Ahead of the September 10 Governorship election in Edo State, candidates of various political parties have been going round canvassing votes from eligible voters. They adopt different strategies to achieve it and one of the strategies is to reach out to our revered traditional rulers and institutions. They go there for two obvious reasons: One, to seek the blessings of the royal fathers and the other is to have them convince their subjects to vote for them.
The reasons attached to this is that our traditional institutions are supposed to be repositories of the tradition of the people. They are the custodians of the norms, culture and way of life of our people. They are also supposed to command the respect of the people in return to their roles. This explains why politicians go to their palaces at this crucial time of electioneering.
Some unscrupulous politicians have messed up some traditional institutions. They have made them laughing stock before the people and some of the institutions remained denigrated or desecrated. Sometimes, the politicians are to blame, other times you lodge the blame on the doorsteps of the greedy traditional rulers who are ever ready to market their blessings and support to the highest bidder. They take decisions against their subjects after collecting ilalobos and egunjes.
But interestingly, there are some traditional rulers that take the egunje from the politicians and ask their subjects to vote against them. This scenario was popular when former President Goodluck Jonathan took millions of dollars to Yoruba Obas in the byild up to the 2015 general elections. The Obas collected his dollars and told their subjects to vote against Jonathan. They voted massively for the All Progressives Congress (APC) because they formed an alliance with the Hausa/Fulani oligarchy to wrest power from the clueless regime of Goodluck Jonathan and the PDP so that they can have the slot of Vice President.
Back to the September 10 poll in Edo State. The Crown Prince of Benin Kingdom, His Royal Highness (Amb) Eheneden Erediauwa is a royal father extraordinaire. When the APC Governorship candidate, Godwin Obaseki visited his palace, he told him and his entourage that he wished the governorship candidate well and prayed God and our ancestors to grant him his heart desires. The Edaiken who praised Governor Adams Oshiomhole said, “On behalf of the chiefs, the royal family and the Benin Kingdom, I want to specially welcome here the gubernatorial candidate and his running mate, the one I call my son. He is always so shy. I don’t know how he is able to play politics.
He further told his August visitors “I want to welcome all of you for coming here today. I am very delighted and honoured to see the chieftains of the APC, and we are sure that the state is moving on strong with the APC. I have always said one thing, and I have repeated and reiterated it over and over again that in Benin, the Benin Monarch is not partisan..”
The Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and his running mate, Mr. John Yakubu and their entourage were also at the palace of the Edaiken N’Uselu. He also demonstrated the none-partisan position of the Benin traditional institution He also prayed God and our ancestors to grant them their heart desires. That is how the traditional institutions ought to operate. Even in the dark, draconian days of General Sani Abacha when all the five political parties were urging Abacha to be the only presidential candidate and who the cap fits to be our life president, until God intervened, traditional rulers from all parts of the country where going to Aso Rock Villa to pay homage to him. But our revered monarch, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Erediauwa stood out. He never went to Aso Rock for such unholy pilgrimage where millions of dollars exchanged hands. All Edo sons and daughters both at home and in Diaspora held our heads tall till date.
But some thirty-two traditional rulers from Esan Land appears to be misleading some of their subjects already and are becoming openly partisan. Traditional ruler of Uromi in Esan North East Local Government, His Royal Highness, Anslem Edenojie II, Onojie of Uromi, recently, refuted claims attributed to him in the media, to have declared distrust in the Edo State governorship aspirant of Peoples Democratic Party, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, due to the party’s track record of under development in Esan community and other alleged claims.
When Godwin Obaseki and Governor Adams Oshimohole visited him in his palace, the Onojie said, “that the Governor and his entourage breached Protocol by going to the Campaign Venue first before coming to the Palace, and that he respects protocol when he is in Government House, and as such he expected them to do the same in Uromi.” Governor Oshimhole respects protocol and if there was any breach, there would be a very cogent reason for that which the Governor presented and one wonders why a traditional ruler would use the occasion of a visit by Governorship candidate to begin to raise quarrels and issues with a serving Governor who have served the state and Uromi meritoriously.
The Onojies quarrel with the Onojie of Opoji also threw a mess of what has been blown open of some 32 Esan traditional rulers who were said to have met behind closed doors with the candidate of the PDP and collected huge sums of money to get their subjects to vote for the PDP. It was also shamelessly revealed that the same meeting resolved to secretly collect huge sums of money from Mr. Godwin Obaseki of the APC and vote against him and the APC come September 10.
The traditional rulers from Esan land need to read my last Tuesday article on this same column. They must not mislead their people into Egypt where they would suffer for a long time. Affliction must not befall any part of Edo a second time. I think a word is enough for the wise.
Mr. Dan Owegie is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Edo State.
