Edo north senatorial seat: Godiya as Oshiomhole’s carte blanche, By Sufuyan Ojeifo

In the high-octane 2020 governorship election in Edo State, which the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost, the people of Edo North senatorial zone kept fidelity to the political voyage of their son, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, standing solidly beside and behind him in the prosecution of the poll. By the time the dusts of the electoral battle settled, Oshiomhole delivered the zone, in an emphatic fashion, to the APC. What separated the APC from the PDP in the zone was a princely total of 22,800 votes. But the APC could not replicate similar bravura performance in Edo South and Edo Central senatorial zones; otherwise, the narrative would have, today, been different.

And, although, the governance status quo has remained unchanged on account of the outcome of the 2020 poll, what the ramifications of the governorship election essentially explicate is that Oshiomhole’s political charm, acceptability, association with and validation by his people continue to resonate in the socio-cultural circumference of Afenmai geography with its pristine demography. It is expansively to the credit of the people, not only to Oshiomhole, that a son of the soil had been able to define his eon with the magnitude of his accomplishments while in office for eight years as governor of Edo State.

It is a fact of history that is worth celebrating that Oshiomhole’s empathy for Edo North, although this is moot, translated into the consummation of a body of tangible legacy road infrastructure projects in the nooks and crannies of the zone, most especially in areas of Etsako ethnic nationality, for the purpose of obligatory comparative analyses by fastidious persons who would want to see Edo north, not as a collective entity but as a people whose separate identities within the omnibus Edo north entity are resting on and circumscribed by the Etsako, Akoko-Edo and Owan tripodal construct.

I once wrote an opinion piece in which I adumbrated Oshiomhole’s massive development strides in Edo North to justify a quid pro quo in contemplation of a legislative election involving Oshiomhole and another. That was when Oshiomhole’s senate aspiration had yet to be formalized. It was an editorial intervention to drive conversations around the imperativeness of Oshiomhole becoming Edo north Senator in 2023. A retired Judge from Edo North had joined issues with me on that score, arguing that whereas Oshiomhole did very well in Etsako areas of Edo north, his interventions in Owan and Akoko Edo areas were not as consequential.

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Oshiomhole’s political gravitas and propensity to engage with the people on issues of their wellbeing at the individual and communal levels are writ large. That disposition is historical and finds anchorage in the pedigree of his labour unionism. To ensure equality in the quantity and quality of projects in governance and administration is a consideration that is and will always be affected by availability of resources far beyond other underpinning factors, which might have somewhat influenced project distribution and execution in the zone. Regardless of post-hoc rationalizations, Oshiomhole’s imprimatur is quite evident in several road projects that open up communities that straddle the Edo north enclave. There are extents to which some communities benefit from infrastructure development in or around the others. This, for me, is the essential narrative about Oshiomhole’s road infrastructure renaissance in Edo north. There were other critical interventions aside road projects.

The people of Edo north are rest assured that Oshiomhole has both their interest at heart; and, added to that is the capacity to lobby appropriate authorities towards attracting projects that would benefit the people to the senatorial zone. Consider the essential validation: he applied himself creditably to the constitutional demands of his office as governor, when he tended to the yearnings and expectations of the three senatorial zones that make up the State. He is trusted to replicate the same as a senator within the ambit of the extant laws that prescribe and circumscribe the constitutional responsibilities of his official functions once he is elected into office as a Senator.

Indeed, the atmospherics and nuances of the political terrain and the rising temperature in electioneering and the potential for a bareknuckle battle in the forthcoming poll have necessitated the need for the people to summon the past to preponderate and inform or direct the present. Looking at the antecedents of the candidates for Edo north senatorial seat is quite important in light of the people’s expectations about robust representation in the Senate. The pertinent question about who can be trusted to do it or deliver on promises comes to fore. And whereas Oshiomhole’s candidature on the APC platform is legally secure, the issue of the valid candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is somewhat legally challenged. Although, there are two factions that have produced Pascal Ugbome and Senator Francis Alimikhena, the balance of both judicial approbation and INEC recognition tilts towards Ugbome, until the Supreme Court says otherwise if the other faction is contesting it at that level.

But then, the question is: who among these three great sons of Edo north enjoys the greatest and widest of cross-ethnic appeal and likely spontaneous validation by the people, especially those from Akoko-Edo and Owan ethnic nationalities, considering that Oshiomhole of the APC and either Ugbome or Alimikhena of the PDP, as the case maybe, are of Etsako extraction?

The answer is blowing in the wind. Oshiomhole towers above both of them. Whoever, eventually becomes the bona fide candidate of the PDP, should not, with the kind of groundswell of support that he (Oshiomhole) enjoys, the cult-like following and the evident practical effects, threaten the former governor’s electoral applecart.

To be sure, the Edo North Senatorial poll presents the first direct opportunity by the people of Afenmai land to express their gratitude to Oshiomhole for being their good ambassador in Benin City for eight years. While in the saddle, Oshiomhole did not take them for granted. He connected with the homestead in significant ways through community development. He was also always there for them via social connections, identifying with them through robust cultural interactions. In the execution of his social contract with them, his words were his bonds. Consistent reference to him as “otokinado governor” (the governor who would talk and do) was not mere sloganeering. It was quite instructive, credible and remarkable.

This is the scorecard on which Afenmai people are poised to latch to show gratitude to Oshiomhole with their Permanent Voter Cards towards a critical consummation of his victory at the poll. The people trust Oshiomhole to deliver and he will, hopefully, be quite utilitarian in his representation and service to them.

As he continues with his electioneering, preparatory to the February 25 Senatorial election, his visitations and rallies are more of celebratory than supplicatory or placatory outings. He had, in between campaign trails, been invited to inaugurate community projects. The electioneering process has been quite electrifying. The Edo north political terrain has been quaking under the legendary “Oshio Baba”, the inimitable “Oshio quake”. The election is an open field for an open race and the Oshiomhole horse is ready to triumph with the people cheering him on with their critical votes. After all, as they say one good turn deserves another. Oshiomhole did well for his people as governor; they are set to deservedly give him another opportunity to represent them in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is their godiya and it is for Oshiomhole a carte blanche!

● Ojeifo sent in this piece from Abuja via ojwonderngr@yahoo.com