14th November, 2016
Oshiomhole to exit Osadebe Avenue, Edo State Government seat of power.
He completed his 8-year of militant reign on the 12th of November, 2016.
His admirers say the eight years was a huge success and eventful,
while his detractors say it was a tawdry reign of tokenism, negative
legacy of political restructuring, ‘Stone Age’ institutional building and, of course, entrenchment of gutter government.
His followers are of the opinion that Mr. Oshiomhole is a patron
saint who came to salvage the state from virtue collapse visited on it by the past PDP governments, yet his traducers are saying that
Oshiomhole’s governance structure has been that of mindless politics
of patronage of primitive order, irrational exploitation of the poor
mass via multiple taxation, highest debt profile amongst the Nigeria
States and virtue looting of the public till.
Appreciation and denigration for and against Oshiomhole is
endless. While Oshiomhole’s lovers posit that he was the best that
ever happened to the state in terms of infrastructural development,
those who disagreed with him say he was the worst because of alleged
inflation of all the contract sum executed in the state during his
time.
Oshiomhole’s Successes
Edo State capital, Benin City was a huge rustic swathe of ancient
City before Oshiomhole became governor on November 12th, 2008. It was somehow difficult to navigate freely within and outside the State Capital without wasting useful man hours on a daily basis.
Governor Oshiomhole particularly made studious efforts to fix a number of roads in the first four years of his administration. His second four years in office was wasted on uncomplimentary politicking.
Under his first four years in office, the State similarly
witnessed upsurge of revolution-like renovations of hundreds of public schools across the State. This was largely possible because of the federal government collaborative contributions through the
instrumentalities of Universe Basic Education, UBE. The federal
government contributed the largest chunk of the money to the
reconstruction of the schools.
In the same token, in a period of eight years, Governor Oshiomhole
built an ultra modern state of the art Specialist Hospital, which he
said would matched any modern hospital globally. President Muhammadu
Buhari, at the commissioning of the Hospital a few days ago in Benin
City, equally expressed similar sentiments.
There is no doubt Governor Oshiomhole has laid solid foundation
for the infrastructural deficit state in such that subsequent
governments after him have no option than to continue to build on his legacies, regarding structural development.
Though, most of the roads built by Governor Oshiomhole were
accomplished with sidewalks, and in some cases, with street lightening and greeneries. However, it’s a sad commentary that the roads are completely devoid of bus stops and motor parks, which suggest poor engineering architecture on the part of his government. Painfully, it has emboldened motorists to virtually turned every available space on the reconstructed roads and walkways in the city centre to car parks.
Oshiomhole’s Failures
The replacement of false head with fake tail may not have found
its proper description until Mr. Adams Oshiomhole becomes the governor of Edo State. His governorship bid; assumption of office and reign — even his policies — was like a rainbow arched down to the people and state from the heavens, a rainbow like an angel’s breath, like an answered prayer.
Now, his exit marks an end to his political rope as a conformist
and pretentious progressive. In other words, Oshiomhole’s contagious
politics of revisionism has darkened the part to radical actualization of nation building and politics of national reawakening. In the days running to the nation’s struggle for democratic space, it was easy to project that the cast of his catchments are the desirable elements that will propel the nation to achieve her dream, if ever there was one.
Eight years down the lane; all the promises, all attempts, all
policy thrusts, all the initial manifest hopes are merely ventilated, symbolically, through eloquent public preachment. As the governor of Edo State, Oshiomhole smothers the hope of rebuilding the ancient city and the entire state by placing a great ocean between himself and those lofty ideas he once propounded about governance when the shoes were in the other foot.
In 2006, Governor Oshiomhole boldly wrote in his manifesto that he
would banish poverty from the state by creating 10,000 jobs for the
jobless Edo Youths when elected as governor. The only known minimal
dent he made at job creation was the aborted Edo YES SCHEME. After
engaging 1,000 youths as casual staff under EDO YES SCHEME for seven
years. He later chased them way for inexplicable reasons.
Similar fate befell EDSTMA. After militantly establishing Edo
State Traffic Management Authority, EDSTMA, which was passed into law by the State House of Assembly and assented to on August 5, 2010, the governor turned violently against the established institution. It was a case of “na mi born am, na mi give an belle”. Countless instances are replete where the rule of the thumb prevails over the rule of law.
Governance in Edo under Oshiomhole was politics gone awry. The
plight of the people clashed with the ostensible greed of the power
monsters. The fate of Edo people were utterly sealed by cultists,
Agberos and denizens who were unleashed on the people by the former
revolutionary leader turned governor. When the structure of democratic institution is eroded, the end is usually predictable. Wheeler-Bennet told of it with utmost definiteness in The Nemesis of Power. “Excessive exercise of virtual paramount power leads to descent and total defeat, both politically and spiritually”.
