By Oboh Agbonkhese

THE former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, has been accused of treating Esan people, one of the largest ethnic groups in the state as a conquered nation, with the deposing of the Onojie of Uromi, Zaiki Aidenojie II, few days to the end of his tenure as governor.

Adams Oshiomhole

One of the chiefs in the state; the Esogban of Ubiaja, Chief Omochiere Aisagbonhi, told newsmen in Lagos that Oshiomhole’s parting gift to Esanland was an alleged attack on culture, urging Governor Godwin Obaseki to immediately reinstate the monarch to prevent the collapse of traditional institution.

According to Aisagbonhi, who is also the Gbobamoyegun of Ikeja: “I am not in support of anybody, including a monarch, assaulting anyone. If the Uromi monarch is accused of such, there are laws. This is why I say this act is politically-motivated and if Governor Obaseki does not reverse it, the system will fight back.”

He contended that in Esan, a monarch’s stool was neither appointive nor rotational, but hereditary, based on the principle of primogeniture, “which is why it is a threat to our traditional institution. And any Esan man that did not walk out of the meeting where this decision was taken is cursed.”

He said Esanland was marginalised by Oshiomhole, except for the few who kept mute because of personal gains, adding that “docility on the part of Nigerians is why a handful of political leaders have fooled over 180 million people.”