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Tag: Oshiomhole

Obasanjo not Buhari’s adviser, says Oshiomhole

The former Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole, on Friday added his voice to those criticising the letter written by former President Olusegun Obasanjo to President Mohammadu Buhari.

Obasanjo, apart from faulting Buhari’s administration, had advised him not to seek re-election in 2019.

But speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari, Oshiomhole said that Obasanjo is not one of Buhari’s advisers.

He recalled that when Obasanjo was the President of the country had declared that he was at liberty to heed or not to heed the advice of his advisers.

Since Obasanjo is not one of Buhari’s advisers, he said that Obasanjo should allow the President to make his own decisions.

According to him, he was in the Villa to reassure Buhari of his absolute and total support for his government and even for 2019 elections.

He said “Well, you know is a new year and I felt since I haven’t been here since 2017, so I came to wish the President a happy new year and appreciate him for his leadership of the country because as an APC activist and loyalist, I’m a party man, to reassure him of my absolute and total support for his government and even for 2019.

“I think that in moments like this nobody should seat on the fence. Our country have challenges and there are huge temptations here and there and is important he knows that he has men and women who even at this hour have huge confidence in his leadership ability.

“Everything taken to account I believe that every Nigerian who wants us to sustain some of the renewed vigor to deal with one of the most challenging problem that Nigeria has faced, namely corruption and things like that, you cannot but appreciate the president and all that has been done under his leadership this past two years and some months.” he said

Asked if he was saying Buhari should not heed Obasanjo’s advise and step aside, Oshiomhole said, “I’m not sure when I see the list of the advisers that president Obasanjo is one of the advisers. But I also recall with respect that the day President Obasanjo was swearing in some of his advisers, he did say that anybody who is his adviser can advise him, he will make his own decisions. And I think that principle still stands.”

When asked to speak on the development in the country in view of the poverty level, he said “Let’s trace the route of poverty, is not something that developed over the past few weeks or few years. If you review all your newspapers editorials from my days as president of the NLC, the challenge has been how do we ensure that the Nigerian economy worked for the betterment of the majority of the people particularly the forgotten rural majority.

“So this has been there but everybody who understands development issues and if you review Africa development literature, you will agree that one of the key issue that explains the paradox between a potentially very rich continent in the case of Nigeria a very rich nation, the paradox of a wealthy country but people getting poorer and poorer has to do with the issue of corruption. And if you do not deal with that you cannot deal with other things. I think this president rightly identifies that as major area of focus.

“I think that people have to realize that the amount of damage done by the previous governments, you know when people say no blame game maybe yes, maybe no. But where I am come from, people say that is only a fool who will be working in the road, get into a pothole and fall and then get up and continue the journey, go to the hospital and treat himself.

“But a wise man must interrogate how and why did I fall and maybe in the cause of doing that find that there is a pothole. The first and simple thing to do is to fill that pothole before you continue on your journey and then go ahead and treat yourself.

“Nigeria was below ground level and from what you guys report that I read, we have always had challenges but never in terms of scale, magnitude what president Buhari inherited is difficult to describe.

“So, I have said so before that when you meet such a situation, your first task is to halt the drift, when you half the drift then you stabilize before you begin to go, there is no miracle about it.

“I don’t think that anybody who understands the challenge of nation building, of national economic management etc will expect that in two years you can fix in a sustainable manner all of the things that have been destroyed over 16 years before this party came into office.

“So, yes there are challenges, there are a couple of things we need to begin to do and re-enforced but there is no question that a lot has begun and a lot is being done. There is no miracle in the life of nations so, the fact that the president even given the lean resources and huge debts he inherited and the cost of serving those debts, the president insists that the poorest amongst us who are victims of these several years of misrule, that they must have something to give them a sense of belonging under the social programme which seeks to transfer cash of N5,000 and several other instruments that have been put in place, that is to recognize that they are really people who are so poor that N5,000 can make a difference. That recognition for me is important in a country where nobody has discussed this category of people before.

“However, the challenge of getting that done is huge given the paucity of data. All the investments we have made in national ID card, you guys know how much previous governments have spent, trying to organize a national data without which really, you can’t deliver a couple of things because you need a data base that is reliable to be to identify who is poor, where is he locate and how do we deliver something to him.

“But for me, there is a commitment. I can see a heart that cares for the poor. But that doesn’t mean caring for the poor will make the poverty disappear over night But that is a starting point because if you don’t recognize that we have these people amongst us and they are in millions, then you are not even likely to reflect on how to deal with their problems. For me, in terms of values I can see a lot.” he said

February 2, 2018
Oshiomhole: Edo can’t return to Fayose’s definition of governance

•APC members display resent for Obaseki

Former Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole has said the state cannot return to Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose’s definition of governance, by providing stomach infrastructure to party members.

Oshiomhole, who spoke at a thanksgiving to mark Governor Godwin Obaseki’s one year in office, said the govenror’s business is not to listen to some voices, but focus on the primary purpose of governance, which is to grow the economy, ensure that quality education remain available, and others.

“It is the outcome of these efforts that will deliver food to the people’s stomach. It cannot be about keeping money to share; we cannot return to Fayose’s definition of governance.

