By Hon Prince Isire

LAGOS APRIL 25TH (URHOBOTODAY)-It is necessary for some things to happen to enable us test the true character of persons around us.

The wolf cry by the camp of Sheriff Oborevwori, the unease of the leadership of the state PDP and the obviously government sponsored propaganda against the leadership of  Urhobo Progress Union, particularly the personal attacks on Olorogun Moses Taiga, over the endorsement of Olorogun David Edevbie as the Urhobo consensus candidate for Delta PDP Governorship ticket, calls for some questions.

It was Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who adviced the UPU, at its 90th anniversary celebration, to prune down the number of Delta Central aspirants for the ticket. If they didn’t think that the UPU was in any position to so act, why did the Governor choose the UPU to give that advice? Could it be because, as credible Government House sources informed, the UPU rebuffed the cajole and armtwisting to have them endorse Sheriff Oborevwori?

Just as the Anioma Congress led by the respectable Asagba of Asaba did in 2014 to present Governor Okowa as the consensus candidate for Delta North, the pruning process in Delta Central started with a screening by the DC-23 in which virtually all the Delta Central aspirants participated.

The objective was made clear to all: to choose the best by elimination of others. From a list of 12, the aspirants were reduced to five. From five, they were further reduced to three.

Why did Oborevwori and the people shouting now not object to the process which led to the elimination of other aspirants? Obviously, had he not scaled through, they would have condemned the process too.

Now, the UPU continued the process. They invited all three successful aspirants from the DC-23 screening for final evaluation and selection. As reported by Oborevwori’s mouthpiece, Fred Latimore, the UPU made it clear that they “WANT THE BEST AMONG EQUALS TO GOVERN THE STATE AND, AS SUCH, THE UNION WILL DO THE NEEDFUL BY SCRUTINISING THE PRESENTATIONS AND PEDIGREE OF ALL ASPIRANTS.”

Oborevwori was even the first to attend. Why did he attend if he did not consider that the UPU was in any position to screen, evaluate and select?

At the screening, also as reported by his mouthpiece: “Oborevwori commended the leadership of the union under Olorogun Moses Taiga, saying that UPU’s 90th anniversary was a huge success BECAUSE OF THE QUALITY OF LEADERS  CURRENTLY PILOTING THE AFFAIRS OF THE URHOBO socio-cultural organization… and URGED PG WORLDWIDE, OLOROGUN MOSES TAIGA, AND THE UNION TO SUPPORT HIS GOVERNORSHIP ASPIRATIONS.”

Some important points to note in the above report: 

One, that Oborevwori attended the UPU anniversary hosted by Moses Taiga as the President General. Why are they now saying there is faction in UPU after identifying with and celebrating with Moses Taiga’s leadership?

Two, Oborevwori acknowledged that Taiga and his team “currently piloting the affairs” of UPU is a quality leadership. Why are they now not quality leadership again? Because they did not pick him?

Three, Oborevwori asked the UPU to support him to win the governorship, which means he believes in the value and capacity of the UPU to help him win, but now that the UPU did not pick him, the UPU is now useless?

Oborevwori also testified before the screening how the UPU has helped him politically: “You sent me to the House of Assembly in 2015 where I became Speaker of the House WITH YOUR RECOMMENDATION AND INFLUENCE.”

Salient points again: 

We now know that the UPU recommended him and influenced his emergence as Speaker. But, today, same UPU is useless in his eyes and those of his supporters,

because they recommended a different person on this  occasion?

It must also be noted that: One, it was his Urhobo brother, Rt Hon Monday Igbuya, who greatly supported Okowa to emerge in 2014, that was removed for him to take the seat. Why did he not stand up to defend his brother in the House rather than jumping to take his place as the beneficiary of the oppression of his brother or, maybe he does not agree that Urhobo is one brotherhood?

We note also that there were other members of the House from Urhobo whom the UPU jumped over to recommend him for Speaker and they did not fly off the handle like he is doing with the UPU recommendation of Edevbie.

This catalogue of double standards shows we are dealing with a clan of high hypocrites and self-centred characters. But that is not the problem because we all know that the street in heartless in treachery.

The terrible tragedy is in dancing to foreign drum beats to undress his Urhobo fathers and ancestral institution in the market place for personal gains.

As they say, when a child has twenty tubers of yam, he will say he wants to separate from his family. He does not know that it all will only last him be for twenty days.

Hon Prince Isire is former SA to the Delta State Governor on Youth and Mobilisation