Latest News

Obaseki And His Crocodile Tears , What Edo People Must Know By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah

Published

3 years ago

March 6, 2023

Ireporteronline

Obaseki And His Crocodile Tears , What Edo People Must Know By Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah

“Leadership is solving problems. The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”-Colin Powell

It is truly pitiful to witness the Edo State Governor walking around visiting market women, traders, artisans, and others appealing with them to vote for him after the results of the previous presidential election slapped Obaseki in the face.

The election was the worst in Edo State’s history for the PDP; it appears that no PDP chieftain won their respective units, starting with State Governor Godwin Obaseki, his deputy Philip Shaibu, or his SSG Barr Ogie, who appears to be unluckily entangled in the web of Obaseki and Philip Shaibu’s sins against the Edo Nation.

Obaseki, as Colin Powell correctly stated, has lost the trust of his troops, people, and electorates. People perceive him as self-centered and hostile to the growth of others.

Where will Obaseki begin his appeal? Is it from his political party, the PDP, that he was provided shelter, and when he arrived, he threw the landlords out and made them homeless?

Or is it from the market women, whom his revenue-generating agents have drained and turned into suffering traders? The N100 million naira compensation promised to market women and victims of the Ekiosa market fire turned out to be fake.

Is it from the lecturers? Please look at a summary of his educational achievements in the state during the last 7 years.

Obaseki disengaged all of the workers at the College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, and closed it down in 2018.

Obaseki closed and demolished the Benin City Center for Community Development Education, which was linked with the University of Benin for diploma programmes.

Tayo Akpata University of Education’s College of Education, located in Ekiadalor, was shut down by Obaseki in 2018.

The Edo State School of Nursing in Benin City was shut down by Obaseki in 2018.

Igueben College of Education was shut down by Obaseki.

Michael Imodu College of Physical Education, in Afuze, was shut down by Obaseki.

The College of Agricultural Technology, Agenebode, was shut down by Obaseki.

Notwithstanding Edo State’s severe shortage of secondary school classroom teachers for the past four years of Obaseki’s administration, it is alleged the Governor has not hired a single teacher.

Or is it from the traditional rulers? The Benin populace perceives Obaseki as having betrayed the revered Benin Kingdom?

Is it the medical personnel? Obaseki has not built or renovated a single hospital. Government general hospitals throughout the state are in a coma, yet he refuses to use the ultramodern five-star Central Hospital established by his predecessor.

Maybe he needs the help of the Obident movement, which he always mocked and predicted would fizzle out?

Where is he running to? As for his deputy, Philip Shaibu, I believe his case is even worse. Philip is currently a leper in Edo North as a whole; in the last election, he was ignored by his people as if he had never existed; they see him in Edo North as such leaders as Pol-Pot, Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, and others.

One of the factors contributing to their perception of him as a despot is his ongoing conflict with Edo North’s traditional institution. It would be terrible for Philip if his people rejected him because he is an Edo North product.

However, whether Obaseki likes it or not, March 11th is judgement day, and first and foremost, Obaseki does not have foot soldiers in his PDP; the persons currently left in the party are the party members Obaseki departed with from the APC.

And who were the APC members who defected with Obaseki? Only his commissioners and appointees. All other APC members stayed and are still members of the party today.

Who is left in the PDP now? These same few members that went with Obaseki are the PDP members who remain, and they are a handful, so Obaseki is essentially intended to fail by default on Saturday. This is the first time the PDP has no Senate or Representative member, all thanks to Ematon (Iron), as his supporters refer to him.

The most fundamental failing of leadership is the failure to foresee; Obaseki, unfortunately, failed to read the pulse of a wiser generation. It’s a case of crocodile tears, and this time no one will feel sorry for him; the tears are meaningless and irrelevant to the electorates.

To make matters worse, Obaseki has been at the forefront of anti-people policies, thus on any minor provocation, people take to the streets and yell “Obaseki is a goat!”

Yet, even the LP candidates he seeded for each of the 24 House of Assembly members may not be able to save him, as the LP can only win roughly 5 seats. The APC is completely supported in Edo North and Central, while the LP contest is in Edo South.

Obaseki is currently in a precarious situation and his tears won’t help the situation right now. He may have to answer for the enormous debt he created when he utilized a rubber stamped incomplete House of Assembly to approve.

A bad step by a leader serves as a warning to the followers that leaders make mistakes! Yeah, even good leaders make mistakes.

Leaders are not flawless! The attitude towards mistakes distinguishes between bad and good leaders. Terrible leaders are those who do not learn from their mistakes and do not admit them.

Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah is the Chairman and CEO of Bush Radio Academy.

Source iReporteronline