Senator Adams Oshiomhole’s Political ‘Funeral’ by Erasmus Ikhide, to which I am making this response, is the most devastating uppercut the Iyamoh politician could have received in recent times.
Interestingly, Erasmus hails from Edo North, Afuze, to be specific. He was once, Oshiomhole’s SA on Media.
I think Oshiomhole called for it and should therefore bear the pain.
His other side is that of a man who acts as though he knows everything. He has no place in his heart to accommodate opinions of others that do not bow to his own.
With this arrogantly high regard for himself, he has become an intensely self-opinionated bully and a conversational narcissist. He loves listening to, and hearing himself speak.
Does Oshiomohle hate Esan?
Let’s examine the scenerios below.
At a press briefing in Abuja, 24 hours to the APC rerun primaries, Oshiomhole, looking visibly upset, could not conceal his deep-seated hatred for Esan or mask it in diplomatic niceties.
He argued that since 1999, the TIV, who constitute the majority of the tribes in Benue State, has been producing the State’s Governors. He said it was the same thing in Kogi, where he claimed the majority tribe has also been producing the governors.
While these arguments were advanced to justify his reason for not supporting Edo Central, he probably forgot to realize that if the Benue example was the case in Edo State, there would have been no way for him to be a governor for 8 years. He also pretended to forget the arrangement that brought President Bola Tinubu to power.
As a former labour activist, former two-term Governor, and now a Senator, I expected Oshiomhole to have known that in diversity or plurality, democracy requires that persons/groups be treated equally insofar as they are participants in electoral processes and governance. This form of equality, powered by equity, fairness, and justice, is foundational to democracy because it follows from the very definition of democracy.
I never imagined, that given his experience, he will allow himself to be pushed by hatred for Esan, to become the marketer of majoritarianism idea, where the numerical majority of a population should have the final say in determining decisions. It often disregards the needs and wishes of the minority groups.
Despite his attitude towards Esan, I refuse to hate him. As a victim of his own character flaws, I can only pray for his deliverance so that he may be able to behold the beauty of a larger and brighter picture in our pluralistic space.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Osazua Ivbaze writes from Edo State, South-south Nigeria
