By John Mayaki
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State is like a once-proud mansion now overrun by termite. I mean, it’s barely standing and creaking at the beams, begging for rescue. Under former Governor Godwin Obaseki’s leadership, the party stumbled from one political gaffe to another – courting trouble even when there was none. The embattled leader is now resting just as his party – a misadventure that deserves its own movie: How to lose a state while in power.
Let’s not mince words here – Obaseki is not just a textbook politician, he is also a battle-tested man who fought everyone he needed to win an election. He is also that man full of “brilliant” ideas but tragically out of sync with the rules of the game. Mischievously brilliant ideas, I mean. His inability to grasp the rudiments of party politics has now left the PDP in a state of limbo, gasping for breath like a fish flung far from water.
Take for instance, the PDP had a PDP Senator in Edo North in the person of Francis Alimikhena. It had another in Edo Central, Clifford Ordia and also Matthew Uroghide from Edo South as a senator – today, Obaseki frittered away those opportunities and left the PDP stranded without a single Senator. Or, you can say the PDP now has zero senatorial seats in Edo state courtesy of “Ematon”.
Now, let this sink in. A re-run election is scheduled for Edo Central, the once ancestral stronghold of the PDP, but the party is clutching at straws hoping for a miracle – I mean the sorts of miracle that even the Pope would hesitate to pray for. Read my lip, there’s no miracle for the PDP in this forthcoming election. None.
How bad is it? It’s that bad. The numbers never lie but they certainly will hurt. Out of nine House of Representatives seats in Edo state, the PDP now holds a lonely one, Marcus Onobun. He might either jump ship or remain. If he decides to remain, he may be crowned his party’s patron while the house collapses on his head. It’s his decision to make.
Meanwhile, the state House of Assembly had the PDP in the majority but today, they are all finding their roots and leaving Obaseki’s house built with sand and near the shores. A PDP led House of Assembly suspended a PDP led loca government council chairmen just as PDP led councilors impeach the already embattled council helmsmen. It’s a PDP affairs, let them rescue themselves because, there’s none coming for their rescue – will they close shop? Or will their members remain an endangered species in the virtual desert? It’s question of time.
Geskia, if political parties had expiration dates, there’s nothing stopping the PDP in Edo state from being close to its date, not even NAFDAC can renew it. The party is already in the clearance aisle, priced to go. When the Captain sinks the ship what happens to the occupants? Jinxed. Obaseki jinxed the PDP.
This is a lesson for those who want to toe the footstep of Obaseki that when you ascend to power on the back of a political platform, loyalty isn’t optional. No, loyalty is the rent you pay for the office. But Obaseki? No….. he’s like that roommate who eats all the food in the fridge, litter the dishes in the sink, and then lectures you about minimalism.
Did he weakened the PDP? Yes. Did he left the PDP in comatose? Of course yes. Is the PDP in Edo state today gasping in life support? The answer is also in the affirmative. But wait, is the All Progressives Congress (APC) digging the political grave of the PDP? Gleefully so. Will the party close shop? It’s about doing that already.
Now, look at this. Just while on their knees, a scandal dropped on its leadership. I mean the party that was already staggering under its losses. The state governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo had uncovered a document where the PDP leaders were allegedly helping themselves with some humongous billions of Naira, a pipeline set up for them by the ex-Governor in connection with the council chairmen.
What did the party do? You would have thought that it’s leaders would file out, one after the other to deny the allegations with righteous indignation. Nope, they didn’t. What happened? The party pulled a classic ostrich move – head in the sand, with feather in the air, hoping the storm would blow over the damaging scandal. However, there was a spoiler alert. A council chairman from Edo North appeared on a national tv where he owned up to the juicy scandal. The party of rot.
And so, the PDP is now caught between a Rock and an Emperor. While the APC is having the time of its life, led by its powerbroker, Emperor Jarret Tenebe, the brand new governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo is busy choking them with his calculated governance style. And so, the APC has boxed the rapacious PDP into a tight corner. They are failing hopelessly while the APC dances circles around them.
This ship, we must not forget was already riddled with cracks but Obaseki jumped on it when he sort refuge in the sinking ship without a lifeboat. It’s a shipwreck in slow motion. Internal discord, scandal, and sheer incompetence have left it adrift, rudderless, and headed for the rocks. And Obaseki’s tenure is the iceberg that ripped through the hull.
The question needing answer now is this: who will save Edo PDP and her disenchanted members? I do not see any volunteer at sight. No political strategist is willing to step up and the party is going under relegation and history books, filed under the catalogue, “How not to run a political party”.
Or do you think they should simply sell off its headquarters in Benin city for spare parts or keep it as a museum to be added to the ongoing other controversially built by Obaseki? Either way, the epitaph is already being written.
John Mayaki shared this perspective from Edo State
