Category: Niger Delta

By Gideon Obhakhan

Edo 2024 governorship election has come and gone. The winner, Senator Monday Okpebholo, popularly called Akpakomiza has been declared as governor-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. The declaration by INEC has obviously triggered some mixed feelings in Edo State. While those in the All Progressives Congress, APC are jubilating, others notably the People’s Democratic Party, PDP and the Labour Party, LP are not in any joyous mood. They are alleging results manipulation and may be preparing to go to court to seek redress.

Beyond the celebrations and accusations of electoral malpractices, there is a need for Akpakomiza, the governor-elect to do a quick and dispassionate review of what is on ground so that he can truly hit the ground running like he said in his recent speech after being declared winner in the 21st September 2024 election.

What he must do is to reflect on the activities of the last 8 years and take key lessons from them to avoid the mistakes made by the incumbent governor, His Excellency, Mr. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki. This may be a herculean task considering the weird strategy adopted by Obaseki during his eight-year rule, but it is important because he can only make tomorrow better if he makes conscious effort to avoid Obaseki’s mistakes, which evidently led to the massive defeat of his protege, Asuerinme Ighodalo.

Without a doubt, to attempt to chronicle the complete events of the last eight years under Governor Obaseki, is to attempt to reawaken some unpleasant nostalgia in the minds of the average Edo citizen, and leave some sour taste in their mouths. The last eight years of Obaseki can be simply described as turbulent. Others have called it the years of the locust characterised by needless fights which largely became major source of distraction that led to his lacklustre performance. I have struggled without success, to identify one year in Obaseki’s administration that was free from unnecessary and avoidable fights. From the days of the midnight inauguration of nine out of twenty-four members of the House of Assembly, to the days of Edo People’s Movement whose activities were borne out of neglect of party leaders by Obaseki, the disregard for traditional institution that pitched him against people who believe that the Edo cultural heritage deserve better than it got from Obaseki, etc. The last battle was the purported impeachment of his deputy, Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu in connivance with the State House of Assembly, an action which has now been declared by the courts as null and void. 

It is safe to say that Edo people surely deserve better than what they got from Obaseki. The question now is, “what next for Edo?”. What are the lessons that the incoming governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo must learn from the last administration, and what must be his priorities going forward? First and foremost, he needs to quickly shake off the euphoria that has greeted his victory and take some time off to think critically about his next steps. He needs to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff and identify those who genuinely mean well for Edo to join him in steering the ship. This is particularly important because it is not all that glitters that is gold. Many will come close now with faces laced with smiles, but with minds devoid of good intentions for Edo people. He must develop the third eye to identify such people and do the needful. The business of governance may not be as difficult as brain surgery, but it requires diligence and tact. A carefully selected team of competent people with genuine intentions, is a compulsory first step to a successful administration.

The second lesson which must make his priority list is to not turn himself unto an Island and assume the position of someone who knows it all. Like they say, a tree cannot make a forest. Obaseki did a very good job of isolating himself from his people, for reasons best known to him. At the end, he became lonely at the top and couldn’t find the right set of people to support him when he needed them most. No matter how much of an outward show he puts up to show that he is fine and still in charge, in his quiet moments, he will genuinely hope that he had acted differently and worked with those who helped him to power with open minds.

The major lesson here for Akpakomiza is that he should be very conscious of the fact that his position as governor of Edo State is transient and will not last forever. Four years may not be a long time, but it is surely enough to leave lasting legacies that he will be remembered for if he focuses on the important things and avoid distractions. There is a lot of work to be done considering the level of decay in the system occasioned by poor performance of the current administration.

Read Also: Ize-Iyamu floors Obaseki in court over illegal revocation of CofO

Akpakomiza campaigned with a 5-point agenda which include security, road infrastructure development, affordable healthcare, water and food security, and value-driven education. With the right pegs in the right holes, and genuine commitment on the part of team members, these programmes are achievable. He just needs to keep his eyes on the ball and put the people first. Leadership is not about self, but about the people. To serve the people well, he must make sacrifices. He must raise the bar beyond where it currently is and must be ready to step out of his comfort zone. He needs to get his hands dirty and be ready to take constructive criticisms and learn from them. This is not a one-man show, but a collective effort from people of like minds. He has already demonstrated his ability to come to the rescue when needed and all he needs to do is to continue along that line. I have personally been involved in commissioning some projects initiated by him before the election. The naysayers have argued that he initiated those projects solely for the purpose of wooing voters to vote him into office, and that he will abandon the people and focus on recovering his money when he is sworn in. He must prove this set of people wrong by concerted effort towards people-oriented programmes, socio-economic development, massive reconstruction and overall re-engineering of the entire system.

As we gradually prepare to change the Edo narrative for the better, it will not be out of place to admonish the leaders across the State to give genuine support to the incoming governor as he will surely need guidance from all the stakeholders that came out en masse to ensure that the victory we celebrate today, is achieved. The leaders must shun the scarcity mentality that focuses more on self above the collective good for the greater number of people. Akpakomiza’s slogan during the electioneering period was “A New Edo is Rising”. There needs to be a conscious and genuine effort on the part of all stakeholders towards building an Edo of our dreams so that a new Edo can truly rise. This may not come easy. Mistakes will be made, but if we all continue to improve on those mistakes and keep our foot on the pedal, greatness will be achieved. Best of luck to all!

Gideon Obhakhan is former Edo Commissioner for Education, and member of the Governing Council, Federal University of Kashere, Gombe State.