Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, won the 2016 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), defeating the main opposition party in the State, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and was subsequently sworn in as the governor of Edo State on the 12th of November shouldering the responsibility of developing the State......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Immediately Obaseki took the oath of office as the governor of Edo State, he knew the journey of leadership would be tough, full of political challenges and he envisaged it earlier and prepared himself for the political battle ahead as the battle for the soul of Edo State started less than three months into office.
The governor knew the huge task of governing a complex State like Edo, so he set his template, principles, created borders and boundaries, opened doors of opportunities for collaborating with positive-minded people on the journey to help him achieve the goal of developing the State.
Obaseki as an investment banker from the private sector knew that it would take a lot of determination, commitment, dedication, courage, doggedness with enough resource to steer the ship of the State to the path of growth and development, hence he planned the strategy to shut the doors against treasury looters and politicians who over the years focused on stomach infrastructure.
He knew that to achieve his aim and fulfil the promise and mandate of Edo people, he must step on toes, offend the mighty, kingmakers, powers that be both at the State and Federal level. He knew he would swim in troubled waters and must never lose focus of making the State an envy of all. Only this would enable his administration to leave a mark on the sands of time in terms of good governance after eight years in office as governor of Edo State.
As an investment banker-turned-politician, he learnt the rudiments of politicking as the chairman of Edo State Economic Team which he headed for eight years. He learnt fast and became master of the game of politics as he never reasoned like a typical politician will do. The regular politicians think of the next election while doing all they can to loot the treasury not putting into consideration the aftermath of their actions – underdevelopment, hunger, poverty and retrogression in the land.
The governor changed the narrative in the political circle letting politicians know that politics is all about serving the people who elected them into office. Obaseki drummed it into their consciousness that politics in Edo State can’t be business as usual with him leading the State into prosperity and progress.
After his victory and swearing-in, his party leaders and politicians were rejoicing over their success and victory. They were also calculating how to benefit from the system believing that the treasury of the State belongs to the party and its members. They believed it was time to harvest after a hard campaign and victory at the poll, but they never knew what Obaseki was up to – a governor with a difference who truly belongs to everybody and nobody.
The governor sees beyond politics, as his drive is to make life better for Edo people. He drew the thin and difficult line earlier in the life of his administration, pointing to the direction he is sailing with the ship of the State. He was ready to navigate troubled waters to deliver the dividend of democracy to the people of Edo State.
The battle and bitter fight for the soul of Edo State began on Tuesday, 31st January 2017 barely three months into the life of the Obaseki-led administration when the governor received executive members of women’s wing of APC who were in his office to congratulate him on his victory. On that occasion, the governor sent a strong message to political thieves, political jobbers, treasury looters and those focusing on stomach infrastructure that it was not business as usual as his administration was determined to serve Edo people with the available resources and not ready to service any politician or political class with taxpayers’ money. He said in that gathering that government house was not “where people come to make money, but where they come to serve”.
“I don’t have money to give anybody; the money I have is to work for Edo people. I can create money going by my experience as an investment banker; I can organize things and people must be ready to work,” Obaseki said.
“The days have gone when politics was about money sharing. The question is, what do you do with the political power? It is our level of commitment that gets us where we want to be,” he said.
This statement sent shivers down the women’s spine. They may have all prepared that the visit could change their lives and fortune for the better. Some of the women may have told their families that they were going to visit the governor and were sure of naira rain, but they were all shocked at the governor’s statement.
The message of that meeting was clear: that the governor belongs to everybody and yet belongs to nobody. It was clear that Obaseki had come to serve Edo people, not political leaders or his party.
The next day, Nigerian dailies ran with a variety of headlines on the story. The most popular of them was: “Government House is not a Bank”. This story caused a dark and thick cloud of trouble around the political landscape of the State as politicians vented their anger and registered their displeasure over that comment of the governor, hoping it was a joke.
The governor, then an APC member, got enough bashing from his then party leaders. Even the opposition party joined in the fight to make the governor swallow his words and open the treasury for them to share state resources.
The angry politicians whose focus was to truly turn government house into a bank where they go to get their own share of the money were all disappointed as the governor truly matched words with actions. He embarked on developing the State with the resources available rather than sharing it to benefit a few political party leaders.
Political leaders, politicians and party members secretly and openly demanded their share of the treasury of Edo State hoping that the governor would cooperate with them, but the governor had made up his mind about what he was in power to do. They threatened, condemned, blackmailed and even tried to make nonsense of his efforts but they failed in their plans.
The fight went on secretly until the governor opened up to Edo people on the battle his administration was facing. After trying to pacify the looters, Obaseki came out to let Edo people know that some enemies of the State were trying to throw the State into confusion because he refused to share the taxpayers’ money with few political leaders who thought it was their time to eat.
It was shocking when the battle came in the open and was clear and obvious that the governor had fallen out of favour with his predecessor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. who no longer supported his administration, causing division and disunity amongst party members.
The governor fought, navigated troubled waters, and overcame political challenges created for his administration by his party members who felt that his refusal to share the people’s patrimony was a slap on their faces. The governor’s offence was his refusal to share State resources or allow party leaders dip their hands into State purse. The governor fought all through his first term.
As the governor prepared to run for a second term, his predecessor Oshiomole became the national chairman of APC. Even though Obaseki was instrumental to that success, the APC screening committee for the 2020 governorship election led by Oshiomole disqualified Obaseki from participating in the primaries. Rather than giving up, Obaseki and his followers entered into negotiations and eventually crossed over to PDP.
The governor ran under the PDP, won his second term election and continued with his developmental strides, refusing to share the money with few persons in the party. The fight continued and the governor stood with his conviction preferring to make Edo people happy than making few politicians happy.
In almost eight years, the governor has achieved a lot in the State, making Edo an envy of all. Edo State is now some sort of a study centre where other state governments send their officials to understudy what has been done in Edo State, such as the e-procurement and e-governance. Obaseki has become a phenomenon in the political landscape of Nigeria, Africa and the world at large. He has become a case study for political students, politicians and the political class who want to make impact, liberate themselves from the shackles of godfatherism, oppression and dictatorial tendencies.
The governor, who vowed never to allow Edo State to be a pawn in anybody’s political chess game, or create any platform for politicians or the political class or godfathers to use Edo as a training ground to train political looters, is ending his second term on 11th November 2024 and the political space is already heated with political activities over who takes over from him. Edo needs nothing than the best candidate to lead the state.
Nigerians are suffering today following the bad policies of the APC-led administration at the centre. The APC government, led by President Bola Tinubu, has lost touch with reality and is not feeling the pains of Nigerians.
In the September 21 Edo State election, APC is not an option. The other political parties are in the race just to make people feel their presence and they have practically nothing to offer the people. The PDP candidates, Asue Ighodalo and Osarodion Ogie, are the right persons to take over from Obaseki as they are part of the blueprint Obaseki has used to achieve his developmental strides in the last eight years.
It’s time to appreciate the governor for rescuing Edo State from the grips of godfatherism and saving the Heartbeat State and setting it on a solid foundation for development and growth. Continuity will ensure the ship sails safely to the Promised Land where all Edo sons and daughters will be proud to be from Edo State.