As the curtain closed on the highly rated administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State, following the inauguration of new Governor Godwin Obaseki and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, one major concern was what the change of baton portended for Edo state. Will the new team build on Oshiomhole’s much-acclaimed achievements or return to the old order when Edo was a political jungle in which warlords and rent-seekers held sway to the detriment of the people? Only one thing was certain at the impressive inaugural ceremony in the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium: it was the end of a good era and the dawn of a new but uncertain one. Happily, Obaseki appears to have picked up the baton with gusto and gone to work with aplomb. His pledge at his inauguration pledged to provide the needed leadership to move the state forward by building on the foundations of his predecessor were measured and assuring. God’s speed!
Last Saturday’s high-profile inaugural was witnessed by notable Nigerians, including Senate President, Bukola Saraki, who represented President Buhari, Aisha Bello, wife of Kogi governor, represented First Lady, Aisha Buhari; APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, former Head of State, Gen Yakubu Gowon (rtd), Governors Akinwunmi Ambode (Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Hamid Yari (Zamfara), Abdullahi Abubakar (Bauchi), Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto) and Simon Lalong (Plateau). Also present were: Kayode Fayemi, Minister of Solid Minerals, Lai Mohammed, Information Minister, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, State Minister for Health among others. The business glitterati included: Aliko Dangote, Wale Tinubu, Tony Elumelu, Hakeem Belo-Osagie and Femi Otedola.
Succeeding Oshiomhole, who is highly regarded for a substantial measure of good performance, not only in terms of fiscal discipline, but also in the careful deployment of state resources for infrastructural development and human security needs of the people of the state, must come with its own challenges. The most notable of these is an inevitable high level of pressure to deliver and match, if not surpass, a popular predecessor. It is common knowledge that Oshiomhole was reputed to be prudent with the use of state funds and exemplary in his ascetic personal lifestyle.
When most of his counterparts were not satisfied even with ostentatious living and had to notch it up to obscene levels, his modesty in public appearance and conduct put a shame to the splendor other governors advertised so gleefully. When others used state funds to procure and maintain chartered or private jets, Oshiomhole not only flew commercial but did so at the most minimal cost. It is against this background that the least expectation seems to be that Obaseki would follow in the steps of his predecessor and possibly surpass his performance in good deeds.
These expectations are legitimate for, as someone coming into the job with impressive credentials from the private sector, it is only proper to expect the new governor to bring some entrepreneurship and sobriety into the governance of the state. Obaseki was managing director and board chair of Afrinvest Ltd until June 2016. He served on the presidential committee on pension reform and the committee to reactivate Nigeria’s bond market set up by SEC. He currently serves in the governing council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). In 2001, he was nominated Global Leader of Tomorrow (GLT) by the World Economic Forum. He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers and an alumnus of the Lagos Business School. He is the founding and current Chairman of Edo State Economic and Strategy Team which was inaugurated by Gov. Oshiomhole in March 2009. So, the new governor comes to the job with an outstanding pedigree as a manager and politician.
With these, the new government in Benin City can definitely move Edo to higher level on the scale of development. Given that Edo has peculiar environmental and developmental challenges, Obaseki, widely seen as the chosen one is expected to re-double efforts at addressing these fundamental problems, most especially job creation for the teeming youth population. The government should also endeavor to support, in a sustainable manner, the ongoing industrialization in the state, especially efforts by the Dangote Group and other foreign investors whose multi-billion dollar investments into the power and other key sectors of Edo State economy has the potential to change the economic landscape of Edo from the hitherto “civil service” state into an investment hub for multi-national corporations. The support for local creativity and industrialization should, however, be done in a way that will not compromise youth education, as youth education is pivotal to the developmental aspirations of any state and should be accorded adequate priority.
It is also important to ensure that education is aligned to the demands of the new industrial economy. Teachers must be better trained for them to be able to impart 21st century skills to students. Governor Obaseki must also prioritize the growing problem of rising urbanization and the environment because many Edo cities are sprawling out into slums. Investment in infrastructure will help reduce their cost of doing their business, but Obaseki must maintain an open door policy to harness the human potential of the state. He must be the governor of all Edo people. Although he was from Edo north, Oshiomhole was been able to make every Edo man look at himself as an Edo citizen first; and it was a political master stroke, for him to have embraced the Oba of Benin; the cultural home of the Edo people. This way, the new government can consolidate and build on the good legacies of its predecessor.
It is, however, important to underscore the fact that the task of bringing development to Edo state is not the sole responsibility of the government. It is a collective responsibility of all citizens and is, therefore, incumbent upon all, especially opposition parties, civil society, media and the private sector to join the Obaseki government in taking Edo to greater heights. This collaboration is, however, without prejudice to the acrimonious election campaign that saw the vote postponed from September 10, to September 28, amid recriminations of fraud and threats of violence with INEC in the crossfire. Obaseki narrowly defeated the PDP Osagie Ize-Iyamu, but eight other candidates who participated in the election called for cancellation of the results, which they said were rigged. The PDP candidate even vowed to reclaim his “stolen mandate” at the court.
If anything, whatever disputes arising from the conduct of the election should be pursued to its logical conclusion within legally permissible limits. This way, whatever legitimacy question may be hanging on the new government can be permanently laid to rest. The judiciary too owes it a duty to the good people of Edo state to treat all pending cases pertaining to the election with urgency and decency in a manner that ensures justice, fairness and equity, following which Edo’s upward ascent can continue.
