By Ugo Onuoha
Who is a buffoon? I will not put my thumb on the scale so that I will not inject my personal bias and anger in the definition of a buffoon. I will simply ask MetaAI. Please AI who is a buffoon? “A buffoon is a person who behaves in a silly, foolish, or absurd way, often causing amusement or annoyance. The term can imply someone who: acts foolishly or absurdly; makes a spectacle of themselves; lacks seriousness or judgment; [and/or] engages in clownish or ridiculous behaviour”.
AI elaborates by saying that “In modern usage, ‘buffoon’ can be used to describe someone who is seen as ridiculous, incompetent, or silly, often in a way that’s entertaining or annoying”. It went on to illustrate: “He’s such a buffoon on social media, always posting ridiculous videos”. Which one of these descriptions does not fit the governor of Edo state, Monday Okpebholo? He is silly. He acts foolishly. He is absurd in conduct and utterance. He causes amusement and annoyance at the same time. He makes a spectacle of himself. He never appears to be a serious person. Indications are that he is a dullard.
Okpebholo lacks good judgment. He’s ridiculous. He is clownish. So far, there is no evidence that he will be a competent governor of an otherwise sophisticated state like Edo. His nomination as the ruling party’s [All Progressives Congress, APC’s] governorship candidate in the last election in Edo state came as a shock to those who knew his antecedents. His stomping for the office was absurd and a depressing spectacle to behold. He struggled to articulate his promises to the electorate. His grasp of the English language was challenged, and sadly continues to be challenged even as a governor. There was no evidence either that he was grounded in his mother tongue.
Even if he was, how many of the native languages would he have spoken during the campaigns given the diverse languages of the state. Using Nigeria’s special English or pigeon [pidgin English] also appeared a bridge too far for him to cross. He was a disaster as a nominee for a high office. He was a greater disaster as a candidate. And now, daily he is unravelling as a governor. In spite of being a former senator of the federal republic, Monday Okpebholo is neither literate in spoken words nor in written figures. Do you want evidence? Search for videos where he spoke.
Okpebholo will only be caught dead addressing any audience extempore. Wherever and whenever he does be ready to squirm and to hold your breath for the duration of the exercise. Thankfully, they are all usually short video clips. He is no better with a written speech. He is sure to mangle the words and end up being incomprehensible. Some months ago, Okpebholo could not pronounce the sum total of the 2025 budget of Edo state during its presentation to the house of assembly. He was the presenter.
Before the APC, budget presentation was a serious business. At least, there used to be a veneer of seriousness. Until it stopped being so when the lawmakers in our national assembly started heralding the presentation of Nigeria’s national budgets with the rendering of ‘On your mandate…’ the partisan political song of Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s president. In Edo the budget figure that was beyond the pay grade of Okpebholo was the same he is supposed to superintend its implementation.
Pray, how do you implement what you cannot figure [pun fully intended] out. He tried three times and he failed three times. His subsequent failures were worse than the previous ones. That was how bad he was. And that’s how bad he still is. Okpebholo typifies the typical Nigerian ruler at all levels.
The bar is extremely low, encourages fawning, cronyism, and hypocrisy. And we still keep wondering how our country and its subnationals keep moving forward in reverse gear. We keep wondering how our country has remained the poverty capital of the world. We keep wondering how and why about 75% or 161 million of our compatriots are today not sure of where their next meal will come from. Why do we wonder with a plethora of the type of Okpebholo in leadership [rulership really] positions, in the driver’s seat across board.
Before his accession to the Edo state Governor’s Mansion, Okpebholo was a senator. In that role he was not much known for his contributions at plenary or sponsorship of bills or strong advocacy for his constituents and senatorial district. There’s no evidence, but he was probably adept in joining other senators in padding the budget for his personal benefit or for the good of his district.
