Previously lurking in the shadows ensconced within the lush ambience of his palatial Arabian castle is the cosmopolitan philanthropists and Benin based billionaire Capt. Hosa Okunbor. This well-trained pilot has finally thrown away the garb of pretence and berthed in the camp of Obaseki’s arch-enemy Pastor Osagie Ize Iyamu.
Thus, the simmering feud hitherto laced with denials has now turned out to be a truism—and now Obaseki the foe! What is the grouse anyway? No one knows; but the truth is that the big pocket Hosa along with some prominent sons of the soil such as the reverend Lee Engineering boss, another big pocket, Dr Leemon Ikpea from the sleepy Ewohinmi town in Edo Central, Oil magnate Ayiri Emami and, as some have alluded, the revered Oba’s Palace. The reason behind this thinking is that since Capt. Hosa has generously contributed to making the Oba’s palace more conducive for living and in fact aided the transport logistics; so by casual reasoning, wherever he is, there the Palace will be.
Then, the deciding factor will be where the heart and pulse of the APC controlled Federal Government will swing to: One, if the decision is to do away with Tinubu and Oshiomole, then Obaseki would be allowed easy victory; but if the decision is to keep Tinubu and Oshiomole, then Federal Power might come in to play. Whichever way, the bubbles will soon burst. Then the shifting sands of Edo politics is another likely factor for Obaseki to contend with. Judging from the torrents of celebrations when Oshiomole was dethroned as the APC chairman, the thinking was that he would have been stoned whenever he makes an appearance on the streets of the capital city; but here now is Oshiomole being welcomed and embraced by the same people who spilled into the streets to celebrate his downfall.
Then the APC propaganda machinery appears to be riding roller coaster against that of Obaseki. Investigations revealed that the APC has been rooted in the Wards, LGA headquarters, parks, recreation centres, gardens, motor parks and elsewhere. This is as against the PDP machinery that is largely immobile. From reports and video shots, it is clear the plan is to intimidate and introduce fear into the PDP supporters so that they will be scared from voting.
The complaint within the PDP camp as gathered –this may not be true—is that they are hampered by the paucity of funds! For a governor facing formidable enemies, that may prove fatal. The role played by voodooism and occultism practice is also not overlooked. It is said that forces against Obaseki are not leaving any stone unturned including the massive use of voodoo to throw a spanner in Obaseki’s campaign. Nevertheless, Obaseki is no newcomer to politics.
As captain of his own ship, he must now redirect his focus to chart a proper course. The torrents of resignation in his administration are only an indication that something is seriously amiss in the spiritual realm. He has only four weeks to look closely at his campaign structure. This is not the time to fail any examination; as an incumbent, he cannot afford to slip at this period.
