By Mike Ebonugwo

The occasion was the thanksgiving service to celebrate the birthday of Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi, a governorship aspirant in Edo State on the platform of the All Progressives Party, APC.

Among the throng of well-wishers was Dr. Clement I. Alile, a highly respected veteran politician who had in the past held varied positions in government and the civil service, and one who is said to have garnered sufficient experience to be considered an authority on matters pertaining to politics and power in Nigeria.

Dr. Clement Alile

Remarkably his presence at the event where he enthusiastically felicitated with the celebrant had sent tongues wagging with the suggestion that he had openly endorsed Ogiemwonyi to succeed Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as governor of Edo State.

Confronted with this, Alile, who served as a commissioner in the defunct Bendel State Government and was Special Adviser, Federal Ministry of Transport and Aviation in the General Ibrahim Babangida Administration, had this to say:

“I have known him (Ogiemwonyi) for about three decades now. Of course I am here to celebrate with him. He called me under a very short notice to tell me that he is going to have a thanksgiving service to celebrate his birthday; of course he is an old friend and long standing ally. I was a Commissioner in this state some 30 years ago and I was the pioneer Secretary to the Edo State Government and Head of Service. I was also a governorship candidate. With a big stake I have in this state, I must be interested in what is going on. So, I can only wish the state well.

“Having said that, I am sure the people that saw me here would say I have come to endorse Chris Ogiemwonyi because I know of his intentions. I don’t think the word endorsement should arise now at all because he is eminently qualified to be a governor of a state and so are some of his colleagues. So, it is not a question of endorsement. I am a democrat, I have been exposed to governance both at state and at federal level. So what we have always preached since democracy took over from the military, we have always preached internal democracy amongst all parties.

“So, you know if you talk of endorsement that issue becomes very pivotal to a reason of everybody, especially for a state like Edo State which is a foremost state in this country. When you talk of Edo State public service, Oyo State public service and Lagos State public services these are very mature states; and so we begin to consider some attributes of whoever is to govern such states. Such a person must have had exposures, some management of men and materials and in Nigeria, the public service offers just that. As I talk to you today, we no longer have public service. Public service that was put together by the likes of Simeon Adebo and Jerome Udoji, where government order and financial instructions were the compass of the institutions.

“So we, for instance, no longer have them. So when we are talking of who is to govern these states, we are talking of people who have been exposed to governance, who have served the government at different levels and had experience from management of men and materials with humility, dignity, respect, candour, comportment; that is what we want; we don’t want charlatans, we don’t need ‘babies’ that are being fed with baby milk; we want mature, self-confident people. I will prefer among all of them to have a confident man, that is one who has self-confidence, who has been exposed. Any government that is fraudulently put together through some private arrangements will of course be a fraudulent government in terms of employment, in terms of appointment, in terms of contract award, in terms of general management of the people.

“Edo State is a role model and that is why there should be no such thing as endorsement. I have not come here to endorse Chris Ogiemwonyi but I am telling you of the attributes that he possesses; and that is why I have always said let there be an open playing field for all of them and let them demonstrate what they are capable of doing. I will not vote for anybody that is being led by godfathers and my supporters will not either. Would you, for instance, say that Hon. Pius Odubu, the Deputy Governor of state is not eminently qualified to be a Governor after having served for  about seven years in that capacity?”

But what does he then say to the rumour making the rounds that the state governor has already anointed a candidate to succeed him? In response to this he had restated his position that:

“Whoever is to govern the State must have demonstrated his personality; what he is able to offer. That again is why I was saying that endorsement ought not to be the issue at all; the individual should be self-confident and have a mind of his own. I have been weaned by my father and mother to face the world; I am too old now to adopt a new father and that is to tell the people that here comes a self-confident man.” And he also feels strongly that “if the governor has done that, he is not doing himself any good; he is diminishing himself and whoever he has anointed; I think we have grown beyond that. This State in particular, has grown beyond that!”

So, in essence, he is saying that the people should be allowed to pick a candidate of their choice. His answer was: “Yes! In militocracy, the president will just say I appoint so, so and so military governor to go and govern so, so and so State; you and I could not say no. We have grown from that into a democracy; democracy should be allowed to grow and mature”. He did not stop there.

“But if the governor goes ahead to do this, well it can then be said that we are retrogressing, we should be seen as progressing. Then I am saying the mantra of the whole nation is that which defines and redefines internal democracy in political parties and that should be allowed to hold. The governor himself, if it is the governor of this state you are talking about, had on several occasions, said that there should be internal democracy, there should be no godfatherism, there should be no anointment; many have heard him say it; if indeed he has made a U-turn, then it is unfortunate for Edo State.

“We are a foremost state in this country and I must say so. I have served at State and Federal levels and our voices were heard when we spoke at public service fora. People opened their ears to listen to us because we are experienced, we are exposed, we are leaders who have served here from the time of Osadebey all through to the military era; and any Military Governor that was posted here and we who had served in the civil service found ourselves in such cabinet, led the cabinet with the amount of experience and exposure behind us and there was success in this state compared our colleagues in other states. So the state should be allowed to grow. The time of feeding bottles or baby milk is over. Whoever wants to be a governor in this state should have self-confidence and should not allow himself to be diminished by statements that the governor has endorsed a candidate; that’s backward.”

His parting shot on Ogiemwonyi was: “Let me say once again that I admire his comportment, self-confidence, experience, exposure, maturity and I think he also eschews violence because the person we are talking about is a peaceful man. So also are some others in the race. They should all be on the same level playing field. No apron-string, no feeding bottle for anyone!”