By Dr. Fidel Okpo.
The growing calls on the immediate past National Chairman of the APC and former governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole to contest for Edo North senatorial ticket in 2023 is the hottest issue in this section of the country right now. What started as a mere speculation that the indefatigable Comrade may be interested in elective office once again has suddenly gained traction and become the most potent rallying topic for APC in Edo State and his loyalists across the country. Interestingly and by all indications, it is not Comrade Adams Oshiomhole himself that is seeking to contest for the Senate seat, rather it is the elders, traditional rulers and electorates in Edo North that see the Senate seat as an opportunity to bring back Comrade Adams Oshiomhole into national political reckoning and by implication use him for their own engagements in political participation.
Even at this moment in time, with the high pitch agitation over the issue, there is no credible evidence that Oshiomhole has confided in anyone, including his most loyal aides, if he will succumb to the growing pressure being mounted on him to contest. However, judging by his antecedents of bowing to the will of the people at critical moments to serve, it is expected that this time around he will not disappoint the people of Edo North who see in him a beacon of hope to once again experience eye marks of development and enjoy benefits as a direct consequence of their electoral choices.
Notwithstanding the overwhelming support which an expected Oshiomhole candidacy for the Senate is garnering, the incumbent, Senator Francis Alimikhena has indicated interest in returning to the Red Chamber for a third term in 2023. But the prevailing opinion is quite loudly unequivocal that with his two tenures, Senator Alimikhena not by his fault or intention, but by his innate capacity, has reached the limits of his ability. He has done his best as a representative for the people of Edo North in the Senate.
Therefore, the time for him to go is now, so that the boundaries of representation for Edo North people can be broadened.
It is quite understandable that Senator Francis Alimikhena would wish to return to the Red Chamber for a third term. Who wouldn’t want to anyway? However, as a gentleman, which presumably he is, he should come to terms with with the will of Edo North people and their desirability of Oshiomhole to take over that seat which he would have distinguished himself for 8 years by 2023. There is no time that leaving such an office will not be painful, especially when there is no standard for measuring the performance of each of the 108 senators of the federation to determine those who have justified the time spent in the hallowed chambers. This means that even if any incumbent Senator were to be given a third chance to occupy the office, they would still have the desire to return for a fourth tenure and more if the people would allow, not because of confidence in the quality of their representation, but to maintain the associations and benefits that they have become accustomed to in the office. This is why distinguished Senator Francis Alimikhena should take the moral high ground at this time, respect the will of his people and be the first to endorse Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, if the latter eventually accepts the call of his people and declares his interest to contest for that office. That way Senator Alimikhena would be magnanimous in capitalizing on a unique opportunity to repay the Comrade, albeit in a smaller measure, for being the main facilitator in the first place, that made him occupy that seat in the senate and in the second instance to be reelected to the same office. This is the expectation of many who are privy to the role Comrade played in the political ascendancy of Senator Francis Alimikhena.
How marvelous it would be therefore, in the sight of man and God, should Senator Francis Alimikhena rise up to the occasion, claim the rare honor and engrave his name in the political history of Afemai land. All it takes is for him, at the appropriate time, to simply step forward bravely to raise Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s hand and call on the people of Edo North to cast their votes for him. This would be a most honorable path to take than any surreptitious attempt to derail or stand in the way of the unstoppable train of genuinely committed Edo North people who are determined to ensure that Comrade Oshiomhole becomes a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2023.
It is absolutely crass and despicable for anyone to resort to a campaign of calumny, insult or peddling of baseless accusations on this issue. Those are merely trademarks of villains. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole is not attempting to remove Senator Francis Alimikhena from office as is being insinuated by some of his followers. It is also absurd to suggest that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole as leader of the APC in Edo State and a father figure in the party, he is too big to condescend to the office of a Senator. On the contrary, the logical reasoning should be that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as the father and conscience of APC in Edo State, he is too big, too important and too experienced not to have a platform where he can agitate for the multiple constituencies he represents in the Nigerian sociopolitical milieu.
