By Onajite Agbama,

LAGOS SEPTEMBER 29TH (URHOBOTODAY)-Politics in Nigeria is taking a new shape. People are no longer interested in just the physical attributes of the candidates but the mental and intellectual content of their characters. The new consciousness is about the capacity, intellect and capability of the individual who is running for elective positions. While some are a resonating brute force in their political engagements, what is important in the current dispensation is what the candidate is bringing to the table to instill confidence in the people and stimulate them into action for positive growth.

In those days when thugs were in charge of INEC and election management in Nigeria, the likes of Ede Dafinone with their sublime moral and mental clout would find no reason to venture into politics. At the beginning of the fourth republic, when the rule of force was valued more than the rule of law, law-abiding citizens had no place in the political equation. Electoral victories were dispensed and allocated at the whims of the power mongers and political gangsters. None could dare the likes of Chief Ighoyota Amori in a political contest. There was no way the likes of Hon Evelyn Oboro could have won the party ticket against Chief Ighoyota Amori in 2019. Victories in elections were a product of negotiation. Party tickets were distributed and anybody who dared the system was met by the raw and insolent force of the political sledgehammer.

Many people in political corridors still think and believe that the politics that is unfolding still have a place for the manipulative tendencies of those years of the locust. There are some who believe that the likes of Chief Ighoyota Amori, the PDP Candidate still carry some mystical energy that makes him unbeatable in a free and fair contest. What they have failed to appreciate is the fact that Ighoyota Amori is a product of the past that Nigerians abhor and want to discard in a hurry. He is the face of the oppressor that reigned supreme in the political space for over 20 years. The music is changing and those who still wish to retain the debris of the fast-receding structure of political gangsterism will face the worst heat of their lives.

In the coming dispensation, what the people seek is merit and not some vicious cacophony of retrogressive thought. Chief Ede Dafinone, the APC candidate is a man of distinctive character and merit. Amori is a broken megaphone who boasts of everything yet, lacks the democratic credentials to marshal the vision of Urhobo into the coming dispensation. His arrogant and opportunistic claim to Urhobo’s patriotic values is nothing but a reflection of his political activities within the PDP space not for the benefit of Urhobo as a nation but those of his political party.

There is a world of difference between what PDP desires and what Urhobo wants. Amori may have served PDP well but never the Urhobo nation. PDP may have done well in giving their ticket to Amori but Urhobo can only regret allowing a man of Amori’s political proclivity to step into Urhobo’s seat in the Senate. He thinks and lives PDP and not Urhobo, save for the flowing wrapper and designers’ hat and shirt to reflect a delusionary Urhobo identity, he will auction Urhobo interest to the highest bigger. Ede Dafinone, whose father served Urhobo well, should be the next Senator.

Ede Dafinone is an Urhobo man through and through. He does not bear the odour of a traitor or betrayal of Urhobo course at any time. Ede’s meritorious service to Urhobo is borne out of personal sacrifices and not some government largesse which fate placed on his lap to dispense. There are certain assistance rendered in some situations that one cannot refer to as patriotism. A Sapele man, for instance, who is placed in a position to recommend a Commissioner from Ughelli South cannot be said to have served Urhobo as a patriot if he picks any Urhobo son or daughter from any village in Ughelli South. He couldn’t have picked another Sapele, Udu or Kogi man for the position anyway. It can only be credited into your patriotism account when a position is open for all and you choose an Urhobo man who is qualified to take it.

So those who think Amori has served Urhobo by making them councillors are getting the definition of patriotism all wrong. A man of Ede Dafinone’s standing, who, out of that which God has given to him through hard work, gave so much to serve mankind through the Dafinone Foundation is the true definition of public service. Dafinone has distinguished himself as a true and proud Urhobo man deserving of the people’s vote in 2023. Those selfish, parochial, egocentric, self-seeking personalities who are seeking votes in the coming polls must be rejected so that men of class and merit could step in to serve the people. The change the people are clamouring for should be reticulated into the Urhobo value system for better and improved politicking in 2023.

We are not talking about cosmetic change. Merit should be valued high and above primordial interests. Ede Dafinone is the credible option. His sense of value and judgment is sublime and enchanting. He has a mesmerizing and delightful aural that resonates with quality in all ramifications. His magnificent and dignifying poise is what the coming Senate will need to facilitate the retention of Urhobo pride of place in the affairs of Nigeria. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has taken Urhobo to a high stage of political manifestation and Ede Dafinone will be the fit and proper person to build on that attainment for a better and improved political rating.

Onajite Agbama writes from Oghareki, Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State