Ever since the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced results of the much awaited Edo state governorship election, former chairman of APC and immediate past governor of the state, Comrade Adams Aliu Oshiomhole, has been the butt of mockery and ridicule, ranging from the hilarious to the wicked. Social media, where anything goes, has gone gaga over it, being in the forefront of spreading such filth. And it is not farfetched to guess that in coming days we may read many a speculative, pepper-soup, beer parlour reports in the new media, headlined, ‘Sacked, defeated, Osho’s beautiful wife, Lara, deserts him leaving him powerless, homeless, penniless’ with thousands if not millions of their kindred readers thumbing it up in the comments section.
We live in a world of distorted value systems where nothing seems to prick our conscience any longer, not least eternal values of true love and purity. Anybody who has ever experienced emotional distress or anguish of soul cannot but feel sorry for him. I can imagine his distress given that he stacked literally all that he had into that election. You could say that he should take it like a man that he is; easier said than done. Emotional distress unlike physical pain is indescribable more or less, as it strikes at the core of the human being, the soul. We should not make it harder for him with our ludicrous taunting and recriminations on him. Let us allow him to grieve in quietude, for he is already, so to speak, bruised and bloodied, suffering two huge ‘misfortunes’ or, better said, disappointments in quick succession.
To be candid, many are surprised at the margin of defeat, 307,000 votes for the winning candidate as against 223,000 for the loser. What is more, Oshiomhole’s camp won only two local government areas. This is shocking to many, how much more the erstwhile ‘godfather’ of Edo politics, former national chairman of his party? I expected a tighter result after all the hype. Oshiomhole could lament that Edo state has fallen into the hands of the conservatives, PDP, after his bitter struggles to bring it into and keep it in the progressive fold. First, he fought a long drawn battle in the law courts to retrieve his mandate from the PDP that had governed the state since return to civil rule in 1999; then he survived a second term scare to be reelected and battled again to install his successor with whom he later fell out and against whom he battled yet again for his preferred candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Comrade Oshiomhole has fought many battles from his years as a trade union leader. But against this latest battle, he met a brick wall and the results surprised not a few people. Can we say that he is now battle weary?
Will Governor Godwin Obaseki come back to APC, the party on which he was originally elected before he decamped to the PDP, just weeks to the polls? I doubt if the powerful PDP governors who helped him coast to victory on Sunday will allow him to do so. The South-south governors will now be elated that they have the entire region, the oil rich Niger Delta, firmly under their wraps. Surely, the PDP will not want to let go of this unique position anytime soon, not when permutations for 2023 are ongoing. Alas, the progressives (APC) have lost yet another foothold in the important Niger Delta zone.
Now that the elections are over all should sheath their swords and let bygones be bygones. Governor Obaseki should be magnanimous in victory and do away with the shenanigans and bitter rivalry that characterised the campaigns. He should forgive all misdeeds whether knowingly or unknowingly against him, for, to err is human. Now is the time for him to step up and provide responsible, exemplary leadership by preaching unity, spreading the doctrine of love and peaceful co-existence among all Edo people/citizens. He should accord Oshiomhole all due respect in private and public, without let or hindrance as an older person, a former governor, a statesman, a fellow traveler on earth, a fellow creature of the Almighty all of whom he created equal. He should endeavour to dispense of vanity and conceit within him. I give kudos to Ize-Iyamu for congratulating his opponent on his victory and accepting his loss with philosophical equanimity. As for Oshiomhole, he should use this time to engage in self-communion, to reflect on life itself. He should reflect that he himself had in years past used his tongue in ways that are unedifying. My wish and prayer for him is that he comes out of the quiet reflection of a better human being inwardly. Meantime, we should all let Oshiomhole be, please.
Still on fake businesses
I received this at the weekend in my inbox.
“Dear friend,“My husband was a prominent sociologist and successful businessman. We have lived in Cambodia, a Southeast Asian nation, for 18 years. On the 18th December 2019, my husband traveled to America to visit his business associate and he was infected with Covid-19 and died in the hospital. Since then, everything changed and life hasn’t been the same because my husband was my back BORN, so I cannot continue the business without him because of my health challenges. I was diagnosed with kidney failure and I relocated back to America for medical care.“We owned an oil mill factory and Estate in Cambodia before the death of my husband. My sickness became worse and I sold the company and the estate at the cost of ($3,500,000). I tried to deposit the money in a bank then but because of the pandemic all the banks were closed, I could not put the money in the bank. Our family lawyer advised me not to keep such an amount of money in the house for security reasons and he introduced a security company to me. I was able to package the money in a box and register it with the security company for safety purposes.
“I have a son who is 12years old now and having known my health condition and my doctor said I have a few months to DIE unless I transplant my kidney which is not even a guarantee. I don’t want to die without handing over my little son to a trusted person who can help me train him up in a God fearing way. I want you to stand as my son’s GUIDANCE to receive the box and invest the money in your country in profitable business and when my son grows, you can establish a business for him.
“You can search my husband’s name (Dr. William Helmreich) from Google.“YOURS Sister in the Lord,“Mrs. William Helmreich.
Google search by me: William Helmreich was a professor of sociology at the City College of New York. He was also a published author. Born 1945 and died 28 March 2020.
Google search by me on Helmreich’s wife: In addition to his son Jeffrey an assistant professor of philosophy and law at the University of California at Irvine, Helmreich is survived by his wife, Helaine Helmreich a speech therapist who wrote a well-received novel, ‘The Chimney Tree”, another son Joseph, a writer, a daughter Deborah Halpern, a speech……
Comment.
The capital letters are mine to underline the grammatical errors in this letter.I need not waste valuable space to show that this is a fake business proposal. Suffice it to say that a google search showed that she is not the wife of Helmreich as she claims. More importantly, how can someone want to entrust the guardian of her child and such a humongous amount to a stranger like me whom she had never met. Her claims are bogus. Rubbish.
Ikeano writes from Lafia via [email protected] 08033077519
