By Habib Aruna
Your Excellency. IT has become necessary and imperative to pen this open memo at this critical juncture in the history of our dear state, and I will be gratified if you peruse it with an open mind. The events of the past few days and weeks have shown that all is not well between you and your deputy, Mr. Philip Shaibu, and this has affected the smooth running of government in Edo State.
What prompted me to make this an open memo was the possible escalation of the crisis occasioned by the purported move of your administration last week to relocate the office of the deputy governor to a separate building outside the Government House. This will, without a doubt, escalate an already strained relationship between you and your once very close deputy. So, rather than making an effort to douse the tension in a state that is in dire need of development in all sectors, your actions are geared towards inflaming an already tense situation.
The world indeed became aware that there was a growing animosity between you and your deputy when Shaibu filed a request at the Federal High Court in Abuja to halt his impeachment. Thank goodness that Shaibu found it expedient to withdraw the suit, ostensibly to give peace a chance. It was this same court action and the attendant comments by you that opened the floodgates of speculation by people of the state and Nigerians at large that your deputy has been nursing governorship ambitions to take over from you next year.
And even though Mr. Blessing Agbebaku, the Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, and your office had denied any move to impeach Shaibu, we know that it is in the character of Nigerian politicians to deny something today and still go ahead to do it tomorrow.
Mr. Governor, sir, there are two disturbing instances I want to bring to your attention in which your actions have implicitly diminished your office. The first one was when there was a mild drama when your security aide stopped your deputy, who was trying to greet you, from accessing you. This happened at a thanksgiving service to mark the 32nd anniversary of Edo State, held at the New Festival Hall, Government House, Benin City.
In pictures that have now gone viral on social media, the security operative was seen blocking Shaibu’s access to you during the event, while you, the First Lady, and others were seen looking at the drama unperturbed.
The second instance was last week, when your administration disbanded the media crew attached to the Office of the Deputy Governor. You also, according to the news report, directed Shaibu to henceforth request media coverage of his activities from the Ministry of Communication and Orientation.
The above two instances will no doubt be recorded as untidy and a stain when the history of your stint in government is written. I am also not sure you will receive a pat on the back in the future when our children see the pictures of your deputy being humiliated by your aides simply because he wants to access you.
This is not, however, to absolve the embattled Shaibu of blame for the events of the past few weeks. I can understand that no governor will stand akimbo while his deputy hobnobs with perceived political enemies; loyalty in politics is more than 100 per cent. You must be loyal to your principal, both in actions and words. Disloyal acts have their consequences.
But the governor, as the father of the state, must avoid actions that will overheat the state and other distractions that will affect the smooth running of government.
You might want to remember, sir, that your deputy stood behind you when you faced the biggest battle of your political career. You could only have imagined what would happen if it were the case in Lagos, when Governor Akinwunmi Ambode’s deputy, Dr. Ranti Adebule, dumped him on the eve of the governorship primary to support the establishment’s ‘preferred’ candidate.
But that was absolutely not the case in Edo, because Shaibu was audacious and pragmatic enough to realise that he had to stick with you on the ticket. He dumped his political mentor and godfather, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, and defected with you to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the two of you were able to unite the electorate against a ‘common enemy’. The rest, as they say, is history!
Needless to say, I’m one of those who admire your courage, both as a governor and when you decided to challenge Oshiomhole by taking the risk of dumping the then-ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, when they denied you the governorship ticket. Your famous statement that ‘I am a risk-taker and ready to fight’, before the 2020 election still reverberates in my mind. One will not also forget your incessant and valued interventions in crucial national issues, which have made you a moral force in the country.
But your Excellency would have to be reminded that how you manage the current crisis will go a long way toward defining how your legacy will be framed. It is, however, gratifying to note that your deputy has taken the first step by withdrawing the case in court. The next step is for you to create enough space for issues between the two of you to be settled amicably.
The role the elders of your party have been playing is commendable and should be supported. You have the right to support a candidate of your choice, and Shaibu should be made to know that. The primary race should, however, be thrown open for interested aspirants to contest without harassment or intimidation.
I don’t need to remind you, sir, that it’s only a united house that can win a free and fair election. And the absence of a crisis will enable you to put the final touches on what you have been doing for the past seven years before leaving office. I wish you well as you round off your stewardship in our state.
Aruna, a journalist, wrote from Ikeja, Lagos.