“There are some things the government must do which he is doing; the ultimate gain of these investments being attracted is for the people to create wealth for themselves – that is what is sustainable and not giving handouts in terms of money,” the ex-governor said.

Party members, however, displayed open resent for Governor Godwin Obaseki.

They are angry that Obaseki has not been providing ‘stomach infrastructure’ for them.

When Oshiomhole walked into the Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia stadium, party members disrupted the opening prayers by shouting his praise. Each time his name was mentioned, they give a resounding applause.

The APC’s secretary in Ovia North East, Samson Idehen, said they were unhappy.

Idehen noted that no matter what the governor achieved, if politicians were not carried along, people would see him as a non-performer.

His words: “When embarking on projects, you should carry political leaders along because they have followers. If a contract is given to a leader, the followers will be carried along; it’s not by giving them money.”

Another party leader, who pleaded for anonymity, said they are hungry and annoyed that after one year, there was nothing to show for supporting the party and Obaseki to power.

Frank Guobadia said the APC, under Obaseki, has not disappointed the people by performing beyond expectations.

He, however, said low revenue was the cause of money not getting to the party leaders.

“They call him wake and see Governor because they saw what he is doing. We just left the era of surpluses everywhere. It won’t be as usual but things will be better,” he added.

But Governor Obaseki said contrary to speculations, Oshiomhole has not interfered in the administration of the state.

He insisted the former governor gave him a free hand to run the government.

November 13, 2017
Oshiomhole denies plotting Oyegun’s removal

Immediate past Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole , has denied plotting the removal of Chief John Oyegun as the National Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, (APC).

Comrade Oshiomhole was responding to accusations by a group, the All Progressive Congress Youth Vigilante (APCYV) that he was behind the move for the removal of Chief Oyegun.

The group’s Director Organisation/Strategy, Mr. Emmanuel Oronsaye, had in a press statement said Oshiomhole would fail in the quest to replace Chief Oyegun.

Oronsaye described Oshiomhole as one of the pretenders in the APC.

He noted that Chief Oyegun has demonstrated absolute understanding of local and national politics as well as piloted the scheme that obliterated the strong opposition foisted on the state due to harsh leadership quality of Oshiomhole as Governor of Edo State.

According to the Oronsaye, “Let us place it on record that the APC as a part is yet to arrive its ideologically wired end. It naturally has in its fold a lot of pretenders and Oshiomhole is one of them.

“We take absolute responsibility for our vigorous campaigns for President Buhari’s emergence as President. Considering the role we played to salvage the state for APC that was at the brink of loosing to the PDP, we are firmly in support of the leadership of Chief Oyegun.”

But Oshiomhole in a press statement issued by his media aide, Mr. Victor Oshioke, said the group exist only on paper and a busybody seeking undeserved attention.

He stated that he would not use underground methods to seek a position if he was interested in it.

According to the statement, “It is true that many observers and party faithfuls have voiced their preference for Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to lead the APC, but that does not mean that they are sponsored by him or got his approval.”

“The APC as a party has established rules of seeking a leadership position, and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole being a law abiding, loyal member of the party, will employ appropriate channels of engagement if he is interested in any position.

“It is time we ignore these mischief makers who are out to malign Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s towering image. Comrade Oshiomhole is a respected leader in the APC family and we should not forget that as governor, he worked so hard that his efforts resulted in APC scoring 48% of the votes that brought President Buhari into office.

“His personal courage, commitment and dexterity made it possible for Edo to come out as the only state in the South South and South East geo political regions where APC scored above 25% in that election.

“He deserves to be respected by all true party members and this attempt to drag his name into an imaginary contest is nothing but panic attacks by some persons who are just scared that his name has become synonymous with achievements. It is an open secret that Comrade Oshiomhole possess a rare capacity to inject life and awaken creative energies in any milieu he finds himself. This uncommon attribute makes some people nervous.”

November 2, 2017
Edo, Oshiomhole and road to nation building
Prosperity is the reward we will get for good planning, good foudation and vissionary blue print when we talk of nations building. When the word NIGERIA floats across my thoughts, I see a swathe that comprises of regions, states, local council areas, wards, communities, families and individuals; all desperately in need of actual development.

The question is, how readily prepared are we collectively and individuals as a people to instigate the emergent of a great nation by imploring our selfless positive orientation to make the diffence as patriotic citizens? Can we truly dispense our contractual obligations when elected or appointed as public office holder without cancerous sentiment namely: nepotism, tribalism, factionism, favouritism and selfishness.

Owan West Local government area, my place of birth as a case study is one of the poorest and underdevelop local government area amongst the 18 local government in Edo state has a lot of challenges that is synomous to other rural local governmennt area in Nigeria. The local council is plagued with high rate of unemployement, lack of basic amenities, fastructural decay, absence of maternity home and or dispensery facilities, leading to avoidable deaths, poor road network and lack of markets and other statutory and constitutional responsibility of local governments.

The setback may not have arisen as a result of lack of managerial acumen on the part of the immediate past and present occupiers of the councils or they are not doing their best for the citizens. It’s essencially because majority of the populace and some grassroots political actors have chosen to exchange true development for political sentiment, messiah for devil, economic boyancy for stomach infastructure and selfish political ambition.

