In trying to catch up with the popularity gap created by the APC candidate, Senator Monday Okpebholo, the PDP Guber candidate has been upbeat, sweating profusely to combine his “skills” to make an impression. With the gale of defection within the rank of PDP, the party is being decimated on a daily basis. Since this campaign started, and seeing that his aspiration is not resonating well with Edo people, especially as a result of his godfather’s excess luggage and abysmal performance, Asue Ighodalo has suddenly come down from his high horse to learn new tricks. All these Lagos technocrats get plenty wayo, no be here. Asue has become a Table Tennis player, a football player overnight, a swimmer, a golfer, a lawn tennis player, basket ball player, a farmer and volley ball player, all-in-one, to convince Edo youths that he’s not yet tired and still possesses the GenZ swag. He has even started speaking pidgin English different from his “Queen’s English” which his supporters glamourously adumbrated. Election dey teach stubborn people sense, no be small. When Asue was about to play the ball into his own net, his poise shows he doesn’t have the basic skills to kick the ball, it was all about trying to impress his followers that he too can ride keke-napep.
That was Governor Obaseki’s style when he was presented in 2016. He was visiting everybody at home like an orphan, searching for endorsement. As soon as Godwin Obaseki won the election in September 2016, oh la la, he locked his door with heavy duty padlock. He chased everybody away from Osadebe Avenue and started a regime that has left Edo State prostrate. Someone should tell Asue Ighodalo that Edo people are already familiar with those Obaseki’s tactics and tricks which he deployed to pretend that he was with the people only to turn around to become a dictator. Imagine a Governor who ought to be in a position to promote the Benin Palace and celebrate our King, going around to hijack the artefacts that rightly belong to the Palace. What does he stand to gain? Now, he shamelessly turned around trying to confuse the people that he wanted to mediate in a crisis he single-handedly created. Cunny man die, cunny man wan bury am. Na wa for mago-mago oo.
I can see Asue Ighodalo trying to be his own man, because of the negative impact of his godfather, Godwin Obaseki. He too has already started showing similar traits peculiar to his twin brother’s; Godwin Obaseki. When he smiles, you are most likely going to see another Obaseki. Their resemblance is mooringly identical. It is also to be understood that Asue Ighodalo has been Governor Obaseki’s adviser-in-chief, hence he has to share from the bad governance of his godfather. Edo people have not witnessed such a backward progression in recent times, with poor performance and dismal showing in critical sectors of the state economy. I am aware they are already recruiting additional hands into their Public Works Volunteers- PUWOV cadets, people they intend to deploy on election day. We are watching with keen interest.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kassim Afegbua former commissioner for information Edo State Government lives in Abuja
