By Partick Omorodion
Don’t be deceived by this headline because I am not campaigning for  either candidate in Wednesday’s Edo state gubernatorial elections. I am neither a PDP or an APC card carrying member and I don’t have right to vote in the election because I am not registered in Edo state.

Both candidates, with two others, recently stood before an audience in a debate organised by Channels television. However, a colleague in the office and himself a former international athlete, Mr Victor Omoregie drew my attention to the fact that the Channels television moderator nor his colleague throwing questions at the candidates couldn’t ask the candidates any question on what their plans for Edo sports were.

Even if the Channels crew failed to ask the candidates any question on sports, they also failed to tell the audience and Edo people their plans to resuscitate sports in the state. They forget that sports remains the biggest industry that employs the youths of the state. That sports, which was taken to an unassailable height during the time of Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia as governor of the Midwest region/Bendel, made the state the pride of Nigeria at the time.

Ize-Iyamu and Obasek

I have also followed the campaigns of both candidates and their parties and they carry on as if they are campaigning to people of Ebonyi, Taraba or even Ekiti states, where sports is not taken as a serious business maybe because they are short of talents in the sector. None of them has thought it wise to carry sports men and women along, none, to the best of my knowledge, has even gone to campaign to them.

For Edo state which produced great athletes like Felix Imadiyi, Maria Usifo, Charlton Ehizuelen and Peter Okodogbe, among others, sports is serious business. What about footballers like Humphrey Edobor, Friday Elaho, the late Thompson Oliha, Bright Omokaro, etc. A state that once boasted of great football clubs like Insurance Football Club, New Nigerian Football Club and Flash  Flamingos Football Club should have sports in its front bunner.

Even after the old state, Bendel was split into Edo and Delta, Edo still held sway, sometimes relinquishing its top spot to Delta. Is that the state where sports should be ignored by those clamouring to occupy the Government House? Meaning that like others before them, sports men and women would not be heard nor their welfare considered again?

Are these leading candidates in the Edo election telling the sports men and women that they don’t count, that their future will remain bleak and they should just forget sports and take to other means of livelihood?

Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu should know the role of sports in the economy of any state or country if well harnessed. Haven’t they heard of Jamaica and what athletics is doing for them? Coming back home, didn’t they read how recently, Kelechi Iheanacho, who just shot to limelight only yesterday, got an increment in pay to 85,000 pounds a week (close to N35 million)? Just for playing football. At that rate he earns about N140 million a month. Which other business both Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu are promising to bring to Edo state will give the youths that kind of money?

There are many more Iheanachos in Edo state, either already discovered but wasting away or waiting to be discovered and may never get to because of the relegation of sports by succeeding governments since after the era of Dr. Ogbemudia.

Beginning from the outgoing APC government of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole pushing hard for Obaseki to succeed it because of continuity back to 1990 when Edo state was created, the sports sector has remained neglected or to be mild on them, received just a lip service attention.

Put side by side, Delta state has moved far ahead of Edo in sports. Delta did not only overtake Edo, it has added more facilities to the ones built during the era of Dr. Ogbemudia. It has sports facilities dotted across the state from Asaba to Warri, Oghara, Ogwashi-Uku and Agbor, to mention a few. Not to talk of the effort of the State Polytechnic at Ozoro which just completed a 14000 capacity mini stadium with the support of the state government. If Comrade Oshiomhole who is working tirelessly for Obaseki paid lip service to sports in his eight years in office, what is the fate of the sector under a man who served under him? More so as he has failed so far to tell the people his plan for sports. Ize-Iyamu served Chief Lucky Igbinedion and Oshiomhole too at a time and if these two men also never took sports seriously, what assurance does the sector have that the PDP government of Ize-Iyamu will also look at its direction.

Igbinedion was governor before Oshiomhole but the best he did was a cosmetic support for sports. He never added to what Ogbemudia left behind like his Delta counterpart, James Ibori did but just ‘pan-caked’ the old Ogbe Stadium now renamed Samuel Ogbemudia stadium. Oshiomhole will always beat his chest about the Okpekpe Road race but what progress has that brought to Edo sports? Apart from opening up Okpekpe and Edo north to tourism, the state has not really benefited from the annual event as the winners of the top prizes have remained foreigners because, marathon is not our area of strength but the short sprints and track events.  The Afuze camp Ogbemudia developed that made Bendel state great in sports is not too far from Okpekpe and both towns are in the Edo North Senatorial zone which Oshiomhole kind of concentrated on but one wonders why he failed to look in that direction. Again maybe because sports was never his priority.

I can’t also remember what the APC Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun did for sports in his almost two years as the first civilian governor of Edo state under the Social Democratic Party, SDP between January 1992 and November 1993. Even the military Administrators, Col. John Yeri, 1990-1992, Col. Mohammed Onuka, 1993-1994, Col. Bassey Asuquo, 1994-1996, Group Captain Baba Adamu Iyam, 1996-1998, Nay Captain Anthony Onyearugbulem, 1998-1999 didn’t do much except release money for athletes to attend some national competitions. Professor Oserheimen  Osunbor couldn’t do much either in his short  18 months as governor.  So who, between Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu can replicate what Ogbemudia did or even go near it. Since non of them mentioned sports in their campaign, sports men and women in Edo state are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea. They have to choose the one they feel could remember sports, believing that the non mention of sports during their campaigns was an oversight.