By JOHN OSAKUE

Amidst the sounds of revelry and thanksgiving over the verdict of the Edo State Election Tribunal sitting in Abuja, which affirmed the victory of Senator Monday Okpebholo at the gubernatorial election held on 21st September 21, 2024, an Edo aphorism flashed to my mind and it states this: “You can tell a child that is ready to work hard in the farm by his preparations at home and his attitude on the way to the farm”. Senator Okpebholo has since assumption of office demonstrated that he is not only a man of convictions and solid character, but imbued in the pristine cultural values and communal empathy that define our people. 

Character is everything in life and that is why it is said that when character is lost, all is lost. It is the noblest of all possessions in leadership and governance. Interestingly, Aristotle’s time-tested notion of a virtuous character which lays emphasis on ‘reason and practical wisdom’ is again validated as always.   No where has Okpebholo exemplified strength of character, organisational capacity and statesmanship than the effective handling and containment of the recent inflammable incident in Uromi. It was a masterpiece in crisis management that should humble the pedantic and self conflicted technocratic behemoths of the immediate ugly past.  

Mahatma Gandhi seemingly corroborated the role of character building in the society when he said: “True education must correspond to the surrounding circumstances or it is not a healthy growth.” He always viewed education as an all-round development and not just as literacy. Thus, reemphasizing the premium placed on action and practical wisdom by Aristotle. The philosophical exposition of both icons are chilling rebuttals of the kind of education that produces men of eloquence and wit of words in favour of the one that produces good knowledge of the environment and practical action that positively impact the society. 

Indeed the importance of education is the value that it brings to the workplace or the society and how such values impact positively on the community. It thus appear, that the wisdom of those who railed behind the candidacy of Senator Monday Okpebholo in the primaries and through his election to the exalted office of Governor stand vindicated considering the steady strides he is making less than a year in office to the chagrin of his traducers. The sign of adequate preparation referred in the aphorism of the opening statement is apparently making all the difference.  

Gleaned from the last two decades of the Fourth Republic, Governor Okpebholo’s pace in practical governance is nonpareil. Daring to plunge headlong into the challenging arena of bricks and mortar, including budget preparations within weeks after inauguration is unprecedented. Time extenuates evil and wears away bad memories but not so fast: recall that in the last dispensation, the then technocratic overseer made not less 150 trips abroad in the first year in office shopping for investors to take the Gelegele Seaport project off the ground. 

That was proudly clutched to his chest as achievements and many benighted co-travellers cheered and goaded him on. For a whole year, he was an insular sole administrator without the complement of a state executive council and banning visitors from Government House. It may have lately dawned on the responsible members of the public that the humongous investment of Edo resources on Gelegele project was never intended to achieve all the beautiful things said about it. It was a scam! Talk shops were organised ad nauseam; brainstorming, theorising, planning and articulating with no single shovel or rake mobilised to any site. Comparatively, Okpebholo has within the first 100 days and beyond embarked major projects and set a confidence inspiring tone of his administration; one that is self-motivated and in a hurry to deliver enduring legacies.  

Most importantly, a beautiful canopy of real peace and tranquility has descended on the State since the coming of Okpebholo. Not the peace that keeps people trembling on their knees begging the despot to spare their lives and properties from unjust destruction and certainly, not the false peace that denies the people their values and essence. Imagine the gruesome bloodbath and absolute chaos that could have possibly ensued if the standoff over artifacts between the Palace and Benin(Edo) people on one side and Obaseki and the conspiratorial former Enigies on the other had escalated out of control? 

The man who stops a war before it starts is the real victor or hero. There is no good war and no bad peace. Pursuit of peace is a triumph of wisdom, good education and good character! It must be specially noted that history is replete with tragic examples of flawed characters who have done irreparable damage to great civilizations. It is exhilarating to exit from that destructive trajectory personified by a soulless demagogue.  

The sponsors and campaigners of Okpebholo branded him as someone with the capacity to overcome barriers with grit. He was portrayed as resilient and a muleheaded battler. From his local community, the public was informed of his public works accomplishments and altruistic spirit. For once, many could relate with the deliberate effort of campaigners to spotlight critical leadership qualities and build public support around it. Hitherto, the state slipped into the hands of the heavily laundered image of ‘local colonialists’ for lack of a better term. 

These are citizens who had lost track with their roots and disconnected from their communities by decades of living abroad. 

You cannot successfully govern a people if you are disconnected from their local values, the echo of their hearts and temperament. Such attempts, and we have just been weaned of one, in virtually every geo-political zone have almost always ended disastrously. With honesty of purpose, which is often lacking, tangible growth and development in all fronts are possible. The energy, alacrity and commitment which defines Okpebholo’s pragmatic governance philosophy looks very promising so far judging by his steady strides in infrastructure, agriculture, education, health, water and energy, etc., which have laid out a clear path to a furious pace of social and economic transformation of the state. 

This is gulfs apart from builders of imaginary towers of ideas and the theoretical boondoggling of past subterfuge. Not only were the people mesmerized with highfalutin promises of economic boom but they were coerced into quiescent acceptance unfulfilled promises such as Gelegele Seaport, industrial parks and industrialisation of the state, construction of cement roads, agribusiness for food and industry, etc.

With divided attention associated with the Election Tribunal challenge largely diminished by the recent victory deservingly secured, it is expected that the Governor will concentrate more on driving his transformational agenda with single minded commitment and focus. While delivering on electoral promises to the people, it is imperative to strike a balance by prioritising the extension of patronage to party members. Party members who assiduously worked hard for the Governor’s election did so in the hope of guaranteed patronage within the area of their competence. Patronage is a global political tool that energises the party and helps to hold it together for future engagements. However, the Governor must be wary and vigilantly alert to the hawks and carrion eaters flocking around him as each of them have proven to be captives of crass self-interest and avarice while playing down on the interest of the more important valiant party foot-soldiers without godfathers. The determination of the Governor to make a difference will be more prolific and efficiently driven without these extraneous interlopers pretending to be the Governor’s think-tank. Edo citizens, including sworn opposition critics, are increasingly becoming confident, trustful and even exhilarated by Governor Okpebholo’s early steady strides and his single minded dedication to the execution of socio-economic programmes. The world has placed the state on the radar of good governance watch ready to offer him the diadem of the champion of good and progressive governance at the end of the first tenure that promises to be extraordinarily coruscating.

*Osakue, a political commentator,   wrote from Benin City.