Emudianughe Roland, Asaba
Handshakes and embraces between Rt. Hon. Ben Rollands Igbakpa and Hon. Erhiatake Ibori-Suenu in Sapele and Oghara did more than end a political feud.
The shaking of hands and warm embraces redrew the political landscape of Ethiope Federal Constituency and signaled the likely retirement of a class of “baby” and inexperienced politicians who thrived while their relationship remained frosty.
It is not news that while the rift between these two political heavyweights lasted, a vacuum was created at the center of Ethiope West and Ethiope East politics.
In that vacuum, a crop of, inexperienced political operatives positioned themselves as gatekeepers.
They shielded everybody from gaining access to our national leader, Chief James Ibori, feeding him with selective information to sustain the conflict.
The strategy was simple: “keep the two leaders apart, and their own relevance stays intact” . With no direct channel of communication, rumors hardened into policy positions, resulting in tantrums everywhere.
THE END TO PROXY POLITICS
There is no gain saying the fact that reconciliation removes the need for intermediaries. When Hon. Ben Igbakpa and Chief James Ibori interact directly, the space for misinformation shrinks. The parochial baby politicians who built careers on stoking distrust now face an existential problem. Their primary value was as messengers in a war that is now over. We
expect to see many of them pushed to the sidelines, either voluntarily stepping back or being sidelined by the principals who no longer need their services. This is not a purge out of spite, it is a natural consequence of leaders regaining control of their own political domain.
YES TO SERVICE DELIVERY
The biggest casualty of the frosty relationship was Ethiope Federal Constituency itself. Projects stalled, lobbying weakened, and the Constituency spoke with a divided voice in Abuja and Asaba.
With this all important reconciliation, the two leaders can now coordinate on projects, harmonize motions, and present a unified demand to the State and Federal Governments. That means faster roads, better constituency interventions, and less time wasted on infighting.
For the voters in Oghara, Mosogar, Jesse, Abraka and Agbon Kingdom, this is the immediate dividend they expect to see.
POLITICAL MATURITY AND GENERATIONAL RESET
The reconciliation is also a generational statement. It tells the Constituency that political leadership in Ethiope is not a training ground for permanent apprenticeship. The era where inexperienced actors could manipulate veterans for personal gains has finally come to an end. What emerges is a clearer path for experienced politicians to mentor younger ones based on competence, not on their ability to sustain conflict and apply the “egbe wedging” attitude.
IMPLICATIONS FOR 2027 AND BEYOND
Electorally, a united Igbakpa-Ibori front will go a long way to change the calculus. A divided house made Ethiope Federal Constituency vulnerable to external interference while a united one makes it a bloc that cannot be ignored.
Now that the unity has come to stay, the two leaders can agree on a succession plan and a division of political labor that prioritizes stability. That will ultimately reduce the incentive for political entrepreneurs to profit from chaos.
The Sapele meeting and oghara stadium declaration will be remembered not just for the handshake and embrace, but for what it dismantled: a system where baby and egocentric politicians thrived by keeping giants apart!.
For Ethiope Federal Constituency, the implication is straight forward. With the principals reconciled and the middlemen exposed, the focus can finally return to what matters most—service, development, and representation.
The retirements of those who profited from the division may be the first sign that politics in Ethiope has indeed grown.
