There comes a time in the life of a people when silence becomes complicity. In Edo State today, that time is now.
Installed amid controversy and widely perceived by many as a placeholder leadership awaiting final adjudication of the Supreme Court, Senator Monday Okpebholo has turned the reins of government into an instrument of fear, vendetta, and institutional decay. Though his government is, in law, substantive, its actions reek of desperation—more concerned with the consolidation of power than with governance, more committed to silencing dissent than to serving the people, more interested in showing to Aso Rock that it can deliver 100 percent in 2027, than focusing on people centred governance .
In recent weeks, Edo people have watched with disbelief as bulldozers under government orders flatten homes and businesses allegedly linked to cultism. These demolitions are conducted without court orders, without transparent investigations, and without respect for due process. They are not expressions of law and order; they are expressions of tyranny. What we are witnessing is a dangerous mutation of state power,where the presumption of innocence is discarded, property rights are trampled, and governance has become a theatre of absurdities and destruction.
The most alarming symbol of this reign of terror is the planned demolition of Ethanol Hotel, a multimillion Naira property owned by Matthew Iduoriyekemwen, a well-known opposition leader and respected political figure. Without any judicial pronouncement or evidentiary process, the state has targeted the hotel with vague and unsubstantiated allegations of cultism, according to social media reports. This is not governance. It is the weaponization of state institutions for political vendetta.
Even more appalling is the rank hypocrisy that defines the APC’s posturing. While homes and businesses are now being demolished on flimsy allegations of cultism, it is on public record that during the 2024 Edo governorship election, the APC created a notorious outfit called the “APC Angels” as one of its more important and strategic campaign directorate, a so-called campaign directorate widely believed to have included alleged cultists, street enforcers, and known political thugs. These individuals were not hidden; they were publicly adorned in party regalia and deployed across the state in the name of political strategic campaign. Today, the same political structure that once flirted openly with such elements now claims to be fighting cultism with bulldozers. One is left to wonder: Is cultism only condemnable when it wears no APC party colours? Is demolition the new definition of justice, provided the target is not politically affiliated with the APC?
This is the grotesque face of double standards and selective justice, and it should alarm every right-thinking Edo citizen.
Beyond demolitions and vendettas, the governance style of Okpebholo is best described as knee-jerk, immature, and anti-developmental. Policy directions change with the wind. Statements contradict themselves. Civil servants are sidelined, local government institutions undermined, and public discourse has become shallow and combative. From chaotic taxation proposals to incoherent land policies and erratic pronouncements on education and environmentalsanitation, the government seems more fixated on showmanship than substance.
While other states are attracting investors, improving infrastructure, and empowering youth, Edo is drowning in intimidation, confusion, and fear. The streets remain insecure, schools are in disrepair, hospitals are understaffed, and the business climate has turned cold. Yet, the administration continues to grandstand and chase enemies—real and imagined—rather than deliver leadership. In the midst of all this, a critical development opportunity is being ignored: Edo boasts one of the most vibrant diaspora populations in Nigeria—professionals, entrepreneurs, and intellectuals who already contribute significantly to the state’s GDP and per capita income. Shouldn’t a serious government be devising strategic ways to engage them,perhaps through a dedicated Diaspora Commission that interfaces with them on investment, policy, and civic engagement, rather than chasing shadows with bulldozers?
This is not the Edo State our ancestors built with pride. This is not the legacy our heroes past envisioned. What we are witnessing is a descent—a slow, grinding collapse into autocracy, fueled by insecurity, vendetta politics, and a total disregard for constitutional values.
The people of Edo are not fools. We know what good governance looks like. And we know what tyranny masquerading as leadership smells like.
Okpebholo’s regime has shown itself to be a government of impulses, erratic in policy, juvenile in temperament, and vindictive in action. From contradictory statements on taxation and land reforms, to the mishandling of civil service matters, and the clownish deployment of law enforcement for media stunts, every move has revealed a man unprepared for the burden of leadership. Instead of building roads, they make promises of delivering Edo one hundred percent to Tinubu in 2027. Instead of empowering youth, they chase shadows. Instead of debating ideas, they demolish property.
The consequences are dire. Investors are fleeing. Citizens are living in fear. Political discourse has been reduced to threats and bulldozers. What we have in Edo today is not governance but a dark theatre of vengeance and intimidation, where policy is weaponized and power is misused with gleeful impunity.
Edo State deserves better. We are a proud, historically conscious, and forward-looking people. We cannot afford to allow a handful of desperate politicians to drag us back into the mud of authoritarianism, where fear silences truth and brute force replaces vision.
It is time to say no resoundingly and unequivocally. No to political witch-hunts disguised as populist agenda. No to the weaponization of cultism narratives against perceived enemies. No to the shameless hypocrisy of a party that decries cultism in daylight while dining with its kingpins at night. No to this stone age, draconian governance model that offers nothing but misery, destruction, and despair.
Edo must rise. Democracy must be defended and the future must be reclaimed from the hands of those who clearly have no respect for the past, no grip on the present, and no vision for the future.
Daniel Osa-Ogbegie, a lawyer and Apostle of Edo rennassance, writes from Benin City.