The entire people of Edo State in the South-South Region of Nigeria will not forget in a hurry the great blessings the year 2016 has brought to them. They faced an election in the era of inconclusive elections across the country but that of the state held on the 28th of September 2016 was concluded and a winner announced at the end of the exercise without any violence even as no life was lost or properties destroyed.
Three weeks after the governorship election in the state, the people celebrated yet again as they achieve another great feat as the world stood still for the coronation of a new Oba which took place in Benin City which has been infrastructurally transformed by Oshiomhole.
Today Saturday the 12th day of November 2016, the people of the state are celebrating yet again as the present administration led by Comrade Adams Oshiohmole bid farewell to the people as he hands over power to a democratically elected government that will be led by the former Chairman of Edo State Economic Team, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
Mr. Godwin Obaseki is not new to governance in the state and it is certain he will not be learning on the job because he has been there with the Oshiomhole led administration in the last eight years. Today just like in a relay race he is being given the baton of continuity to continue the race where Adams Oshiomhole stopped.
As we celebrate the birth of a new administration that will be piloted by Godwin Obaseki, it will be proper to take a walk down memory lane to x-ray the success of the state before Oshiomhole and after Oshiomhole and perhaps try to equally predict the future of the state in the next four to eight years under the Obaseki led administration in Edo State.
The coming to power of Adams Oshiomhole as Edo state governor marks the beginning of development for the state and her people as she began to lived up to expectation and truly represent her slogan as “Heartbeat of the Nation” as the heart now beat effectively.
Before the coming of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the state, the people were made to believe that the state is a civil servant state, a state that is not workable but rather depends on the federal government for monthly allocation to sustain its economy. But the coming on board of the APC administration led by a Comrade governor, a former number one labour leader in the country, all the perception about the state changed as it became Clear that the state was under the hostage of some powerful political personalities who were using their positions to milk the state dry.
Comrade Oshiomhole came and saw the huge task before him and he knew well that if he must succeed, godfathers must be defeated. He engaged them in a fight to finish, the rest is history as he has since defeated them and the state is among few states in the country that truly enjoyed the dividend of democracy.
It is on record that all the 18 Local Government Council have benefited from the Comrade Governor’s developmental plans. It was development all the way as all the 18 local government council benefited as one project or the other was cited in their localities.
The red roof revolution came into play as many schools across the state got a face lift; some were rehabilitated while some others were completely built from start to finish equipping the schools with modern teaching aid to fast track learning and improve the educational sector in the state.
Apart from building of schools, he also built new roads, rehabilitating old ones and expanding them to six lanes as the case may be. Beautification was also use to transform the state from an ancient one to a more modern one as investors now see the state as investment friendly.
In the area of increment and prompt payment of salaries of civil servants, the governor Oshiomhole’s administration has been scored high as civil servants get their salaries on or before 25th of every month. This action of the government has helped the civil servants to meet up with family obligation and their dependants. They get their promotion as at when due, they have been trained and re-trained to bring out the best in them. However, the Comrade governor never spare the rod to spoil the child as some erring civil servants got punished for doing wrong to serve as detriment to others and in some other occasions he pardon them telling them like Jesus to go and sin no more.
In the area of Sport, he has equally contributed in no little way to write his name in gold. Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium soccer pitch got a face lift and total rehabilitation as it became world standard and marches both local and international were played in Benin City.
The Okpekpe 10km marathon race has put the little village Okpekpe in Etsako East Local Government Council on the world map as participants come from far and near to take part in the yearly event that has turn that little village to a tourist attraction. The hills and mountain in the area has added beauty to the village.
If you visit that village today, you can mistake it for a town in one of those developed nations, thanks to the architectural design of nature made visible by the Oshiomhole led administration in the state attracting tourist to the little town now in the world map.
Respect for our tradition: The comrade governor has continued to respect the institution and contribute his quota for the development of the traditional institution. The new Oba, OMO N’OBA N’EDO, Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Ewuare 11 attest to this fact while delivering his speech during his coronation. This acknowledgement has further scored the Comrade Governor high in term of respecting the culture of the Edo people and Benin in particular.
The comrade governor came, he saw, he fought and happily he conquered. He took governance to another level and has opened the eyes of an average Edo man who will never again take this phrase “IT IS IMPOSSIBLE” for Oshiomhole has made us to know that in Edo state governance is very “POSSIBLE” when the will power is there.
He has created the platform, laid the foundation for development. Today all eyes have shifted from Oshiomhole to Obaseki. It is time to further raise the bar in terms of performance to beat the achievement of Oshiomhole, certainly Obaseki can take Edo to a new enviable height and make the people of the state proud.
It is time to bid the amiable governor farewell and wish him well in all other future endeavor he aspires to pursue after today. He has cleared the coast for the incoming governor to find the job of governance more enjoyable. The fear of whether the shoes left behind by the Comrade governor will fit the legs of Obaseki should not arise at all as Obaseki has studied Oshiomhole’s shoe for eight years and should be able to wear it even with his eyes closed. Surely, this is a government of continuity as all projects left uncompleted by the Oshiomhole led administration will certainly be completed by the Obaseki’s administration.
