Oshiomhole’s Bombshell over Edo governorship poll

By Keem Abdul

It was the venerable Buddha who once said, “Nothing, not even your worst enemy, can harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.”

Even by the standards of Nigeria’s rough-house brand of political engagement – where discourse and especially electioneering campaigns are usually no more than acrimonious shouting-matches as politicians compete in throwing HEAT (rather than LIGHT) on the issues affecting the people, and where what passes for political debate is no more than a contest of name-calling and naked calumny – the recent outburst credited to Senator Adams Oshiomhole, former Governor of Edo State and current Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Edo North senatorial zone, stood out as a new low.

In the run-up to the forthcoming Governorship elections in Edo State (slated for September 21, 2024) Oshiomhole felt compelled to respond on behalf of the Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, to a statement credited to the current First Lady of the state, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki, to the effect that of the three major contenders vying to replace her husband, Governor Godwin Obaseki, only one (namely Asue Ighodalo of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP) was currently in a marital relationship. Mrs. Obaseki, who said this during the PDP’s campaign flag-off at the Ubiaja Township Stadium in Esan South-East Local Government Area of the state, was quoted as saying – while introducing Ighodalo’s wife, Ifeyinwa, to the crowd – “Let us vote for the best candidate in this coming election … Incidentally, among all the candidates, only one has a wife, and it’s our own party’s candidate, Asue Ighodalo… Edo women … better things come to women when there’s a woman in Government House.”

In refuting Mrs. Obaseki’s assertion about the respective marital statuses of the three candidates, the former Governor not only defended the APC candidate, Okpebholo, who he said had children in whose education he had ‘invested heavily’, and whose wife was part of the campaign, he reportedly went on to describe the First Lady and her husband as ‘childless.’ Speaking with newsmen in a television interview, Oshiomhole, who expressed shock at Mrs. Obaseki’s claim, added that the Obasekis are not only childless, they have also ‘refused’ to adopt, even though they’re both in their sixties. “I don’t blame anybody who doesn’t have a child,” he went on to say, “but people who have love for children (would) go to a motherless home and adopt. They have not … ”

All in all, a typical episode, one would say, in the political life of the Nigerian nation – especially when an election is at hand. Still, the Senator’s remarks did not fail to elicit a storm of outrage across the demographic and political spectrum, and on both terrestrial and online media channels and chatrooms – with some critics even asking both the Nigerian Senate and the APC to impose punitive sanctions on Oshiomhole as a way of demonstrating their integrity and readiness to hold their members accountable for their conduct. Among these critics is a gender advocacy group known as Women for Equality and Empowerment (WEE), which described Oshiomhole’s remarks as “disgraceful” and “insensitive.” His statement, the group said, was a setback for the progress that has been made so far in promoting gender equity in Nigeria. The Senate in particular, it said, must send a clear message that such ‘discriminatory and disrespectful’ behaviour was not acceptable.

Oshiomhole’s seeming mockery of the Obasekis may have been unguarded, but it marks the nadir of a relationship that was once extremely cosy, especially when the former was Governor of Edo State. During their political honeymoon, Oshiomhole had repeatedly referred to Obaseki as ‘the brain and creativity’ behind his administration, and subsequently anointed him as his successor. Obaseki became Governor in 2016, as Oshiomhole went on to become the National Chairman of the APC. But the relationship between them began to unravel shortly after Obaseki’s assumption of office. Subtle at first, the rift grew more pronounced in the course of Obaseki’s tenure, culminating in his disqualification from contesting for re-election on the APC platform – allegedly on the orders of his mentor-turned-nemesis. He ultimately defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and renewed his bid for re-election, winning a second term as Governor.

A sure sign that this toxic relationship is still alive and well is the fact that Oshiomhole felt compelled to respond to someone who was NOT addressing him at all! Why didn’t he allow Sen. Okpebholo to speak for himself, some have wondered? Since when did he become Okpebholo’s family spokesperson – nay, attack dog?

Ironically, Oshiomhole’s words are a negation of the conciliatory position he took at an event in Benin City, the Edo State capital, only last year, about Obaseki and their feud. He had said on that occasion: “Being friends doesn’t mean we can’t disagree or have different opinions, but we must treat (each other) with love and care … We definitely belong to different political parties but the total of those parties is not equal to Edo State.” And then he added – even more ironically, in light of this latest episode, “The language of leaders matters to followers. What defines democracy is … ideology; even if we share the same destination … the route to get there may differ, and it should not be a matter of war.”

Well, it seems that such fine sentiments – especially Oshiomhole’s own assertion that ‘The language of leaders matters to followers’ have now gone with the proverbial wind as the election campaign, now in its final weeks, heats up. Truth, however, is that the Senator’s ephemeral fidelity to high principles, and his similarly unguarded outbursts in the past, betray him as a run-of-the-mill political opportunist (who is concerned only about the next election) rather than a statesman (who is concerned about the next generation). Otherwise, how could he forget that getting married or not is a matter of choice, as opposed to having or not having children – something that is clearly beyond our power as humans and can only be determined by God? Has it occured to him, in the midst of his political calculations, that this unfortunate remark might yet come back to haunt him – or his children and even grandchildren – in future?

At about 70 years of age, and in the twilight of life, people like the Senator need to be mindful about statements they make, especially in the heat of the moment, so they don’t become albatrosses around the necks of their generations to come.

It is the considered opinion of all Nigerians of goodwill, therefore (including this writer) that Sen. Oshiomhole should apologise forthwith to the Obasekis for this monumental faux pas – and learn some moderation henceforth, at least to preserve whatever dignity he has left.

* Keem Abdul, publisher and writer, hails from Lagos. He can be reached via +2348038795377 or [email protected]