In recent weeks, the Edo political space has been agog with ridicule and ceaseless mockery directed at the person of Governor Monday Okpebholo, particularly over his leaked WAEC result and perceived communication inadequacies. While these attacks have attracted clicks and chuckles across social media and beer parlours, they leave a bitter aftertaste for those of us who, beyond politics, are deeply invested in the dignity, pride, and future of the Edo Nation.

I did not support Senator Okpebholo's emergence as Governor. I made my convictions known. I questioned the process that produced him and the institutional manoeuvres that may have distorted the will of the people. But that moment has passed. The elections are over. The Supreme Court — rightly or wrongly — has spoken. And democracy, by its very design, demands that we move forward, not always in agreement, but always with a sense of collective duty.

I find the continued personal assault on the Governor distasteful, not because I share his politics, but because I love Edo. As Edos, we must rise above pettiness and poisonous partisanship. A Governor’s oratorical polish is not the true measure of his intellect, his capacity, or his potential for transformational leadership. Some of history’s most consequential thinkers were not men of dazzling speech, yet their ideas and vision changed the world, or our world.

Leadership is, first and foremost, a burden. It is the sacred responsibility to think, plan, act, and build — not dramatize. While effective communication is desirable, it is not the cornerstone of purposeful governance. Let us not reduce the sacred essence of public office to the theatrics of soundbites and grammar scores. We must move from laughing at the man to lifting the state.

Governor Okpebholo now bears the weight of the Edo Nation on his shoulders. For this reason, I choose to wish him well, not because I have turned coat, but because I cannot afford, and Edo cannot afford, for him to fail. I pray he governs with vision, depth, and clarity. I pray he builds on the accomplishments of his predecessors and sustains Edo’s revered reputation as a bastion of culture, excellence, commerce, and courage. Our state must not become a theatre of vendetta or a gallery of stagnation.

To the Governor, I offer this counsel — firm and sincere: let governance begin in earnest. Let it be people-centred, progressive, and inclusive. There is no nobility in triumphalism. There is no greatness in revenge. Posterity will not judge you by the legality of your emergence, but by the legacy you leave behind. Focus on infrastructure. Prioritise education. Inspire enterprise. Protect the vulnerable. Empower the youth. And, above all, govern with humility. Seek out capacity wherever it resides. Edo deserves nothing less.

To my fellow Edo sons and daughters, let us tone down the politics of ridicule. We lose more than we gain when we drag our symbols and institutions into the mud for momentary applause. Criticise governance, yes — but let us not desecrate Edo’s dignity in the process. Let us remember that when we laugh at our Governor, we laugh at ourselves before the watching eyes of the nation.

Edo is bigger than any man, any party, any tribe. Edo is the soul of our collective identity. And her future demands that we rise above the noise, above the grudges, above the grammar.

The time for healing is now. The time for work is now. The time for honour is always.

Let us now get to work.