₦airaland Forum

Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA — Amid agitation by leaders of the South East for the creation of an additional state in the zone, Kaduna State governor and chairman of ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Committee on True Federalism, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, has declared that it would be a grave injustice to agitate for “equal unequals”.

According to him, even in population and resources, the regions of the country are not uniformly endowed. He, however, said though the representatives of the agitators were few in number, “the majority must always win.”

Speaking at a town hall meeting organised by his committee to get inputs from youths, the governor said when people talk about restructuring, most proponents think of their zones while no one thinks of the country.

He said: “The greatest injustice is trying to make equals unequal and unequals equal; things are not done like that. What do I mean by that? There are those who have said that Nigeria and United States are the same.

“It is just like saying everyone who is six feet, five can play basket ball. As human beings, we are equal but you cannot come and stand here and say we should create nine states in each zone, Nigeria is not equal, likewise the population and resources, you can’t do that.

“The representatives of the agitators are few in number and so the majority must always win. The president of the country exists, the Senate exists and there are 36 states of the federation.

‘’We the old ones are still here, some of us are good, some are bad, like the youths but you must learn to live with us because we are still here.

“Now, some people say because we have oil, let us have resource control. We must think of what is in the overall interest of Nigeria.

‘’By that I mean what works for everyone. Because what works for one part of the county will not necessarily work for the other and so as long as we are from one country, we must seek for what is of common good, not the one that serves one interest group.

ON OCTOBER 10

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By Daud Olatunji ABEOKUTA — The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, yesterday, raised the alarm over the erosion of Yoruba culture by what he called received religions of Islam and Christianity.

The first class monarch explained that both religions had portrayed the Yoruba values and traditions include traditional names and celebrations as evil, satanic or demonic. Oba Adeyemi stated this while declaring open the international conference on Yorubaland and politics since the 19th Century and beyond held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, in honour of renowned historian, late Prof. Joseph Atanda. The monarch lamented that with the advent of both religions, some aspects of Yoruba culture and tradition had suffered great assault leading to extinction of family life, pattern of social relations, family names and praise names among others.

According to the Monarch “Yoruba land is at a critical juncture today, more than ever before. The assault on our culture has assumed frightening dimensions, coming from the received religions of Islam and Christianity, especially their puritanical and pentecostal trends.” “Family life, nature and pattern of social relations, indigenous social welfarism, family names and praise names, values and traditions’ have almost been completely destroyed by their portrayal as evil, satanic or demonic.’’

Late Prof. Jeseph Atanda had taught African and Yoruba Culture among others at the University of Ibadan . He thereafter worked at OOU Ago-Iwoye formerly known as Ogun State University as Professor of history . In his keynote address, titled:Yoruba Nation: (Dis)Unity, national politics and the Republican spirit, the executive vice-chairman, Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy, Dr Tunji Olaopa, canvassed regional integration in which the six states in the South-west would set the pace for the Nigerian state.’’ Launching the collection of works by the late Prof. Atanda, the chairman, Bi-courtney Group of Companies, Dr Wale Babalakin, also eulogised him, urging other historians not to shy away from telling the authentic story of the Yoruba.

While recalling his frienship with late Prof. Atanda, Babalakin said he hid in the house of the late historian during his trouble with former head of State ,late Sanni Abacha . In his remarks , Dr Toyin Falola of the University of Texas, Houston, announced scholarship award by the Atanda family.

PointB:
Islam and Christianity are the right words.

PointB:
You still don't get it.

Sunday and Saturday work free day is convenient and has little or nothing to do with Christian day of worship in Nigeria (but Christians are more than happy to let it be). The world is a global village. Most of the world communities we do business with has Saturday and Sunday as work free day, and the International convention/calender sees Monday as the beginning of working week. So having a work free day on Sunday is a no-brainer. Whether you are Christain, Muslim or what have you, if your are open for business on Sunday, don't expect your international business partner to join you.

As for Atheists you can as well claim Saturday for whatever tickles your fancy. No one will begrudge your choice.

Greenback:
is Christianity ur headache?

PointB:
Being Atheist doesn't mean you should lack the ability to rationalise.

The days/dates set aside for holidays were not arbitrary. They represent significant dates/milestones in believers lives. It wouldn't make sense to lump them into Saturdays and Sundays as you think. For Muslims, were Nigeria a muslim state perhaps it would be easy to grant them Friday as work free day. As Nigeria is currently classified as Secular state, it makes no sense to accede to the Friday.

