In a few short days, approximately 1.7 million registered voters will be going to the polls to elect a man or woman who will lead Edo State for the next four years. I wish to use this opportunity to thank friends, family and hundreds of volunteers across the State who have worked tirelessly for my campaign to be the next Governor of Edo State. Now, more than ever before, the choices before us ought to be very clear.
At the Federal level, the APC in power and their anti-people and anti-business policies has unleashed untold suffering in the land. In Edo State, the suffering and hardship is double because of the burden of excessive taxation by the APC government. When there is suffering in the land, the real metal of leadership is severely tested. Many can do well when there is an abundance of resources. Very few can do well when resources are scarce.
The difference between the two is what is called leadership. That is what I have come to offer. I have come to serve and to lead. On election day, the people of Edo State will have a chance which comes up every four years to make a decision for the future of their State, a State so endowed we should have no business with poverty.
I have traveled the entire length and breadth of Edo State, logging in the process, thousands of kilometers in weekly travels. I have heard your voices; I have seen the expression in your faces; I have felt the yearnings in your hearts; I have seen the desperation of many as they strive to eke out a living; I have seen the desperately poor dance for joy at the hope that perhaps, probably, a man would come to rescue them from the agony of hunger and the pain of hopelessness. Let me be that man. I am well prepared for the task ahead. In the last 8 years of the outgoing administration in Edo State, we have witnessed a huge decline in employment opportunities. Hunger pervades the land like a brigand; insecurity rises; our senior citizens who are owed their pension die as they wait without hope; our youth wait for jobs that will never come and yet the APC government at both Federal and State levels have no ability to offer solutions.
Today, I do declare to you and I want you to mark my words—–In Edo State, we can no longer wait for Nigeria to change. In Edo State, we must think like a country. When Edo State makes progress, Nigeria will make progress. With 6000 years of history behind us; with a long list of illustrious Kings and great leaders who have come before us, history beckons on us to lead the way in Nigeria as we have done in the past.
You must come out in large numbers on election day and lead with your votes. You must deliver a clear and concise message to all Nigerians that the people of Edo State are a people with a proud history and unwavering integrity. You must declare that your vote is not for sale.
You must declare that your vote is your power and that you intend to exercise that Power for the sake of the young woman who dies at childbirth; for the sake of the child who dies before the age five because of lack of proper nutrition due to poverty and ignorance; for the sake of great schools with great teachers who are well paid to do a great job to teach our children what children in other parts of the world do not yet know so that our children can invent things that the world is yet to see; for the sake of the policeman who needs to be well equipped to do his or her job of fighting crime; for the sake of that young man and young woman who graduated from school five years ago and is now thinking of taking to crime; for the sake of our senior citizens who after over thirty years of sacrifice, wait in vain for their pension to be paid.
Let your message be loud and clear—–there will be no Emperor in our State. Show up on Saturday to exercise your power to forge a future that you deserve.
I have a contract with the people. It is called the SIMPLE AGENDA. It will be my roadmap to lift Edo State out of the jaws of poverty to become a giant industrial and agricultural hub in Nigeria with our unique advantage as a transit State in four short years. In order for us to deliver on this contract, we must elect a steadfast, courageous and knowledgeable leader who loves Edo State enough not to have lived anywhere else all his life. I was born here at Erie street and I grew up here on Erie street at the famous Egedege N’ Okaro, (first storey building in the Midwestern region). I attended Ebenezer School and Edo College. I graduated from the prestigious University of Benin with a degree in Law. I was called to the bar in 1987.
I have served in various capacities as Personal Assistant (PA) to Chairman, Local Government, as Chief of Staff and as Secretary to State Government (SSG).
I am a farmer. I have worked here in Benin and lived amongst the people all my life. I understand the problems of our dear State. I joined Party politics when I was only 16 because I had great admiration for Chief Obafemi Awolowo and the Four Cardinal programs of the Unity Party of Nigeria. It is my passion for what is good, what is noble and what is possible in Edo State that drives me. Nothing more and nothing less. We need a strong team to help harness the good of the land. We have great climate and a great population. We need a foreman who is not afraid to toil for his State and for history. Edo State needs a person who understands the challenges facing Edo people from all walks of life; has the capacity to engage along with the compassion and skills necessary to help improve our everyday lives.
On election day you must vote like your life depends on it. It does! It was Margaret Meade who said—–Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.
Your vote is your power to change your world. There is no amount of intimidation or Armored tank that can resist the power of an idea whose time has come and the will of a people who are ready to stand their ground. The time has come for the SIMPLE AGENDA to prevail.
Go out and vote on Saturday and drag as many people as possible with you. Let the bells of hope ring; let the bells of prosperity ring; Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is coming; work is coming yafun-yafun. God bless the people of Edo State and may God bless Nigeria.
No comments:
Post a Comment