Obaseki’s Many Sins Against His Benin Brothers 1, By Olaniyi Od

I have seen many laughable opinions on both social and traditional media that suggest that a fight against Obaseki is a fight against the Benin nation. They have made fruitless efforts to paint Senior Comrade Adams Oshiomole as the enemy of Benin. This slippery tag just like godfatherism tag has refused to stay on the Comrade Chairman.

  It will be a huge injustice to continue to make unsuccessful attempts to paint Obaseki as the modern-day saviour of Benin People. I shall discuss five different events that demonstrates the abhorrence with which Obaseki holds his people. Charging of the leaders of BSM with treasonable felony, Playing the Devils Advocate in the NDDC appointment of Benin sons, Demolition of the Tony Kabaka’s hotel, refusal to swear in 14 members of Edo State House of Assembly and the struggle to remove Adams Oshiomole from office.

1) *Charging of the Leaders of BSM with Treasonable Felony*:  In May 2017, the news that shook Edo state to its very foundation was the arrest of the leadership of Benin Solidarity Movement led by Marxist Kola Edokpayi and Comrade Curtis Ugbo on the orders of Edo State government. These two illustrious Benin sons were charged with treasonable felony. I want to believe that Obaseki is aware of the implication of charging someone with treasonable felony is pushing the person to death in the hands of Lady Justice. What this simply means is that, Obaseki’s government was ready to let these Benin sons face the hangman on trumped up charges. I understand that, the sins of Kola and Curtis were that they demanded that The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited (NPDC) with Headquarters in Sapele Road in Benin City must carry out Corporate Social Responsibilities for the benefit of the Benin People. Their crimes was fighting the fight of Benin sons and daughters. The man whose team has unsuccessfully painted as the pathfinder of the Benin nation made efforts to send my friend and brother Kola Edokpayi to the gallows.  During those days of the struggle in Benin, I know Kola Edokpayi is a “stand well-well” comrade, refined in the best fire of the struggle and bathed in the spiritual aqua of activism. He is intelligent and brutally articulated against the oppressors. I remember telling a friend in Obaseki’s government that activism has outlasted many governments in Edo states and that of Obaseki will not be different. Are the people claiming that Obaseki is the best thing to have happened to Benin saying Kola and Curtis are no more Benins? What sort of friend and brother sharpens the guillotine for his kinsmen?

2) *Playing the Devil’s Advocate in NDDC Appointment of the Benin Sons:*  For those of us that are friends of Edo State October 2019 was a month of celebration. It was the month President Buhari decided to reward the steadfastness of Edo people especially Benins.  He nominated a Benin son as the Chairman Niger Delta Development Commission. The nomination of Dr Pius Odubu, a former Member House of Representative and Deputy Governor, was celebrated by all well-meaning Benin sons and friends of the kingdom. We had absolute confidence in the capacity of Dr Odubu and Victor Ekhator, the representatives of Edo State, to come out of the senate screening in glowing colours. It was before this screening that we started hearing that Obaseki’s men are out with the long knives and are sharpening them for an onslaught against Odubu and Ekhator. I understand that their sins were that he (Obaseki) was not consulted before they were nominated. Even a political neophyte knows that nobody consults a governor that his winning his polling unit and ward during Presidential elections is still in the doubt. This is also confirmed to have lost his Local Government, House of Representative Zone, Senatorial zone and ultimately lost his state during the Presidential elections. As far as the APC and President Buhari are concerned, Obaseki is a political liability that needs to be offloaded and need not be consulted when the party wants to reward hard work and persistence. During the struggle for the confirmation of Odubu and Ekhator. Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki’s loudest vuvuzela released a statement that made some of us almost puke. Please read the argument of Obaseki’s men that stopped the Benin nation from having the privilege to chair the NDDC board for the first time in history. *“A case in point is the recent incident when the President was away from the country and Comrade Oshiomhole got top officials at the presidency to approve the composition of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), made up of his cronies apparently in violation of the existing rules.”* Here is Obaseki speaking through his media henchman confirming that, Oshiomole went out of his way to ensure that the Benin nation is allowed to chair the NDDC board while Obaseki that is now running around claiming to be the best thing to have happened to Benin after Igue Festival sacrificed the opportunity of Edo state to take the driver’s seat of NDDC and make the state feel a massive impacts of the commission on the altar of his second term agenda that will surely be stillborn. Obaseki’s problem is that he decided to fight everybody until he has sunk himself. The question for Obaseki supporters is, how do we explain to the supporters and family members of Odubu and Ekhator that Obaseki is not a sworn enemy of all us that we have been praying fervently for the development of Edo State by NDDC?

I need to end this part here, I shall return shortly with part two where I shall x-ray how well Obaseki treated Tony Kabaka. His Benin Brothers in the House of Assembly and their constituencies he swore never to be allowed representation for as long as he remains governor. I shall also share my thoughts on how well he has treated Senior Combatant Comrade Adams Oshiomole, the man that brought him from stoic obscurity and foisted him on Edo people.

Olaniyi Odina

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