What has been going on for more than three and half years in Edo State is unfortunate. The governor of Edo has been distracted since he became governor by the internal opposition headed by the former governor and current chairman of All Progressive Congress (APC), Mr. Adam Oshiomhole. The result is that governance in Edo state is not what it should be. Edo state residents are one of the most industrious people in Nigeria. Edo state is in the South South geopolitical region of Nigeria. The state has been making steady progress since 1999 when democracy was restored in Nigeria. They have had bad governors in the past like other states, but nothing can compare to what is playing out in the state right now. Current governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki was just disqualified from contesting in the All Progressive Congress (APC) primary by former governor, Mr. Oshiomhole hand-picked screening committee. In other words, Mr. Obaseki was methodically rigged out of the primary election before a single vote is cast.
Former governor, Adam Oshiomhole who ran the state for 8 years handpicked the present governor, Godwin Obaseki by throwing his political weight behind him in the APC primaries and subsequent general election. Shortly after governor Obaseki won election, the relationship between the two men soured. It is a situation that Nigerians have seem over and over in various states of the federation. God fathers anoints their political sons as their chosen successor not necessarily because of their political acumen or competency but rather somebody they think they can control. In other words, they want to rule by proxy even though they have had their turn. The cookie normally crumbles when their chosen successors tries to assert themselves by resisting direction from their god fathers.
Former Edo state governor, Mr. Oshiomhole want to rule Edo state indirectly via Governor Obaseki. Mr. Oshiomhole said that he wanted the new governor to complete the projects he started but Governor Obaseki rightly does not believe that completing some of those projects is in the best interest of Edo people. First, former governor, Mr. Oshiomhole wanted to pick some of Governor Obaseki’s cabinet members but governor Obaseki does not like some of his picks. Governor Obaseki may not necessarily want complete elimination of Mr. Oshiomhole influence in his administration, but probably believes that his influence should be whittled down so he can pursue and implement his own policies. Why have a change of government in the first place if the policies will remain the same?
Make no mistake about what is going on here, former governor, Oshiomhole wants indirect control of Edo state government via what he thinks is a potted vessel named Mr. Obaseki. He wants access to Edo treasury and wants governor Obaseki to consult or seek his approval before implementing some or most of his policies. Governor Obaseki does not want that kind of control either as a governor or a human being. Such control is contrary to human behavior and subject to resistance. We saw that in Anambra state between former governor Mbadinuju and his god father, Emeka Offor and between former governor, Mr. Ngige and his political god father, Mr. Chris Uba. In Lagos state, the former and present governor cannot carry on their responsibilities without checking in with Mr. Bola Tinubu or they will be impeached and removed from office. If they are lucky, they will be allowed to finish their term but will not be allowed to run for re-election. Ask the immediate past governor of Lagos state, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode if you are in doubt. Late Mr. Lamidi Adedibu of Oyo state made it impossible for any governor in Oyo state to function if the governor fails to give him access to the state treasury. One of the reasons why Anambra state residents have been voting for APGA is due to the trauma inflicted on them by the People Democratic Party (PDP) god fathers under former governors, Mbadinuju and Ngige. APGA serves as refuge for Anambra residents for now. Political godfathers is one of the few remaining cancer in Nigeria politics.
Political god father must be eliminated from Nigerian politics. God father culture is nothing but corruption on a grand scale. It leads to waste of state resources and corruption on a grand scale where god fathers try to recoup the money, they spend on getting their political sons elected.
The most effective way to eliminate political culture of god father and enhance Nigerian democracy is to eliminate indirect primaries by political parties. Time is ripe in Nigeria to hand over to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) political parties primaries. At least for the biggest political parties that has realistic chance of winning the general election. Whoever wants to run for office should collect the form from INEC and pay required fees. INEC will then conduct direct primary for the major political parties and whoever wins will contest in the general election. Members of each party can identify themselves by their party ID when voting. Primaries conducted by INEC will eliminate the influence of god father. It will also give elected officials much desired independence to carry out their responsibilities without fearing that they will be disqualified in the primary election by governors and god fathers. State electoral bodies should be disbanded and handed over to INEC because governors are manipulating state electoral bodies. How many local government chairman and council elections have the opposition won in all state of the federation? The answer is very few to none. The voters should freely choose whom they want to represent them in the general election. Poll can be conducted by INEC before the election to select viable political parties they can conduct primaries for.
Disqualification of current governor of Edo state, Mr. Obaseki is a naked crass political play and a travesty that should not be allowed to happen again. Mr. Obaseki rightly recognized that Oshiomhole men in the so-called screening committee set trap for him by encouraging him to appeal their decision before another committee controlled by Mr. Oshiomhole. They want to run out the clock so they can effectively deny him the opportunity to join another political party and contest the general election under their banner. Mr. Obaseki has effectively turned the table on Oshiomhole by deciding not to appeal the decision of that Kangaroo committee. Mr. Obaseki will join PDP or another political party and contest in the general election scheduled for September 19, 2020. Mr. Obaseki will likely win the coming general election under another political party banner because Edo State residents wants liberation once and for all from political god father like other states under similar circumstance have done.