ON Saturday, March 31, 2012, an event took place in the palace of the Ojuromi of Uromi and Chairman of the Esan Traditional Rulers’ Council, HRH Anselm Zaiki Eidenojie 11 that brought a respite to the convoluted Edo State political landscape, which had hitherto been hijacked and recklessly manipulated by an army of occupation that has been operating in the guise of governance in the State.

Before the Uromi event at which the Esan Council of Traditional Rulers (the Enijie) endorsed the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in the scheduled July 14 election, General Charles Airhiavbere (retd), the world had been inundated by reports from the State indicating a rash of endorsements of the candidature of Governor Adams Oshiomhole by sundry groups.

Oshiomhole and his publicists had tried to create the impression that Airhiavbere was a non-entity as far as the governorship election was concerned; they had even simulated a devious scenario in Agbodo community where Airhiavbere hails from by putting together a group of financially induced young people to present to the world that the community was not in support of Airhiavbere’s governorship aspiration.

That is the extent of desperation by Oshiomhole and his publicists.  Whereas they knew they were being dishonest in their bid to create a media blitzkrieg that would position him (Oshiomhole) as the only political phenomenon in the forthcoming governorship contest.  They had wished the contest would be a one-horse race.

But they knew Airhiavbere was capable of upstaging the applecart of Oshiomhole and his Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in Edo State in the governorship election.  That was why they had become uncomfortable right from the outset of Airhviabere’s declaration of interest in contesting the governorship election on the platform of the PDP.

When Airhiavbere emerged victorious at the PDP governorship primaries on February 25, this year, they were understandably rattled.  Their political calculations and permutations were dismantled.  They never wanted a good and strong candidate to emerge from Edo South Senatorial District (the Bini speaking area of the State).  This is quite understandable: significantly, the area accounts for 58 percent of the voting population.

It is also significant that the area has been shortchanged and largely taken in by Oshiomhole in the distribution and execution of his so-called rehabilitation and expansion of road infrastructure in the State.  Apart from the beautification of the Ring Road(and which water fountains at the centre of the roundabout have stopped working), the dualisation of the eight-kilometre Benin Airport Road has remained uncompleted for more than three years now.

A good number of roads of less than half a kilometre in the Benin metropolis have remained uncompleted.  His strategy has been to keep the contractors on site to create the impression that work is going on and that Edo is a massive construction site; whereas it is all motion without movement.

But this is not so in his Etsako area of Edo North Senatorial District where he has successfully completed the building of some roads in Auchi and his village, Iyamho, where roads have been constructed into the farms to link communities around his town.  This is why Etsako people have become so passionate about Oshiomhole and his re-election bid.  He has been able to stoke ethnic passion in the politics of Edo State.

The Otaru of Auchi, Alhaji Aliru Momoh, was so consumed by ethnic passion that he declared an unequivocal support for the son of the soil, Oshiomhole.  The royal father said that they were not enamored by PDP’s move to pick a running mate from Edo North because they were not ready to relinquish the number one position.  It is good to rally support for their son, by saying “our own is our own”.

A Lagos-based lawyer and indigene of the area, Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN) had also said at the commissioning of a hotel in Ivioghe in Etsako East Local Government Area on April 7 that Etsako nation was insisting on Oshiomhole’s re-election because of his “tribal” approach to road infrastructure development which favours Etsako.  Read him: “…Let us support our own.  Let us bring him back for the second tenure and he will make Etsako land like any foreign country”.

This was how Oshiomhole’s ethnic backers and/or supporters shot themselves (including Oshiomhole) in the foot.  Why should the campaign of a sitting governor be run on ethnic wheels?  It is self-inflicted hurt!  It means that his ethnic agenda has just begun to unravel and if given the luxury of a second term, it will blossom like never before to the hurt of other ethnic nationalities -Bini, Esan, Akoko-Edo and Owan -in Edo State.

A window of opportunity was thus open to the PDP to turn Oshiomhole’s self-inflicted damage into an advantage.  PDP’s stronghold in Edo going by the outcome of the 2011 National/State Assemblies elections is Edo Central Senatorial District (Esanland).  Its governorship candidate, Airhiavbere, is from Edo South Senatorial District (Bini kingdom).  It was, therefore, a political masterstroke when the Iyasele of Esanland and National Leader of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih presented Airhiavbere to the traditional rulers in Esanland for their endorsement.

The endorsement was emphatic.  The Ojuromi of Uromi (HRH Eidenojie) had succinctly explained that since the Otaru of Auchi had chosen to support Oshiomhole on the ground that he (Oshiomhole) is the son of the soil, the royal fathers in Esanland had no choice other than to support their son, Anenih, and Airhiavbere who has become their son since he was brought to them by Anenih for their endorsement for the governorship.

Eidenojie said all the royal fathers in Esanland and their people would go with Anenih anywhere he goes, whether in sun or in rain.  The gods in Esan and their people have spoken.

Mr. JOHN AINOFENOKHAI, a political analyst, wrote from, Benin City, Edo State.