Atheist can, and should rest on the day others are resting (Saturday or Sunday). You have no special (religious) reason/need to have a work free day. If you do, you won't be atheist.

PointB:
Holidays are for a purpose, and they have names. The activities you mentioned can be done on Saturday/Sunday which are work free day. Why would you need a another day? What would such Atheist holiday be called? Without a name and purpose it would be difficult a cause to pursue.

PointB:
Just curious. What will you be doing on such Atheist holiday?

amjoseph19:
STFU and solve your shit. CAN is not fanatic one bit.
They are talking of MURIC here, fave them. don't bring CAN into it and stop shifting the goal post.

Markfemi:
Can at least is National
Muric seems to be hell bent on Yoruba land islamization

ON OCTOBER 7, 2017

By Abdallah el-Kurebe

Sokoto-Bishop of the Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Hassan Kukah has dissociated himself from a piece on the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra,IPOB, circulating on the social media which was credited to him.

In a statement signed and made available to Vanguard yesterday, the Bishop said that he had nothing to do with it.

According to Kukah:”There is a spurious and untitled piece credited to me about Biafra, which is enjoying wide circulation on the social media. I have nothing to do with it.”

ON OCTOBER 5, 2017

An Australian court will sentence a Nigerian post-graduate student, Jackson Igwebuike on 25 October, after he was found guilty of importing methamphetamine worth $10million to Canberra.

The drug, worth N3.6 billion was imported by Igwebuike to Canberra in ornate golden fish statues in October 2015, but alert security men intercepted the drugs and substituted the ice before he collected the parcel.

The drug could have had “calamitous consequences” if sold in the community, federal prosecutors told the court.

Lawyers for the 34 year-old Nigerian, a graduate of University of Benin, agreed he acted as “more than just a mere courier” when he accepted delivery of about 8.47 grams of pure ice before he attempted to board a Murrays bus to Sydney with the drugs in his bag.

An ACT Supreme Court jury found him guilty of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug in August.

Igwebuike was caught in a police sting after Australian Border Force officers intercepted packages destined for Canberra in October 2015.

His trial heard the drugs were discovered when three 20 kilogram statues that arrived in a shipping crate from China were X-rayed by officers at Port Botany on October 8.

Inside one statue of a fish they found 43 packages that contained a combined total of 10.58 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Federal police had swapped the drugs with an “inert substance” before the fish statue was put back together and repacked.

Taps of Igwebuike’s phones picked up communication between the accused and another man in Igbo and with a freight company based in Sydney.

Prosecutors said Igwebuike used the name “Solomon David” and asked the company for the package to be delivered to an address in Kaleen.

Undercover police later watched as the packages were delivered to the address and collected by Igwebuike, who took them to a second address in the same suburb.

In a phone conversation with another man soon after, Igwebuike discussed transport and meeting places in Sydney.

He was arrested as he stood in a queue at the Jolimont Centre for a Murrays bus to Sydney on October 17.

Police seized a suitcase filled with 43 packages of the drug substitute.

Igwebuike said he hadn’t known the statues had been filled with drugs.

He said he’d been approached by two men in a carpark and asked to pick up some decorative glass items.

Those men later showed up at his house after he had collected the parcels and broke the statues open, before threatening to kill his wife and destroy him if he didn’t take the drugs to Sydney, he said.

Commonwealth prosecutor Edward Chen told a sentence hearing on Tuesday that Igwebuike had maintained he had been doing a favour for a friend and wouldn’t admit he committed the crime for profit.

“The offender does not seem to demonstrate any willingness to accept responsibility for his actions,” he said.

Defence barrister James Sabharwal said Igwebuike had come to Australia to study at the University of Canberra and the fact he would not now be able to complete his postgraduate studies was a form of punishment.

Mr Sabharwal said Igwebuike had worked in the kitchen at the territory’s jail and used his income to make phone calls to his large family, including his wife, in Nigeria.

Igwebuike, who didn’t “quite gel” with other inmates and was often alone, had been in custody since his arrest and could be deported when he was released, the court heard.

Mr Sabharwal said there was no evidence Igwebuike would have benefited from a large amount of money from his involvement.

Acting Chief Justice Hilary Penfold said some comments in a letter Igwebuike had written to the court, which indicated he did accept some responsibility, raised questions as to why he maintained his innocence to a pre-sentence report author.

