Simon Ebegbulem, Benin City

Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, a former President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and immediate past governor of Edo State, clocks 65 on Tuesday. He was born on April 4, 1952 in Iyamho, near Auchi in today’s Edo State, into the humble family of Alhaji Aliyu Oshiomhole (of blessed memory) and Alhaja Aishetu Oshiomhole. With the restoration of democracy to Nigeria in 1999, Oshiomhole became the 4th President of the NLC.   As NLC President, Oshiomhole built the labour movement as an independent, militant and socially responsive fighting organization.Under Oshiomhole’s leadership, the NLC became the number one defender of the rights and welfare of the working people.   Thus, Oshiomhole led the NLC and the rest of the Nigerian people to resist arbitrary increases in the prices of petroleum products.  He  led the strikes, demonstrations and protests, which decisively helped to moderate the Obasanjo administration on its harsh fuel pricing policy and other social and economic policies, which would have endangered the welfare of the people.

Oshiomhole’s leadership secured significant salary increases for all workers in the country, the last being the 15% increase in salaries for workers across the board.   Under him, the NLC became the most popular and influential non-state actor in the country and the effective opposition to the ruling party.

Oshiomhole

In April, 2007, he was overwhelmingly elected the governor of Edo State on the platform of  Action Congress but the mandate stolen. The mandate was restored on November 11, 2008 by the Court of Appeal.   On November 12, 2008, he was formally sworn in as governor.

As governor, Oshiomhole adopted what is now popularly referred to as a participatory, people-driven and bottom-up approach to governance.   This is based on his well-advertised campaign slogan: Let the People Lead.   He shunned the bogus title of executive governor and did  not tolerate the pretentious appellation of His Excellency.   To Edo people, Adams Oshiomhole was simply and truly the Comrade-Governor, People’s Governor or just  Comrade.   As the foremost apostle of “One Man/Woman, One Vote” and the most thorough-going visionary and transformer that the Edo people have seen in a generation, Oshiomhole was rewarded with  a second term in 2012. Even as governor his service at the national level was in high demand. For instance, the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua requested him to help negotiate the stalemate that led to a three-month strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Oshiomhole did not fail to deliver.

When he became the governor of Edo state, there was this fear that labour leaders don’t do well in power, but Oshiomhole proved such people wrong by delivering the goods in Edo. He inherited a state with decayed infrastructure and  held hostage by powerful politicians. The comrade did not complain rather he started the battle by ensuring that his party, the then ACN, get the majority in the state House of Assembly and eventually took over the leadership of the House. With the help of the people in Edo state, Oshiomhole enthroned the APC in the 18 local government  areas of the state and retired political god fathers who dared him.  He constructed solid roads with walk ways and street lights across the state and provided water especially in Edo Central where it was believed that it was difficult to extract water from the ground. He is adored in most homes in the nook and cranny of the state due to his uncommon humility, service to humanity, protecting the poor and he demystified governance.

As he celebrates his 65th birthday, Oshiomhole is one politician that has been so lucky due to what he was able to achieve in politics. During the tail end of his administration, there was this fear that the internal politics of his party the APC, may stop him from producing a successor. And flowing from the fact that it happened in some states where governors failed to produce their successor, Oshiomhole like a warrior he has been, went into battle, rallied his foot soldiers such the current deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, the Secretary to the State Government, Osarodion Ogie, his then Political Adviser, Charles Idahosa and many others, to ensure the emergence of Godwin Obaseki, the then Chairman of the state Economic and Strategic Team, as the APC governorship candidate.  And during the presidential election, Oshiomhole worked doggedly for President Muhammadu Buhari in Edo and the President got 40 per cent of the votes in the state, despite the fact that the PDP  presidential candidate, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, hails from the South-South zone where Edo is located.

At 65, Oshiomhole should be proud that today, his party is in power at the center, he successfully installed a successor in the person of Obaseki, he is the state caucus leader of the APC and married to beautiful lara. The Omokpa Nabevbo of Auchi Kingdom, the Ozemoya of Uneme Land, the Oneshioze of Okpella Kingdom, the Adolo of Esan Land, Oshiosinua (divine redeemer) of Afemailand is a proud father of   five children – Cyril, a medical doctor, Winnie, also a medical doctor, Jane, an accountant, Steve and Adams Jnr., from his late wife, Comrade Clara Oshiomhole.