When a battle is fought a winner must emerge.When a winner emerges the terms and conditions of engagement is dictated by the victor.
In war, negotiations before and after have different implications and applications.
Obaseki’s fall from grace did not just happen.
His downfall was foreseen and rightly forecasted by close political watchers.
For whatever best reasons known to them,
Obaseki and Oshiomhole fought a bitter battle that only one victor was sure to emerge.
It was a fight to finish and each player was adequately prepared for the worse.
Emphasis should be made that Oshiomhole was not fighting a personal battle but a battle on behalf of the Party’s leaders and members.
Obaseki decided to alienate both his benefactor and the party leadership alongside their members.
You must choose one, you can’t harvest the fruits and neglect the branches and still yet refuse to feed the roots and expect the tree to survive.
What is the benefit of the root-feeding the tree? what purpose is the tree feeding the branches? what are the benefits when the branches feeding the fruits are neglected?
Only for the fruits to be harvested and consumed by only one person.
Then it is best the root stops its duties and die a natural death with the tree.
Now, Obaseki against sound advice erred in carrying of the party and its members along.
The party members who felt slighted ran to Oshiomhole as the National Chairman of the party to cry out.
Oshiomhole then reached out to Obaseki to have a reasonable solution, but behold
Obaseki tagged Oshiomhole among the hungry party members looking for money to share.
As an old wise tortoise, Oshiomhole quickly withdrew and persuaded the party members to remain calm, he then used his office to benefit the ones he could.
Oshiomhole remained calm but calculated and courted the alienated members.
Oshiomhole entered the battle with the support of the party members.
Obaseki with his flair for not spending money decided to court the people and forget the party.
He sold a dummy to the people that Adams Oshiomhole and the party are beggars looking for money to share.
And the people loved him for it, they all chorused no to Godfatherism.
Obaseki looked for an easy way out by hijacking the leadership of the state APC.
Take note with his penchant for a sealed wallet, Obaseki focused on a few key members to enlist.
As long as you have the chairman one or two more are good to go.
It would be at little expense, Obaseki does not play with digits, Obaseki is a trained risk financial management officer.
Keep it always at single digits and you get the profits.
That was how Obaseki became the Field Marshal of the game.
At every victory, Obaseki would shut down Benin City.
During the EDHA crisis, Obaseki called a rally and started dancing while reciting “we are waiting for them”
When the court ruled restraining Oshiomhole from parading himself as the National Chairman of APC, Obaseki went with his full cabinet and praise singers to dance at Ring Road, the heart of Benin City.
He danced from there to his Office.
He was singing and jubilant all through, the videos were circulated everywhere and I am sure Adams Oshiomhole must have turned his data off during that period to avoid the emotional trauma.
Oshiomhole’s travails in the hands of Obaseki is a replica to the sufferings of the Biblical Job, who was stricken with affliction and almost lost all he had.
Only God saved Job.
Oshiomhole was saved by the appeal court and not even a thousand Buhari could have saved him.
Obaseki who is still holed up in Abuja planned the most elaborate ceremony ever to humiliate Oshiomhole if he had succeeded.
When Obaseki received the court judgement recognizing Giadam as chairman, his plan was to storm the APC secretariat with fanfare.
Bands and dancers were hired with a lot of media hype.
Obaseki then would proceed to Benin with Giadam who as the acting National Chairman would pronounce Obaseki as the APC candidate for Edo State forthcoming elections.
No primaries, no congress no campaign….. nothing at all.
Obaseki’s past celebrations have indeed shattered any chances of a reconciliation.
As a matter of fact, information reaching our news desk has it in good authority that Obaseki has suspended his campaign activities for now.
The Governor has vowed not to spend a kobo anymore for his second term.
He told a close confidant he knows Oshiomhole can not work for his emergence, admitting he wronged Oshiomhole so much that he knows he can never be trusted again.
He says only if Oshiomhole calls him personally to say he would support him then would he consider seeking the ticket under APC.
For now, the governor is looking towards Action Alliance, AA as an alternative.
Osigwe Omo-Ikirodah is a native reporter writing from Benin City.
Source iReporter
