By Ehichioya Steve Odion
Although the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Sen. Monday Okpebholo has his own major challenges in convincing Edo people to support his quest to govern them come September 21 election, his biggest problem is the so called god fathers whose livelihoods depend on politics and do not have a second address.
Okpebholo's case is worsened by the fact that Edo people have since identified this group of politicians whose mission is to continue to mortgage the state's resources for their selfish interest including those of their extended family members. For them it is a big war against the people of Edo State and the people have equally declared them as the enemy of the land.
One of their ways to achieve this sinister plan was to gang up to produce a weak, bemused and incompetent candidate from among the vibrant lots of guber aspirants that abounded there-in to choose from during their primary election.
Their reason is simple. They needed someone they can intimidate and manipulate to achieve their greedy motives at the expense of the common people of Edo who yearn for good and purposeful governance in the face of crippling poverty and want among them.
You will recall that their problem started with Governor Godwin Obaseki when the man plainly told them that there is a big difference between politics and Governance which looked like strange things to them. Because to them politics and governance mean big patronage for leaders of the party, especially those who have no means of survival.
That was the period they openly declared war against Governor Obaseki and they have to extensively engage in lies and propaganda of all sorts to continue to wage war against a governor who meant well for the people of Edo State with people's oriented programmes and projects.
Will it be fair for Edo people to separate Edo APC from the President Bola Tinubu led government that has brought hardship and suffering to the people whose resources have been abused and mismanaged?.
Although the APC candidate,
Monday Okpebholo has allegedly promised the so call leaders a huge political patronage if he wins the election but within them there is a battle on who takes charge as leader if their candidate eventually emerges winner of the election.
The big fear in them right now is that should Asue Ighodalo win this election, it means they will be perpetually kept out of power, politics and from the resources of the state for possibly in another eight years, having suffered similar thing with the present government of Governor Obaseki.
To them it is now or never. That is the reason some of them who followed Governor Obaseki from APC to PDP have since returned to APC to regroup with those they earlier left in the party to continue to use all manner of tactics to ensure Asue Ighodalo does not appear on the ballot paper, let alone win the election.
But the present mood of the people of Edo State shows that they are not ready to allow these few greedy and self serving politicians to mortgage the future of the children of Edo State which the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu has already subjected them to in the general Nigerian context.
The good news is that Edo people both home and those in the Diaspora have come to realize that these few avaricious fellows in the state who for a very long time have been manipulating the people with lies and failed promises just to wreck the state's treasury whenever they grab power.
These set of politicians have since realized that Edo people are now wiser. Gone are the days when they would come out and deceive the people with all sort of lies to manipulate themselves into power to fraudulently line their pockets with the People's common partrimony, thereby worsening the condition of the already pauperiszed, masses.
Interestingly, they have now been regarded as enemy of Edo people and have since seen the hand writing on the wall that their days are numbered in the political history of Edo. Hence they are battling with all the strength of their lives to ensure those who are competent, hardworking and with empathy for the people are not allowed to govern the state. But to them the battle is over because the people are very determined to make sure they are not allowed to have their way in this coming election.
I think it is time for Edo people to come together irrespective of political afiliation and unite to root out these set of politicians retarding the progress of Edo State and finally retired them from politics and free the people from political bondage.
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