Mr  Johnbull Adaghe, an Abuja based legal practitioner who is keenly interested in the politics of Edo State in this interview spoke on the politics of Edo and factors that will shape the 2012 governorship election at which Comrade Adams Oshiomhole will be seeking re-election. Excerpts:

BY BEN AGANDE

Edo is the only state in the South South geopolitical zone that is in the hands of the opposition Action Congress of Nigeria. What in your opinion does this portend?

The South-Ssouth over the years has been a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stronghold. You are alert to what happened how the fracas between the then governor of Edo State Chief Lucky Igbinedion  and Chief Tony Anennih culminated into the then governor Lucky Igbinedion picking Oshiomhole and preparing the ground for him to come and contest under the  Action Congress of Nigeria after they have had series of controversy with the Leader Chief Tony Anenih.

Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is a beneficiary of the rule of law. Now the question is, has he been operating in accordance with the rule of law in the state? The obvious answer is ‘no.’ I will give you an instance. The local government councils in Edo State have been dissolved since December 2010 and caretaker committees have been appointed and the local governments are been ruled as we speak by these committees.

By the provisions of  the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, the administration of local government council under a democratically elected leadership is guaranteed.  So Oshiomhole is the only government in opposition in the South-South and he is the only governor in South-South, who benefitted from the rule of law from the judgment of the election petition tribunal and he is also the governor that ought to have led by example that is running an illegal government at the local government level.

Despite all these things, the governor seems to enjoy a strong approval of the people. What will you attribute it to?

One of the major reasons why he seems to have the support of the people is because when the people remember where they are coming from and where they are, they are tempted to make a choice. It would seem that in the past, the people never had what we call democracy dividend. I would tell you that the era of Igbinedion was a misrule.

There was not a kilometer of road that was tarred in the whole of Edo State. So if Oshiomhole is able to tar one or two kilometres of road for them, people are bound to judge based on what was obtainable in the past. So invariably, that would give him an edge because the people came from an empty background and now they are beginning to see some progress though the cost of that progress is questionable. So that is the factor that is responsible.

The recent election in the state has generated some controversies especially as regards the sacking of some commissioners or political appointees who were seen not to have delivered their constituencies to ACN.  What does that tell you of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole?

The comrade governor’s  style of governance is aimed at  polarizing the state whereby the three dominant ethnic groups are being pitched against each other. The style of governance of the governor creates an in_built suspicion among the various ethnic groups. It makes the Bini man not to believe in the Esan man, the Esan man not to believe in the Afemai man. They all suspect one another because of his style of governance.

The governor seem to believe that without the Esan people, the Edo Central, he will be able to win the re_election provided he holds the Edo South  and the Edo North. But he has forgotten that, a reasonable percentage of the people in Edo South where you have the state capital, are non_indigenes of Edo South. He equally forgot that most Esan people are based there and  they have reasonable population in Benin.

If for example, in reality voting is going to be based on ethnic sentiment, the way he had made people to
believe over this time,  it is true that after the National Assembly election, the ruling party in the state,  ACN lost the senatorial district and the House of Representatives seat in Edo Central. The governor sacked indigenes of Edo Central, the Esan people in cabinet, commissioners and special advisers and he was quoted as saying  that those who did not take part in the baking of the cake, will not take part in the sharing of the cake. In essence, that the sharing of political appointment is going to be based on how well you are able to deliver your constituency.

The impression it gives me about the governor is that, he does not even believe in what he preaches, the doctrine of one man one vote. If as the election has been credited to be very free and fair and it is accepted that the election was free and fair, it therefore means that the principle of one man one vote worked and the people defended their votes and what we saw was the will of the people.

Then why will you now say that it is on the basis of how you are able to deliver that appointment will be given? Invariably, the impression given by the governor is that he does not believe in the principle of one man one vote.  He does not believe in the power of the ballot paper. It means that he no longer considers the competence of an individual in his appointment of persons into cabinet. It follows therefore that if a garage leader is able to deliver, it is that garage leader that you are going to give appointment into the executive council of Edo State. That again is going to hinder productivity.

Then the second point which is most crucial is that you are telling those people that because you lost I am sacking you from office. You are now telling them to resort to self_help measures in the electoral process. You are encouraging rigging, that the people must rig. For people who politics is their only business, if they are sacked because they are unable to deliver and because they are interested in regaining that job, the possibility of resorting to self_help is very high.