* Obaseki

By John Mayaki 

If Adams Oshiomhole were a woman then we would have safely concluded that Governor Godwin Obaseki is romantically obsessed with him. Why wouldn't one conclude such when Obaseki has used all his resources in pursuing Comrade Adams Oshiomhole; why won't we conclude such when Obaseki, with all his might, soul, spirit, energy, and strength have gone after Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole? 

On the pages of the newspapers, on podiums with microphone, in discussion with close friends and allies, and even in his sleep, we have learned, the name of the National Chairman of the governing party haven't left his lips. 

The most recent activity in this bout of obsessive affinity is an article sponsored by Godwin Obaseki and published on the 20th page of May 11 Vanguard dispatch. Written and signed by Pastor Joseph O. Osagiede, the purported publicity secretary of the Obaseki disillusioned faction of APC in the state, we are well aware that Obaseki is the true speaker who, masked and can only perform from behind, allowed his expression to come through the witless writing of Osagiede Joseph. 

The article, demonstrating Obaseki's obsession with Oshiomhole, without disappointment began, even from the title, with going straight for Oshiomhole. But after that, it made no haste in sliding into self-denial, into willful blindness to the truth, into a sweaty effort to revise truth. "Oshiomhole's Aspirants Working To Fracture APC In Edo," the headline read, revealing the deliberate ignorance of Obaseki and his refusal to understand and accept that his seat as Governor of Edo State is under review, up for the grabs, and open to transparent contest. To be clear, there are no Oshiomhole's aspirants working to fracture APC in Edo State. 

There is rather, independent-minded, capable and competent aspirants gunning for the gubernatorial position in Edo State. Obaseki, like a child born into privilege, with a silver spoon shoved into his mouth by the benevolent spirits of the universe, remains lazy and entitled and incredibly attached to a transient power. It is not a bad thing to want the sugar benevolently slotted in your mouth to remain there; the bad thing, however, is a refusal to prove one's mettle, to contest for the perpetual remaining of that sugar in your mouth. 

And so that is Obaseki, a man who has four years of unmitigated failure under his belt, as the governor of Edo State. An undemocratic tyrant who is at loggerheads with accountability—the very soul of leadership. The dazed and confused leader who in the place of tangible and provable projects has countless signed MoU flying around in the cabinet of his administration. A sleepy and confused leader who had, over and over, made incredulous mistakes in advertising renovation contracts outside of his authority and constituency, in a nonexistent location, and for nonexistent structures. 

But those are minor crimes. This is a petulant man-child who went on national TV to promise a torrential rain of blood and fire on persons who do not cue-into his second term ambition. A man brazenly devoid of diplomatic wisdom or leadership charisma. A governor sitting on a pile of potential corruption charges awaiting fruition upon his eventual booting out of office. An incompetent wildling wanting to machete his way to sustenance in power and for this he had used state agencies to abuse power, demolishing properties belonging to perceived enemies, sending official thugs and police after upright individuals who had renounced his inept government. 

And yet he speaks of 'fracturing APC in Edo.' Does a deity join in mourning the man he had killed? Does a stinking man lament that the room is smelling? No, of course, except he is Godwin Obaseki. Because this very man who swore 10 out of 24 Edo State House of Assemblies legislators-elect, hijacking them at the dead of night and foisting a speaker on them, while alienating 14 members who were all APC members, is today speaking of fracturing Edo APC. The same man who had refused to employ the expertise of Edo State professionals, qualified members of his own party, and other stakeholders is today clamoring about fracturing Edo APC. A man so unfit and terminally unable to lead his camp that his Chief of Staff resigned and abandoned him a few months to an election. Yes, there are fractured things in Edo State and they are Godwin Obaseki, Godwin Obaseki's mental health, and Godwin Obaseki's crumbling political camp. 

It is not surprising that the masked speaker in the article in question expended too many paragraphs in highlighting the imagined achievements and legacies of Obaseki. Since it is Obaseki speaking through Joseph, such is just a mere megalomaniac display of insecurity. No true achiever really advertises his achievements. For Obaseki, there are no accomplishments, no legacies, no achievement, just Obaseki, a dark shiny head of putrid nothing taking an aimless stroll through the corridors of power. Is it not the man who, for four years now, has been taking loans after loan, grants after grants, claiming to be applying those to the agricultural sector of the state but who got afraid after an NGO wrote a petition against him that he began an emergency reconstruction of the agricultural facility in Iguoriakhi? 

Even in the said article, Obaseki's brutish tendency glimpsed its face. In the seventh paragraph, Obaseki speaking through Joseph's writing says: "As a matter of fact, Oshiomhole should be careful and not take the state government's benevolence for granted, particularly as pertains the host of financial and legal infractions perpetrated in his tenure." Here, the Tasmanian Devil threatens violence, hoping to strongarm the party's National Chairman into cowardly shivering by mentioning the State Government's ability to sue and investigate on the former governor's financial dealings. 

Obviously, there is nothing there to be investigated and sued for, but this posturing by the Obaseki's government provides an insight into the mentality and workings of the administration: collusion, intimidation, abuse of power, abetting of crime, and leveraging on evidence to the unholy benefit of the administration. By a sleigh of the mind, they reveal this dangerous character to the public, imagine then, the severity of the things they have done in the private. 

It is a shame that Obaseki has placed his shame on a national pedestal, expending public funds on a doomed adventure, while distracting himself from more serious works of governance in the middle of a pandemic that he has so badly managed in the state.
Prince John Mayaki
Director of Communication and Media
Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu Campaign Organization