Ovie Omo-Agege has always been a veritable pawn in the hands of Ibori and subsequently received choice appointments under the latter. With supposed paternal and maternal connection to Urhobo and Itsekiri respectively like Ibori the relationship between both men can be understood. If this nepotism was for good, especially the good of Deltans it wouldn’t have generated much hurting concern. But, like the nepotism between Ibori and Uduaghan, it is not. To the contrary! It may even be as ruinous to Deltans as the relationship between Ibori and Amori, the pair that our monies have transformed from nonentities (in 1999) to odidigborigbo of Africa and odidimadi of Africa (today) respectively. That is how pompous and haughty our unsecured common treasuries can make the decadent Nigerian.
In Ibori’s brand of politics there is no one that tack together with Him as Amori. Talk of birds of the same feathers, this is a perfect example. And they have been political Siamese twins even before 1999 and they remain so; and which was why many thought Ibori was going to ‘anoint’ and ‘appoint’ Amori as his successor. But in an extremely corrupt regime like his, Ibori thought blood may really be thicker than water and therefore wanted one with blood ties for better cover up of his tracks, and acted accordingly. He shortlisted Uduaghan and Omo-Agege as his ‘anointed’ men; but ‘with the blood of the former thicker than the latter’! Some saw it as if-not-this-then-this calculation; a strategy on the part of Ibori not to give room to any loophole. Some others however think that Ibori merely used Omo-Agege to make people have a sense of semblance of competition. Ibori had his way, but Omo-Agege still thinks his mentor really wanted to ‘appoint’ him the governor. So, why he will never see anything wrong with Ibori even till tomorrow, he has some little grudge, so it seems, with Uduaghan. Since then Omo-Agege wants to be governor of Delta State. And that helps Ibori’s design: To help scuttle the dreams of Deltans and Ogboru who is their man any day, and who they have been voting for since 2003. Ibori’s reason, some say, is that Omo-Agege would share Ogboru’s Urhobo votes since he (Omo-Agege) is paternally Urhobo. Some others even go further to say categorically that Ibori is the one sponsoring Omo-Agege to solely play his pawn against Ogboru. This group says that the few scathing remarks of Omo-Agege against Uduaghan are merely bamboozling; and that though Omo-Agege and Uduaghan may be seen or acting to be seen to be against one another they may not really be.
All the various views have this in common: This is a case of ‘thesis’ and ‘antithesis’ producing a ‘synthesis’; Uduaghan being the thesis, Omo-Agege the antithesis (and both creation of Ibori that seems to be against one another) and the result that Ibori actually wants from that, which is his dream to undo Ogboru: the synthesis. But this has always failed anyway as the true results of the last gubernatorial rerun elections in the state showed.
The rerun at least was designed by the riggers to play out on two diametric prongs: While spurious votes were awarded Uduaghan in the most sparsely populated LGA’s in the state, the votes from LGAs with the most population in the state e.g. Ughelli North LGA – actually the most populated in the state and almost 90 percent Ogboru’s – had the least votes in the state. Why? We read that Omo-Agege went to Koko for campaign but was ‘prevented’ by Uduaghan people. And later we read that Uduaghan went to Ughelli North (this Ogboru’s political forte) and there was a ‘reprisal’ move by Omo-Agege men to prevent him. Then other lines were brought to our attention. And we read conclusively that the elections in Ughelli North were cancelled. So, while geometrically multiplying the votes of Uduaghan in some areas the votes of Ogboru were being completely cut off in other areas; and one lady at INEC called Omo-Agege was on ground to railroad INEC at either engineering or accepting the entire outcome.
The people knew this was why Omo-Agege in a show of dubious desperation was switching and swinging from one political tree branch to the other, like a monkey in a lawless jungle, to contest the rerun and see that he plays the pawn of Ibori in the gubernatorial rerun even when NOTHING qualified him to run then. And he ran: because there was a lady Omo-Agege in INEC headquarters ensuring that our laws and common sense were thoroughly rubbished the Ibori way. But the male Omo-Agege crashed landed. You know why? Deltans know him as Ibori’s pawn. And, of course, only an Ibori man can be that dangerously desperate. Today, ACN has mistakenly given him a platform unaware of these machinations; schemes which are very abhorrent to Delta voters.
What did the Omo-Ageges do next? The lady tried to prevent Ogboru and DPP list from being registered based on her fabricated lie that DPP list came late; at least that was what a message from DPP headquarters said of the lady. At last DPP in Delta (including Ogboru), which actually sent the list long before deadline, was cleared by obviously divine intervention.
Not surprisingly, you can hear Omo-Agege say that he and Uduaghan has common edge over Ogboru: and that is “experience”; but could not tell us what type of experience. Atiku also made that as a reason for his wanting to be the president of Nigeria. Omo-Agege may want to read my eleven page piece: “Atiku’s desperation to resume misrule” published in articlebase.com (world leading media website) and nigeriansinamerica.com. Let me hint him. After cataloguing the evils Atiku and OBJ brought upon this nation I said: “You can go on and on talking about the incomparable rubbish that was government under the regime that Atiku starred as number two. Truly, the havoc the duo of Obasanjo and Atiku orchestrated those eight years will be our pain for a very, very long time to come. It is pain posterity will share, and which they would’ve wished they never inherited. O how posterity will feel when they know that their forebears (Obasanjo and Atiku that is) could have ushered them into a nation great and sweet with the resources God gave them. Sadly, our leaders do not think posterity, and they do not think God! Think these, and governance takes a different shape for the good of mankind! … Atiku speaks of ‘experience’ as he dares shamelessly to aspire to the presidency and the Ciromas are also daring shamelessly to railroad him (Atiku) at us again. We have just enumerated some of Atiku’s experience above. It is experience in inexperience, failure and gross failure.”
Bad as it was, was not Obasanjo’s regime at the national level even ten times better than Ibori’s regime at the state? Where are the Oby Ezekwesilis, Okonjo-Iwealas, Dora Akinyulis, Nuhu Ribadus in Iboris regime (never mind that the activities of the Tony Anenihs rubbished all that those few hands achieved at the federal level). Who is there that can step out in Ibori’s regime as better than Anenih? Let him speak out. Can Omo-Agege? Experience my foot!