Recently, the former governor Comrades Adams Oshiomhole has been under intense criticism for airing his views on restructuring after his 8-year of successful tenure. Such outright adumbration and “Pull Him Down” (PHD) voyage is not new to Comrade Oshiomhole. Every great man of historical achievemoment as Comrade Oshiomhole is usually a victim of divergent opinions. Even Jesus christ, before and after His cruxification on the cross for the redemption of mankind is yet fo be accepted by many different faith.

Oshiomole, the once upon a time “Talk-and-do” aka “osho baba” a man with vision and good heart demostrated his patriotism to the great people of Edo State in so many areas such infastructural development, educational reform, job creation etc. far above what he met when he assume office as a governor. Whether you like it or not, Oshiomhole left a legacy that most sons and daughters of Edo State if not all, are proud of today. However, he is still been critisized today by people of different school of thought because however hard you try as a leader, you can’t meet the needs of everybody.

The success of every political leader is the solid foundation upon which his or her successor continued the process of state re-engineering, both sociopolitical and socioeconomic development for the good of all. The story of Oshiomhole’s 8-year governorship of Governor Godwin Obaseki who has, less than one year in office, has shown the people of Edo State the meaning of inclusive governance.

Governor Godwin Obaseki is expectedly building on the the foundation built by Adams Oshiomhole as the incumbent governor of the state. He has, since he assumed office, proven to be a man of astute chacrater and devotion, depicting the true meaning of being a tecnhocrat within a very short period of time. He has achieved what most governors of other states could not do in their 4 years term in office. Despite his visible achievements to date and many more to come, he still faces critizism from never do well politicians. In truth, Governor Obaseki has been blazing the trail. Let us give kudos and honour to those whom honour his due.

It is clear from the outset that Mr. Godwin Obaseki’s administration will excel as governor. It’s heartwarming that Professor Julius Ihonvbere, an achiever of all time in all areas of endeavour, enigma of intellectual, God sent messiah to our generation, known for his egalitarian philosophy and principles is part Godwin Obaseki’s succees story so far.

Prof. Ihonvbere’s uncountable developmental strides and contributions to the people of Owan West is legendary. This is the more reason our people should avoid acrimonious politics of sentiment and hatred that has dominated the livelihood of most people by upholding politics oneness and development. The good professor has a lot to offer to the state and the federation.

Therefore, those who are clamouring to become chairman of Owan West local government has to be positive towards the development of the entire local council. We must not give room to political sentiment, triabalism, factionism, selfishness and nepotism. It has no place in economic and developmental stride we seek in modern days politics. We must not fail to identify with the less previledge by extending hand of fellowship to our people who needs help at all times. That’s where the likes of Prof. Ihonvbere stand out.

Our nation Nigeria is what it is today because we fail to do the right thing yestarday. We cannot correct today in today but we can sure accept today as it is and focusing on a better tomorrow but correcting our tomorrow in our today by doing the right thing that will make tomorrow a better day in the kind od choice we make today.

We must collectively say good bye to politics of sentiment. Every one of us have to join hand together to support the government of Godwin Obaseki, rather than condemning it. Let us all try in giving back to our community in our own little way rather than taking from them, directly or indirectly.
- Omole is a local government chairmanship aspirant in Edo
September 15, 2017
Truth, Oshiomhole and the hatchet men
Much as the proliferation of columns in Nigeria’s print media today offers a plethora of perspectives to public issues, the downside is the high incidence of abuse by mercenaries. A vivid illustration is a piece entitled “The disintegration of Oshiomhole” by Mr. Yinka Odumakin, a self-styled “Yoruba leader”, published recently in a national daily.

Maybe, I should begin by explaining myself. I am a keen follower of political events in Nigeria, though neither a sympathiser of APC nor PDP. However, based on my own deep knowledge of the events Mr. Odumakin wrote erroneously about, I thought I am morally obliged to weigh in in public interest.

In an attempt to settle personal scores with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, the slayer of PDP godfathers, Odumakin audaciously descended into libel, dressing hear-say as facts and passing judgement based on utter falsehood. Barely disguising his malice, he conveniently took off with the “unpopular view” reportedly expressed by the former Edo governor at the colloquium organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress two weeks ago on restructuring – the burning issue of the day.

To be sure, I watched television footage of the event at issue as well as reports by at least four of the leading national dailies. Contrary to the spin by a section of the press, I don’t see anywhere where Comrade Oshiomhole spoke against devolution in a manner that would obstruct good governance of the country or impede the deliverance of succor directly to the long-suffering masses of Nigeria.

Comrade Oshiomhole is not just a talker, but also a doer, as can be verified from his stellar performance as two-term governor of Edo State. The memories of the likes of Odumakin may be short, but the real Nigerian workers will certainly not forget the man who never failed to champion their cause, even as Edo governor. When it was most “unpopular”, Oshiomhole once broke ranks with his fellow governors to join NLC street protest in Abuja demanding that the N18,000 minimum wage remain sacrosanct. Just as Edo teachers will certainly not forget who pioneered the payment of TSS in 2011 when the relatively “richer” states were foot-dragging.

