Hon. Barr. Jimoh Ijegbai is the Commissioner for Education in Edo State. As one of the main loyalists of Governor Godwin Obaseki, he was recently appointed the deputy chairman of Edo North Senatorial District for the second term bid campaign organization of Governor Godwin Obaseki. In this interview with Sir Ralph Okhiria, Hon. Ijegbai took a hard look into the forthcoming governorship election in the state and concluded that his principal, Governor Obaseki, will not have any difficulty defeating his main rival in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Besides, Hon. Ijegbai, revealed that despite the threat of deploying federal might to skew the election in favour of the APC, leadership and members of his political party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), will do everything possible to defend their votes. He said Governor Obaseki, has performed wonderfully and therefore deserved another term to be able to consolidate on the achievements already made.
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The Obaseki’s campaign DG, Mr. Osarodion Ogie, on the day of inauguration of the committee, said you guys were going to hit the road running. Can you throw more light on this?
First of all, let me let you know that we have a structure in this state. Immediately the governor came into office, he realized that the approach to governance should be bottom-up and not the other way round. In that direction, we have ward development committees in the 192 wards that make up Edo state. We have about 15 committee members in each ward. These are catalysts for development and our information dissemination, getting to the grassroots is very easy for us. The committee, having been inaugurated will as the DG said, hit the ground running. We have so many things to campaign about. We know the achievements of the governor from education to infrastructure, from infrastructure to institutional reforms. All that he has done within the last four years is what we are going to be telling people. No wonder people will say ‘this na wake and see governor‘. You wake up in the morning and find a new thing in Edo state. He has been able to bring development to every area. He is not an ethnic bigot who will say ‘because I’m from this area, let me concentrate development around this or that area”. Let me take you around my ministry, education. The first thing we did was to award 230 renovation which cut across all wards in the state. In every ward, we go to, we have a project we can campaign with and say this is the handiwork of Obaseki. Unlike the past where if you didn’t have anybody in government, development would never reach your area but Governor Obaseki said no, I am going to treat the entire state as a single constituency and that is what he has been doing.
What would you say are the differences between this administration and the one that gave birth to it?
Well if you recall, I was one of the chairmen that served in that administration. I was elected executive chairman of Owan East and for three years I was there. Also in this administration, I am equally a commissioner, so I can tell you clearly the difference in the two. Let me take the issue of IGR for example; before now, the entire local government system was generating 33 million naira in a month but today, by the grace of God and the reforms which have been put in place, the local governments in Edo state generates over 200 million naira in a month. You can see the difference. Oredo for example, in a single month can generate over 50, 60 million naira. Half of that was what the entire local government system was generating in a month. And what was happening? Lots were given to party faithful, agberos were beating people up with all manner of things. But today, it’s a seamless situation where you see people operating via technology to drive revenue generation. That is one of the clear differences between that government and this government. We decided that we have to embark on institutional reform. Building in itself is not what makes education but the content of what the pupils are learning, the learning outcome must be one where you would be proud to say that this is our educational system. Today our Edobest has become a reference point all over the country and across Africa because we decided to use technology to drive our teaching in the school. The governor is able to sit down today and say ‘this teacher did not come to school’ and is able to monitor what is happening in schools in certain areas. That is a clear difference between that government and this government. We did not just decide that we are going to be developing our schools, like I told you just now, we awarded 230, we awarded another 140 and right now another set of renovation is going on in our schools. There is total overhauling of what is in our schools today. Ditto in other areas. You have seen the Power sector that is developing, it’s novel. Today people are relocating to Edo state because they know that their business can thrive where there is power. Power is one basic problem we have in the country. The governor realized this and is doing a lot in that direction. So if you look at it; have you been to the Ogbe stadium to see what the governor has turned it into? That was a moribund stadium that was so bad but today if you go there you will see what the governor has done. How about agriculture? If you look at our farms. Look at the support the government is giving to our farmers, you would be shocked. In my local government, last December they were able to produce rice in such a great quantity that their economy was boosted. Go to Sobe and look at our maize farm. The same thing in Edo South and Edo Central. There are things going on in different areas. How about our job creation policy? The governor didn’t say he alone would create 200,000 jobs. What he said was that he would ensure that 200,000 jobs are created. You very well know that government doesn’t have the capacity to employ up to 200,000 people but the government is an enabler. When you put the enabling environment, you get it right, then people will be able to create jobs. If you look at the statistics, I am sure we have almost met our target in that direction. These are things that the governor has been doing. If you go to our secretariat building, you know nothing was there for forty years until the governor came in. You will see how the governor has turned it into a beautiful edifice. How about the High Court? How about the training centre for the civil servants? These are things that will stand the test of time. How about pensioners? We use to have pensioners wearing black clothes, they will seat at ring road. Now, if you retire today, the next month you have migrated to the pension payroll and you are collecting your money. These are innovation that have been brought in. You know the backlog, you know the demonstrations and protests of pensioners. If you go to Ambrose Alli University, there was a building started 20 years ago. Today it is a beautiful edifice that has been put into use by the university. It was completed by Governor Obaseki. In every facet of Edo economy, the governor has touched every aspect. You know Rome was not built in a day, it’s not possible for you to say ‘in a single day, I’m going to complete everything I’ve initiated’. That is why we are saying that when the governor is given the mandate for a second term, he can consolidate on the foundation that has already been laid.
