THERE is never a dull moment in our dear country, Nigeria. There is always something of interest to talk about — some of them serious issues, like the 2025 national budget which one senator alleged its implementation has not even started, to ridiculous gaffes by some of our eminent citizens in high places.

Earlier in April, another humanitarian crisis erupted in Benue State, and Mr Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections announced an intention to visit the state and commiserate with victims and survivors. However, in a response, the state governor, Hyacinth Alia, a Catholic reverend father, announced to the whole world that he could not guarantee the safety of any individual or group visiting Benue without his knowledge or clearance.

According to a statement issued by his spokesman, Tersoo Kula, Mr Alia also warned against visits that could result in political gatherings without prior approval, urging security agencies and the public to take note and maintain peace and order. Mr Obi, of course, reacted. In a message on his X handle (formerly Twitter), Mr Obi said that while a similar visit was planned for Plateau State, where he was warmly received, he was surprised that he could not secure a visit to Benue.

“As is my practice, I reached out to the Plateau State government to inform them of my visit, which included spending the day with the victims at the IDP camp in Bokkos, a visit I wholeheartedly embraced to extend my support, care, and compassion to fellow Nigerians in need. And in his utmost hospitality, the Plateau State Governor graciously permitted.

“In a similar vein, I tried repeatedly to contact the Benue State Governor directly without success. I then successfully contacted his ADC who told me that the governor was in a very important meeting and would call me before midnight on the same day.”

To cut a long story short, as we say, Mr Obi was denied his right to visit a part of the country of his birth. If that could be excused as just one instance out of character, it was the turn of Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State to proclaim that Mr Obi needed security clearance if he needed to visit Edo State again. Mr Obi  had visited Benin on July 7 and donated N15 million to St Philomena Hospital School of Nursing Sciences for completion of projects in the school.

But the governor condemned Obi’s visit to the state, insisting that his visit coincided with the resurgence of violence in the state. Okpebholo’s words, reacting to the Obi visit, as captured by newsmen:

“That man who says he has no ‘shishi’ came and dropped N15 million. Where did he get it from? After he left, three people were killed. For this reason, Obi must not come to Edo without security clearance,” Okpebholo said. “His visit coincided with a resurgence of violence in the state and this will not be tolerated,” the governor stated. 

Well. First it was Alia of Benue, now it’s Okpebholo of Edo. Which one is next? What is surprising in all of this is that the APC political high command, from the president to Ganduje to Yiltwada did not see anything wrong in the utterances of their governors. Even if for the purpose of “eye service”, as we say here, somebody high up in the APC hierarchy ought to have taken the pains to rebuke both governors. Telling a Nigerian he needs security clearance to visit another part of his country was taking politicking to the lowest levels of pettiness. Father Alia and Monday Okpebholo need to be reminded that Mr Obi had been governor long before either of them started nursing ambitions for the office. Besides, it is preposterous, from where I stand, to declare that a former governor of a state of the federation needed prior security clearance before he can move to any part of the country he desires. There is no other word for it, it is just BAD, and leaves more than a sour taste in the mouth! It simply is not the way to play politics.

And then, we are all still celebrating the victory of the Super Falcons over Morocco to win the trophy for the tenth time. Great feat by the girls. Since they came back, they have been feted by the president, who rained dollars, not naira on them, and also by the Nigerian Governors Forum, which decided to rain naira on them. I wonder if there was a scarcity of dollars at that forum. Then Imo State Governor Hope Uzodimma decided to host seven of the Super Falcons players from the state. The governor selected players of Imo origin in the team and hosted them at the Imo State Governor’s Lodge in Owerri.

The players hosted by Uzodimma were Chiamaka Nnadozie, Jennifer Echegini, Osinachi Ohale, Oluchi Oluehi, Chinwendu Ihezuo, and Anna Imo. The seventh Imo Super Falcons player, Michelle Alozie was absent, as she had returned to her base in the United States.

That’s another disturbing optic. Why host just seven of them? Were those hosted the ones the governor had ascertained to be the players that generated the goals that ensured victory for the Falcons? Why not host all of them? At a time national unity is threatened by bad governance, this is disturbing. The conduct of these three governors, all of them APC members speak volumes about the quality of cognition that manages our affairs at the sub-national level. Poor. Shior! TGIF.