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By Iwemdi Nwaham

The delay in the Supreme Court of Nigeria in delivering judgement on the appeals to the Delta State election of March 12 2023, I must confess, caused some unease. What must be amiss? When, in the second week of January 2024, appeals of eight states were adjudicated upon by the Supreme Court, that caused more disquiet in the minds of many Deltans. But now that the matter has been put to rest, in favour of the divinely anointed, former speaker of the Delta State House of Assembly, it is time to lay bare some truths.

Ambition is good in life. Lack of it is buffoonery. Too much of it, occasioned by uncontrolled greed, hate, treachery, backstabbing, mischief, etc, is not only bad but toxically injurious. And people who exhibit such vices do not go down alone. They go down with a lot of people. And if they have their way, they bring down geographical entities, communities, states and even nations. Adolf Hitler was one of such persons. And that is the case with Obarisi Ovie Omo Agege.

The delivered judgement by the Supreme Court of Nigeria on the appeals of the governorship candidates of the All Progressives Congress, APC, the Labour Party Comrade Pella and that of the Social Democratic party in Delta State Chief Kenneth Gbagi, puts to rest finally, the agitations to upturn the outcome of the last year’s election in Delta State. Let me be clear, all the candidates that contested the guber election in the state and got trounced and felt dissatisfied with the declared outcome, had their constitutional rights to be aggrieved and to pursue their grievances. But where the margin of thrashing is humongous and a contestant stays the entire course of seeking redress, from the Election Petition Tribunal to the Appeal Court and to the Supreme Court, leaving no stones unturned to find technicalities with which to nullify a people’s mandate and give victory to a woeful loser, then people have genuine cause to truly fear the hearts of men.

Obarisi Ovie Omo Agege is singled out for lampooning because he talked and plotted too much. He boasted to high heavens of his federal connections. He even reached for his “successful” escapade at the hallowed Senate chamber, when he was there, to abort a trumped up impeachment plot a against the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, as his cognate experience in pulling off the impossible at such critical times. Thus, he had a sense of entitlement to a payback. Making him deputy senate president was not enough.

Omo Agege could not see that the magnitude of his loss at last year’s polls, would make it almost impossible to get victory anywhere. Before the election, he threw every petard on candidate Sheriff Oborewerei. He went from the high courts to the supreme court. He lost all the way. He challenged candidate Sheriff Oborewerei to national debates.

Now, does he have any goody to negotiate from the government of Delta State under Sheriff? If he had showed sublimity, common sense, humility and mutual respect, and subsumed his ego and swallowed his pride, he could have negotiated some goody for his “boys” and himself before the matter was taken to the final court of the land. But he chose to fight to the end. And “like fly wen no hear word…e don follow dead body enter grave”.

Of all the pack of candidates, the only person who played smart is Chief Great Ogboru. He recognised instantly the runaway victory of Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborewerei of the People’s Democratic Party, the PDP, and not only congratulated him immediately results were declared but offered to work with him. In the politics of horse trading, it is to be expected that such a mature loser will be invited to be part of this government.

The case of Obarisi Ovie Omo Agege is a lesson on how not to be stupidly greedy and inordinately ambitious. The Senate President position that was zoned to the South South geopolitical zone was his to pick with little effort. Now he has lost so much, getting nothing for himself or for “his boys”. To worsen his situation, the rumour mills have it that the structure of the All Progressives Congress APC in Delta State has been taken away from him.

What Omo Agege did to the likes of Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, Chief great Ogboru, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, to mention a few is now his lot. Chief James Ibori it is now, that nominates party faithfuls for federal positions. Do we need to remind of Mr. Chiedu Ebie who is now the Managing director of NDDC? Or Barrister Odebala, who also sits on the same board, courtesy of Chief Ibori? What a loss, what a calamity.

Here is free advice for those this man had almost led to the gallows, politically. It is not late to chart your course. Political salvation can be personal sometimes and instinct driven. It is time to move on. It is the end of the road for your man in APC. His only way forward is to return to PDP. And you all know what that portends. Be the first to get to destination and have peace and rest. Holding on to empty pride over what is happening in Abuja will not deliver any tangibles whatsoever to 98% of people in opposition in the state, any state not aligned with the centre.

IWEMDI NWAHAM
Writes from Asaba.

19th January 2024.