I think Oshiomhole’s only point of departure was the view that rather than be fixated on the current elite game of endless “talk talk” on restructuring, we should not forget to channel more energies towards evolving ideas that will immediately better the living conditions of the masses of Nigeria. He definitely speaks from rich hand-on experience in political office and genuine concern for the poor at the receiving end of the harsh economic climate today.

In any case, having also been a two-term president of the NLC, a pan-Nigerian institution for that matter, how do you expect Oshiomhole to, at this point, descend so low as to be mouthing divisive or separatist rhetoric being indulged in by ethnic entrepreneurs and sectional irredentists like the Odumakins of this world? NLC only recognises one Nigeria. NLC is religion-blind and ethnicity-void. That is the pan-Nigeria movement Oshiomhole represents and on whose behalf he speaks.

However, the former Edo governor expressed misgivings at what he described as the desperate attempt to hijack the restructuring debate by PDP and its apologists who he believes rather view it primarily as a tool to attack and vilify the ruling APC of which he is a proud member. Oshiomhole’s “yabis” against PDP is what I think actually annoyed Odumakin, who was undoubtedly empowered materially by the discredited Jonathan administration. Of course, it is a statement of fact that Odumakin and his madam temporarily relocated their matrimony to the 2014 Abuja confab and each collected princely N4m monthly while the talk-shop lasted.

We all know plenty of dollars exchanged hands during Jonathan’s desperate bid for second term between 2014 and 2015. Odumakin even rushed out a piece of hagiography in praise of his PDP benefactors then. He is yet to tell us who sponsored the “emergency book”, even though it is already open secret. If truly Odumakin and his co-travelers were truly sincere about implementing the recommendations of the 2014 confab report and were so committed to “restructuring” then, how come they could not persuade their PDP paymaster then to implement aspects of the proposal that did not require legislative reengineering?

These were the factual points Oshiomhole was trying to make, but which the Odumakins of this world are now labouring futilely to twist out of context.

To show how jaundiced he was against Oshiomhole, Odumakin shamelessly raked up the issue of the ultra-modern 5-Star Hospital in Benin for which the former governor has been praised by all and sundry, but which PDP has expectedly been battling to discredit.

Thank God, no one is accusing Oshiomhole of laying claim to a structure that does not exist, as was the case under PDP. The truth of the matter is that Edo now has a new governor in person of Godwin Obaseki, who appears to have a different view on how best to manage the hospital. The latter, being a technocrat, believes the edifice and its modern appurtenances are better left not in the hands of civil servants, but managers from the private sector to be given strict targets to deliver value to the public and the investor (government). Should Oshiomhole now be crucified for Obaseki’s different idea?

But, for God’s sake, what has the Benin hospital got to do with the colloquium in Abuja? To hatchet men like Odumakin, a connection had to be made, no matter how ludicrous. Shamelessly, he devoted a huge space in his pathetic write-up to quote all the foul things earlier uttered by the voluble chairman of Edo PDP, Mr. Daniel Orbih. Just to get at Oshiomhole. What a shame!

Most pathetic of all the drivel written by Odumakin is his attempt to belittle Oshiomhole’s remarkable achievements as an individual who rose from humble background to national limelight and his monumental contributions to the labour movement in the last three decades as a committed unionist. It is pointless even replying Odumakin here. Right-thinking Nigerians already know the truth.

In any case, who is better placed to expose Odumakin’s treacherous character than Chief Ayo Opadokun, an Afenifere insider. During a bitter epistolary exchange not too long ago, the NADECO chieftain described in details Odumakin’s penchant for biting the fingers that fed him. For instance, when he was struck down by a mysterious affliction in his arm years ago and was penniless, Opadokun revealed that it was Asiwaju Bola Tinubu that came to his rescue by offsetting his medical bills. But that show of goodwill in his hour of dire need would not stop Odumakin from betraying his benefactor soon after he was discharged from the hospital.

On the contrary, Odumakin is the one who is yet to explain satisfactorily to the public what he does for a living other than parading himself as “Yoruba/Southern leader” by virtue of being the “spokesperson” of Afenifere. That was the big challenge thrown at him in 2011 by no other than the Publisher of THISDAY, Mr. Nduka Obaigbena, when this political hustler tried to blackmail the media guru in the countdown to the general elections of that year. Of course, the “very principled” Odumakin was then working for General Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Campaign Organisation against Goodluck Jonathan.

But by the next election season, this political harlot had slipped over to Jonathan’s bed without batting an eyelid. Yes, because the price was right! What a shame.

Lately, Odumakin has been linked to a multi-billion naira radio station in Oyo State. He is yet to deny interest in the eye-popping undertaking and also explain where the money came from since the Afenifere job is not known to be a salaried job.

Of course, the sacking of PDP from Ondo last year only meant the final destruction of the last source of “stomach infrastructure” for political mercenaries for South-West PDP like Odumakin. Until Gbenga Daniel lost out politically in 2011, Abeokuta used to be their rendezvous. Thereafter, they retreated to Akure and began to praise-sing Segun Mimiko as a latter-day “Awoist”. Too bad, the “Oshokomole” of Ekiti State (Ayo Fayose) is today not deceived by the theatrics of these funny characters wearing fake Awo cap.

Overall, it is a measure of the political tragedy of Nigeria today that in an environment where you have the likes of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, both phenomenally accomplished in politics and professional calling by any standard, political riffraffs like Odumakin will take liberty to parade themselves as “Yoruba leaders”.