Before now, Mr. Godwin Obaseki was not well known because he is a quiet and a shy person working behind the scene to ensure Edo state moves forward. Those who know him right from his secondary school days said he is a very quiet, calm, and a humble man who can be in a gathering for hours observing the event quietly without really contributing.
The first time this writer got closer to him was when he visited the Nigerian Union of Journalists Secretariat (NUJ) Edo State Chapter to celebrate with these men of the pen profession. He sat quietly closer to the NUJ Chairman Sir Roland Osakue. After introducing him and was called upon to make his speech he smiled and quietly declined as he said he came in to facilitate with Journalists. It was later discovered that he sponsored the entire food for that occasion, can you beat that? Yet he never made any noise about it.
I remembered clearly when the Assistant Feature Editor of THE NIGERIAN OBSERVER and the Chairman of NUJ Observer Chapel Comrade Ijeoma Umeh spoke at the event and used the rare opportunity to create a platform where the General Manager of the Observer Rev. Monday Aigbe and Mr. Godwin Obaseki shook hands and took photographs. Ijeoma called on him to remember Observer and do the needful to keep the newspaper afloat when he wins and assumes office as the governor of the state as successive administration made promises to revive the oldest newspaper in the country but none has kept their promises. The newspaper is still on the news stand today due to scarifies made by staff of the once famous media outfit.
JOURNEY TO OSADEBE AVENUE
As the political stage gathered momentum and the party shopped for a viable candidate to take over from the Comrade Governor, a lot of persons signified their interest to occupy Osadebe Avenue the seat of power in Edo state. A lot of noise was made but Obaseki never made any noise about his ambition but strategizes quietly. The support he got from Oshiomhole opened another chapter of accusations and criticism but the Comrade Governor maintained his stand stating clearly that as a governor he has a right to support any person he feel like supporting.
At the party’s primary held at Samuel Ogbamudia Stadium, he contested with twelve other contestants and at the end of the whole exercise he came out top defeating twelve other candidates.
GOVERNOR OF EDO PEOPLE
As you take your oath of office today the 12th day of November 2016, you should know that you are the governor of all Edo people no matter the party affiliation. You are the governor of those that voted for you and those that did not, you are the governor of all Edo. Your priority is to hit the ground running and be in a hurry to improve on the legacies of the Comrade Governor.
This is the time you need to tread with caution as you are the man in the eyes of the storm and if you must triumph Mr. Governor, you must be careful of those around you. Many are political jobbers and sycophants who are interested in what they can get from your administration not minding if you fail. It is risky for you to fail because the Comrade Governor did not fail, you must not fail as well.
In Nigeria political system, sycophancy has become part of our political system as you get praised whether you are right or wrong all for selfish reasons. Mr. Governor if you must succeed please beware of these people and surround yourself with men who will not be afraid to tell it to your face when things go wrong and praise you when you are on the right path, Edo State must work and the development must continue.
Mr. Governor, you must put God first in constituting your cabinet as you need men with proven integrity to help you move the state to the next level. Seek God in all your policies and ensure that the policies are people friendly. Mr. Governor, please do not be carried away as the members of the opposition party are watching to pick any mistake made by your administration as they are ever ready to run your government down. Don’t be disturbed or distracted by the opposition party’s utterances, just be focused and deliver the dividend of democracy to the people of Edo state.
INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT
The Obaseki administration should key into what Oshiomhole has done and continue to develop the state. More roads, schools, tertiary Institutions should be built. More tourist attraction site should be established in the state and the architectural design of nature found in Igarra and Shomorika should be improved upon and made a tourist site that will bring in more revenue for the state.
During your campaign, you promised to create 200,000 jobs for the Edo people as you duly recognized that unemployment is a cancer worm which has eaten deep into our society. Unemployment is one of the major problems we face here in Nigeria and our state is not left out. Our new Oba, Oba Ewuare 11 acknowledge this fact as he mentioned it while delivering his speech during the coronation ceremony.
OMO N’OBA N’EDO, Uku Akpolokpolo Oba Ewuare 11 said “It is pertinent at this point to express our deep concern, about the pervasive poverty at the grassroots and the astronomical rise in crime and juvenile delinquency in our society. The problem is both a consequence of and is aggravated by widespread youth unemployment. The solution would require well-articulated and structured youth development and empowerment programmes with active support of government at all levels. We shall partner with the government to attract domestic and international resources for the establishment of clusters of Agro-based industries in each of our seven local government areas (LGAs)”. It is clear that unemployment is a problem that needs to be tackled head on.
Human capacity development is one area the Obaseki’s administration should focus more on as he assumes office today. Edo state work force has the best of brains but not properly utilized to the fullest to bring out the best in them. The work force should be critically x-rayed, and training and re-training should be done regularly to improve productivity capacity of the work force across the state.
Aside creating 200,000 new job through the agricultural sector in the state, dead industries and establishment should be revived in the state and be made to function effectively again. These include the Bendel Breweries, Edo line, Ethiope Publishing Company, Bendel Insurance corporation e.t.c
This is a new dawn for the people of the state as power has been smoothly transferred from Oshiomhole to Obaseki. We have a new Oba and a new Governor all in 2016. God has truly blessed this state.
Congratulations Obaseki, Congratulations Deputy Governor Hon. Philip Shuibu, congratulations APC, congratulations Edo people, continuity is here, lets embrace and support it for more development in Edo State.
