The Case for Governor Obaseki's Reelection:

Leadership is about trust and credibility. And Governor Godwin Obaseki has them in abundance; otherwise, he would not have been able to serve in the capacity of Governor Oshiomhole's Head of Economic Team for many years and as the most viable and trusted candidate to earn his pick as the one to transfer the mantle of leadership of Edo State. These are verifiable facts and not assumptions or figments of my imagination.

I want to reiterate as I said yesterday in another piece that Governor Obaseki's electability must be measured based on his performance and accomplishment as Governor. Not the views of friends or foes.  Mr. Obaseki is spending his fourth year in office as the Governor of Edo State, so far, there is no record of corruption or squandering of riches by him or his subordinates in the public domain to warrant concerns for his re-election. Before I draw my conclusion, I want to do a review of some of the cases between him and his former boss.

So, what exactly are the cases against Governor Obaseki to make his re-election contentious and uncertain? If any, they are at the instance of the great one who told the people of Edo State in 2015 that "Godwin is the one" they have been waiting for, his undisputed anointed. And the people hailed in unison enthusiastically. Sadly, that Godly endorsement from the irrepressible former boss did not stand the test of time, it went sour just about a year into Obaseki's lordship at the Osadebay's House. So, what must have happened? Four cases stood out of the innumerable grudges against Governor Obaseki. Let's take them one by one.

• One. Governor Obaseki's inability to manage and accommodate the Tony Kabaka and all the Agbero elements in Edo State politics. By now, the stakeholders of Edo politics know who he is. It is a fact that this man, who has no craft, no paid job, or investment at home or overseas, openly and gallantly celebrated his Billionaire status in Benin City a few years ago to the cheering of his fans and godfathers. So, how do you bring along these characters in your administration, who feed on the vulnerabilities of Markets Women and Commercial Drivers to line their pockets? When you told the public that Governor Obaseki "did not bring them along," exactly in what capacity? To continue harassing Market women, destroying their wares, and telling helpless roadside food sellers to "go and die?" Again, exactly in what respect? Could it be in subjecting Tuketuke Drivers and Okada Riders to indiscriminate extortions without rendering accounts to the State Government? Or simply having their names embedded on the government payroll as paid staff, without being of any economic use to the people of Edo State? So far, there is no definitive statement from the former Governor on how to bring them along. According to Comrade Adam Oshiomhole at a campaign rally a few years ago, "show me your friend and I will tell you who you are." I do not by any stretch of the imagination believe that Governor Godwin Obaseki is cut out in the image and likeness of Billionaire Tony Kabaka. Godwin is not "street" or gangster by birth or as brought up. He is an investment banker by profession. End of story. Accommodating Agberos and hoodlums for hire is not a policy statement within APC manifesto.
• Two. Usurpation of the Governor's throne at Abuja. Governor Obaseki's public protest over the usurpation of the office of the Executive Governor of Edo State at Abuja with respect to the recruitment of candidates for Federal jobs allotted to Edo State indigenes without informing him was the last straw that breaks the camel's back. This allegation by Governor Obaseki is in the public domain. The Governor, more or less, cried out, but no one heeds his grieve or helplessness. There was no response or a rebuttal from Comrade Adam Oshiomhole that he did not usurp the Governor's throne at Abuja or a party to it. Take it or leave it, that usurpation was the breaking point in the relationship between Governor Obaseki and his former boss. It is quintessentially, "politics of godfatherism" taken to the extreme. Conduct, which, no doubt, ran afoul of the fundamentals of Adam's theory of godfatherism in Edo Politics.
• Three. The Specialist Hospital. The hospital was declared opened by President Buhari on the invitation of the departing Governor Oshiomhole, when Mr. Oshiomhole knew beyond doubt that what they were celebrating as a major milestone in the healthcare sector, was simply a breathtaking caricature of what a true specialist hospital ought to be. There were no Doctors, no Nurses, and no Equipment on the ground to make it a befitting project worthy of a Presidential opening. When, a few years later, the true state of the hospital became too discomforting for the APC administration, the former Governor came up with a riposte that assuages no one. He stated in a TV interview that the contract for the equipment and related gadgets were awarded to a reputable German company before his departure from office. How much was paid or unpaid was never disclosed. Today, that imposing edifice remains unedifying in grace and substance as it was when President Buhari declared it open a few years ago. And the report of the Judicial Inquiry set up by the Governor to unravel the circumstances surrounding the contract is now in the cooler. Hopefully, the true story about the hospital will emerge when the Order of Injunction issued against the report as petitioned by the former Governor is vacated.
• Four. The disputed inauguration of the newly elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly. Today, more than half of the newly elected members of the Edo State House of Assembly are on self-exile. The last we heard of them was that they have taken refuge at undisclosed locations at Abuja. In other words, they are on the run for their safety, not serving the interests of the people who elected them into office. They allegedly absconded from Benin City over the fear of being attacked or molested by hired thugs. And the allegations of shenanigans surrounding the inauguration of some of the few members have not been disputed. Some were allegedly invited in the middle of the night and some were not. Today, it remains a mystery whether the Clerk of the House of Assembly acted on the instigation of Governor Obaseki or he executed the inauguration willy nilly. True or false, most people consider it a preemptive strike on the part of Governor Obaseki to avert a potential hijack of his administration by interlopers. And that remains a debate. Without reference to that assumption, I am willing to cut Governor Obaseki some slack. I will explain.