So much for a pathetic columnist!
- Comrade Arogundade,
wrote from Ilasa, Lagos.
September 5, 2017
Oshiomhole: I gave no vehicle to ex-Speaker

FORMER Governor of Edo State Adams Oshiomhole has said he never donated four official vehicles to a former Speaker of the House of Assembly, Elisabeth Ativie.

Oshiomhole urged Governor Godwin Obaseki to charge Ativie for stealing, if it was established she privatised the four vehicles.

Ativie claimed to have a letter purportedly written by Oshiomhole in 2015, asking her to keep her four official vehicles after she stepped down to become the deputy.

She alleged the four vehicles were to compensate her for sacrifice she made in stepping down for an Esan lawmaker to become Speaker.

The four vehicles are two Hilux vans, Toyota prado SUV and Lexus SUV, 2016 model.

The former Speaker said she registered the vehicles in her name and sold one of them.

Oshiomhole, who broke his silence in a chat with reporters at his Iyamho home, said he lacked the powers to give out assets of the government.

He said: “Ativie has to return those vehicles and I believe the government, whether executive or legislative branch, has to follow legal procedures to recover those vehicles, and if she has privatised them, to charge her for stealing. I had a meeting, incidentally, with members of the House few days after the change (impeachment), and I reminded her that she had to return those vehicles.

“At the eve of the governorship election, the House had reasons to make a change, which offset what we commonly refer to as the tripod. But once they made the change, the thing was either she resigned when the House realised that they agreed with the party that we needed to make an adjustment or they impeached the Speaker.

“And they were not ready to impeach her because they said it would not be fair to impeach her, though there were arguments that, after all, she was married to an Esan man and, therefore by marriage, she is Esan. But again, you know that in Nigeria, it depends on what suits you. One of the concerns she raised was that now she had the vehicles of the Speaker. If she had to resign and be made deputy, she would not be entitled to those four vehicles.

“And we agreed she can use the four vehicles as deputy, for as long as she occupied the office. But that does not mean the next deputy would have four vehicles because the vehicles are for the Office of the Speaker but personal to you as deputy. How does that amount to asset transfer?

“I am not in a position to give out government assets. The car that Governor (Godwin) Obaseki is using now, incidentally, was one of my official cars. The one he is using in Abuja is the one I handed over. They are not my property. It is true that governors have powers but those powers are derived from law; the limits of those powers are also well-specified in law.

“I am not competent to do so; so even if I were to purport to do so, it would be illegal. Just as I reminded them (lawmakers) in that meeting, I told her: ‘Even as Assembly member, how can you say that I gave you government property? Do I have the power to do that? You are a lawmaker; you should know the law.’

“I cannot purport to exercise powers that I do not have. So, if I cannot give cars in the Government House to people, why should I give out legislative cars? They belong to the Assembly, which is another arm of government; the executive cannot appropriate or purport to appropriate those cars and give them to individuals.

“So, clearly, if she has registered them in her name, as I read in the papers, even that is a fraud because they were meant for the Office of the Deputy Speaker. That office is different from Ativie as a person. So, if she changed the vehicles and registered them in her personal name, that is criminal for which she should be prosecuted.

“If it is anything done by me, I have told you what I did and I think it is straightforward. First is that I never wrote her a letter donating government cars to her. No. I couldn’t have; it doesn’t make sense. I don’t even have such powers, even if I wish to and if I am going to donate government cars, I cannot donate cars belonging to Edo State House of Assembly.

“There is separation of powers. The governor of Edo State cannot appropriate cars belonging to the Office of the Deputy Speaker. The only reason I got involved in it was that if she (Ativie) had to be using those vehicles as the deputy, it means the state government had to appropriate funds to buy new cars for the new Speaker because she was not ready to hand them over.

“That is the only area I come in because I have to look for the money. But, ordinarily, the deputy should not use those four vehicles.

“But that is not to say that they are her personal assets. How can I say that? Will that not amount to bribery? Will I have to bribe her with state asset? In any case, I do not have such competence. I cannot give you what I do not have. So, Ativie should just do the honourable thing by returning the vehicles and if, as I read in the papers, she sold them and registered them in her name, then she stole the vehicles and should be so charged and prosecuted.”

August 31, 2017
Oshiomhole urges ex- Edo Speaker to return official vehicles

Former Governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, on Wednesday urged the former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Elizabeth Ativie to return the vehicles she used while in office.

Oshiomhole, who denied asking Ativie to convert the vehicles for her personal use, said he lacked the power to give out vehicles belonging to the Assembly.

Ativie served as Speaker for 84 days before she stepped down to become the Deputy Speaker.

She was impeached as deputy speaker on August 14 but refused to return her official vehicles.

She had told the new leadership of the Assembly headed by Hon. Kabiru Adjoto that the vehicles were given to her by Oshiomhole as compensation for the “sacrifice” she made by stepping down as speaker for an Esan lawmaker to emerge as speaker.

The former speaker said she registered the vehicles – two Hilux vans, a Toyota prado jeep and a Lexus jeep 2016 model – in her name and had sold one of them.

