It is not an exaggeration to say that each time the name, Governor Godwin Obaseki, is mentioned that what I figuratively hear him say in my subliminal, as an imaginative writer, is the quote of George Bernard Shaw that says “People are always blaming circumstances for what they are. I don’t believe in circumstances. The people who get ahead in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want, and if they can’t find them, make them.” Yes! Without sounding panegyric, the foregoing quote has encapsulated one of the leadership traits of Governor Obaseki. There is no denying the fact that he is a leader that cannot be distracted by circumstances, especially the ones created by his political opponents and critics alike.
To buttress the foregoing view, it is expedient to say that one of the distractions that the governor experienced in office was the agitation that trailed his victory at the polls. Recall that the September 28 governorship election was barely announced when the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, rejected the result, saying it did not reflect the wish of the people. However, political observers were never flabbergasted by the stance taken by the opposition as bad losers hardly concede election in this part of the world.
In a similar vein, when the Edo State House of Assembly amended the “2007 Pension Rights of the Governor and Deputy Governor Law” some people in the state who can hardly exude meaningful political values that can be of benefit to the state went impatient and stirred the people as they are wont to. With this, they succeeded in creating the impression that the law was purposely meant to benefit the former governor and his deputy who stand to enjoy the pension benefit of residential buildings worth N200 million and N100 million.
In as much as I would have loved to go on and on in this context citing other instances that are in this context called distractions, permit me to say that the foregoing that are cited in this context are capable of making a leader resort to giving excuses for non performance.
In fact, as a writer and a political observer, I have been following the trend of political development in the state. I must confess that I have in that order been seeing the governor from the prism of the quote of Brandson Sanderson that has it that “The mark of a great man is one who knows when to set aside the important things in order to accomplish the vital ones.” Without any iota of exaggeration, the governor has since inception seems to be setting aside important things in order to accomplish vital ones. It is therefore not surprising that he has recorded streak of success in the state through executed and ongoing vital projects.
At this juncture, it is germane to ask, “Does it strike you as unusual that Governor Obaseki had hardly settled down in office at Osadebey Avenue just in few weeks when he ostensibly began to face jumble of distractions? If your answer to the foregoing question is in the affirmative, it is expedient you have a rethink.
The reason for the foregoing cannot be farfetched as Edo political history is literarily strewn with litter of habitual critics and Pull Him Down (PHD) politicians whose stock in trade is to pull down any ruling party they are not affiliated to. To them, nothing is good in the ongoing administration of Governor Obaseki as long as their party is not the ruling party in the state. Ironically, the same critics and political PHDs that have not given the prevailing government in the state a breathing space are those who have utterly failed when their characters were tested as leaders; either at the local, state or national level.
However, the governor’s achievements in the state was recently lauded by The Forum of Registered Political Parties (FRPP). He was commended for suspending the collection of tax and levies by non government employees and his effort to develop Gelegele into a sea port that will boost economic activities in the state and the country at large.
As reported by the online edition of the Nigerian Observer of January 13, 2017, “This is contained in a statement signed by Chairman FRPP and State Chairman, NCP Comrade Victor Edward Ogba and Acting Secretary, FRPP and State Chairman; PPA Hon. Dave Esokpunwu made available to newsmen in Benin City the Edo State.” No doubt, the commendation of the FRPP is unique in the sense that an African proverb has that “It is a thing of joy when the man that was thrown on the ground in a wrestling bout would quickly rise up and extend his hand to his winning opponent for a handshake.”
To me the governor deserves to be encouraged by all Edolites to enable him do more. The reason for us to commend him cannot be misconstrued as he has promised to do more. Recently, the governor assured Edolites that his government would fulfil the campaign promises he made during last year electioneering ahead of the September 28 governorship election. Those that are baselessly opposing and criticising the governor should eschew the retrogressive habit as the tortoise says he values its shell, and that it is for that reason it moves about with it to protect it from destruction. Without sounding hyperbolic, Edo is proverbially the shell of Edolites; it should be jealously guarded and protected. Some few Edolites should stop attacking the governor. In fact, they are literarily pulling him down in the same manner a footballer that is set to score is being pulled by the jersey in order to stop him from scoring.
Isaac Asabor, a Journalist, writes from Lagos
