Josef Omorotionmwan's sour grapes – criticism for the sake of disaffection and malice

By Chris Azebamwan
State Publicity Secretary, APC, Edo State

I read Pa Josef Omorotionwan’s scathing but flawed assessment of Godwin Obaseki’s performance in office in the Vanguard Newspaper.  In his heydays, Omorotionmwan was a highly respected journalist who served as Chairman of the Edo State owned newspaper the Nigerian Observer.  At the same time, his son Hon. Ekpenisi also served as a Commissioner, and his wife was in a statutory board in the immediate past administration of Comrade Adams Aliu Oshiomhole.  So by any and all considerations, Pa Josef Omorotionmwan qualifies as a critical stakeholder in our party the All Progressives Congress (APC).  By reason of his qualifications, antecedents and status in the Party, Pa Omorotionmwan has enough access to make an input into the governance process of Edo State.  Unfortunately, he has allowed his selfish and very personal interests to becloud his judgement.  What could be said in his favour however, is that it is not uncommon for octogenarians to exhibit symptoms of loss of memory in their twilight years.  This may be a plausible explanation for Pa Omorotionmwan’s jaundiced assessment of Godwin Obaseki’s gigantic developmental strides in office.

Perhaps also, having supported one of the aspirants to the office of Governor of Edo State in the last primaries, and failed, he has now chosen to embark on a vendetta and campaign of calumny out of bitterness and frustration.  He is not able to see or appreciate the obvious and glaring achievements of Godwin Obaseki because he would rather have had someone else in Osadebey Avenue as Governor, who would have sustained his political dynasty, keeping it within the family as it were.  Godwin Obaseki has proved to be nobody’s lackey, and there the problem lies for people like Pa Josef Omorotionmwan.

It was therefore, not surprising for Pa Omorotionmwan to resort to the pages of a newpaper to try, though unsuccessfully, to run down his Party the APC, and the administration that to all intents and purposes and much to his chagrin, was not serving his selfish interests.  There are criticisms that ridicule the critic.  This is one of such situations, and Pa Josef Omorotionmwan’s article smacks of someone who failing to obtain a favour or achieve an objective, decides to run down and besmear his intended patron in a fit of frustration and disaffection. 

For the record, Godwin Obaseki is one of the very few political office holders at his level, who came into office with a clear-cut vision of what they wished to achieve in office.  I have had the rare privilege of working closely with Godwin Obaseki, first as an aspirant to elective office, then as a candidate and now as the sitting governor.  I can say authoritatively that Godwin Obaseki is propelled above every other consideration by a desire to serve and better the lot of his people.  If he gets vilified in the course of doing so, he does not mind what mud is thrown at him, so long as his vision and mission are fulfilled. 

Pa Omorotionmwan grudgingly acknowledged the undeniable landmark achievements of Godwin Obaseki in office.  Except that in doing so, he insulted the collective sensibilities of Edo people when he described them in his article as, “largely uneducated”.  Godwin Obaseki emerged as Governor of Edo State through an election that was widely acclaimed as free, fair and transparent.  At no time therefore in the course of the judicial review through the Election Petitions Tribunal, the Appeal Court and the Supreme Court was there any iota of doubt of what the verdict would be – a clear, unanimous and resounding affirmation of the will of Edo people that Godwin Obaseki beat his other contestants fair and square.  Everyone knew that the election results would be upheld.  So there was absolutely no reason to tie Obaseki’s achievements to the court process.  And in anycase, his performance in office was not in contention, nor was it an issue for determination before the courts.

The man at the helm of the immediate past administration in Edo State Comrade Adams Oshiomhole whom Pa Josef Omorotionmwan strove to eulogise, has himself consistently said to all who care to listen, that Godwin Obaseki was pivotal to his achievements in office including but not limited to the Storm Water Project, and the Red Roof Revolution that swept through the State.  Godwin Obaseki has continued with massive road and drainage development projects across the State, contrary to Omorotionmwan’s claim of “a few short streets” in the City centre.  Schools and basic education are in the process of being rejigged and rejuvenated, and tertiary institutions in Igueben, Usen and Iguorhiakhi are being repositioned to live up to their assigned roles.  The Benin Technical College is being revamped to provide skills acquisition training to our restless youths and make them employable.  The “Alaghodaro 2017” Investment Summit brought scores of investors, industrialists and entrepreneurs to the State. Within this first year, the fertilizer plant and cement company are up and running with the attendant creation of direct and indirect jobs in line with our policy of job creation.  The Benin City Industrial Park, which is the first of several industrial parks that are planned for the State was birthed.

Pa Omorotionmwan’s article was replete with inaccuracies.  He alluded to a phantom sale of the new wing of Central Hospital, Benin City.  One really cannot fathom what he meant by EDPA “falling under Obaseki’s hammer”.  He also alluded in passing, to the Observer, EBS and Edo State Libraries without actually saying what had happened to them, or what was intended to happen to them.  He conveniently omitted to mention that the proposal is to reposition them in order to give them a new lease of life and not to dispose of them as alleged by him.  Pa Omorotionmwan’s assertion that “Osadebey Avenue is today a trade outpost” shows the lack of depth of his understanding of what it takes to make Edo State an investment destination of choice.  This is really not the time to limit our choices and sources of project financing to local investors to the total exclusion of those Omorotionmwan chose to describe as “foreign friends from Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt”, who in anycase, are Edo State indigenes.

Pa Omorotionmwan’s claim that Obaseki has ostracized the Party that brought him to power could not be
further from the truth.  Obaseki is on record as having 192 Special Assistants, one from each ward in the State, Special Advisers and Civil Commissioners, all of whom were put into office by the Party leadership.  Obaseki recently concluded a “thank you tour” of all eighteen local government areas of Edo State and he used that opportunity to meet not only with the Party leadership but also, with the generality of APC members at the grassroots.  Perhaps Pa Omorotionmwan wants to redefine the term “ostracise” because Obaseki like Russel Crowe, will not be driven by people’s praise and he will not be slowed down by people’s criticism.  He will continue to work at the highest level he can.  I would advise Pa Josef Omorotionmwan to take the words of Frank A. Clark to heart that, “Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man’s growth without destroying his roots”.  Pa Omorotionmwan’s age and status demand no less.