Speaking to journalists at his Iyamho residence, Oshiomhole said Ativie was only asked to use the vehicles as deputy speaker and not to convert them to her personal properties.

He said Ativie should be prosecuted if it was true she actually registered the vehicles in her name and sold one of them.

August 30, 2017
Oshiomhole, restructuring and restless agitators

FORMER Edo State governor Adams Oshiomhole deployed his immense elocutionary and rhetorical skills some three weeks ago in Benin to persuade his audience to take a second, if antagonistic, look at the cry for restructuring. He avoided the definitional maze in which many Nigerians, pro- and anti-restructuring, are entangled. In the lecture held in honour of Prof. Wole Soyinka in Benin, he simply went ahead with deconstructionist proficiency to isolate certain parts of the restructuring argument, hoisted them loftily, and offered them as proof of his fidelity to the new restructuring buzzword and perhaps too to his highly nuanced progressivism that now gets many people writhing in agony. The media were astounded, and so, too, were many Nigerians who had associated Mr. Oshiomhole’s labour union fame as an indisputable evidence of his acceptance of the general principles of progressivism. This astonishment was reflected in the way newspapers cast their headlines the day after, expressing both surprise and dismay.

But Mr. Oshiomhole is obviously unapologetic about his position on restructuring. Explaining his position at the lecture, the former Edo governor insisted Nigeria’s problem was not structural but that of leadership, attitude and character. Nigerians should strive to make their country work, not advocate for restructuring, he argued amorphously. Three weeks after that lecture, and having of course been pilloried in the media by those who disagreed with him over his unusual perspective on restructuring, he met with a far more vocal and disapproving public which had wised up to what they suspected was his reactionary and expedient position on restructuring. At a one-day colloquium on restructuring organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja last Wednesday, Mr. Oshiomhole drew the ire of the audience when he again repeated his apparently unwelcome opposition to the regnant view on restructuring.

Despite being heckled and greeted with boos, Mr. Oshiomhole insisted on being heard. Said he: “I believe in the unity of Nigeria. I have said, and I am not saying it for the first time, the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable. Just like the unity of the NLC is not negotiable. But, the governance of our country, the quality of leadership, we must continue to review it and continue to engage it…I ask us to recognise that no structure will be permanent, or will be perfect. We will have to do devolution of power; we must also do review of our attitudes, our characters, and join forces to fight corruption, because what has been taken from a few will not be available for the rest…” After the boos died down, particularly because of the NLC president’s intervention, the newsmen who covered the lecture did not indicate how the rest of Mr. Oshiomhole’s arguments panned out.

The former Edo governor is a gifted rhetorician who knows how to tug at the emotional strings of an audience. Whether by polemical accident or sheer rhetorical design, he guilefully conflated the problem of corruption, which bothers everyone, with the campaigns for restructuring, which many have touted as the needed national elixir, thereby probably disarming and defanging his audience. He zeroed in on the alleged humongous greed of former Minster of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, whose properties scattered in some parts of the country have been temporarily forfeited to the government pending the resolution of court cases against her. No one who has read the case against Mrs. Alison-Madueke can fail to be horrified by the stupendous abuse she allegedly masterminded during her stewardship at the Petroleum ministry. Knowing this full well, and knowing that no one could safely excuse her greed or dissociate that greed from the crisis that afflicts the country, Mr. Oshiomhole used her as an example of the character and attitudinal reform Nigeria needed to transcend the crisis in reference.

Corruption is a cankerworm, but the campaign against that vice, which must of course be vigorously pursued, must be separated from the campaign for restructuring. As many societies which had broken up or been restructured prove, a low level of corruption is not necessarily a catalysing factor for political and structural changes. Neither the breakup of the former Soviet Union nor the dissolution of both Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were caused by corruption. Their political structures showed deep, endemic and corrosive fissures, and they strained badly under various weights including ethnic, economic and spatial, among other factors. Mr. Oshiomhole’s ad hominem argument was a not-so-clever ploy to prejudice the minds of his audience. Sadly, that same argument has begun to receive currency in other parts of the society, especially in government circles. The argument for restructuring, whether the people agree with it or not, must be disentangled from the skein woven around it by those who view it snidely.

The former Edo governor made two other arguments that gave worrisome indications of just how specious his perspectives are. Whether he believes it or not is not clear, but Mr. Oshiomhole poll-parrots the trite and incomprehensible statement that Nigeria’s unity is settled and non-negotiable. The problem is not that the ex-governor has adopted that controversial position on unity and its non-negotiability; the problem is that given his antecedents, his vocal advocacy of the rights, welfare and liberties of the people, and promotion of other general and non-specific libertarian values, it seems antithetical that a man who espouses such great causes should in the same breath embrace very stultifying political and constitutional paradigms. It does in fact seem that at bottom, Mr. Oshiomhole is not quite the radical and progressive he is cracked up to be. He may be a nationalist, a fine and effective governor, and a leading and successful labour activist, it is however doubtful whether he has given the matter of restructuring and national unity much thought, not to say principled thought.

Mr. Oshiomhole also, secondly, suggested that most of those campaigning for restructuring were those still smirking from the electoral defeat of 2015. In other words, for him, the issue is not the concept itself, but the advocates of the concept. Apart from offering no validation whatsoever for that sweeping generalisation, it is shocking that given his standing in the society and the fact that he and his party were once in opposition, he also demonstrates the penchant by ruling parties and their functionaries to deride the opposition.

