Dele Igbinedion: Poised To Make Edo Work Again (OPINION)

By Isaac Asabor

It is not an overstatement to say that there have been deteriorating calamity of misgovernance, mind-boggling unconstitutional practices, and swelling cases of deceitful political doings, crystal clear facts of poor political exemplification and seeming signs of general underdevelopment in Edo State under the watchful eyes of the governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.

All these are largely the results of the ubiquitous and pervasive prebendalism and primordial sentiment that have been with the State by each passing political dispensation. Very worrisome is that prebendalism is ever getting more pervasive, critical and detrimental as it continues to eat deeper into the political fabric of Edo polity so much so that the State and her citizens have for the umpteenth time suffered due to wrong choice of inept leaders, particularly leaders at gubernatorial level.

Against the foregoing milieu, permit this observer to opine that government in the state should in the next political dispensation belong to the people, and need to be for the people and, as well, by the people. To say in this context that Edo is in dire need of a democratic ideal that is borne out of the innate desire in man for good governance, societal stability and development cannot be misplaced.

In fact, for a democratic ideal to be realized there is need for the umpires in the forthcoming primary elections; across political parties, in the State to ensure that elections are freely and fairly conducted to allow for the true choice of the people to emerge. Very vital too is that the elected must see the gubernatorial office that he or she occupies as a pedestal for serving, protecting, and advancing the interests and well-being of the generality of the people of Edo State.

Against the foregoing milieu, there is an urgent need for Edolites to rally round the candidate that possesses the most robust academic and professional qualifications, experience and high level of integrity. Without a doubt, the candidate for the next elections; both at the primary and gubernatorial levels, that possesses the aforementioned background, in my own assessment, is unarguably Barrister Dele Igbinedion, a frontline runner for the Labour Party (LP) ticket in the state, who incidentally is experienced in lawmaking, having being a lawmaker in an era when constituency funds do not exist, and despite that was able to deliver.

Not only that, Igbinedion is a dyed-in-the-wool human rights activist that does not feel at ease seeing people suffer. Thus, when given the opportunity to govern Edo State, come 2024, he will no doubt remain a people-oriented leader that he has been.  Without doubt, he believes in Nelson Mandela’s saying that “To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity”.

Given his human rights background, this writer is optimistic that he will always put the people at the heart of every policy and programme that would be initiated and executed in his regime when given the opportunity.

The reason for the foregoing line of thinking cannot be farfetched as the intersection of good governance and human rights is critical in the building of a robust democracy and the realization of sustainable development. While human rights provides the contents, norms and standards of good governance, good governance guided by human rights norms and principles, creates the conducive environment necessary for the State to respect, protect and fulfill human rights in a sustainable manner.

In fact, human rights determines the behavior of governments as primary duty bearers, on how to conduct political affairs, processes and institutions, including what programs, plans and policies to prioritize, what laws to enact, how to allocate resources, and what structures to establish and/or strengthen. Good governance ensures opportunities, spaces and mechanisms that enhance peoples’ participation in decision-making, contribute to their empowerment, and strengthen transparency, accountability and the rule of law.

Without any iota of doubt, there is no denying the fact that his human rights background would be brought to bear in taking Edo State and her people to the Eldorado of good governance. It is high time we stopped making the wrong choice by maximizing the power that is inherent in our voter’s cards.

Simply expressed, the opportunity of electing the most qualified candidate at the primary level and voting for the best among gubernatorial candidates at the polls in the State have not been significantly realized. This is attributable, to a large extent, to prebendalism and primordial sentiments, which have over the years characterized elections in the State.

For the sake of clarity, the term prebendalism simply means a political system where elected officials and government workers feel they have a right to a share of government revenues, and use them to benefit their supporters, co-religionists and members of their ethnic group. Argued from this perspective, delegates at primary elections and voters at gubernatorial polls were usually inclined to vote for the candidate that would offer them better or more gratifications; irrespective of the credibility of such candidate. This no doubt led to the emergence of inept leaders which the State has had to groan with, or rather suffered from.

At this juncture, permit me to urge fellow Edolites; both at home and in diaspora to eschew prebendalism and primordial sentiments in the forthcoming elections in the State, and vote for the most qualified and experience contestant, who in my assessment is Igbinedion. The reason for this call cannot be farfetched as Edo State need to be taken to the next level. The socio-economic and political growth of the State should be paramount in our minds at the polls. It suffices to say that it is high time we delivered the state from the pages of political history that gave it ignominious mention as one of the States that have literary been passing through bouts of chequered history.

To me, the coming elections present the opportunity of using Igbinedion’s candidacy to banish inept governance in the State, and entrench a new dawn to the advantage of posterity.

For the benefits of those who may in this context find it difficult to come to term with the spur of my viewpoints, it is expedient to make them understand that in sports, business and even politics, competency and experience are not undermined. Would Argentina have won the 1986 soccer world cup without Diego Maradona? Or Apple existed without Steve Jobs? Would the US have had a New Deal without Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

My fellow Edolites, we need a leader, such as Igbinedion, who political history would record as being responsible for the emancipation of the State and her people from inept governance.

In a similar nexus, it is germane to opine that since robust qualifications and experience are sine qua non to good governance, there is wisdom for us to rally round Igbinedion.

I understand that party loyalists across all registered parties in the state are directly controlled by the party (leaders) as they typically grow up within the party organization, and are keen to vote along party lines, and have been trained to perform rent-seeking activities for the party. These characteristics may be dear to party leaders and to hardcore party supporters but much less appealing to unattached, swing voters. Be that as it may, the need to retrieve Edo from the mouth of the jackals has come. It is now or never!

Against the foregoing backdrop, permit me to caution that “Enough Is Enough!” Edo need to be moved beyond prebendalism and primordial sentiments, and in the same vein assure that as Igbinedion throws his hat into the ring that the end of inept governance beckons, particularly as Dele Igbinedion is poised to make Edo work.