By: EBEN ENASCO KINGSLEY(BENIN)
Governor Adams Oshiomhole has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to jettison his second term ambition and do what the late President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela did and earn the respect of all Nigerians and Africans.
Speaking in Benin City, Friday, during a visit by residents and various associations in Egor Local Government Area to thank the Governor for the construction and dualisation of the Upper Siluko road in the state capital, Oshiomhole said President Jonathan should go beyond empty jingles and truly emulate President Mandela who spent only a single term but impacted on the lives of all South Africans.
According to the Governor, “Like in the PDP jingle, the PDP says our President is like Nelson Mandela; it was not easy, but he did it. Then they talked of Martin Luther King, it was not easy but he did it, but they didn’t know Martin Luther was never president. Then they made another grammatical error, where they said for Obama it wasn’t easy but he did it. I say it’s a grammatical error because President Obama is not in the past, he is in the present and he is doing it.
“So how many terms did Nelson Mandela spend as president? Is there any black man who does not respect Mandela? Dead or alive, Mandela is respected. He is respected in America more than they respect American president. He is respected in Europe more than they respect any European President.”
Oshiomhole said, “It is not how many years you spend there, it is what you did during your period. In Edo State, PDP did 10 years. We in APC have only done 6 years. In those 10 years, PDP did not do your road, they blamed it on Water Goddess (Mammy water), but you have come to thank us for using APC bulldozers to chase away the mammy water and now we are constructing the road.”
He said the people however have the power to send the president and the PDP packing on March 28 with the PVC by voting for General Muhammadu Buhari and other All Progressives Congress candidates.
He said: “I urge you to use your PVC on March 28th and April 11th to punish PDP and send them packing.”
While calling on the people to shun campaigns which tend to divide the people along religious lines, Oshiomhole said the issue at stake is not whether you are a Christian or you are a Muslim or whether you are from the North or from the South, East or West but about who has the capacity to deliver dividends of democracy to the people of this nation.
He said, “Anyone who collects money to preach hatred to the people will receive the wrath of God. Anybody who does not want Nigeria to conduct peaceful elections or who knows the truth but collects money to lie and deceive the people of God will receive the Judgment of God.
“In Edo State, religion is not a problem. Let them not deceive us at all, this matter is about truth. 16 years ago, N75 was equivalent to $1 but today, it is N230 to one dollar. The hike in the value of the dollar against the naira will have spiral effect on the economy. If the dollar goes up, it affects all other segments of the economy. Prices of other products will go up.
Earlier in an address, Mr Lucky odeh, Chairman Sawmillers Association, Egor Branch on behalf of the residents of Upper Siluko said they were in Government House to appreciate the Comrade Governor and to salute his courage and determination in enhancing the lives of Upper Siluko residents and its environs.
According to him, “The fear of the unknown, the appearance of Mami Water, the goddess of water had prevented previous governments from even attempting to work on the road because no one was willing to die for the people. You took the bull by the horn, approached it with courage and determination and today, the story is better told than imagined.”