Not only does his party include in its manifesto a pledge to pursue restructuring, there is nothing to suggest that anyone, whether in the opposition or the ruling party, cannot hold a principled and philosophical stand against unitary government and in favour of full restructuring. Demonising the opposition is both wrong and unwise. After all, even the All Progressives Congress (APC) spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi, in a statement he issued early this week, insists that much more than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the APC is in favour of restructuring and is in fact taking deliberate steps to actualise it. According to him, “For the avoidance of doubt, the APC believes in the restructuring of the country. It is at the very heart of our party’s manifesto as explicitly stated in Section 3 (1) thus, ‘We will devolve more revenue and powers, such as policing to States and Local Government so that decision making is closer to the people. We pledge to bring the government closer to the people through fiscal and political decentralization, including local policing.’ “

Mr. Oshiomhole’s arguments are on the surface sensible and attractive. In reality, however, they are weak, desultory, diversionary and, for a politician of his reputation, shocking and embarrassing. He is at liberty to oppose restructuring — a right he seeks to deny those who oppose it, and a group he tries to demonise — but he must not in the same breath try to pass himself off as a progressive and visionary.

Restructuring talks about the future. But the political palliatives Mr. Oshiomhole tries to sell deal with stabilising the status quo and producing a new form of beguiling conservatism. His party is reportedly attempting to properly define or redefine the concept, and it has saddled party leaders knowingly and openly sceptical and contemptuous of its definitions with the task of harmonising those disparate definitions, no matter how liberally or conservatively they have been presented. The suspicion now is that the party itself has appeared to fall in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s nonchalant approach to the subject; and Mr. Oshiomhole, perhaps because he does not wish to exclude himself from future national office and assignment in the coming cabinet reshuffle, and also because he is reluctant to sell himself as a non-conformist radical and isolationist his labour union antecedents presuppose, is mouthing egregious opinions on restructuring to the point of even name-calling the opposition.

Restructuring will be a veritable campaign issue from next year. It will be risky for any of the two major parties to treat the matter with disdain. In fact, though the concept is now roughly dichotomised between the North and the South, the dividing lines will become much more obfuscated as the 2019 electoral season draws near. Then, Mr. Oshiomhole will have a lot of clarifications to make, and much more hemming and hawing to engage in, as he and other leading politicians jostle for prominence and seek interparty and intraparty alliances.

August 26, 2017
2015 elections losers behind agitation for restructuring – Oshiomhole

Former Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, said on Wednesday that politicians who lost the 2015 general elections were sponsoring the current agitation for restructuring of the country, insisting that Nigeria’s unity is not negotiable.

Oshiomhole, who spoke at a one day Colloquium organised by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) with the theme: “The Labour Movement and the Future of United Nigeria: What Role for Restructuring,” also advocated the review of the allocation formula to favour state and local governments.

He said the provision has not been reviewed for the past 18 years in contravention of the law.

The ex-governor’s position on restructuring drew the anger of some of those present at the event who shouted “no, no!” for over five minutes until the intervention of NLC president, Ayuba Wabba.

Oshiomhole, who blamed those that lost out of the 2015 general elections for fueling the agitation for restructuring, argued that most of the wealth worked for by the working class had been annexed by few political elites.

While calling for attitudinal change and values, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain noted that the current federal system in terms of structure and revenue sharing formular cannot lead to even development.”

Despite opposition to his view, an unrepentant Oshiomhole told the gathering that “I am not here to do anybody’s job. I just want to share my thoughts with you. And I will be surprised if any one of you will agree with what I want to say. I want to plead with you, allow me to state my position; then you can disagree.

“That is the tradition of organised labour. And of course, if there are some people who have other issues, I just want to plead with you that what is at stake; is not me. What is at stake is our country. And the country is yours. The country is mine. The country is ours.”

“I believe in the unity of Nigeria. I have said, and I am not saying it for the first time, the unity of Nigeria is not negotiable. Just like the unity of the NLC is not negotiable. But, the governance of our country, the quality of leadership, we must continue to review it and continue to engage it.

“I said to you when I was president of the NLC, and I repeated it when I was governor, that we need active citizenry; citizens that can interrogate their leaders. With some of these revelations, I am sure nobody is disturbed.

“If we all continue to lament, I think this is the area, we have to say something. Every person is capable of doing good and also capable of doing bad. From what we have seen in America, when institutions are strong and people are active, people are ready to come out, not sponsored by political opponents, but sponsored by your own conscience and we have robust engagement. I believe things will change.

“I ask us to recognise that no structure will be permanent, or will be perfect. We will have to do devolution of power, we must also do review of our attitudes, our characters and joining forces to fight corruption because what has been taken from a few will not be available for the rest. I do hope that NLC has started this today, you will sustain it.”

The former governor also drew attention to the activities of the former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison- Madueke, insisting that an active citizenry would checkmate corruption and profligacy in the system.

