It would be exactly two weeks and a couple of days today from one of Nigeria’s keenly contested elections – the Edo.I remember back then, the titanic battle between the NRC and the SDP in the days of former President Ibrahim Babangida, where Chief Odigie-Oyegun of the Social Democratic Party, SDP, was pitched against whom and what was considered a behemoth, the National Republican Convention, NRC, and represented by Lucky Igbinedion. Much of the hype and rhetoric then was that the NRC chap would win, mostly because of the firepower in his political arsenal – he had an extremely wealthy background, deemed well connected to the traditional institutions and is a son of the soil. The other chap was a relatively unknown underdog – seemingly with no firepower in his arsenal, and pundits have insinuated that he only won because the military hierarchy backed him up. Some said as well that it was the grey hairs which he displayed on television that clinched him the election.
That was the rhetoric on the street back then. Back then as well, politicians would sometimes discuss the issues. But today it is completely different. If you live in Benin today, you’ll likely assume somewhat that Mr. Donald Trump, the US Republican candidate for the November elections, has cousins in Edo state. Like Trump, none of the political parties is talking about the key issues. Rather, there is a lot of mud heaped on a ceiling fan, and it surely gets unleashed without qualms. Party A says Party B is a thief. In response, Party B tells Party A that it is the greatest thief before and after Lawrence Anini. At the end of the day, we cannot tell where any one of them stands on issues of cheap transportation, education, industry, agriculture and housing.And just like what it was in the days of the NRC and SDP, the September 2016 election seems to be about two worthy Benin sons. I say this with due respect to the PDC and LP candidates who equally proved their mettle, and to all other candidates vying to be governor of Edo state in September.
The stakes are high and the other political aspirants see mutterly eclipsed from the horizon of political participation.But we couldn’t allow the inherent lopsidedness and campaigns of calumny continue. Edo state is already 25 years old. As a human being, that age is when a young adult is like a young lion, and at his or her most productive phase. If that young adult has not already graduated from university and already settling down on a job then Houston, we have a problem. As a young lad growing up in Benin City, certain things made this ancient city of proud warriors of this ancestral savannah of ours tick: Benin was the home of sports, rubber trees, a thriving textile industry and produced some of the finest palm oil you could find anywhere in the world. Most of that is gone.
As a responsible organization motivated to contribute to the development of Nigeria by promoting transparency, accountability and good governance, it was impossible to just sit there and let the dreaded Maori-cum-macabre dancetake centre stage. We want the governorship candidates to discuss the issues: education, taxation, agriculture, social infrastructure like roads and employment. In collaboration with Civil Society groups across the Edo political spectrum, the Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice, ANEEJ, in collaboration with some civil society organizations in Edo State organized an interactive session with all 19 governorship aspirants seeking to occupy Osadebey House much later this year.
It was a non-political, non-partisan platform made up the bourgeoisie and the talakawa.Every penny came from ANEEJ at the onset, and thereafter we were happy to have been supported bya broad coalition of civil society – the Edo Women Development Initiative, the Network of Civil Society Organizations in Nigeria, NOCSON, Girls Power Initiative and a whole lot of others.It was an opportunity for these candidates to engage civil society and discuss their programmes. We liaised with INEC, seeking to connect with all 19 of the political parties contesting the September governorship election in Edo State.And at the end of the three-day interactive session several instructive issues sprang forth.
One of them is that it is possible to have issue-based debates. I stood as close as possible to the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Mr. Godwin Obaseki. If you didn’t know who his PA was, you’d think I was the one. At that range, it was possible to observe certain idiosyncrasies which any psychoanalyst wouldn’t take for granted. At that range, I could tell that the man really understood the issues. Even though he spoke extempore, he often glanced at his notepad – a desirable trait in a leader and a sign that he would pay attention to details. It was the same with his political opponent, Pastor Ize-Iyamu from the other side the PDP. I was not standing close to him but from where I sat, I tried to match his words with an elaborate document he had published, his SIMPLE Agenda. There was a match, and he appeared as if he was putting his money where his mouth is. That, in a nutshell, revealed that this is going to be a veritable cliffhanger. As one of the comperes said afterwards, Edo would gain more if it were possible to roll these two candidates in one so that both can govern, one as the governor whilst the other would deputize.
Secondly, the civil society interactive session with the governorship candidates re-enacted the Social Contract – we live in a state of nature where personal interest is usually prevalent. Given that scenario, people who are desirous of living in a civil society renounce their rights and invest them in an individual. But over the years, this individual often colluded with the parliament to circumvent the contract. It is in such circumstances that the role of the civil societies, much like what ANEEJ played as an enforcement mechanism, comes to the fore. In those sessions, these governorship aspirants all made commitments with Edo people in black and white. I wrote down nearly every item, sector by sector, and by nearly all the governorship candidates. We expect to be able to use these commitments, made in front of television cameras, the public, with the cream of civil society and on Holy ground (the events held at the Bishop Kelly Pastoral Centre), to hold anyone who eventually emerges governor to account on behalf of Edo people.
