Governor Obaseki Property Demolition: The Agony Of Loss And Government Insensitivity Toward Citizens At Difficult Times

By Godswill Inegbe

EDO people are bewildered at the action of Governor Obaseki, who failed to mobilize bulldozers to any construction site in the state, but, found solace in mobilizing dozers to demolish private homes and business centers, thereby leaving the owners of the demolished properties in total disarray.

Apparently, the only achievement of the Obaseki led administration since his re-election, is demolition of private properties, at such a time, the vast majority of Edo people are passing through excruciating pain and suffering due to total absence of governance in the state, which has resulted to economic hardship.

No doubt, it’s now clearer than expected that, the Governor’s ‘Make Edo Great Again’ (MEGA) plan, is an agenda to regularly and wilfully demolish property belonging to perceived opponents and hard working Edolites in the state, in a bid to foist a siege mentality on the inhabitants of Edo state.

Despite the agony of the owners of the properties demolished and regardless of the prevailing high cost of building materials in the nation, Governor Obaseki have taken a step further in his property demolition rampage, all in a bid to intimidate, suppress, hound, crush, silence and wreck hard working Edo people, that are creating employments which the Obaseki led administration failed to create.

Governor Obaseki was elected to protect lives and properties. But, the reality is that, his government has resulted to premeditated wanton distruction of private properties, while on the other hand, Edo people that constitute the highest population of motorists plying Benin-Auchi road are being slaughtered daily by janjaweed bandits and cold-blooded killers, and the state government is feigning ignorance on the killings and kidnappings ongoing on the said road, that has become the most dangerous traveling route in Nigeria today.

There are an avalanche of burning issues that border on the welfare and wellbeing of the Edo people, which Governor Obaseki ought to have been given priority, and placed in the front burner of his administration. Howbeit, irrefutable evidence has shown that he’s been taken Edo people for a ride all along. For example;

a) *All state tertiary institutions, including the formost state university, Ambrose Alli University (AAU), are closed without further information of when they will be open;*

b) *Ten (10) months after his re-election no cabinet, non-democratic governance structure, despite monthly collection of FAAC allocation.*

c) *Democratic Administration in all the eighteen (18) LGAs are suspended indefinitely and it’s monthly allocation unaccounted for;*

d) *Gelegele Seaport Project, Edo Agriprenuer Scheme, Benin Recreational Park Project, etcetera, can all be best described as products of Yahoo Yahoo!*

e) *Insecurity is at all time highest level and the long list continues….*

Needful to state at this juncture that, the present reality is not what the electorate bargained at the point they voted for Governor Obaseki.

Thus, caution must be applied against future action borne out of hatred and political intolerance, in furtherance of a larger plot by the Obaseki and PDP led administration to destroy the fabric that binds Edo people,    which is capable of overheating the polity amidst myriad of insecurity challenges and excruciating employment faced by the youths in particular, and the citizenry in general.

Mr Governor, you were elected to build and not to destroy!