Where there is injustice, there must always be those willing to fight it. The absence of such people will signal the decline of a people. The people of Edo have been done a great injustice, and while that is enough tragedy, the bigger tragedy will be remaining in ignorance as to what exactly happened. In this short piece, let us correct the narratives.
Some major factors accounted for the peculiar events that played out on Saturday, along with a few minor ones, which I will not go into. This gives us the hope that justice will be swiftly and surely delivered to Edo.
The first was that Edo APC chose to stick to principles. The party in Edo state has always been principled. What many people do not understand is that the party has an autonomous structure at the state level and the state chapters are not controlled by any godfathers within or outside the state. We chose not to rig, indulge in electoral malpractice or obtain the mandate to govern by force. We were beaten, violated and disenfranchised, yet the narrative that went round was that Edo was not Lagos. Edo state is clearly not Lagos. But is Edo state now Rivers state?
Wike is a known dictator, with many human rights cases against him. He enjoyed bad publicity in the media until he masterminded the underhand pilfering of Edo’s election despite openly disclosing that PDP was fleecing Edo state. He mentors Edo state governor, Obaseki, in that regard and it is therefore an ill omen for the people of Edo state that a dictator like Wike could come to Edo state and impose another fledgling dictator on the people, all the while selling fake developmental strides to them.
In reality, those that supported Mr Obaseki did not care a hoot about the development of the state. They simply chose to believe unverified claims of godfatherism, discarding the facts and figures that were positioned before them. When posterity asks them why they chose to support a man who did not work, a man who closed down their schools, a man who was a bull in the china shop of governance, and a man who ran roughshod over the traditional institutions in the state, they will have no answer.
For the supporters of APC, who were more than those of PDP, but who were prevented through all manners of thuggery and intimidation, the spirit must remain strong. APC is not disheartened. We are confident that justice will be served, and we will always stand as sentinels of justice. Not the false accusations of godfatherism, not the tyranny and oppression by the real anti-democracy actors in Edo, and not the intrusion of governors from other states can daunt the party’s spirit. We are also confident in the support of our supporters, who have inundated us with messages of their loyalty to the party no matter what.
