FINALLY, after one week of intense political footwork leading to his defection from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Edo State governor Godwin Obaseki has secured a waiver for himself and his deputy, Philip Shaibu, to contest both his new party’s primary and the September governorship election.
Days ago, after making up his mind to defect when his former party disqualified him from contesting their primary, he still wavered. Some observers thought his mind was not made up whether to go or stay, especially given the legal subterfuge causing confusion and disharmony in the APC.
But it turned out that his hesitation had to do with the status of his deputy, Mr Shaibu. Once that was settled, he jumped ship.
To pull off this stunt, Mr Obaseki needed the intervention of Rivers State governor Nyesom Wike and Sokoto State governor Aminu Tambuwal. Many ambitions have thus been sacrificed, as aspirants on the platform of the PDP are persuaded to step down for the new duo.
It will cost the governor a tidy sum, but the other aspirants knew they did not stand a chance, either against the new high-profile entrant or desperate party bigwigs. They will groan a little and coo in whispers, but eventually they will keep their peace.
The calculations of the PDP is that having taken over the South-South completely, with Mr Obaseki’s fortuitous defection, they will keep it that way in September after the governorship election.
It is not clear whether they will get their wish. But they will try. “Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though chequered by failure,” said one-time US president, Theodore Roosevelt, “than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” September will show whether they will enjoy much or suffer much. (The Nation)
