BETWEEN IKHIDE AND OBASEKI

Crusoe Osagie writes that Ikhide’s tirade against the Edo State governor is unfortunate

Serial rabble rouser without much substance, Erasmus Ikhide, has taken a complete detour. He used to try to mask his unfair, vicious attacks on Governor Godwin Obaseki, with developmental criticism, asking for more infrastructure, roads and education reforms.

Alas, in his latest retort to the governor, he has come full circle to show that the attacks have nothing to do with seeking more development for Edo State but purely borne out of personal hatred for Obaseki, which is derived partly from his belief that it was Obaseki who destroyed the political career of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. According to Ikhide, Obaseki “destroyed his (Oshiomhole’s) political career totally.”

The other half of Ikhide’s hatred for the governor is apparently derived from the fact that his proposal to Obaseki’s media team to offer his gun for hire was politely turned down. Since then, he has run amok dreaming, thinking and hallucinating about a governor who probably does not know that he exists, but is rather focused on his mandate to the people.

It will do Ikhide and his ilk a lot of good to take a second look at the said total destruction of Oshiomhole by Obaseki. Could it have been that it was really self-immolation on the part of Oshiomhole? Was the highpoint of Oshiomhole’s self-destruction not the point at which he was removed as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), which happened after the governor had been pushed out of the APC?

To paraphrase American psychologist, Susan Jeffers, taking responsibility means never blaming anyone else for anything you have done or become. This is an essential lesson that Ikhide and his co-travellers need to learn.

In the second paragraph of his misguided missive, Ikhide referred to the numerous Edo people, who rose in defense of the governor as “gullible” because they stood by Obaseki and fought off defanged and oppressive godfathers.

How can an individual who is hardly accomplished in the newfound journalism profession he appears to have stumbled into be wiser than the thousands of Edo people, who stood up for the governor in the face of intimidation by unprogressive political forces across the country determined to keep the people subjugated? Truly, the first sign that one is losing his mind is when he thinks himself to be the only sane person and other persons around him have gone crazy.

Ikhide took a voyage into the lame lingo of betrayal. ‘Oh, how Obaseki betrayed Dan Orbih; Oh, he betrayed Governor Wike.’ According to him: “While the world was celebrating Governor Wike yesterday as an elder statesman, Obaseki was among the humanity (sic) that refused to send him birthday wishes on his anniversary.” This tirade was published on Wednesday, December 15, 2021. However, at least 24 hours before Ikhide published his hogwash, Obaseki had a full-page congratulatory message for Governor Nyesom Wike on page 15 of Vanguard Newspaper of December 14, 2021.

Even if there was no evidence of a congratulatory message, since when did not verbalizing or documenting birthday messages to a fellow governor amount to betrayal?

Ikhide will find the words of ancient Greek philosopher, Sophocles in his play, Antigone, useful when he said “Who the gods want to destroy, they first make mad,” in salvaging himself from his recent adventure of trying to create a phantom crisis between Governor Obaseki and his Royal Majesty, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, Ogidigan. This is because the way our forefathers deal justice to liars and warmongers may be radically different from how politicians may do so. So Ikhide should be guided and thread softly on such matters that are too high for him.

Osagie is Special Adviser on Media Projects to Edo State Governor