Uhuru As POI Is Poised To Bridge Governance Gap With SIMPLE Strategic Approach -By Isaac Asabor

To those that have words and their meanings as their bailiwick, the essence of the word, “Uhuru”, as contained in the title of this piece may not be difficult to grasp. The reason for the foregoing optimistic view cannot be farfetched as the word simply means “freedom” in Swahili the same way “Azad” means “freedom” in Arabic, Urdu, Farsi, Turkish, and other languages.

If you are like this writer, just watching TV or picking up the newspaper is an unceasing aide-mémoire of issues that are related to “governance” in Edo State, and that is not just because it is also his job but because as a citizen of Edo State and Journalist, every passing day had seen him worriedly look out for media mention about governance in the State. This, he wants to obsessively do, and at his 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.

Without resort to politicking, Edolites are not happy with the retrogressive trajectory governance has taken these days. For instance, distrust is running high; fiscal pressures are mounting; service delivery does not reach the poorest people, particularly in the rural areas, conflict with, and mutual suspicion of those who seem concerned have been on the rise.

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, there is Uhuru for Edolites as Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu (POI), who is destined to come out victorious at the poll in September, will no doubt exhibit his poise to bridge the wide chasm of governance in the state by virtue of his strategy code-named: SIMPLE.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say that SIMPLE acronymically represents Security and Social Welfare, Infrastructure Development /Urban Renewal, Manpower Development and Training, Public/Private Partnership, Leadership by Example and Employment and Empowerment.

Analyzing the security benefits that are inherent in the strategy, it is expedient to recall that Mr. Godwin Obaseki in 2018 unveiled the Edo State Security Architecture, which was then considered to be a new agenda that will boost security in the state. The governor flagged off the programme with the launching of the Edo State Security Trust Fund in which the state government committed N2 billion as seed fund.

The components of the state security architecture at the time consisted of 50 special security cars fitted with modern communication and security gadgets; 30 Toyota Hilux patrol vans; 30 patrol motor bikes and three Tropicalized Armoured Personnel Carriers; three Ambulances; Integrated Command and Control Centre and five special security check points to be manned at all the entry and exit points in the state.

But alas! Despite the razzmatazz with which the project was launched, security situation in Edo today is unarguably an abracadabra and condemnable as crime of various ignoble dimensions has literarily taken roots in the State.

There is no scintilla of hyperbole to say that the security architecture which Ize-Iyamu has will periodically engage individuals, households, hamlets, villages, communities, development centers, local government areas and beyond to understand and own up the security master plan of the State Government and equally motivate them to discuss and harness the people’s indigenous ideas to support and safeguard their areas. Ize-Iyamu is poised in his planned security architecture to tackle the security challenges in the state as he will accord it his personal commitment and actions to prove that he is truly a servant leader who relish in putting his personal safety at risk for the wellbeing of the people.

On infrastructure, Ize-Iyamu is poised to provide basic social amenities and infrastructure to improve the lives of Edolites as he would use available scarce resources to construct the infrastructure that will benefit Edolites, particularly in the areas of health, education and access roads.

While exuding confidence and hope that every segment of the SIMPLE Agenda manifesto would be implemented for the benefits of Edolites, Ize-Iyamu recently told party members and his supporters that his election as the APC standard bearer for September 19 governorship election in the State was an opportunity for them to get it right this time.

While describing the process that produced him as a reference point, he assured that “This time, we must get it right. And the work to make this a reality must continue with revitalized passion and zeal. Our victory today is only the beginning. We must now all come together, renew our loyalty to the party, and march with sturdy strides on this new path that beckons.”

To my view, there is wisdom in giving Ize-Iyamu the opportunity to govern Edo State as Obaseki has been tested. An African proverb has it that “the soup that lasted overnight cannot boast of it nutrients and flavor except it is warmed”. As you and I know, the more it is warmed the faster it loses its nutrients and flavor. One of the reasons Ize-Iyamu should be given a chance is that there are unique people everywhere. They come once in a generation and leave indelible footprints wherever they find themselves. Whenever such rare breed is observed in any of part of the State, he or she should not be waved aside, particularly now that right-thinking Edolites have identified one in the person of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu from the family of Late Chief Robert Osayande Ize-Iyamu, the Esogban of Great Benin Kingdom and Mrs. Magdalene N. Ize-Iyamu (nee Obasohan), a very successful businesswoman. We should put politicking aside and come to grip with the fact that rare breeds like Ize-Iyamu have an unusual mission to fulfill in life. Everything about such unique people is shrouded in some extraterrestrial forces no mortal can adequately deconstruct no matter how much he tries. One again, it is reiterating to say that it will be an unceasing moment of Uhuru for Edolites in the next political dispensation as POI is poised to bridge governance gap with SIMPLE strategic approach.