"If I were Obaseki" by GIDEON OBHAKHAN

I sit in my humble abode and reflect on the heated political atmosphere in Edo State vis-à-vis the incumbent governor, Mr Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki and I ask myself, “If I were Mr Godwin Obaseki, what would I do under this circumstance that it appears that I have been rejected by the majority of my people and only just being spurred on by a few individuals here and there to continue on a project that is beginning to look like an uphill task and largely unachievable?


In an attempt to answer the question, I take my mind back to what has happened in the life of this man over the last couple of years, up to the point that I can reasonably say I know and understand him, as well as briefly chronicle the highlights of key political actions that have been taken by the man who is obviously the cynosure of all eyes at the moment, in Edo State.

I am aware that he was in the corporate world for many years and was a major stakeholder in a stockbroking firm called Afrinvest, which stands out conspicuously in his Curriculum Vitae. I also know that as special adviser on Economic Affairs to former Edo State governor, Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, he was the head of the economic team.

Now fast forward to 2016, when Obaseki showed interest in vying for the position of the exalted office of the governor of Edo State. As an aspirant at that time, he was naturally supposed to be the least favoured to win as all odds were against him, giving the fact that prior to the year 2016, he was relatively unknown in the political space both in Edo Sate and outside of the state. However, against all odds and against the wishes of many people, he became the party’s candidate through the help of the then governor of Edo State, a political bulldozer and leader of the party, Oshiomhole. I was particularly happy for this feat that was achieved, not only because I was a serving commissioner in charge of the ministry of Education at the time, but because I was an active member of the inner caucus of the electioneering campaign team from the beginning to the point that we got victory at the polls.

Having won the elections, it was time for His Excellency to set up his executive cabinet and also make other appointments which include special assistants, executive directors, senior special assistants, etc. During this process Obaseki assured the people of Edo, especially members of our party, the All Progressives Congress, that he was going to employ ingenious methods of saving money and be very creative in dealing with issues of administration and political structure building. And that to achieve that he may not necessarily have to follow the prevailing philosophies of appointments, which to him were largely wasteful as they didn’t prioritize reward for meritocracy but encouraged nepotism.

For starters, Obaseki announced that he would not appoint executive directors, but will only appoint special assistants, special advisers and commissioners and that he was also going to reduce the total number of appointments drastically. Over and above that, he released very decent guidelines that potential candidates aspiring for such positions must meet before they can be appointed. Key amongst those guidelines was the fact that he was never going to reward failure and as such, only the people who where able to win the previous governorship election in their electoral units, wards and local government areas would be given appointments. This was applauded by many including party’s state executives, who were charged with the responsibility of executing the guidelines to the letter. These guidelines were strictly adhered to during the appointment processes and the government so formed has since kicked off.

Apart from keeping to his words as regards adhering strictly to the guidelines, he also decided to distant himself from party politics so that he could focus on the business of governance. But unfortunately, and maybe due to his little experience in politics he couldn’t really manage the emotions of the party members especially the leaders of the party who maintain the party structure and keep the heartbeat of the party alive. He allegedly side-lined them and made statements at different times and on several occasions, which suggested that he was going to continue to alienate members of the party and which the leaders have come to realize, is capable of destroying the party and may eventually lead to the defeat of APC by the opposition party in future elections. This valid concern recently gave birth to a pressure group called Edo People’s Movement within Edo State APC and they have two key items on their agenda; first is to strengthen the party for future elections and second is to shop for a credible replacement for Mr Godwin Obaseki come November, 2020.
The group has since held some meetings which led to a sharp division between those loyal to the governor and those who are opposed to his second term ambition, and which has been wrongly publicised in the media as the fight between the incumbent governor of Edo State and his predecessor, Oshiomhole.

It is worthy to note quickly that I have no records of any statement credited to the APC national chairman as far as the ongoing feud between Edo People’s Movement and the governor of Edo State are concerned, and as such, I will not comment further on that. However, with the recent happenings and the support that Edo People’s Movement has garnered, it is becoming clear that the governor may likely not get a second term ticket. This became evident when 19 out of the 24 house of assembly members-elect, who are opposed to the governor’s choice of Speaker, recently addressed a press conference on June 17, 2019 urging Mr Governor to issue a letter of proclamation to the clerk of Edo State House of Assembly for their inauguration. The press conference apparently triggered the seeming desperation on the part of the governor and his supporters, culminating in the nocturnal inauguration of only nine out the 24 members-elect, with three of them coming out to denounce their participation and alleging that they were sworn in under duress and that they had no option but to play along in order to save their lives. The internet and social media platforms have been agog with the videos of the confessions of the affected House of Assembly members-elect.

Another major issue causing further agitations in the ongoing crisis within the state is the fact that in the last presidential elections held on February 23, 2019, Obaseki lost his electoral ward, local government area, federal constituency, senatorial district, as well as the state. So the question people are asking is, what moral justification has the governor got to seek a second tenure for the exalted office of the governor since he is not qualified by his own guidelines, which he strictly adhered to during the appointment into offices as low as that of the special assistant at the ward, and for elected offices as low as that of a ward councilor. Like they say, what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.

Having chronicled these recent events and feeling the pulse of various commentators, I’d like to come back to my original position which is, “If I were Governor Godwin Obaseki, what would I do under the current circumstance?”. For me, the decision will be pretty simple; I will reach out to the aggrieved members of the party which will obviously include the aggrieved 19 members-elect and assure them that I will only do one term and not seek a second term in office.

This is because having been in politics for a long time, I am able to figure out when the game is up and I also know that it will not help matters if I resort to acts of desperation like what was witnessed on June 18, 2019 when thugs were seen on camera raiding a hotel with the sole target to beat up the 19 members-elect who were having a press conference against the purported inauguration. The thugs as shown in the videos released on the internet were seen being protected by armed policemen apparently acting on orders from above. Most importantly, considering the decent life that Mr Obaseki has led over the years, coming from the private sector, I believe he will ruin his career post governorship era, if he continues to thread on this part which by my own humble opinion appears to be getting messier for him each passing day.

Finally, I would like to say to my dear friend, His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki, “please quit after your first tenure and raise your chin in pride knowing you have put in your best, even though your best doesn’t seem to be good enough generally speaking”. The earlier, the better, I would say.




GIDEON OBHAKHAN,
former commissioner for Education, Edo State, wrote from Benin City.