SOLOMON ODEMWINGIE examines the chances of All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu at the primary and governorship election.
Once again, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is on the march. This time, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to realise his ambition to become the next governor.
In politics, it is often said, with attractive plausibility that there is no permanent friend or enemy but permanent interest. It is not surprising that this amiable and nobly born son of Edo land has pleaded with God to forgive those who consciously truncated his mandate from the Edo electorate in the last election.
As said by the late Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia many years ago when he was military governor, “the destiny of mortals can only be delayed by enemies, its total alteration is beyond human implementation.” Judging from the way politicians and the public are reacting to the emergence of Ize-Iyamu, one would be forced to say that this is his turn and that God’s time has come. Political observers are already watching with keen interest some antecedents and precedents which will culminate in the overwhelming vote he will get in the next APC primary where the party’s governorship candidate for the election will be chosen. From the look of things and reports reaching his Etete campaign headquarters, Edo North Senatorial District will give him 99.99 percent support while Edo Central Senatorial District will come out with 60 to 65 percent. Hopefully, APC leaders in the seven local government areas that make up Edo South Senatorial District will do as much as 70 percent.
An astute politician who travelled more than any other campaigner through all the nooks and crannies of Edo, Pastor Ize-Iyamu has already seen the handwriting on the wall. He is highly encouraged by the ovation that greeted his movement to the APC, a party he nurtured from the beginning. His personality, image, influence and affluence attracted a lot of votes to the Peoples Democratic Party in the last election. True, a tree cannot make a forest! With the mass exodus or defection of his enthusiastic loyalists, fans supporters and sympathisers from PDP to APC, the stage is now set for a new beginning where politicians will no longer gang up against one man who is loved by the people and the Edo electorate. There will be no more room for political surrogacy, “follow-follow” or Godfatherism as every man will now answer his father’s name. All things being equal, no politician for now is capable of defeating Pastor Ize-Iyamu in a free and fair contest whether primary or the main election in Edo. The seed which he sowed over the years has germinated abundantly as the moment of reckoning has come.
Indeed, Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s contribution to the development of the APC cannot be over-emphasised. The people of Edo are fully aware that the party has benefited immensely from his supporters, as some have rightly observed that he has brought more life to keep the political organisation on top in the state. With him as the new governorship candidate of the APC in the forthcoming election, it would be an easy ride for the party. Party leaders in and outside the state are fully aware of this and that is why most of them are clamouring for his candidature. They see him as the hope for a greater Edo and as a man whose body and substance of his works in politics came out of the unfathomable depths of his great mind. His observations and reading of politics supply him with the drapery of his figures and calculations.
Our constitution has no room for independent candidacy, which some cynically refer to as irresponsible demagogue without party policy and patronage. An independent candidate, they contend, cannot be depended upon when the chips are down. This shows the importance of a political party, where all interests, hopes and aspirations are aggregated under the umbrella of peace, stability and good government. Pastor Ize-Iyamu who is the son of a highly respected Benin high chief and owner of the first storey building in Benin City, the late Chief Robert Ize-Iyamu, is a true party man who knows his onions and always opposes a situation where one man tries to hijack the whole show.
He is aware that there is no political party without some measures of internal squabbles and dissension. As a democrat, he believes that the majority will have its way while protecting the interest of the dissenting, non-conforming and idiosyncratic minority as long as they are harmless.
Ize-Iyamu’s organisational ability to accommodate various interests and carry all along, without victimisation is one of the things that have endeared to the people.
He would often say: “I love my Edo people generally. I believe in them and I will always work for them.” His Simple Agenda, a blueprint for governance, which has a general appeal and application, no matter the party in power, will always be a reference point. An advocate of free education, reminiscent of the late Pa Obafemi Awolowo whom he publicly claims to believe in, he will pay adequate attention to this sector. Trade, industries and general development will grow by leaps and bounds.
He is a philanthropist, who is always ready to identify with the hopes and aspirations of the masses. This, he has demonstrated in his personal palliatives to those suffering from the economic lockdown occasioned by the prevailing Corona virus pandemic. Although he has been very mindful not to make politics of the current situation, many have seen that even the power that be has not gone far enough in providing succour to the people.
Edo people are already clamouring for his emergence as the next APC candidate in the forthcoming shadow election. Describing his movement back to the APC as a return journey home, the electorate believe that he is the next governor-hopeful who will bring joy and happiness to the polity.
His role as the future governor of the state will be complemented by his lovely wife, Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, who has not relented in her efforts in mobilising the womenfolk to give her husband their mandate. Idia is one woman who would not sit idle and watch her husband derail in political administration. As an intellectual and a candid woman, she would stand by the truth and call a spade a spade. There will be a high degree of checks and balances in governance. Edo State will benefit immensely from the future governorship of Ize-Iyamu who has promised not to witch-hunt anybody believing in true political sportsmanship of forgiveness, cooperation and provision of the greatest good for the greatest number.
The advantage which he enjoys is that one cannot really talk of PDP in Edo without him. Candidly, he was the oxygen that kept the PDP at the level it is today in Edo. His defection means that the party for now, cannot perform as in the past. Many of his fans are still there in the PDP waiting to vote for him if nominated.
Yes, it is however well known that men of timber and calibre are also in the race with Pastor Ize-Iyamu. Their records show that all of them are eminently qualified for the governorship position. However, Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu who politicians now refer to, as their “fountain of hope” seems to be the head among the equals in the present struggle. He is the talk of the cities, towns, villages and camps.