The leadership of the Northern Multifarious Traders Union of Nigeria (NMTUN), has urged its members across the 17 states of the North to suspend their visits to Aba market in Abia State and Onitsha market in Anambra State especially, and the entire South-East until further notice.

The Chairman and Secretary of the union, Alhaji Usman Baba Saheed and Alhaji Bashir Uba Jos, told Sunday Tribune that the decision to order their members not to patronise the two popular markets in the states was neccessitated by the killing of some of their members on September 19, by some suspected members of the proscribed IPOB, during a violent demonstration for an independent nation.

The two leaders of NMTUN said the union had been counting its losses since the ugly incidence occurred, adding that “eight corpses of their members, who were allegedly murdered during their business trips had been received, while others were declared missing.

They added that apart from the killings, other northern traders whose goods, estimated at several millions of naira, were forcefully collected by the suspected IPOB members and burnt.

“We suspended business trips to Aba and Onitsha markets until our safety is guaranteed by the state governors and leadership of the traders’ union in the states.

“It is forbidden for our members to go to the two markets for business puroses for now, because we don’t know what is going to happen to us if we visit the two markets for now.

“They killed our people unjustifiably. They burnt their goods while other members of our unions had their goods worth several millions of naira forcefully collected from them and set on fire . That was exactly what happened and we have vowed not to normalise our relationship with the leaderships of Aba and Onitsha markets in conjunction with the governors of Abia and Anambra states until we hold peaceful dialogue with the leaders on the safety of our members including us,” maintained the union leaders.

They disclosed that they were scheduled to have a meeting with the Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu on Monday (tomorrow) on the possible peaceful resolution of the faceoff between them and the south eastern counterparts, after which they said they may lift the embargo on the suspension of their members from visiting the two markets.

Ibadan—Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, yesterday gave insight into why the North is against the clamour for the restructuring of Nigeria’s politics system. restructuring Ajimobi, at the third annual lecture of Dauda Adegbenro Foundation, in Ibadan, said the North opposed the agitation because it wanted the status quo of which it is a great beneficiary, sustained.

The theme of the lecture is: “Transparency in the Extractive Industries: Driving wealth creation and sustainable revenue as solution to economic recession.”

The governor, represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr. Gbade Ojo, said there were many things wrong with the present Nigeria’s political system that restructuring would put right.

According to him, the nation’s present political system has robbed states of revenues and unless there is a reform, the second tier of government will continue to depend on handouts from the federation account.

He added that without a constitution amendment or restructuring, the state’s would remain parasites. He said amending the constitution would make states get involved in the extractive industries and boost their revenues.

He also said Nigerians must decide on the type of federalism they want to practice as no two federalism are the same.

In his lead paper at the lecture, Executive Secretary, NEITI, Mr. Waziri Adio, listed areas Nigeria should focus on to drive sustainable growth and development on the extractive industries and in Nigeria.

By Omeiza Ajayi

ABUJA: Former vice president and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Atiku Abubakar has counselled Nigerians to not swallow hook, line and sinker some of the negative reports about him in the social media, describing them as the handiwork of his detractors.

Atiku was reacting to an online media report where he was quoted to have lauded the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu for his bravery and efforts in drawing attention to the issue of restructuring.

“It has come to the notice of the Atiku Media Office that there is an opinion article titled “IPOB: Loathe or love Kanu, he has fought better – Atiku” purportedly written and signed by His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, Vice President of Nigeria, 1999-2007 and chieftain of All Progressives Congress in circulation”, Atiku said in a the disclaimer signed by his Media Adviser, Mazi Paul Ibe, Wednesday in Abuja.

According to the former vice president, “what started as the handiwork of mischief makers and their sponsors bent on tarnishing the reputation of the Waziri Adamawa was first noticed on chat rooms.

“But having found its way on the website of a reputable newspaper which obviously fell victim to the evil work of the scammers, the media office of the former Vice President is compelled to respond and to state as follows: That the article in circulation is unknown to Atiku Abubakar or Atiku Media Office; That His Excellency Atiku Abubakar never signed any opinion article with that title in circulation;

That this is the handiwork of evil people and their cowardly sponsors aimed at soiling the reputation of Atiku Abubakar and his political standing; That this signposts a wicked and deliberate plot to unleash media attack on Atiku Abubakar with a view to portraying him in bad light; That this is classical Fake News; “The Atiku Media Office urges Nigerians and the reading public to discountenance the article and to be vigilant as more of such diabolical stuff are underway”.

