Olorogun Moses Taiga, President General, UPU Worldwide
By Jon Egie
Since the UPU endorsement of Olorogun David Edevbie as Urhobo choice aspirant for the Delta State, 2023 governorship election on the platform of the PDP was made public on April 17, all hell has been let loose.
In my poetic presentation on the dynamics of the 2023 governorship race in Delta titled, ‘Fall of the Masquerade’ which many found difficult to peruse, I predicted the emergence of the owners of the land intervening in the matter. I also mentioned the awakening, rise of the giant, and the consequent breaking of strings. Figuratively, I drew Deltans’ attention to the collapse of the skyscraper and the skipping of Lilliputians. All these predictions have come to pass and the characters projected are actively on stage performing their roles.
Giving reasons for their decision, the UPU in the endorsement statement said, …”after thoroughly examining and analysing all the aspirants, we have, however, reached a consensus that Olorogun David Edevbie, is the best person for the job at this time. Over time, he has acquired impressive public sector experience, both locally in Delta State and Federal Government, and prior outstanding international development finance experience”. (Urhobo Voice, Vol. 26. No. 1332, Page 4, April 25, 2022).
Before the endorsement proclamation, I had in another automatic writing piece titled, ‘The Burning Masquerade’ pictured the consequence of the earlier endorsement of the Speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, Rt Hon Sheriff Oborevwori, by Governor Okowa as his successor unless he (Okowa) renounced and allowed the will of the people to prevail.
Although it was rumoured that the governor had listened to the latter call by asking Sheriff to drop his ambition and skid to the House of Reps, the body language, vituperations and media fireworks of his followers, aides and acolytes showed otherwise. Evidently, during the Ughelli Mega Rally of the PDP held at the Ughelli Township Stadium on April 4, Sheriff and those he magnetically induced to be Sheriffied were copiously ubiquitous in orgy of the “where Okowa goes there we go” hallucination.
And 13 days after, the Lilliputians began to skip. Obviously, the masquerade was on fire, burning in a fire supposedly ignited by the UPU proclamation but was in fact, ignited by the deceitful conduct of Governor Okowa. The Edevbie Endorsement by the UPU lit a fire on the thatch rooftop of the house of the masquerade garbed in rafia weavings and the teenage play-song, there is fire on the mountain, was relived, and everyone started running, skyscraper collapsing and the Lilliputians skipping.
Even days before the UPU 2022 Proclamation, during a stakeholders meeting at Asaba, the giant rose; ex-governor James Ibori the political Crusoe of Delta State, rose and walked out of the meeting to express his disagreement with Governor Okowa who seeks, with impunity and undeserved audacity, to alter the mutual and harmonic political course of Delta State for his personal interest and dwarf Ibori by betrayal of trust.
I saw this coming in May 29, 2015, during the swearing in ceremony of Okowa as governor of Delta State. I have never been surprised by every move he makes since then. I was standing by the podium at the Cenotaph, Asaba taking notes while the ceremony progressed and after the oath taking, when Okowa rolled out what he called SMART Agenda, I knew we had been scammed and since then, Delta had remained scammed.
Ibori’s error was, all the years, he could not look deep into the eyes and properly read the lips of the man he trusted and staked his life for. Deceit can be deceitful, evil as it is, it has the potentials of appearing as the angel of Light and hence, difficult to discern.
Not Ibori alone, Urhobo monarchs and even the UPU lost the mark, when in 2019, they were reassured of cooperation and free hand to determine, among the Urhobo people, the best of their politicians in the PDP that would succeed Okowa. Not quarantined, the virus of political deception displayed by Okowa also infected the clergy of Urhobo extraction and now, Bishops and leading spiritual fathers who hitherto spoke in strong criticisms of the governor have all suddenly lost their voice
But in the reverie of the pyrhic dominance of Okowa, the UPU woke up from its slumber and ( apology to Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor), sounding an Amen like thunder, spoke; causing a trepidation in the political landscape, collapse of the skyscraper and skipping of Lilliputians. Since that gale, in the words of James Ene Henshaw ( This is our chance, 1956), all has not been the same again.
A line up of reactionary forces took positions: some at the home front of the beneficiary of the endorsement proclamation, others within the rank of the UPU and then, back-men and strikers from the political formations of the governor and the PDP–all unleashed in defence of Governor Okowa’s endorsement of Sheriff and opposed to UPU endorsement of Edevbie. Emotional outburst compared to that of President Donald Trump’s when he threatened North Korean leader, Kim, with Fire and Fury such that has never been known in the history of mankind, was reenacted. One then wondered why so much angst against David Edevbie, one of their own?
The most plausible answer was proferred by Umukoro Oghenekaro in the article, Delta 2023: It’s B hietween Development and Malice (Secret Reporters, April 24, 2022).
“While he (Okowa) pretends to the Delta public to base his position on fairness and equity, those who know understand that he is on a mission of vengeance…..He is angry that the Urhobos of Delta Central presented candidates in 2014 primaries when it was supposed to be the turn of Delta North,….he wants to punish the Urhobos by denying them their turn, as a matter of retaliation.
