Ize-Iyamu: Between Wike’s Voice And Voice Of The People -By Isaac Asabor

One oddity that is common to all politicians that are presently involved in the electioneering campaign ahead of the September 19 gubernatorial election in Edo State is that of the resort to campaign of calumny, name calling and making of speeches or political comments that can inflame popular feelings, rouse their followers to anger against innocent Edolites. One may not be wrong to conjecture that in view of the upcoming gubernatorial election that some politicians in the State and from other States have no doubt instigated some “thugs” to pick up arms against innocent Edolites. The most painful aspect of it is that to the one they are supporting, there is no problem as long as he is cheered with the peculiar chorus he is popularly identified with.

There is no denying the fact that the predilection of politicians to resort to inflammatory speeches and name-calling has become entrenched and that their attitudes has not been in the overall interest of virtually all peace-loving Edolites across party divides since electioneering in the State commenced ahead of the September 19 gubernatorial election. In fact, the penchant of the politicians to always brush issue-based campaign away with the wave of the hand, and resort to maligning politicians in opposing camp is worrisome. The reason why every Edolites; irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affilations, should at all times refuse to synergize with this brand of politicians is that the State has for so long been enmeshed in the labyrinth of bad leadership. This attitude of the leaders has more or less, at every political dispensation, put the State and Edolites on retrogressive path.

To me, more culpable of this brand of politicking is the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, who presently heads the campaign team of the incumbent governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki. Recently, he has described the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu, as a bad product.
In a statement issued on Friday, July 31, 2020, by the Commissioner for Information and Communications in Rivers State, Paulinus Nsirim, Governor Wike said ex-APC Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, had explicitly exposed the true identity of Ize-Iyamu.

The governor, in his characteristic manner, said it is an affront to Edolites for Oshiomhole to recant his words and ask the electorates to accept such a man. The Rivers State governor was said to have made the comments during a media parley with a national television network in the state.

He was quoted to have said, “After an analysis, backed with supporting video footages from the campaigns of the last election in the state, he declared with unequivocal clarity, that Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, the Edo State Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a bad product and you cannot sell a bad product to good and discerning people of Edo State.”

According to Governor Wike, he drew his conclusion from the analysis of facts deducted from the previous governorship election in the state.

“Adams Oshiomhole told Edo people that Ize Iyamu was rusticated from school; that he poured acid on a fellow student that destroyed his manhood. That he is an armed robber that cannot be trusted with money. Such a character cannot be accepted by Edo people as Governor during the election.

“I respect the Bini tradition and I know that Edo people are educated to know that Oshiomhole cannot play on their intelligence. If he is now retracting what he said of Ize Iyamu, who is sure that he’s saying the correct thing now.

“Adams Oshiomhole’s sudden U-turn is a great insult on Edo people. This is an opportunity for Edo people both at home and in the diaspora to use their votes to tell Oshiomhole that they cannot take his lies anymore.

“From all indications, it is obvious that there is no strong opposition against Obaseki and he will win convincingly,” Wike was quoted to have said.
Without any iota of exaggeration, two demeaning aspects which I found inflammatory in his comments are that “Ize-Iyamu is a bad product” and “It is obvious that there is no strong opposition against Obaseki and he will win convincingly”. In a similar vein, I have for the umpteenth time ruminated over what the Rivers’ governor said and come to the conclusion that all he said amounts to what can in this context be called “Wike’s Voice”. Yes! It is his voice, and not the voice of God. To me, the governor, in order not to make Edo become inflammable; just the way he would not want Rivers State to be, should always chose his words before speaking. We all are garrulous only that we exercise moral restraint while communicating, particularly in public places. To me, the governor should be very meticulous in the choice of his words. Again, he should not forget the word of Adolf Hitler that says, “The great masses of the people will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one”.

Be that as it may, his predilection to attacking the characters of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and Comrade Adams Oshiomhole any time he takes possession of a microphone is not intimidating as he may have thought. The reason why his campaign of calumny and name-calling are innocuous, puerile and inconsequential is evident since Ize-Iyamu’s campaign train zoomed off from the Sports Complex of the University of Benin (UNIBEN), where the voice of the people was thunderously witnessed by Nigerians at every whistle stop made by the train.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is not an exaggeration to say that the voice which Edolites have been listening to since Ize-Iyamu campaign train began to attract the voice of the people, and not that of Wike’s.

For the sake of clarity, “Vox populi, vox dei” which equally means the voice of the people is the voice of God” is an old Latin proverb. The whole concept of democracy is based on it. It has a lot of truth in it. There are numerous instances in history when people have brought down corrupt governments and monarchs once they have awakened. You may want to know why this writer says Ize-Iyamu Campaign Train has at every whistle stop being hailed with the Voice of God. The reason for the foregoing view cannot be farfetched as the flag off of his campaign from the University of Benin, and to Igueben, Uromi, Irrua and Agenebode have been hailed with thunderous welcome by the people and royal fathers.