It was the inimitable Chinua Achebe who wrote in his ‘Things Fall Apart’, that: “Those whose palm-kernels were cracked by a benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble.” What this means in simple language is that those who have achieved success or overcome challenges with divine assistance should remain humble.
Unfortunately, staying humble is not one of the forte of the erstwhile deputy governor of Edo State, Comrade Philip Shaibu. On the contrary, he is ruled and driven by a megalomaniac tendency that is anchored on vaulting ambition and uncontrolled desperation. And one needs to ask, how more desperate can a man be?
At this yound age, Shaibu should be grateful for all that the divine has bestowed on him. But his uncommon desperation in the futile hope that he can achieve everything by himself and to himself won’t allow it .
As a deputy governor, Shaibu wore controversy like a perfect suit, forgetting the time tested admonition “Never outshine the master”. He forgot that ‘Oga na master any time any day’, to put it in our pidgin lingo.
It was therefore not surprising that he was rebuked at a time in a video that had since gone viral by the revered Oba of Benin, His Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II. In the video, the revered monarch could be heard scolding Shaibu thus: “Philip Shaibu, I have always called my son but I am not sure now if I will call you my son again because of the way you have been going. Philip, tell your boys to cease fire, that your Papa has said they should cease fire. Must it be a do or die affair?”
Just consider the last sentence: “Must it be a do or die affair?” That speaks volumes.
In yet another video, former governor of Rivers State and now Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, could be heard literally dressing Shaibu down for threatening the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) even as a deputy governor a few years ago.
Hear Wike: “A deputy governor telling the party that there’s an alternative, a deputy governor for that matter, and he lost his local government. It’s very unfortunate. A deputy governor, just imagine a deputy governor, and he is wearing Khaki. I have never seen anything like this in my life. This is the first time that I will see a deputy governor come out in television to tell a party that ‘if you don’t do this.’ Who is his father? Now that he has started the trouble let him wait. We will make sure he will never rest. He came to threaten us, it won’t work.”
Just now Shaibu is everywhere, dragging everybody to court because he lost a primary election in a free and fair manner. Everybody wants a power shift to Edo Central but his desperation and ambition will never allow him to see reasons.
Shaibu wants to remain as the deputy governor, be the PDP candidate even when he has donated his offices , campaign vehicles and other resources to the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC); still wants to be in charge of IGR of the state, be this be that. Habaaaa ! How more desperate can a man be?
The talk in town as I write this is that he has mobilized thugs to storm the Government House, Benin City, on Thursday to forcefully evict the sitting deputy governor on the strength of a judgment by a High Court in Abuja even when an appeal has been lodged and a stay of execution applied for. How more desperate can a man be? Shaibu should be “Calming Down”.
Orobosa writes from Benin City