Certainly, Governor Oshiomhole will be remembered as a man from the labour movement that presided over the reconstruction of those roads; red roof renovation of schools, aped minimally at gully erosion control, built a five star hospital for eight years, toppled the godfathers and ascended to his position, amongst others.
Even with his make-believe accomplishments, his tenure has been
marred in unexampled and Olympian inequality, nepotism and
unparalleled lopsidedness in distribution of political offices in
respect to the almighty principle of Federal Character. The anomalous seed of unemployment, over taxation –24 different tax collection – and the bizarre indebtedness he bequeathed to the generation yet unborn is symptonic of failed leadership.
Few days ago, Concerned Edo Non-Governmental Organisations and
Stakeholders petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), calling for the immediate investigation of Governor Adams
Oshiomohole, over alleged diversion and misappropriation of state
funds.
A part of the 11 pages petition signed by Dr. Osadolor Ochei and
Mr. Kola Edokpayi and addressed to Acting EFCC chairman, Ibrahim Magu reads thus: “On April 5, 2012, EFCC acknowledged receipt of a petition titled: “A call to investigate Governor Adams Aliu Oshiomhole’s multi-billion naira mansion in Iyamho, Edo State,” which was signed by Matthew Edeghase Esq.
“In addition to the said earlier petition, we add that the cost
of the controversial mansion, that was designed and constructed by
Verissimo (a South African Architect), is valued to be about N10
billion.
“The size and scope of the mansion completely negates all possible
explanations for the source of Oshiomhole’s fund, which he had used
for the construction.
“In 2014, Oshiomhole paid N23 million, via an Access Bank cheque,
to Edo State Government for a parcel of land he claimed to have seized from the Federal Government at Okoro Otun Avenue, GRA Benin City.
“At present, he is erecting a multiple-floor Saddam Hussein style
bunker on the land.
“Our investigation also shows that Oshiomhole bought the Guinness
Guest House located along Reservation Road, GRA Benin City, soon after he was sworn in as governor in 2009.
“The property was quickly converted to the office of HANI and
ASSOCIATES, a consultancy firm that has supervised all civil
construction works in Edo state since 2008.
“We are reliably informed that Oshiomhole allegedly bought the
building for over N100 million.
“A ship-like building is currently under construction along Golf
Course Road, next door to Benin Club. Mr. Hamed Useni, the managing
director of Hani and Associate, Oshiomhole’s business associate, is
allegedly fronting as owner. It will interest the chairman to note
that this company is the sole consultancy firm for all civil works in Edo state for which he allegedly charges over 10 percent of all
contracts.
“Apart from his current residence, which he built with his
campaign funds in 2007 and the new Okoro Otun house, Oshiomhole is
currently constructing another mansion in Abuja where he has planned
to move to, after handing over on November 12, 2016…”
Governor Oshiomhole has been laying claims to President Muhammadu
Buhari’s presidency, even though the APC lost the 2015 Presidential
election in the state. In 2011, Governor Oshiomhole issued debilitating press statement against PMB’s planned visit to campaign
for his re-election at the time. The same Oshiomhole is presently
clowning as President Buhari’s man Friday!
Going Forward
“The condition upon which God hath given liberty to man is eternal
vigilance.” Or simply said, “the price of liberty is eternal
vigilance”. The above statement has been credited to many
revolutionaries of history, including the American Abolitionist and
liberal activist, Wendell Phillips on January 28, 1852.
Phillips harps on eternal vigilance as the price of liberty;
saying power is ever stealing from the many to the few. The manna of
popular liberty must be gathered each day or it is rotten. The living sap of today outgrows the dead rind of yesterday. The hand entrusted with power becomes, either form human depravity or esprit de corps, the necessary enemy of the people. Only by continued oversight can the people elected into office be prevented from hardening into a despot; only by unintermitted agitation can a people be sufficiently awake to principle not to let liberty be smothered in material prosperity.”
This is more so because the nation which gave the world liberty
and freedom just elected their own president in the person of Donald
Trump, against the wishes of majority of people outside America. This is a lesson for us in Edo State or anywhere else in Nigeria not to allow small minded politicians, vague populism or a few naira note to determine who gets our votes.
It’s our collective responsibility to fasten upon the minds of the
Edo people the belief that ‘the price of liberty is eternal
vigilance. The sentinels on the watch-tower should sleep not, and
slumber not, least our civic rights and collective patrimony will
forever be stolen by the corrupt few.
Erasmus Ikhide
Erasmus, A social activist writes from Lagos Nigeria.