September 21 guber polls: Only path to return Edo to its glorious past

The people of Edo State aside from grappling with the current debilitating
economic challenges, including hyperinflation and insecurity, are now
faced with a monumental decision of electing the next governor of the state come September 21, 2024. There is no denying the fact that the state and its residents have being sojourners in economic and political wilderness where they have been subjected to undue poverty, power outages, lack of jobs, skyrocketing food prices, absence of good network of roads, and prevailing atmosphere of insecurity and lawlessness.

However, it is under this menacing circumstances and untold hardship brought about by elected political leaders of the corrupt PDP/APC duopoly since the birth of the fourth republic that the people must now make their electoral choice for governor. The decisions they make at the upcoming polls will not only determine the future of Edo State, but the type of living conditions and quality of life or lack thereof for themselves, hence the only CHOICE FOR EDO STATE at this critical time to
redress the injustices of the past and address all the challenges facing our
beloved people is the LABOUR PARTY and OLUMIDE OSAIGBOVO AKPATA.

The various political parties in Nigeria are structured today in such a way
that the parties maintain outsized roles in governments including in the
appointment of ministers at federal level, commissioners at state levels,
thus the parties are largely responsible for corrupting the political
processes through pay to play and influence peddling schemes with APC and PDP being experts of these shenanigans unlike no other parties in Nigeria today.

As the good people of Edo State move closer to electing their next governor it is important to remind ourselves that the mess in Edo today has accumulated for the last 24 years due to the corruption,
incompetence, waste and abuse of office that has characterised the
governments of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State over this period. It is also interesting
to note that in the last 24 years, the corrupt duopoly of PDP and
APC have each ruled for twelve years respectively. Their overall governance record is a tainted one and is characterized by empty promises, sloganeering and corruption and the people of the state are tired and will reject the parties at the polls.

The last 24 years has given our people more than enough time to
judge the performances in office of the APC and PDP for their stewardship of our beloved state. Our people having watched from the sidelines and experienced the severe consequences of failed leaderships, cronyism and total incompetence in Edo State that has led to total destruction of our lives, businesses and pauperisation of all of our people, the people now pass their judgement at the ballot box on how they have piloted the affairs of the state. A visit to many parts of the state including the state capital Benin City will show clearly the absence of any government presence in many areas including in the lives of our people. It is an absolute fact that any of the politicians in Edo State APC today were former members of the PDP or vice versa and they have nothing to offer, but a life of abject poverty and penury to our people. These political hyenas are nothing, but political prostitutes who jump from one party to the other to advance their personal agendas of perpetuating corruption, economic banditry and state capture to enrich themselves and their cronies. The cries of our people have been herd by GOD ALMIGHTY and our ANCESTORS and as providence will have it, their luck has ran out as our people now have an alternative in the Labour Party and its candidate Olumide Akpata and his running mate Yusuf Asamah Kadiri.

Our people recall with fund memories the transcendent and transformational leadership that made our state then the NUMERO UNO in Nigeria from sports, agriculture, academics, tertiary institutions, hospitals, jobs to security and wellbeing of our people in the defunct Midwest Region/State, later Bendel State which is now Edo and Delta State. They still recall with nostalgia how great they had it under our then former governor the late Brig. Gen. Samuel OSAIGBOVO OGBEMUDIA (rtd). At times like these one cannot help, but notice the similarities in attitude and commitment to service of Edo State and the shared middle name of “OSAIGBOVO” between the best governor Nigeria has ever produced and the Labour Party candidate for governor as this may be a harbinger of the good things to come to our state.

Our people must be mindful of wolves in sheep’s clothing, who will come now with just a few days to the elections and offer bags of garri, rice and a
few thousand Naira soliciting for votes. We must remember and never forget the last 24 years of failed leadership, total neglect and steeling
by the governments of both APC and PDP in Edo State as we get ready to go the polls. We must remember the time and efforts in campaigning for Gov. Obaseki’s reelection after he decamped to PDP and draw the right lessons from his tenure. The Governor said he has done his best and for continuity, he wants us to vote for his handpicked successor, which he has a right to do. While we agree with Gov. Obaseki that he did his best, but to whom much is given, much more is expected, hence we say that his best was mediocre at best and does not merit rewarding his hand pick successor with our votes as that will be an endorsement of his political stewardship of the state in the last eight years. We the people have weighed and measure PDP, and we have also weighed and measured APC in Edo State and sees no differences between them, thus we want to chart a new direction for the state. We want a new direction that will put the focus of all of governments actions on making life better for our people.

I have supported politicians like former governor Oshiomole now a senator and Gov. Obaseki in his reelection efforts, but given the situation of things for our people today, I cannot in good conscience support the PDP or APC candidates in this election as it is time to put our people and state first. I do not belong to any political party locally or otherwise, but I do firmly believe that the interest of my beloved people of Edo state will be best served by voting Labor Party for governor in Edo State. Consequently, I urge all our people in Edo State who yearn for a better state and nation, and for all those who would like to see improved infrastructural development and 24/7 electricity in the state to reject the old and tired political parties represented by APC and PDP and vote Labour Party for governor of Edo State. Finally, if you are better off today than you were four years ago, then vote for Gov. Obaseki’s handpicked successor Asue Ighodalo.

However, if you think life could better and you need help with rents and food prices, then you must reject PDP and vote Labour Party governor. Similarly, if you like the direction of the country today under APC leadership, then vote APC for more of the same, but if you think we can do better as a nation to reduce prices, create jobs, end insecurity and make the country work for the average man, then you must reject APC and its candidate and vote for the Labour Party candidate for governor. As you vote your conscience and your hopes for a better tomorrow in Edo State you will be giving meaning to our state’s moniker of being the heartbeat of the nation by retiring the APC and PDP into political Armageddon where they shall never return in Edo State.

As the saying goes voting for APC or PDP every election and expecting something different is the definition of political insanity, thus we must end the insanity in Edo State by voting for Labour Party for governor.

Long live Edo State and long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria

Nosa Osaikhuiwu is a certified project manager, with expertise in change management, elimination of waste fraud and abuse. He is also an unapologetic advocate for culture change in Nigeria.