Governor Obaseki is not an Emperor and he is certainly not a Military Dictator. So, it remains a voyage in futility on the part of the exiled majority of the Edo State House members, when they have no compelling reason to do so. In Nigeria and in Edo State, it is still a democracy, in spite of everything. And the principle fo the rule of laws is still respected. Would I have gone into exile under a similar circumstance? Hell no. Worst case scenario, I will mobilize the entire voters in my district to accompany me to the venue of the House of Assembly. Running away to Abuja as they did, feeds into the narrative that indeed, they were sponsored to the House by the former Governor to undermine Governor Obaseki's legitimacy.

As a Lawyer, I condemned the process of the disputed inauguration in its totality. In a similar vein, I am vehemently and unequivocally opposed to actions or decisions of anyone bordering on cowardice or cronyism.  If you earn your seat, the best action in the circumstance is to take a stand, fight for your rights, and let justice prevail. You are legitimate. You are a lawmaker. You are the voice of the people. And like the Governor, all of you were voted into office by the voters of Edo State. Because you have failed to assert your rights and do what the law expects you to do as lawmakers and as citizens, I hold no one responsible for your travails and tribulations, but yourselves.

That said, a notable area where the Governor and his team did not earn my pass mark is in infrastructural facilities and industrialization. Given Mr. Obaseki's background in Finance and as a Venture Capitalist, we expected more from him in the areas of recapitalization and management reengineering, given the fact that Edo State has a plethora of labor-intensive and highly lucrative businesses lying in waste.

That he did not resuscitate Edo Brewery and the old Edo Line and position them to make profits within his first two years in office as the Governor was a bad call. The Brewery, for instance, is lying dormant, unutilized, not necessarily because the people of Edo, Ondo, Delta, and the Bayelsa States has given up on the consumption of the Crystal brand. The drawback is human resources and organizational related.

What about the Cement Factory at Ukpila? The same story. They sold it, not necessarily because Nigerians have decided to put a hold on new housing projects and no longer in need of cement. The trouble is that the political leaders in the state are having difficulties going beyond their circle of friends and political allies to recruit capable hands and credible candidates to manage these industries.

The boom in the building culture, transportation, and consumption of alcohol all over Nigeria remains unraveling. If you have the market and you are not profitable, something must be wrong with your team. Who builds the team? The State Governor, his Commissioners, and Advisers. What we have before us is management crisis - human resources related and organizational behavior, motivated by greed, inefficiency, and a culture of political godfatherism. Governor Godwin Obaseki, as a technocrat, one would have thought that he knows what ails the dormant state businesses is ready from his first day in office to reject the settlement and godfatherism culture that define recruitment exercises into the top management and executive-level positions.

In a similar vein, we must not fail to mention the plethora of investment agreements signed between the Obaseki Administration and a few Chinese multinationals in Benin City and in China in 2018 that are yet to experience real growth or take off. One such agreement was signed with Mr. Li Yi, the Vice President of China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) for the development of Benin Industrial Park and Benin River Sea Port in Gelegele town. Also, worth mentioning is the agreement for the construction of a Modular Refinery in Benin City between Governor Obaseki and Mr. Yank Hongtao of Peiyang Chemical Equipment Company of (PCC).

That these projects are still in the preliminary stage or seemingly forgotten does not make a good representation of Obaseki's ability to jettison the business as usual culture, and go about hiring credible candidates, with a view to diversifying his revenue base. Though he has done very well in the Agro-based Industries, more hands need to be on the deck in other sectors. Brewery, seaport, and modular refinery are labor-intensive, and they are credible and reliable catalysts for employment expansion and internally generated revenue.  He needs to put the men and women of Edo State back to work, farming alone cannot do it. From all indications, it is obvious that "the audacity of vision" is absent within his inner circle to assemble an aggressive management team of risk-takers.

After a diligent review of the four major issues between Governor Obaseki and former Governor Adam Oshiomhole addressed at the beginning of this essay, and if by now no one has been able to level egregious case of official misconduct, corruption,  indolent, embezzlement of public funds, wastage of public funds, or harassment of the people of Edo State in their own home or in their places of business against Governor Obaseki or his subordinates, I have no excuse, but to STAND by him and endorse him as the candidate of APC in the fast-approaching Gubernatorial primary and election. If the minus points are not corruption and the squandering of riches related, I have no reason to impugn his integrity or ask for his disqualification. Let us give him a second chance to make amend and grow the economy of our beloved Edo State.