Segun Akanni, Toronto, Canada 
The funeral was well attended. It was a roll call of who is who in the politics of Edo State. The deceased was a respected surveyor. His son-in-law Mike Itemuagbor, the renowned sports promoter and organiser of Okpekpe race, is a friend of all. He is a confidant of the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, as well as a pal of Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki.
The popular expectation was that the two politicians would meet at the occasion, with questions being asked: how will the godson greet his godfather? Will they shun each other? Everybody looked eagerly forward to the ceremony.
Oshiomhole, a former Edo State governor, came as predicted. He saw the Speaker of the state’s House of Assembly, Hon Frank Okiye and embraced him. Okiye had cut short the aspiration of Oshiomhole’s favourite, Hon. Victor Edoror. The APC national chairman also engaged Obaseki’s deputy Phillip Shuaibu in a tête-à-tête. Shuaibu was a trusted ally of Oshiomhole, but people now believe he is solidly with Obaseki. When will the governor arrive, everyone wondered?
The comrade ex-governor thoroughly enjoyed himself and left. But in a move that smacked of hide-and-seek, Obaseki showed up less than 10 minutes after Oshiomhole left. Did the governor wait for his predecessor to leave before he showed up? Who is avoiding whom? Is it now a case of irreconcilable differences?
Four days later, the governor dropped eight commissioners, including Oshiomhole’s nephew, from his cabinet and replaced them with his perceived loyalists. With the way things are in the state, the governor seems to be on the offensive. All appears to be quiet in Oshiomhole’s front. But as a political observer counselled recently, Oshiomhole is one tireless fighter who cannot be written off so easily.
