By Jethro Ibileke
The saying that when two elephants fight, the grass suffer, played out on Friday, 11th day of November, 2022, in Auchi, the administrative headquarters of Etsako west local government area. The occasion was the political rallies of two political giants that held simultaneously, those of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole and Peter Obi. The former is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for Edo north senatorial district, and the latter is the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, Peter Obi.
On that day, Adams Oshiomhole was formally presented with his party’s flag for the 2023 General election, which also signaled the official commencement of his campaign for election to represent the good people of Etsako, Afemai and Akoko-Edo that make up the Edo North senatorial district; and Peter Obi was on a campaign tour of Edo state.
Oshiomhole, the former two time governor of Edo state, and thousands of APC fateful had converged at the Auchi Polytechnic sports complex, located along Ekpoma road; while Labour Party’s rally was held at the public field, inside Auchi town. The two campaign venues are miles apart from each other.
While one is not oblivious of Labour Party’s right and entitlement to holding its rally anyatime, anyday anywhere in the country, however, one cannot but wonder why Peter Obi chose to hold his rally on the same day with Adams Oshiomhole’s, considering the fact that it is his country home. Or, was it just a coincidence? Yes, Auchi is home to a good number of Obidients, but, it is reasonable to think that the Etsako people will likely abandon their own son of the soil, for a presidential candidate from far away place.
Anyhow, just as the sky is spacious enough to room to every birds, the ancient town was large enough to take the two political rallies simultaneously. The Peter Obi rally was largely successful, as it recorded a fairly large crowd of supporters, the same was Adams Oshiomhole’s rally was. Huge crowd of APC members and admirers converged at the Auchi Poly sports complex to witness the formal handing over of the party’s flag to the of the senatorial candidate.
Moments after Peter Obi finished addressing the Obidients at the public fuelds, he headed to the palace of HRH Alhaji Haliru Momoh, the paramount ruler of Auchi, for royal blessing, when, in his usual fiery and combative nature, Adams Oshiomhole led led his supporters to “invade” and converted the public field-venue of the Labour Party rally to another carnival venue of his party. The few LP supporters left behind had no option than to quietly leave the venue, on sighting the Oshiomhole troops coming towards them.
As usual, Oshiomhole resorted to the use of local parables to whip up sentiment among his supporters who joined the frenzy, as he led them in a carnival-like match to the venue of the LP rally to test their strength and to also let the ‘stranger’ (Obi) know who the owners of the land are.
On seeing the Oshiomhole troops coming their way, the LP supporters quietly left the venue. The former APC national chairman and his legion of supporters took over the venue. Feeling triumphant at the ease with which he and his legion of supporters subdued the Obi supporters, Comrade Oshiomhole ended up addressing the huge crowd that accompanied him.
Apparently satisfied that his mission to “run Obi out of the town” has been accomplished, Oshiomhole gleefully rocked to the beats of the songs “Obi run away” that made a mockery of the LP candidate. Ironically, some of the policemen on duty at the instance of the Labour Party Campaign Organisation appeared helpless and rooted to the spot.
Some of those who witnessed the drama hailed the action of the former Governor, because according to them, it shows the amount of clout and respect he commands as a kingmaker and leader in the locality. Also, the enthusiastic crowd of supporters felt that it was an insult for the LP candidate to schedule a campaign rally on the same day as his, adding that such an effrontery should not go unchallenged.
Meanwhile, Adams Oshiomhole, candidate of the APC for Edo North Senatorial seat at the National Assembly, has said that if elected, his focus is to change the annual budget system of Nigeria in favour of the ordinary people. He disclosed this on Friday at the inauguration of the party’s campaign in Auchi, Etsako West Local Government Area of the state.
“I am troubled by the way we manage our budget at the National Assembly. I want to go there and argue on the floor of the Assembly that we should change our budgetary system. Our budget must work for the people.
“I want to be a Senator, not a Senator sharing grinding machines for widows, buying motor bikes or Keke NAPEPs for 10 out of 10,000 youths.
“I don’t need to be a senator to support windows and youths. I have done that and I am still doing that, today I am paying school fees for people who don’t have money to go to school. I can’t have N500 million for constituency project and go and buy Keke NAPEPs, motor bikes and grinding machines, that is not lawmaking.
“The minister of works told me that the reason road constructions are not completed is that the National Assembly will take half of the money budgeted for a road and approve four other roads on that approved fund, this is why we have unfinished roads all over Nigeria. I will use the floor of the Senate to ensure that when the executive brings budget, you don’t start new road when the existing ones are not completed,” he said.