The Igbo are not harmless and blameless

At a wedding party in Washington DC, an Igbo DJ and a Yoruba band, alternately, entertained the guests. The beat and rhythm of the band’s music was Juju, but the lyrics were in English. The leader of the band attended the same church with the bride. So, on this exceptionally memorable day of the bride, he came, with his band, to celebrate with his sister in the Lord. The bride is of Igbo parentage but born in the United States of America.

The gathering was predominately Igbo. At a point, the Master of Ceremony of the occasion, a crude Mbaise man, blurted: this is an Igbo wedding and we do not want a Yoruba band here; he ordered the band to leave. Flustered and dispirited, the band members started packing their musical instruments.

I went over to the band leader, and asked him not to feel too bad for this is the Nigerian reality: ethnic diversity laced with tribalism. I told him that I, like some other guests, was totally indifferent to the ethnic makeup of the band playing. And that some other guests may have been offended by the presence of a Yoruba band but could tolerate it, and then, there were others, like the MC that could not tolerate it. Similarly, if this were a Yoruba wedding, and an Igbo band played, some Yoruba may not mind, some will mind but stomach it, and others will not tolerate it, and may insist on its departure.

While there is strength and virility in Nigerian diversity, it is inevitably associated with that pesky, exasperating albatross: tribalism. To varying degrees, all the major tribes of Nigeria are guilty of tribalism.

As the Nigerian information minister (during the civil war), Anthony Enahoro, denounced Igbo hegemony; he accused the Igbo of having boasted of dominating Nigeria and the entire Africa. To me, his statement was inconceivable; I could not imagine that the Igbo were ever that boastful. However, on further research, I found his statement factual. In 1945, Daddy Onyeama, at an Igbo Union meeting, said that the Igbo will not only dominate Nigeria but the whole of Africa. In 1949, Nnamdi Azikiwe said that the gods of the Igbo that have given them the domination of Nigeria will also give them the domination of Africa. That was verbal flamboyance that must have hurt the feelings and wounded the pride of other ethnic groups of Nigeria.

Interestingly, although the Igbo made conceited statements that insulted other peoples’ sensibilities, they lament tactless blusters by other Nigerians that piqued the Igbo. For example, they were unsettled by a statement attributed to the Suarduna of Sokoto, Ahmadu Bello, which said: it was the British that interrupted our (Hausa/Fulani) jihad. When the British leaves, we will continue our jihad to the south, and ultimately, dip the Koran into the Atlantic Ocean. Both the Igbo and Hausa/Fulani rodomontade were culpable of arrogance, insensitivity and thoughtlessness.

They were overconfident and indiscreet statements that bruised the insensitivity and injured the pride of others. The Igbo leaders talked about domination in business, education and the professions, as dictated by enviable Igbo cultural skills. The Hausa/Fulani leader talked about religious domination, as determined by the jihadist unhinged murderousness and proselytizing barbarity.

Rattled by the outcomes of the January 1966 coup, the decimated the Hausa/Fulani leadership and a power shift from the Hausa/Fulani to the Igbo, the Hausa/Fulani unleashed carnage against the Igbo; they murdered thousands of Igbo.

The Igbo ran to their home region and declared their own independent state of Biafra. Biafra was a reckless and impetuous enterprise that had no chance of success. As Biafra, inescapably, faltered, and tethered towards a collapse, the Igbo needed someone to blame. They sought and found scapegoats in the “sabotaging” and “back-stabbing” minorities of Biafra. They mass-murdered the minority peoples of Biafra, killing thousands of them.

Presently, most Igbo are angry, bitter and feel persecuted by other Nigerians and every Nigerian government and its policies. For example, although, since 1999, no Igbo politician has made a serious run for the presidency, many Igbo already believe that there is a conspiracy amongst other peoples of Nigeria against an Igbo presidency. Although, most heterogeneous countries of the world have quota system, in one form or another, the Igbo consider quota system in university admission an anti-Igbo policy.

That this is a national issue (with advantages and disadvantages) that, also, adversely affects the Yoruba, Edo and all southerners, are facts the Igbo do not want to get in their way. And incredibly, many Igbo think that the Fulani herdsmen, despite their ravages of communities in Benue, Kaduna, etc are primarily targeting the Igbo, and that their attacks on none Igbo communities are just ploys to give an orchestrated anti-Igbo onslaught a coloration of a national problem. Clinging to the lies we were fed in Biafra, we believe that we are a blameless and harmless people surrounded, hated and victimized by murderous and vengeful peoples of Nigeria. And, as such, our only saving grace is in secession. It is this groundless belief that is fueling the neo-Biafran lunacy and the muddled enthusiasm for it among many Igbo youths.

