There Is High-wired Politics Going On In Edo State, Shaibu Can’t Function From His House – Oshoma

A lawyer and human rights activist, Libourous Oshoma, has described the current happenings in Edo State as high-wire politics.

He submitted that legally, Philip Shaibu is the Deputy Governor of Edo State, but the ‘high-level politics’ being played in the state may not allow him to function.

Naija News reports Oshoma made the submission on Monday while featuring in an interview with Arise News regarding the current political happenings in Edo State.

Speaking against the background of the court order which reinstated Shaibu as the Edo State Deputy Governor and the violence which marred his return to the state in which a Police officer, unfortunately, lost his life, the lawyer said a lot of ego is playing out among the politicians.

Oshoma called for a clear distinction between the functions of a Deputy Governor and that of the Governor so the Deputy would not just be an appendage to the Governor.

He said, “These politicians, it’s an ego thing for them. What I see playing out here is high level politics, high wire politics. Legally speaking today, Shaibu is the deputy governor, but can he function from his house? The answer is no. We know he can’t. Even while he was there before he was impeached, we know how he was even sent packing outside of the government house. We also concluded last time that we need a clear cut definition for functions for the office of the deputy governor and not to act as an appendage to the governor.

“What I see playing out here is high wired politics and the government at the centre is All Progressives Congress (APC), the one at the state is People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and how well they are able to match each other. Now, they no longer resort to wit or knowledge, it’s about violence because the election is around the corner.”

He added, “There is no divorce or divide between these political parties. They are vehicles for contesting for election. It’s all the same set of people. People that are today in APC were once those that formed the PDP that said PDP is home and that they will never leave and they left, only for them to go back later to say they are returning home.”

Speaking further, Oshoma called for the demonetization of politics in Nigeria as a way to avoid the crisis and violence that usually follows politics.

“Until we demonetise politics in Nigeria, we will continue to have this scenario where people will kill you to serve you. When you ask, ‘where are the Edo people in all of this?’ Is it not some Edo persons that are being used to fire shots? Is it not supporters on one end and supporters on the other end that are fighting each other? These people attend weddings and ceremonies of their relatives and their children and they know where they meet. But the Edo people are the ones that they are using as foot soldiers, as pawns.

“When these people bandy these things, it is not because they want the average Edo person to benefit. Go to Edo state, the roads are bad. It’s not about Edo people. And the Edo people, to them, ‘how do we collect from these people?How do we get our own?’ Those that can get SSA, it is okay for them. They all promise industries, at the end of the day, nothing is built. The narrative, no matter how you try to change the narrative to engage the ordinary people, they will still wait on that day to be paid,” he said during the interview.