Osagie Ize-Iyamu has spent most of his political life trying to create the impression that Edo politics cannot move without him. Over the years, that illusion has been sustained by loyal supporters, emotional propaganda and endless political noise. But once the noise is removed, what remains is a long history of failed elections, internal controversies and relentless personal ambition.
The truth is harsh, but it remains truth.
Osagie Ize-Iyamu has never demonstrated real electoral strength. From his University of Benin days, he struggled with electoral victories. Even in student politics, he could not secure victory in the LAWSA presidential election. That pattern followed him into mainstream politics.
In 2016, he lost the governorship election.
In 2020, despite massive federal backing, enormous resources and the full weight of APC power structures at the time, he still lost again.
That reality alone should normally produce humility and quiet reflection. Instead, every election season in Edo somehow returns to the same cycle of pressure, entitlement, bitterness and political tension built around one man’s ambitions.
Those who were active in PDP politics years ago still remember the deep anger that followed the John Yakubu local government election controversy. The complaints were widespread. Many party members believed the process had been manipulated long before voting fully concluded in some areas. The incident left bitterness inside the party for years and strengthened the growing public perception that Osagie Ize-Iyamu’s politics has always been driven more by desperation than broad acceptance.
That desperation has remained visible throughout his political journey.
Whenever political arrangements do not favour him, crisis suddenly emerges. Supporters become aggressive. Narratives of injustice begin to spread. Internal disagreements are transformed into emotional warfare. Personal ambition is repackaged as collective struggle.
That is exactly what is happening again today.
The current attempt to present himself as the defender of Edo South is one of the biggest political deceptions in recent times. Those who know Osagie Ize-Iyamu closely understand that he has never been driven by any larger regional cause beyond his personal political future.
His present political agitation is about relevance. Nothing more.
The calculations toward 2028 have already started. Every move now is about preserving bargaining power within the APC, keeping his name constantly in political conversations and positioning himself either for another governorship attempt or for compensation through a strategic federal appointment.
Ordinary supporters may not understand this game yet, but experienced politicians already do.
Unfortunately, many loyal followers continue to destroy friendships, insult people online and fight political battles with emotional intensity without realising that they are merely defending the personal ambitions of one politician whose ultimate interests rarely extend beyond himself and his immediate circle.
Edo politics has suffered enough from recycled ambitions and endless personality struggles.
A political movement cannot continue to organise itself permanently around one individual who repeatedly fails at the ballot box yet constantly demands relevance through internal pressure and manufactured crises.