” Governor Okowa himself, the entire top leadership of the state PDP, community party chieftains, the PDP delegates and, indeed, all Deltans, know well that in terms of qualifications, development finance skills, administrative competence, management experience and exposure, Oborevwori does not stand anywhere near Edevbie.
“Governor Okowa knows that Edevbie is the best but his motive is deeper than we can see. Yes, it is true he wants to hurt the Urhobos but he is only using those arguments of anger as a smokescreen. His real motive is to dislodge James Ibori as the father of the PDP in Delta State, render him irrelevant in the politics of the state and at the national level so that he becomes the ultimate godfather.” The report said.
To mention but a few, the line up of reactionary forces who shamelessly came up to challenge the UPU on Edevbie’s endorsement include: Council Chairmen of the eight LGAs in Urhoboland, even Chief Godwin Adode, Chairman of Ughelli North who dined and wined in the house of David Edevbie and to whom so much confidence of support was placed, also drew the knife.
Others include Dr Richard Kofi (Ughelli South), Eugene Inuaghan (Sapele), Isaiah Esiowa (Okpe), Victor Ofobrukueta (Ethiope East) and Oghenedoro Owoso (Ethiope West).
They believed the UPU was misguided and in their wisdom, “our reaction is to guide….the UPU to strictly adhere to it’s vision”.
Closely following the reaction of the council Chairmen was the chairman of PDP, Delta Central, Chief A.P. Fovie, who days earlier has had a warm romance with David Edevbie in his house as host, also rejected the UPU endorsement and called on the UPU to immediately withdraw the endorsement, charging that the action of the UPU was a clear usurpation of the powers of the PDP, which is unacceptable, and hence, the UPU should without delay, “repudiate and or, nullify the endorsement via another press statement.”
Not done, another stallion from the stable of Governor Okowa political war chest, CUPP, Coalition of United Political Parties, a hanger-on, parasitic dependants on Okowa who by greed and wicked gluttony killed the essence of democracy in their classroom meetings called political parties where their Chairmen are like sole proprietors of private schools with ramshackle plank infrastructure, galloped out charging and quarreling. It’s Spokesman, Prince Henry J.E. Eze quickly issued a statement that the UPU endorsement of Edevbie was an invitation of chaos and anarchy in Delta State saying the 17 political parties making up CUPP have their candidates whose profile and antecedents far outweigh that of David Edevbie and asserted that they were in the same page with Governor Okowa as far as 2023 guber race in Delta State is concerned. Not a surprise!
Also, some members of the DC-2023 who visibly lost out came out to condemn the UPU.
Observing that the political boat of Delta State was drifting at sea and the person being prepared by Okowa to man the oars is rudderless, the association of Delta women professionals led by Dr Mrs Otaroghene Fejiro came out to outrightly reject Okowa’s choice of Sheriff Oborevwori who the women fume, lacks the basic leadership skills and training to man the oars, saying that the toga of Street Credibility being paraded by the Okowa man is a threat to their efforts towards the proper upbringing and the educational development of their children, a catalyst to increase of the number of out-of-school children in the state and an encouragement to hooliganism, thuggery and criminality.
But before the women could say Jack, another stallion, trust the stable of Okowa and the influence of the power of incumbency, raced out; this time, Concerned Deltans, who in a statement issued by Joel Odhomo Salubi, in his naivety effectively made effort to corroborate and support the women’s stand when he defined the toga of the Okowa man, “Street Credibility”, which the women loathe, as a quality that makes one likely to be accepted by ordinary young people who live in towns and cities because you have the same fashions, styles, interests, culture, or opinions.
But the business of government and governance is more serious than the application of the concept of “Street Credibility”, which these Concerned Deltans claim is the most important ingredients for a worthy politician and quoting Sheriff as saying, “My Street Credibility is working for me…”
The street credibility really mattered as nearly every street in Delta was getting Sheriffied until in the euphoria of his assumed dominance and lordship, he recklessly raised the gavel and smashed his thumb when he hastily, without recourse to the welfare and future of citizens of Delta State, led the DTHA to approve a whooping N150 billion loan, otherwise a bridging finance facility, to Governor Okowa.
In spontaneous reaction, Deltans woke up and told the uncommissioned Sheriff to his face that he is a Joker and such urchins cannot attempt to toy with the intelligence of Deltans, in a broad day last minute looting and get away with it.
Once again, Okowa men came out and tried to explain the genuineness and credibility of the action of the Street Sheriff in approving the N150 billion, but while that debate was ongoing, the skyscraper collapsed when news came from PortHarcourt, where screening if governorship aspirants was held, that the Speaker of the DTHA truly had “Street Credibility” with Inconsistency in Academic Qualifications.
As at the time of writing, the Certificate of clearance of Olorogun David Edevbie is handy and in public domain but that of the Street Sheriff was yet to be confirmed.
By the turn of events it is not yet known if the eight derelict council Chairmen of Urhoboland and Chief Patrick Fovie among others who blatantly insulted the UPU for it’s diligent choice and endorsement of Edevbie would apologize and when they do, fathers as they are, UPU should find a place to forgive, even Okowa too. For to err is human and to forgive is divine .
Jon Egie, a journalist writes from Ughelli.
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