CONSIDER Act 1, Scene 1: Oshiomhole rushed to the residence of the rice man, Kenneth Imansuangbon, a day after his loss at the PDP primaries to procure his support for the battle ahead.

The Comrade Governor was acting on the premise that Imansuangbon has become irretrievably aggrieved. Has Imansuangbon crossed the Rubicon? I doubt.

Act 1, Scene 2: He also reportedly met with Major Matthew Iduoriyekhemen (retd.) who came third in the primary.

There were reports that he was the one who funded Iduoriyekhemen who is also from Edo South to split the delegates’ votes from the zone.  Iduoriyekhemen scored 94 votes most of which came from the zone, while 100 of Imansuagbon’s 178 votes came from the zone as against 107 of Airhiavbere’s 403 votes from the zone. Will    Iduoriyekhemen, a beneficiary of PDP’s considerations for public offices in the past, lend himself to Oshiomhole’s desperate re-election tactics? I also doubt.

Act 1, Scene 3: The Comrade Governor headed for Iruekpen on Thursday, March 8, in the guise of inspecting the water project purportedly executed by the state government in the area, to meet with former Governor Osunbor whom he displaced from office through the court and consequently ordered that his (Osunbor) photographs should be removed from the walls of the State House offices since he was an illegal governor.

Coming out of the support seeking close-door meeting with Osunbor, whom he had told the world did nothing in Edo, the Governor assured Osunbor that he would complete all the projects he initiated during his 18-month administration.  So Osunbor was executing projects?

It is good that Oshiomhole is unraveling in the face of PDP’s real threat.  I understand that Oshiomhiole has directed that Osunbor’s photographs be returned to the walls of his office where the photographs of former governors adorn.

Although reports indicated that Osunbor expressed readiness to support Oshiomhole to use the instrument of governance to touch the people’s lives, certainly the theme of the dramatic visit was as suspect as the essence of the political schema.  For Osunbor, the visit might be salutary to the redefinition of his relevance in the politics of Edo State.  But the political leadership of Osunbor’s Esan land (Edo Central) is a settled issue: It is in the hands of Anenih.

Let us read Osunbor on the Oshiomhole visit in response to a journalist’s question: “If we have a governor who is developing the state, why should we complain? The reason I am in politics is to touch the people.  My interest is service to the people and our people love you because that is what you are doing.

The Governor has given me the opportunity by assuring me that those projects which I could not complete while I was in office will be completed…”.

It is expected that Oshiomhole should visit the fourth aspirant in the primary, Professor Julius Ihonvbere.  Or does Ihonvbere not amount to anything simply because he comes from the same Edo North with him?  Perhaps he thinks Edo North people will settle for governor which he is already and nothing less….  Oshiomhole’s next dramatic move is worth seeing.

This is an interesting time in the political voyage of Oshiomhole; for how does one rationalize his running helter-skelter in Edo ahead of the governorship battle in July?  Why has he decided to come down from his high horse?  Is it that he has now realised that he does not own Edoland and therefore cannot railroad himself on the people on July 14?  Doubtless, his dramatics have betrayed the deep-seated convolution that has set into his re-election permutations and calculations with the emergence of a solid PDP candidate from Edo South.

Mr. HABIB ENAKHIMION, a political commentatator, wrote  from Auchi, Edo State.