· Why no one trusts him
In the annals and cutthroat world of Nigerian politics, the successful politicians have always passed off as ‘made-men’ or the Nigerian version of Italian gang-lords.
The unsuccessful ones however, always pass off as lesser gangsters – disposable muscles at the bottom of the totem pole of the country’s political class. More often than not, the latter manifests on the political circuit like commercial sex workers with worthless value, if you like, jumping from one political party to the other, in desperate pursuit of the next plum political office or deal. It is within this context that analysts have situated the recent odyssey of Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki.
Stripped bare of what was left as his skeletal honour in the All Progressives Congress (APC) after exhibiting unprecedented treachery towards his benefactor and predecessor, Obaseki, like a starved greyhound, has not only swallowed his own vomit but he is presently regurgitating it like cows. Gobbling up his bile like a sumptuous meal, Obaseki has recanted his scathing denunciation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with an asphyxiating embrace all in a bid to actualise an ambition that appears too tall at the moment after he has been screened out of the APC primaries in his state.
It is official: Obaseki is about to ditch APC, the party whose kite he flew about four years ago to become governor, to join the opposition PDP. The Capital findings revealed that Obaseki’s bid to join the party did not materialise on a platter, as he has in the last 24 hours gone into homes of PDP chieftains cap in hand, pleading and grovelling at their feet while they dish out funny and crazy demands, terms and conditions, which are bitter pills to swallow for him; yet he has no choice.
It has been a humiliating itinerary from Port Harcourt to Uyo and later to Asaba and Yenagoa for the desperate governor who has constituted himself to be Adams Oshiomole’s fiercest assailant. His major passionate plea to the political custodians of these mentioned capital cities is that they should make PDP a ready platform for him to actualise his second term ambition and thus save him from going into imminent extinction politically.
The rambunctious and rabble rousing Obaseki has suddenly become an avatar for instability and inconsistency.
Prominent chieftains of the party and close associates of Wike are suspicious of his motives. None of them believes that Obaseki has the interests of the PDP at heart. They firmly believe that once he wins the election, he is going to dump PDP as his loyalty is in serious doubt.
In what looks like a blood covenant, Obaseki is said to have made commitments he would have to struggle to keep even if he achieves his reelection ambition. He has been asked to sacrifice his deputy, Phillip Shaibu, for another candidate to be nominated for him by the PDP leadership.
There is also a report of an agreement in which Obaseki made a promise to people his cabinet with 60 percent of PDP members, aside other appointments in parastatals and contract awards which would go to influential PDP members.
Despite acceding to all the demands, he is still being viewed with suspicion. A top source confided in The Capital that Obaseki’s heart was still with the APC and this was made known when the governor having been dumped by the APC, said he would consult with President Muhammadu Buhari to know his next line of action.
“Why does he need the blessing of Buhari to move to PDP? It is strange. How will the President bless your intention to move to an opposition party to defeat his own party at the poll. This move shows that he has a game up his sleeve. Many of us feel he is going to sell out,” the source which pleaded anonymity said.
His treatment of Oshiomole is also being seen as his another albatross. If he could put up such an acerbic fight against Oshiomole, the belief is that he would do worse to PDP leaders who have little or no electoral value in Edo.
Don’t drown the man who taught you to swim, intones a popular proverb but the import is lost on Obaseki. Governor Obaseki has finally revealed to the world, the degenerate part of his heart. By betraying Oshiohmole, he has showed his capacity for treachery and cheek.
If Obaseki truly had had a great private career, it must have been achieved in obscurity because he was an unknown quantity until Oshiomole brought him to political limelight. Of timid mien and colourless demeanour, Oshiomole it was who polished and sold him to the Edo electorate, who bought into his gubernatorial aspiration. Now that Oshiomole has pitched his tent against him, it remains to be seen how he intends to scale the hurdle of second term.
