To start with, Asue Ighodalo unlike the APC candidate in the election, Senator Monday Okpebholo is not an organic homeboy of Ewohimi town. He is only a certified stranger of the community he abandoned all his life. But he has established superficial and cosmetic emotional connectivity with his town because Obaseki assured him that he can make him a governor by using the power of incumbency.

Our elders say that a smoked river fish does not need a perfume. but that of a fish pond requires it.

Similarly, because Asue Ighodalo is a stranger in Ewohimi he needs an interpreter to introduce hìm as a son of the sòil, as well as help him to recover his lost ancestral genealogy.

Invariably, it is politically a big risk to vote for such a person who requires to swear an oath of identity affidavit to show that he is an Ewohimi son at a time African-Americans are working hard to locate their roots in motherland Africa. Steve Wonder has even discovered he ìs from Ghana and settled there.

The lesson here is that Edo voters should be wary of Asue Ighodalo who lost traced, found and recovered his ancestry because of Edo governorship race.

Most people are yet to forgive Asue Ighodalo for only now choosing to identify with them when he wants to become a governor. Infact, one Ewohimi described him as a foreigner who has only a naturalized citizenship of Ewohimi who spent millions to hire purchase his Ewohimi cultural identity out of sheer political opportunism.

Asue Ighodalo is also a foreigner or outsider in politics and the PDP. He claims that he worked in cognito as an economic technocrat with Oshiomole as Edo Governor (2008'--2016). But this profile does not automatically quaify him as a real politician. He only became one when Obaseki coopted him into the PDP not too long ago.

Put in clear terms, therefore, Asue Ighodalo is a toxic double foreign body ĺn Ewohimi and Edo politics. So, his poor antecedents rule him out as a credible candidate with the foundational qualiication to be governor.

Also, it has been shown by the case study of Obaseki that the MISER-NOMICS of so-called technocratic stranger/foreigner in Edo politics only delivers selfish, elitist dividends because they are based on fake and false needs assessments.

Moreover, due to the fact that these actors are learners in politics, they lack the emotional intelligence toolkits for safely navigating the sharky waters of Nigerian politics.
The result? These actors create a lot of intractable problem which prevent the delivery of truly democratic dividends to suffering people.

In addition, the case study of stranger and foreign body in politic, like Obaseki, illustrates that the persons neglects his roots. For instance, when you visit Uhunmwonde Local Government Area where Obaseki comes from you will get close to tears. No critical development is taking place there. It is a case of an archetypical stranger/foreigner abandoning his primary constituency in times of his penty. Like Obaseki, like Asue Ighodalo who would be no different. Give him the governorship of Edo Statè and he will do the same thing. Birds of the same feathers flock together!

Some people argue that Prof Ambrose Alli was a stranger in politics and was not an organic Bendel home boy. Yet as UPN governor of old Bendel State, he performed exceedingly well. True observation.

However, Alli succeeded because he implemented in full the UPN's social welfarist manifesto drawn up by the brain box of faithful UPN members keenly supervised by Pa Awolowo who was the disciplined founder/leader of the party.

But in the Edo State scenario, it is godfather Obaseki and godson Asue Ighodalo who have formulated the anti-people, exploitative and neoliberal capitalist disposable manifesto that Asue Ighodalo is now using for his campaign. When he 'wins', he will set aside the manifesto and govern the state with his whims and caprices. Like a 'na me know pass' philosopher king in the format of his godfather Obaseki.

You can see why Obaseki failed as a governor far removed from the yearnings of the sufferings of Edo people. Since the godson Asue Ighodalo will follow the footsteps of Obaseki, there is no need to vote him into power.

Another reason why Edo people should not vote for Asue Ighodalo is that he won't hit the ground running with a sure, quick start to use the words of Harvarď Prof David Gengen. He is a journalist writer, author of The 7 Keys To Successful Leadership as well as adviser to 4 American presidents.

Why Asue Ighodalo will not hit the ground running? Simple. This is because he is a newcomer to real politics. Therefore, he will fumble, wobble, tumble and stumble with policies while in office. He will engage in wasteful theoretical experimentation in governance with the expectatoon that he will learn on the job. But before you know it, four years of his first tenure is over with Edo people left more impoverished after 8 years of misrule by his godfather Obaseki.

Certainly, Edo people cannot afford adding another 4 years of more agonizing pain by Asue Ighodalo's misrule to their lives. Suffering has elastic limits.

In contrast, Senator Monday Okpebholo as governor will start quality practical governance from Day One in office. Take for instance, as an individual, Senator Monday Okpebholo has been delivering to the people of his Edo Central senatorial district what the state government under Obaseki failed to provide for them. This Okpebholo will continue from November 13, 2024.

Such type of governance is further enhanced by the listening culture of Okpebholo to stakeholders' advice, acceptance of and subordination to party authority, accommodation of the principles of collective leadership as well as his adoption of grassroots' bottom up democracy. No PDP theory, experimentation or big grammar again in governance. Because PDP used them to unleash suffering in Edo State. So, expect less talk, much action in addressing the people's needs and multiple dividend of democracy with Okpebholo's governorship.

Now, do a profile character check on Asue Ighodalo. You will uncover that he lacks the milk of human kindness, lacks sympathy, dislikes compassion and has cold indifference to empathy especially for the poor, downtrodden and vulnerable Edo people.

This is not surprising. Asue Ighodalo like Obaseki is a hard man and an unrepentant neoliberal capitaĺist. He will therefore use his tenure as governor to complete the hand over of Edo State to the private sector started by his principal Obaseki. What I am saying with prophetic certainty is that Asue Ighodalo, if elected, will govern Edo State with the cold indifference of ironfist, authoritarian Margaret Thatcher of Britain and IMF policies that will further impoverish the people.

On the other hand, Senator Monday Okpebholo will govern with a modernised social welfare agenda of Pa Awo that will bring succour to everyone.

Finally, let us take a look at the happenings in Rivers State with two factional speakers now riddled with political instability that is affecting Governor Sim Fubara's ability to deliver dividend of democracy. The foundation of the crisis is godfatherism which Obaseki deployed to impose Asue Ighodalo's candidacy on the PDP and Edo people. Voters, be warned. Edo State cannot afford an Asue Ighodalo/Obaseki rift from November 12, 2024 to November 11 2028 after witnessing a horrific conflict between Oshiomole and Obaseki from November 12 2020 to November 11, 2024. Hence, the need to reject Asue Ighodalo as governor.

Also, look at how the Kogi godson Governòr is battlìng to defend his godfather ex'Governor Yahaya Bello undergoing EFCC trIal. Will you like a similar incident to occur iñ the state? NO of course!!

Also, will yòu cast your vote for Asue Ighodalo who will continue the sale of land from where Obaseki stopped until there will be little lañd left for farming? Yes, will you bother to vote for Asue Ighodalo who like Obaseki gives more support to cassava farming for use in ethanol production to the detriment of cassava farming for food? Fufu and garri are expensive today in the state because of this obnoxious neoliberal capitalism of godfather Godwin Obaseki.

Dr. Nosa Lazarus advises: "If you follow wolves, you will oniy learn how to howl. Achieve nothing. Follow instead EAGLES and you will learn to soar to heights of excellence in thoughts and deeds!!
Who is the EAGLES? Senator Monday Okpebholo and Hon Dennis Idahosa.