Between Obaseki and Ize-Iyamu, looking at their antecedents, who do you think will do better for the benefits of Edo people?
In this direction, let me refer to a series of interviews by Oshiomhole. Adams Oshiomhole told us that because Ize-iyamu worked under him, he has been able to access him and that he does not have the capacity to govern Edo state. He said a lot of things like ‘you can’t be a pastor in the day time and in the night carry AK-47’. He told us that he poured acid on a student who till today is unable to raise a family. Those were the words of Adams Oshiomhole. What else do you want me to add? The facts speak for itself. Has the story changed today? It has not changed.
How do you feel now that Oshiomhole who was praised to the high heavens, having said all those things is today singing a new tune?
You can’t buy integrity in the market. It goes down to show the integrity of the person who is speaking. If today I come out to say, ‘Mr A is a thief, he’s this, he’s that’, he (Oshiomhole) said he was even waiving his immunity, calling the name of God. If that man could suddenly turn round barely four years later to say that same man is a saint, you should know that something is wrong, that he lacks integrity. It’s a function of integrity. If today you tell me this and tomorrow you turn, it means that what you are saying you can reverse it in another place. It borders on integrity.
In 2016, Oshiomhole helped Obaseki, no doubt to become the governor. This time around, he is working against him. What effect do you think that might have on the chances of your principal’s reelection?
Well like I said, when you look at the character of persons: I was a chairman as at that time. Oshiomhole met me and said that the economy of the state and the world at large was very bad and that he needed someone who could think outside the box to be governor and he has decided that it is Obaseki that he is going to present, that we as chairmen should support Obaseki. That was his clear language to us and we decided to. The question now is four years later, can you say that the world economy of which Edo state is inclusive has gone worse? Yes you can, especially in the light of the Covid-19 crisis. He was the one that said that Obaseki is his brain box, the one ensuring he succeeds in governance. Can he recant those words? Everything he said is in the public domain. That is why the Bible warned us to be careful with our tongues. The law would say that you are at liberty not to say anything because whatever you say can be used against you in law court. That is where we are now. The man came and said ‘this is this, this one is this‘, you cannot come back now and fool Edo people. Edo people are wiser for it. This election is going to be a referendum on whether we want to go back to where we were before or continue on the path we are now.
Comrade Oshiomhole said that he regrets making Obaseki his successor. You have been an officer in the Obaseki administration. Do you any regret working with him?
Obaseki has brought a lot of innovation to governance. The political actors are less than ten percent of the population. The overriding interest of the public is what is paramount at all times like Awolowo made us understand. What is the populace saying? Are they happy with the policies of Obaseki? Do we want to go back to the situation where the market women are flogged with horse whip and everything simply because you want to collect your daily money as government tax or revenue? Do you want to jump into a man’s business centre and close it in the name of union. Clearly, Edo state has decided not to go back. Edo state has clearly decided on the path of progress and we are going to consolidate on it.
There is palpable fear among some of your members that the APC could be planning to deploy federal might to rig the election. So, is this fear genuine?
Well Oshiomhole told us that there is nothing like federal might, that what you have is state and local might. The governor is the chief security officer of the state and we, don’t forget that election is a pyramid. The base starts from the unit level where you vote. We know what to do to ensure our votes counts. We will vote and ensure our votes are counted and are entered into the result sheets. If we have the results at the unit level, you cannot in between change what has been done at that level. They have been boasting that they are going to use federal might, that they are going to do this, that they are going to do that but I can assure you that the forces of the masses is stronger than anything you call federal might. We will vote and we are prepared to defend our votes at every unit we are voting.
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