By SUNNY IKHIOYA

IN the past few months, the mass media have been abuzz with the news of a schism between the Governor of Edo State and his deputy, Philip Shaibu. One would have thought that it was something that could be quickly resolved between them, but with each passing day, the whole thing appears to be escalating. I believe it’s all part of the dirty politics that we practise in this country. What could be so serious between them that they have resorted to this embarrassing face-off? Both the governor and his deputy must know that by their actions, they are wittingly or unwittingly embarrassing every concerned citizen of the state.

Arrogant behaviours are not synonymous with sustainable relationships, but humility is. It allows for discretion that enables you to identify mistakes and correct them, and that is the quality every leader must possess. Can’t two colleagues disagree over issues without bringing the roof down? Is it wrong for a deputy governor to have the ambition of becoming governor after the reign of his principal? Has the governor any right to lock his deputy out of office?

Is the ticket of the governor and his deputy not a joint one? What are the roles of party leaders in all of these? If the deputy governor had said he was sorry to the governor, is it proper for the governor to continue to subject his deputy to further humiliations? Is the rumour true that the governor is unforgiving of people’s trespasses?

The whole situation can be likened to the popular fable of a man who tied his son to the stake and left him outside for stealing a piece of meat from the pot. People going to the market in the morning saw the child tied to the stake, and when they found out the reason for this, they all concurred that it served him right. On their return from the market in the evening, they still found the child tied to the stake. This time their countenance changed; a child was tied to the stake from morning until evening because of a piece of meat. They concluded that the man is a wicked man, and instead of the child, the blame is now on the father. This is my thinking as it concerns the matter between Governor Obaseki and his deputy.

Obaseki must have other things in mind apart from Shaibu’s governorship ambition for him to go to this length with the discord. It is the turn of the Edo Central Senatorial District to produce the next governor, and this fact is known to everyone. If Shaibu chooses to put his hat in the ring, that will be to his own detriment, and it is left for the people to decide. Obaseki is not from the central zone and, therefore, should not be crying more than the bereaved.

The Edo central zone had enough men of calibre who could fight for and claim what rightly belonged to them. As it is now in Edo State, everyone is sitting and watching; not even the state House of Assembly is making any attempt to bring any settlement to the embarrassing situation. It would appear that banana peels have been placed on the road for Shaibu; he took a preemptive decision by taking the matter to an Abuja high court, but he had retraced his step from that path. The way things are going, Shaibu will know no peace until he is removed from office, which will be a big dent in his political record. That is why he is in such a precarious situation, coupled with the fact that he had already ditched his political godfather, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, in the war for the position of governor in the last election and supported Obaseki with all he had at stake.

A more forthright and principled person will just throw in the towel, but where will Shaibu run if he chooses that path? Those that he had mocked in the past are now waiting to have their own pounds of flesh, and Obaseki does not seem to understand the holistic consequences of his present disposition towards Shaibu.

By the way, it is designed in the Constitution for both the governor and his deputy to be sworn in together, rule together, and be expected to leave together at the end of their tenures. For Shaibu, his fate is hanging in the balance, that is why he must tread carefully. The silence of the state House of Assembly and elders/officials of the PDP in the state can be likened to that of the grave yard: very ominous. If he takes any wrong step he is gone. Ideally, it requires a very difficult process to remove a deputy governor from office, but the Nigerian politicians have made mincemeat of it. A charge can be brought against a deputy governor, read on the floor, and immediately impeachment is carried out. It will succeed, and no force will stop it. What are the lessons from all of these? You cannot depend on men.

Obaseki and Shaibu ate together, were in the trenches together against the opposition, and today they have become enemies. Choices for governorship should not be based on sentiments or friendship but on competence and the ability to deliver on the party’s manifestos. We have seen cases where godfathers and their preferred candidates became arch enemies immediately after the godsons were sworn into power. We have seen Kwankwaso and Ganduje, Aregbesola and Oyetola, Oshiomhole and Obaseki, and many others. Therefore, the party structure should be placed on a very strong democratic foundation to produce the best candidate. In the United States of America, Donald Trump did all he could to subvert due process, but the same Justices that he appointed are the same persons indicting him for criminal offenses.

Fortunately for Edo State, it is populated by experienced and enlightened individuals, and they have succeeded in removing the behemoth of godfatherism from their political trajectory, with Oshiomhole on Anenih and Obaseki on Oshiomhole. It is, therefore, imperative for Obaseki to allow this trend to continue. He should not attempt to manipulate the process for his chosen candidate to emerge.

He must allow a free and fair process to enable a democratically elected person to emerge. The people of Edo State must stand for equity and justice; they must not allow our hard-earned democracy to be messed up by the whims and caprices of individuals. Both Obaseki and Shaibu must be called to order so that peace can reign in the land. 

•Ikhioya wrote via www.southsouthecho.com