Expediency Of Bridging Governance Gap In Edo With Odubu’s Robust Experience -By Isaac Asabor

As a citizen of Edo State and Journalist, every passing day had seen me worriedly look out for media mention about governance in Edo state. This I want to obsessively do, at my spare time, watch TV in the newsroom, explore social media platforms, visit online newspapers as well as go through diverse traditional newspapers which are no doubt constant reminders of issues related to “governance,” in the state.

To put it bluntly, not a few Edolites are unhappy with the state of governance in the state, and this is no doubt very understandable as distrust runs high amid fiscal pressures unprecedentedly mounting, so much so that service delivery in most cases does not reach a large demographic segment of the population in the state.

Be that as it may, the barometer of public opinion in the state suggests that the incumbent governor has done his best, or better still reached his tether end, particularly when viewed from the fact that he has unarguably been bringing his past experiences as a technocrat and chairman of Edo State Economic and Strategic Team to bear on the ongoing leadership process. Simply put, there are still agitations from a wide spectrum of the population in the state that his overall performance so far still leaves much to be desired.

Without any scintilla of hyperbole, the gap in governance that crept in few months after Comrade Adams Oshiomhole left office in 2016 is by each passing day widening thereby leaving the impression that the legacy he left in the government house has not been maximized and sustained as expected. This ostensive retrogressive trend in governance, no doubt, has raised the concern, and called for the input of other stakeholders as a way of taking the state to the next level. These are leaders that understand the potential impact of governance on the state’s success or failure. They are citizenly capable as leaders to meet the people’s expectations in the state when given the opportunity.

One of such leaders, Dr. Pius Egberanmwen Odubu, no doubt, has the trump card that is needed to take the state to the next level when given the opportunity to fly the party flag, and consequently when voted for by the people of Edo state; irrespective of political, ethnic and religious affiliations. The reason for being a popular choice of the people cannot be pooh-poohed as he has the trump card that is needed to take the state to the next level. To put it straightforwardly, Odubu’s candidature at both the primary and gubernatorial election stages on his bid to Osadebay Avenue are beyond primordial sentiments.

According to lexicographers, a trump card is “An advantage that makes a person more likely to succeed than other people, especially in something that other people do not know about.” Against the foregoing backdrop, it is germane to ask; “What is the trump card that Odubu possesses? To informed political observers; both in the state and in diaspora, his experience as a former deputy governor to a former governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, whose tenures recorded unprecedented successes in the state, unarguably stood him out, and that is his trump card.

Odubu is unquestionably regarded in the state as a man with the needed experience to become the next governor having being part of the administration that brought the dividends of democracy to the state. Added to the foregoing is the fact that his political ambition has the support and blessings of all and sundry within the state, and beyond.

Without sounding hyperbolical, his years of experience in government so far spanned over a decade, as a trained political scientist and lawyer, put him in a good stead to do the greatest good to the greatest number of people in the state.

His training as a political scientist and a lawyer has uniquely equipped him to embrace modern leadership techniques and organisational skills.

One of the areas where there is noticeable lapse in the state is in that of human capacity. To this, the former deputy governor has what it takes to take actions towards bridging the lacuna, and make it better than it is.

Another aspect of governance in the state that is highly deplored by the people is that of abject neglect of the political class and failure to carry them along by the powers that be. To this, there is no way Odubu we fall into the shenanigan of neglecting the political class as he is known to have always exhibited pleasant attitude towards those that helped him in his political aspiration. To this end, one does not need a soothsayer to say that he has the predilection to accord those that will support him in his race to Osadebey Avenue the due respect they deserve; individually and collectively. He is not the kind of politician that will malign the very people that worked hard, travelled the length and breadth of Edo State for him to win an election, only for him to place his fingers on his eyes and tell them, “Oooin”. He does not belong to the brand of politicians that take delight in literarily drinking from the fountain of power and uncontrollably get drunk with power. He is not the kind of leader that will immediately develop lethargy towards the political class and close the political space after he has been sworn into office.

As a party man to the core, Odubu’s antecedent shows that he would be highly committed to the survival of the party he has been affiliated to as a foundation member from ACD to AC to ACN, and now APC.

Some of his critics may have been asking whether he will be able to attract infrastructural development to the state when he becomes the governor. To me, he will be more than able to attract infrastructural development to the state as he has done in in his various roles as a deputy governor and lawmaker. There is no denying the fact that the media and political history in pictorial formats are replete with his achievements in infrastructural development.