Ubiaja.

But trust Comrade Oshiomhole who has become the spokesman of Senator Okpebholo to step forward to defend him. Why can’t Okpebholo speak for himself? At this rate, we do not even know who the APC governorship candidate is: Okpebholo or Oshiomhole?

Senator Oshiomhole has been pitching Senator Okpebholo to Edo people as the best man for the job of governor. Is he? I don’t think so. Nonetheless, I respect his rights to vie for any political office. Since Comrade Oshiomhole is more or less the face of his campaign, Senator Okpebholo would really have to work hard with less than three weeks to the election to convince Edo people to vote for him.

I have watched Dr. Asue Ighodalo and Olumide Akpata on television explaining their plans for Edo people, but I have not seen Senator Monday Okpebholo on any TV channel. What could be the problem?

Dr. Reuben Abati, anchor of The Morning Show on Arise News, announced more than once that Senator Okpebholo should appear on the programme for an interview in Pidgin English or Esan language with a translator to boot if speaking in English was the issue. Was that meant to be a joke?

If Senator Okpebholo is not ready to appear on a TV show to explain his manifesto, how is he going to talk to Edo people as governor? How can he be taken seriously? Will Oshiomhole or the other surrogates be the ones speaking for him? Although politics is a game of numbers, optics, perception management, messaging and nuance are also critical factors. I struggle to see Okpebholo speak on the floor of the Senate.

Olumide Akpata (Olu D) of the Labour Party brought a breath of fresh air in his political communication and engagement style, but we cannot run away from the fact that PDP and APC are still the dominant political parties in view of their legacies, spending power, political engineering experience and voting blocs. LP is still new to the game.

The power of incumbency will also be a strong factor in the political and power calculus in the upcoming election and Edo people know where the pendulum will swing to.

A dip-stick survey by an independent group revealed that Edo people are concerned primarily about their well-being which has been seriously affected by the current economic hardship. They cited increasing hunger amid the rising cost of goods and services, insecurity, development of infrastructure, job opportunities, and access to quality healthcare.

Edo people also want a strong leader that they can trust to build a vibrant economy. One way the local economy can grow is through destination marketing. For example, Wimbledon, Berlin Marathon, Rio Carnival, Dubai World Cup, Monaco Grand Prix, Paris-Dakar rally and the Lagos Marathon are globally recognised elements of destination marketing and city branding.

In Edo State, Ogbe Hard Court, the famous international tennis tournament, can be revived. Other initiatives such as the Edo Cycling Tour – similar to the Tour de France in concept and execution – can also be launched. Apart from its rich cultural heritage, Edo State has important sites and landmarks that can boost tourism. For example, the Ososo Carnival in Akoko Edo LGA can be turned into a huge touristic showcase, capable of attracting hordes of visitors.

In a previous article, I explained that revenue can be generated by state governments from the assets that they host (rental income), in addition to significant commercial opportunities in music, film and entertainment, arts and culture, real estate development, hospitality, aviation, ground transportation, clothing and foot wear, furniture, agriculture, and technology by building ICT hubs for our vibrant youth population.

As we count down to September 21, I wish to project from available data that Dr. Asue Ighodalo would be the winner of the governorship poll in a free and fair election because he is the best man for the job based on his excellent track record of performance.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has its job well cut out. I expect them to rise up to the occasion. I am also banking on the security agencies to be vigilant and ensure that electoral violence and malpractices such as ballot-box snatching are checkmated.    

Braimah is a communications strategist and publisher/editor-in-chief of Naija Times (https://ntm.ng)and Lagos Post (https://lagospost.ng). He can be reached at [email protected].