The renowned American diplomat, John Galbraith, once wrote that, “Every human endeavor is geared towards the acquisition of power and glory”. Power, in this context, is protean; it includes political power, the power of a teacher over his students, a wife, over her husband’s patience and bank account and a toddler, over the mother’s time and mood. Essentially, we are all driven by the same basic interests – power and glory. Secondly, no one is really angelic or totally demonic. In their song, Ebony and Ivory, Paul McCarthy and Steve Wonder sang, “There is good and bad in everyone”. Like any other group of humanity, the Igbo have their strengths and weakness, with the capacity for both good and bad. Like other major ethnic groups of Nigeria, the Igbo, have, in the quest for power and glory, been insensitive and arrogant, exploitative and inconsiderate, and vicious and murderous. And, like the Hausa/Fulani, we have massacred, in thousands, those that stood in the way of our political ambitions.

The Igbo desperately need to appreciate that they are not blameless and harmless, and that the other peoples of Nigeria are not a band of the vengeful and murderous united in a common plot to annihilate the Igbo. This will enable us to value the good in other Nigerians, and thus, resolve to live in peace, and forge a common future, with them in a united Nigeria.

By Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria.

freeze001:
And this is for someone in morbid fear for his life having watched his family members, unarmed youths and even d family dog bite the bullet in real terms? If it were u, be honest, would u not be afraid for ur life? Did the army come with any valid warrant of arrest or they came as a force determined to overcome a violent foe? Just stop and think then ask urself who is responsible for the current impasse: the Nig govt through the army or an unarmed civilian with nothing but his mouth, young, shortchanged youths and some sticks and bottles.

freeze001:
If he is in hiding will he tell his sureties where he's hiding? Do they have access to him?

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SIMON EBEGBULEM, BENIN CITY

Hon. Charles Idahosa was Special Adviser to former Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State. He is one man who has seen it all in the politics of the state and currently that of the All Progressives Congress (APC). Political Bulldozer, as he is fondly called, clocked 64 last Thursday. To mark the occasion, he spoke with Sunday Vanguard on some issues of national importance. Excerpts:


How do you feel at 64

Charles Idahosa It has been great. I thank God for His mercies. For one to clock 64 in a third world country like this is a big achievement when you consider our life expectancy. God has been very nice to me. It has been a very long political journey and I am grateful to God to have been able to mark 64 and I am looking forward to 65 and God willing 70.


What do you make of the IPOB threat?

The truth of the matter is that Nigeria is like a theatre of the absurd. I said a few months ago that corruption will fight back. And what are you are seeing today? Is corruption not fighting back? All the agitations here and there, they are being stage managed to distract the APC federal government, led by President Muhammadu Buhari, from getting to where it wants Nigeria to be. The campaign programme of the APC and President Muhammadu Buhari was to clear the mess left behind by the former administration.

And, of course, the money stolen during the PDP administration and now in the hands of individuals is so much that you do not expect government to just fold its arms. And the corruption that is fighting back is coming in different forms and all kinds of devices. All those campaigning for secession in the name of IPoB, where were they since? These are political gimmicks designed to derail the APC led government ahead of the 2019 presidential election. Unfortunately, we live in a country of very many unserious people. This thing could have been tackled in a way that nobody would have known that such a thing happened.

We made Nnamdi Kanu important. A 36-year-old who never saw the civil war. I witnessed the civil war and I know what war is. In war, a mother will deny her child; a father will run in a direction while the children run in another. So, when Kanu and his cohorts started talking because people were sponsoring them, it made me feel sad.


How do you see the calls for restructuring?

What is restructuring? What is devolution of power and what is confederation? What led to the civil war? What is ‘on Aburi we stand?’ Is that not what we are still fighting today? When Nigeria was at the peak of the crisis in 1966 and Nigeria was going to disintegrate, they went to Aburi, Ghana. General Gowon presided and they did not allow any civilian to be there. Gowon, Ojukwu and a few other people attended the meeting. I think the only civilian that was there was then Prince Akenzua who later became the Oba of Benin, the father of the present Oba as federal Permanent Secretary. Ojukwu said Igbo wanted confederation, a weak centre and powerful regions.

