By Patrick Omorodion
In his desperation to succeed Godwin Obaseki who fought against strong PDP stalwarts to carry him into PDP after he decamped from the ravenous APC, embattled deputy governor of Edo state, Philip Shaibu while declaring his ambition to contest as governor in the 2024 election early Tuesday morning, said he is the ‘Original Home Boy’, stressing that other Edo people living outside the state are not qualified to lead the people. Really?
What makes Shaibu more original Edo son than those he refers to as outsiders?
Shaibu is afraid of another Edo son who is not as rascal as him, noisy as him, irrational as him, brutish as him, fetish as him, power drunk as him and ignorant as him.
Shaibu is afraid of a respected Esan son, Dr Asue Ighodalo, a respected banker and technocrat, who has been a strong wheel of the Obaseki government’s economic team that has moved Edo state, not one of those enjoying the windfall as an oil producing state, to number 8 in the country in the area of internally generated revenue.
Like most of us Shaibu is referring to, Dr Ighodalo may not have been residing in Edo all his life to qualify as ‘Original Home Boy’ by Shaibu’s definition, but his credentials that qualifies one to be a thinker who can drive the economy of a poor state to become a prosperous one that can provide the citizens all that could make life worth living do. In fact his credentials dwarf that of Shaibu which is only laced by thuggery and intimidation of enemies, perceived and real.
So what makes Shaibu ‘Original Home Boy’?
Fact checking his profile, I found out that, like me born in Onitsha, Anambra state, he was born in Kaduna, Kaduna state and had his early education at St. Augustine Primary School, Tundu Wada Kaduna but finished at L.E.A Primary School Barnawa, Kaduna State.
After that he attended Saudauna Memorial Secondary School, Kawo Kaduna.
For his first degree, he attended the University of Jos where he was a student leader and left in 2000.
After he left school, it was reported that he started working with the Nigerian Prisons Service, Abuja but voluntarily retired as an Assistant Inspector of Prisons in 2002 so he can venture into full politics.
So it could be said that Shaibu only worked for two years because since 2003 he has been into full time politics and lived most of his youthful years outside Edo state. So why does he now consider himself as the ‘Original Home Boy’ just to disparage Dr Ighodalo as an intruder to the state?
And what experience is he bringing into governance? Definitely not experience of turning waste to wealth as a seasoned businessman or technocrat but that of thuggery and ballot snatching during elections which now makes him believe that he is the only true Edo son that deserves to be an ‘Original Home Boy’
If not for the fact that Oshiomhole wanted to compensate him for the role he played in mobilizing students to attend NLC rallies during the many battles Oshiomhole fought with government as well as the fact which Shaibu himself revealed, that his father helped Oshiomhole back in the day in Kaduna and therefore imposed him as Obaseki’s running mate in the 2016 election, no governor would have accepted Shaibu to be a commissioner under him how much more being a deputy governor.
It was for the reason of him being a rascal and head of political thugs in Edo state’s political circle that made Obaseki give him the role of interfacing with politicians while he faced the real business of governance.
What did Shaibu do, he became pig headed and thought that he was the back bone of Obaseki. He became intolerant to better ideas that could help turn the state around and bruised even the technocrats Obaseki took pains to convince to join him in making Edo great again after greedy politicians obliterated the gains made under the revered Brigadier-General Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia as governor of Midwest/Bendel state.
Shaibu is not fit to be governor of Edo state because like all other professional politicians, he will take Edo back many years by introducing politics of thuggery and nepotism, which are the only legacies he is leaving behind after seven, going to eight years as deputy governor of Edo state.