The regrettable and dangerous inclusion of Governor Godwin Obaseki erupted with deadly fumes maiming the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Edo State. The rhetorical hysteria that greeted his coming to the Party in 2020, which was orchestrated by the likes of Senator Mathew Urhoghide, is now being characterized by a multi-dimensional movement from the Party.
The catchphrase that ‘we have not been winning elections since 2007’, which was vicariously tossed around by those who brought Obaseki to the PDP at that time is now a bitter pill too late to repudiate. At that time, the self-interest trumpeted endorsement of his coming was a deliberate exercise of blinding the mind of everyone that should have objected knowing his antecedent history with APC.
No, the interlopers denied other considerations that PDP could have won the election with the rift in APC then – they screamed doubts to silence. There is no trouble in scrutinizing the faces that appealed to him – the likes of Senator Clifford Ordia, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, Chief Tom Ikimi and a host of others who still work on the face of the earth today. They sermonized him as the chosen One and proclaimed universal guilt against anyone with an alternative view. The clamour for him was so deep and loud that people became deaf, people became effectively blind, and people were led to a political cul-de-sac…all on a matter of his saving prowess that was based on falsified premises.
Today, the PDP he was triggered to save and restore to power has rapidly deteriorated beyond repair that no agent or true believer of the Party can restore it to the legitimate owners except we leave such a restoration to the personal intervention of the Divine.
In recent times, on their own, members of the Party have been matching away like defeated rebels. Senator Mathew Urhoghide left and has been in the news telling the side of his sad self-inflicted story. Hon. Emwanta Adaze, the former commissioner under Obaseki, has also left. Although he was notorious during his reign under the governor, known for stoking flames, he has been singing everywhere as if he is going to report his former boss to EFCC for fraudulent transactions. Barrister Kenneth Imansuagbon, also known as Rice Man state-wide, followed suit.
He landed in the Labour Party and openly announced the death of PDP having taken the soul with him. I cannot fail to mention the daughter of Late Ogbemudia, a former council chairman under Obaseki. She left and trailed her path with stories of the lamentable lapses in the educational system that Obaseki has courted as his best sector when it comes to achievements. Today, without notification of any sort, Engr Gideon Ikhine confirmed to me that he has also left the Party.
What is left of PDP today is the Legacy group. And I think it is the last straw to hold on to, by those who believe in its sustainability.
In Edo State, Obaseki has placed PDP in the throes of death – this is beyond doubt. Members of the Legacy Group must remain strong, united and resolute in resisting Obaseki’s resolve to destroy the Party. Decamping to other parties either to seek a ticket or get an appointment is not a solution.
It is when Legacy Group are bonded together that they can have an emboldened objective and effective space in the state. The time will come when all right-thinking progressives in Edo state will come together and chase the “ crazy bald head out of the town”.
Oluwabamidele Elempe contributed this from Abuja, Nigeria