And by the time the meeting ended, Gowon signed. That was the Aburi Accord which provided that Nigeria will now go back to confederation because Aguiyi Ironsi, at the inception of military rule had concentrated political power at the centre, and northerners, who were far behind in development, kicked against it (Aburi Accord). All the positions that the Igbo are crying of being denied today, head of the army, Governor of the Central Bank, Senate President, were occupied by them. And after they toppled Aguiyi Ironsi, things changed. Let’s go back before then, there was regionalism. Each region was developing at its own pace. Back to your question, what is restructuring? Politics is a game of numbers; politics means the sharing of the dividends of democracy.

The constitution has taken care of restructuring because every state has a minister in the federal cabinet. Each local government must have a commissioner at the state level; so, there is proper representation at all levels. If you people need restructuring, because I heard people complain about how appointments are shared, how do you expect the APC to give equal Boards appointments to the South-East that voted 90 per cent for the PDP (at the last presidential election)? Do you expect the President to compensate those who did not vote for him? Is that one done anywhere in a democracy?

My late friend Gaddafi (Samson Ekhabafe), who was then Attorney General in Edo State, once explained something like this to us in 2003 in an exco meeting. Governor Lucky Igbinedion was presiding when information came to us that there was a protest at the Government House gates. So, Igbinedion asked the deputy governor, Ogiadomhe, to go and find out what was amiss and when he (Oghiadohme) came back, he said some people from Akoko-Edo were protesting because their king had been deposed and detained for the past one month. And Lucky (Igbinedion) did not even know.

So, he turned to Gaddafi, who was from that area, and asked him what happened. And Gaddafi said he personally dethroned the traditional ruler because he worked against the PDP in an election then. Lucky was angry and asked why he (Ekhabafe) did not inform him before doing a thing like that. But, surprisingly, Gaddafi said he did not know he was supposed to tell the governor. Lucky said he could not do that and ordered that the man should be re-instated. I will never forget that statement from Gaddafi. In a nutshell, I think people are not following what the constitution says.

The South-East did not vote for the APC; so, you don’t expect them to get what others who voted for the APC are getting. And the calls for restructuring of the nation are from the opposition PDP that lost the 2015 presidential election. What I think we should be talking about is devolution of power. Let the states have more power and we can have a weak centre. Let the centre be in charge of the economy, external affairs and defence.

Electricity, water, transportation should be left to the states which should then explore the minerals available in their areas of jurisdiction and pay tax to the centre.


Boom

That was what we were doing when we had the cocoa and rubber boom and the West was able to build the first high rise building, the first stadium, the first television station in Africa and started free education before the East and the North followed. The English of restructuring, I am not into it. Buhari will pursue the anti – corruption war because that is part of what he said he was coming to do. So, if they are distracting him so that people will not notice the good works the APC government is doing and you allow them to succeed, then this country is finished. We have less than 16 months to go for the next presidential election.


How do you assess the Obaseki administration of Edo State?

I think the governor is okay; the people are happy but the party leaders might not be happy with him. That is my assessment of the situation. I have served under many governors. I was a council Chairman under two military governors. I served under former Governor Ambrose Alli and the rest of them. People come with different styles. You will be deceiving yourself if you think when Obaseki was coming that he did not have his own agenda. So, I am sure that is the area he is concentrating on.

As far as I am concerned, I see the people, I interact a lot, the people are very happy especially in the area of the administration cracking down on thugs. You can now pass through Ring Road and Oba Market without any body harassing you. But we politicians in the state are not so happy because what we are used to has changed so drastically. We wanted a situation that the transformation will be gradual which was exactly what I told Obaseki but that does not mean he is not doing what is right. I had opportunity to tell him that all these things ‘you are doing, you have to take it bit by bit’. So he is doing well. I have no problem with him as is being rumoured everywhere.

Obaseki is trying to open the state up for investors but, above all, there is sanity which we all are happy about but we too want sanity in our stomachs.


On alleged bickering in Edo APC

One thing people do not understand about politicians is that even though some of us are not happy, that does not mean that when election comes, we will vote PDP. When election comes, we will first of all win before we begin our quarrel again.

Whatever disagreement we have with the governor does not affect our relationship with the party during elections. It is normal. If you ask our people (politicians) why they are not happy, they will tell you we cannot go to the Government House any longer despite the fact that the governor is from our party. This is what our leaders were used to but, now, we cannot go there anymore.