In Edo State, politics coloured the season of goodwill. The Edo State government under Governor Godwin Obaseki was quick to inform the public that the All Progressives Congress (APC) National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, the immediate past governor of the state, had rejected its Christmas gifts.
The Special Adviser to Governor Obaseki on Media and Communications, Crusoe Osagie, said in a statement: “The messengers said they met the mother of the former governor who rejected the items, stating that her son would not accept the gifts. The gift items include four cows and ten bags of rice.”
The state government had also sent Christmas presents to others, including former governors, government officials, heads of security agencies, traditional rulers, religious leaders and heads of institutions of higher learning, the governor’s aide said. The information implied that only Oshiomhole rejected the Christmas presents.
Did the Obaseki administration expect Oshiomhole to accept the gifts? There is an ongoing war for the soul of Edo State between Oshiomhole and Obaseki? The former governor had backed the incumbent to become governor, but the two men are no longer on the same page as Obaseki seeks reelection.
If Oshiomhole had accepted the gifts, it may have created the impression that the political conflict between the giver and the receiver was over. By publicising the rejection of the gifts, the giver wanted to create the impression that Oshiomole was a difficult person.
Interestingly, it was Oshiomhole’s mother who rejected the gifts on his behalf. “We hail Madam Oshiomhole for rejecting the rice if the story being cooked from the Edo State Government House is true,” the secretary of the Edo APC faction loyal to Oshiomhole, Lawrence Okah, said in a statement. “No responsible mother will want the enemies to kill her son. Obaseki has on several occasions threatened to ensure the removal of Oshiomhole as APC National Chairman.”
He added: “The people he told are there alive and can testify to it. So, why will he take a poisonous cow and rice to Oshiomhole’s house? Is that not deceit? … Obaseki is like the proverbial rat that will bite you and at the same time fan the wound. Enough of his deceit and rubbish.”
Obviously, four cows and ten bags of rice can’t end the battle. It is a fight to the finish. The fighters are focused on the fight. They are not thinking about the possible consequences of the fight for their party.
Credit : The Nation