August 23, 2017
Oshiomhole misfires

THE argument proffered last week by former labour leader and erstwhile Governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole that what Nigeria needs is restructuring of the mind, not the restructuring of the polity, is untenable. While he is right about the dichotomy between the tribe of the poor and the rich in a badly governed Nigeria, the solution can not lie in waiting for the tribe of the rich to change their values to become less corrupt and more efficient.

Of course there is the abundance of bad faith as he stated, but the comrade misses the point when he thinks that the elites can be restructured under the present circumstance by one good man holding a gun to their head or preaching them to conversion. He fails to realise that the inherent chaos arising from the structural defects is what our political elites exploit to their advantage. The defects promotes and celebrates corrupt practices.

Otherwise why don’t our leaders engage in their delinquent behaviours outside the country where the law is swift and efficient? But even more importantly, what type of constitutional aberration denies a chief executive of a federating unit, the power to engage in the provision of basic amenities of life or the control of basic institutions to punish for the disobedience of the basic laws he is empowered to execute?

Oshiomhole who spoke at the 20th Professor Wole Soyinka Annual Lecture Series organised by the Association of Seadogs, differed from Professor Itse Sagay and Dr Chukwuemeka Ezeife. In his paper, Professor Sagay argued for a return to federalism, pointing out the incongruity of a federal authority having the constitutional prerogative to determine the wages to be paid by its federating units.

Sagay also raised the delinquent practice of the federal government taking over the resources of the federating units and sharing it at it pleases, including dishing out obnoxious entitlements to its legislative officials. Dr Ezeife warned of the possibility of Nigeria disintegrating under the weight of its constitutional dystopia. He implored the acting President to take steps to ensure that the country is restructured by the middle of 2018.

Comrade Oshiomhole strangely argued emotively that when a governor does not pay workers’ salaries, such a governor needs restructuring of the mind to give workers their due. Perhaps Oshiomhole was talking from personal experience, but I doubt the syllogism that it is always an act of bad faith when a governor does not pay workers’ salaries. Maybe in some cases, but what if the governor does not have the resources with which to pay?

But should the primary essence of governance be reduced to the drudgery of paying workers’ salaries? Even on that, are the majority of governors not paying because they are afflicted by malice or are they legal inhibitions restraining them from optimal performance? Last week, the Governor of Lagos State revealed the bureaucratic efforts he is making to give Lagos electricity. Similar efforts by his predecessors were frustrated by a federal government controlled by a different party.

Not long ago, the governor had to openly protest that federal officials were frustrating his desire to reconstruct the road to Murtala Muhammed International Airport into a 10 lane expressway. It took public outcry before the acting President intervened to grant the approval. Assuming the acting President is unwilling to intervene, then Lagos State residents will be denied the benefits of a modern road because those not elected to govern Lagos says you can’t do a Lagos road?

So, under other our present constitutional aberration, even the perspicacious governors can only dream not dare? That is the crux of the argument and our Comrade is arguing that we should wait for change of heart instead of change of the laws? Again, the fact that every month without breaking a sweat, a governor gains humongous resources from Abuja is a disincentive to the right persons being elected into office. Even using Oshiomhole premise, should the payment of salaries depend on the goodly nature of the state executives, instead of the law?

Perhaps there is one more reason to restructure the country. The need to decentralize economic and political controls to create as many economic and political centres as is possible. That way, instead of all the elites and the wannabes, aggregating in Abuja and Lagos, with all the attendant bedlam, we will have regional or state centres where many can rise or fall, without threatening the national order.

The history of the First Republic will show the sense in that. Obviously because the meat of action was in Kaduna, the Northern Region’s capital, instead of Lagos, the then federal capital, the late Sarduana of Sokoto, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello preferred to stay in the region while he sent his lieutenant Alhaji Tafawa Balewa to the centre. Again, the achievements that Chief Obafemi Awolowo is remembered for were done in the Western Region, not as a federal officer.

The present desperation for power at the centre is because of the unfair advantage it confers. Imagine the consequence of a governor falling out with a duplicitous President, who is in complete control of the state security apparatchik. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo showed to what use, for good or for bad, the exclusive control of police power can be put to when he decided to take out the governors of Plateau, Ekiti and Bayelsa states.

Still on the governor who has no control over security agencies, I remember the helplessness of the past and present governors of Plateau and Benue states, over herdsmen and similar attacks. If a duplicitous central government connives to create insecurity in a state and the governor is forced to expend large portions of state resources to manage it, will the payment of salary not be a casualty?

That is why it is a fallacy to regard the governors as chief security officers of their respective states. That false claim only entitles the governors the opportunity to cream off huge sums as security vote. Yet, most of the governors end up using that so-called security vote to pacify local war lords or federal agents, to purchase peace.

I thought Oshiomhole should be in the vanguard of those asking for restructuring considering his gubernatorial experience unless he has other considerations for sounding politically correct. Recall that following his re-election, Oshiomhole had to openly thank the then President Goodluck Jonathan for not using the security agencies to impede a smooth election. Perhaps he considers it appropriate for the President to have such an opportunity?

Again, following the ouster of President Jonathan, Oshiomhole boasted as he campaigned for his successor that the Peoples Democratic Party was completely finished in Edo State because the federal might was gone. His candidate eventually won. So, is the erstwhile labour leader saying it is appropriate for a federal authority to have overbearing influence in local elections in the states?

August 8, 2017