By John Mayaki
The ‘over-estimated’ Governor of Edo state, Mr. Godwin Obaseki may have derailed – or, if you like, misinformed his party members both in Edo and Delta states concerning a somewhat agreement between both states to deliver 1.5 million votes to the presidential candidate of his party; Alh. Atiku Abubakar and his running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa come “October 25th 2023”.
According to a video gone viral on social media, the Edo State Governor spoke in Delta state when the presidential candidate of his party visited Delta State for campaigns – his claims are yet to be controverted after 48 hours – that his party loyalists should vote for their presidential candidate come October 25th 2023 because both states have agreed to deliver a certain unrealistic number of votes.
Am sure Nigerians know him for swell words – he likes throwing figures around – like providing 200,000 jobs without creating none for over 6 years in office. A Governor who’s known for his obsession with figures and never willing to match words with action – no honour, and it doesn’t matter to him.
Before addressing Obaseki’s gaffe and his mindlessness, the people of Edo and Delta are miffed as to when and where they agreed to “donate” the unmerited votes of 1.5m to the presidential candidate of the PDP. ‘Bendel’ citizens are wondering if an MoU on votes has been arranged on their behalf by the ‘legendary MoU Governor’ of Edo State or else, how can Edo and Delta states agree on the number of votes to gift the perennial presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Alh. Atiku Abubakar even before the umpire supplies the materials with which the elections would be conducted?
A Governor who’s neither known for great things, nor standing for greatness can never stand alone – I mean the man that’s always in the look out for opportunities to partner with others even in streetlight matters would one day bring shame to his people. Am afraid he would one day partner with Mat-ice to fry chips.
Or could it be the case that Obaseki and Okowa have perfected arrangements to allocate the votes? Could it also be the case that these guys may have concluded plans to rigged the elections through a yet-to-be disclosed strategy? Is the devil in the details or a software? Or else, how does two states agree on the numbers of votes it would deliver 30 days to the polls, if a rigging plan hasn’t been hatched? Can Governor Godwin Obaseki throw more light on how he plans to “will” 1.5 million votes that’s supposed to be secretly balloted to Atiku? Or is the Governor saying the voting process has been concluded – a done deal?
Assuming that’s not the case – can we get his handlers to expatiate?
Some say Obaseki’s gaffe was a huge one that’s capable of derailing Nigerians especially when he demanded their votes by October 25th 2023. Is that not interesting? Is Obaseki planning an election for October 25th? Or it was just another confusion? If confusion was the case, I hope all is well with Our Man?
The Governor has age on his side – young and ebullient – My own “Egbon” who’s by far my senior and Leader but I thought they said gaffes are only associated with people suffering from dementia? Is that also the case with our man? Or it was just intentional? If yes, for what purpose? If not, again, any clarifications from his handlers?
Although a ‘mischievous’ friend alarmed saying, he suffered “heartburn” from Obaseki’s gaffe during the event in Delta State but I couldn’t help him, unfortunately. I only hope the degree of the “heartburn” is considerable – Obaseki’s crippling sub-par performance is capable of causing a nightmare and the expected embarrassment.
Imagine you’re the “pride” of your people – in this case, the one sent from Edo state to Delta – to announce the figure of an election that was yet to be conducted, standing straight faced, and what you start hearing from the ‘MoU ambassador unplenipotentiary’ isn’t the one you can proudly associate with all your life – it could result to a heartburn. Isn’t?
“Obaseki is simply on his own”, a PDP chieftain from Delta State replied on a WhatsApp platform. All attempts to urge him to take the governor’s comment with a pitch of salt and good homur was rejected. He demurred saying, “na message wey dem send small pikin na im make him deliver. No bi dis one. Is he seeking to sign an MoU on how to deliver votes to Atiku?”, he retorted.
Some say Obaseki was booed over the gaffe and left the stage red-faced, others say he left embarrassed with apologies to his colleague governors who were stunned at his October 25th date for the election. Whatever the case, I have refrained myself from commenting on this issue except reporting it as a journalist.
For me, campaign rallies could be emotional affairs so you can’t blame Governor Obaseki for the mix-up but Edo people say they expected their Governor to make them proud in such events rather than his graceless performance and outrageous mistake. It’s cringe-worthy and especially jarring though.
Everyone make mistakes. But Obasekis’ is a pretty big mistake to make – he’s got age on his side and looks healthy. If he needs a cognitive test, I can’t tell. Am not his physician. But the gaffe carries a more serious question. And I don’t know what Obaseki is thinking to have warranted this blunder. Like I said earlier, permit me to plead neutrality on this issue, as it is too early in the New Year!