It must also be reiterated that Oshiomhole’s candidacy is not being conversed by “his boys” as advanced by some media platforms. The movement is larger than any restrictive categorization. It is the people of Edo North across the political divide, from all walks of life and prominent persons from around the nation who strongly believe that Oshiomhole with his experience and pedigree can enhance the level of discourse and advance democracy in Nigeria as a Senator.
An Oshiomhole in the Senate will be like a vox populi for the Nigerian workers, a pride for Edo people and top-class representation for Edo North senatorial district.
Incidentally, Edo is one of the few states in Nigeria today that has no former governor occupying an important position or playing a stakeholder role at the Federal level. Comrade Adams Oshiomhole going to the Senate in 2023 is not only significant for Edo North Senatorial district, but of value to Edo State and Nigeria as a whole.
Edo State desires a knowledgeable, pragmatic and vocal voice in the senate. Nobody is better equipped to satisfy that desire at this time than Comrade Adams Oshiomhole whose confidence level is second to none. In spite of the criticisms by some commentators about the preponderance of former governors in the senate, it must be stressed that, technically speaking, ex governors make good senators because of their wealth of experience in government fiscal policies, allocation of resources and relationships between arms of government.
One thing that has become obvious since this issue started, is the fact that many of those who advocate the return of Senator Francis Alimikhena to the Senate for a third term argue from a position of latent ignorance. For instance, I read an article recently where the writer argued strenuously that returning Alimikhena to the Senate will position him for higher office in the Red Chamber as opposed to Oshiomhole who would be a first term member of the chamber, if elected. How naive for someone to imagine that the number of terms determines the position anyone occupies or that the office occupied determines the influence of anyone in the Senate. Even the logic of that argument is contradicted by Senator Alimikhena’s personal career in the Senate because as a first term Senator he was a principal officer serving as the Deputy Majority Whip while in his second tenure he is not a principal officer of the Senate. Secondly it is incontrovertible that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole by his nature, character and personality attracts respect, influence and relevance to any office he occupies. So, it is not the office that makes him relevant or respected, but he that elevates and makes the office attractively relevant.
Another argument that has been peddled by loyalists of Alimikhena which by some accounts is being fueled by the Senator himself, is that if he is given the chance to go back to the Senate for a third tenure, he has guarantees to be made the senate president because the position will be zoned to the South South. Then as Senate President, he would in turn use the powers of that office to recommend Comrade for a high position in the presidency. This argument is not only jejune but premised on assumptions which are quite unpredictable. It assumes that APC will win the presidential election and have a majority of senators in 2023. Even if APC were to produce the President and majority of Senators, the argument also assumes that the president will emerge from South West, while the VP will emerge from one of the Northern geopolitical zones. Even if this assumption materializes, the present scenario where the President comes from North West and the Senate President comes from North East means that the Senate President could still emerge from any of the remaining 4 geopolitical zones if the South West produces the President and one of the northern geopolitical zones produces the Vice President. Moreover, precedence indicates that such sensitive positions are not zoned arbitrarily, but more often zoned to accommodate individuals that have been penned down for the positions. So, the excess baggage that made it impossible for Senator Francis Alimikhena, despite premium efforts, to become the Deputy Senate President in 2019, may likely make it impossible for the Senate President to be zoned to South South if in any eventuality he is the only Senator from South South post 2023 election.
Historically, the idea of three tenures in the Senate is alien to Edo North politics. Nobody therefore, should be allowed to perpetuate himself, under whatever pretense, in that office. The prescription for a responsive, reliable and respected political leadership in Edo North right now is for us to come together, irrespective of political sympathies and affiliations, to elect Comrade Adam Oshiomhole as a Senator of the Federal Republic in 2023. No doubt, he will, among other things, help to midwife a rotational order for the three federal constituencies in Edo North, which will determine occupants of that office in the future.
Dr. Fidel Okpo writes from Benin City, Nigeria.