That may have partly accounted for his promotion to be the Chief Executive of Edo state, a state that had been governed by politically sagacious personages including John Odigie-Oyegun, a former chairman of the APC; an academic and the first First Class graduate of law in 1975 of the University of Nigeria, Enugu campus, Prof. Oserheimen Osunbor [the first Nigerian law student to achieve this feat]; a stormy petrel labour leader, Adams Oshiomhole, who was also chairman of the APC, and now a vibrant senator; as well as a well educated Lucky Igbinedion, one of the sons of the billionaire Esama of Bini Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion.
Like his fellow party man elsewhere, Okpebholo’s academic career is muddled in controversies, with his political detractors attributing even his marginal success to association with the notorious miracle centre. Miracle or magic centres are special but illegal examination centres designed for those who must be assisted to cheat to pass the joint admissions and matriculation board [JAMB] examination, a prerequisite for admission to tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Even then, his alleged school certificate which was posted online presumably by his political enemies read like a glorification of the ‘D’ poor grade.
There’s no doubt that Governor Okpebholo passed through the senate but the senate, the upper chamber of the national assembly, obviously did not pass through him. Or how else would he have said what has been attributed to him last week? A trending video showed Okpebholo warning a citizen of Nigeria not to step his feet into Edo state without first getting his [Okpebholo’s] prior approval.
In other words, he declared a fellow citizen who was a governor of another state long before the upstart Okpebholo dreamt of being assisted to the governorship a persona non-grata in Edo state. Okpebholo’s order beggars belief. It’s obvious that our country is headed in the wrong direction as highlighted last week by the former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, but it is still arguable that it has sunk this very low where a former senator who is a sitting governor does not know the laws of the land.
In the video under reference which had yet to be debunked as a forgery as at the weekend, Okpebholo reportedly said: “This message is for the man who claims he has no ‘shishi’ [mimicking Peter Obi who always says he does not give money for frivolities or as bribe during the 2023 presidential campaign]. There’s a new sheriff in town. He cannot just come into Edo without informing me. His security will not be guaranteed.
If anything happens to him here, he will have himself to blame. I’m not joking. He came the other day and gave out N15 million. A man who claims to have no money, where did he get that from? After he left, there was unrest in Benin, and three people lost their lives. That’s why I’m saying this: tell Obi not to step into Edo without informing me first”.
Every other thing in the habit of a man can be cured, but for stupidity there’s no remedy. However, for our readers and other discerning citizens, we will try to deconstruct the stupidity in the warning from Okpebholo. Obi is a well-heeled man financially and this governor who manifests illiteracy at every turn knows that much. Obi, a former governor of Anambra state, has never told anybody that he is a poor man.
He fully explained his slogan of not having ‘shishi’ to the effect that his wealth goes into productive causes, and helping people across Nigeria who are genuinely in need, not to indulge people’s frivolities or bribe delegates at political party primaries or voters during elections. And he has lived by that principle by giving to schools in virtually all geopolitical zones of the country, financially supporting internally displaced persons who appear to have been forgotten by our governments, providing for victims of disasters for example in Haiti and recently in Mokwa in Niger state, and generally helping those in need.
It was a sign of stupidity for Okpebholo to demand that Obi explained the source of the N15 million he gave to a group while he visited Benin recently. Obi does not owe him how he uses his hard earned money. A more sensible governor would have opted to report Obi to the economic and financial crimes commission for money laundering. Apparently, Okpebholo’s stupidity has yet to degenerate to that level. If as the Edo governor claimed, that some persons died the last time Obi visited the state, the proper thing Okpebholo would have done would be to report the incident to the police stating that he reasonably believed that the deaths were caused by Obi.
Former governor Obi no longer enjoys any immunity and the police will have no problems probing him and pressing charges in court if a primer facia case is established. The weird idea of Peter Obi applying to, and getting prior approval from Okpebholo whenever he intends to visit or pass through Edo state is bunkum. Okpebholo may be a former lawmaker, but he is as empty as they come. Those in the kindergarten know that freedom of movement is a foundational part of the laws of Nigeria.
If another person threatened Obi’s life as governor Okpebholo clearly did in his recent outburst, it would have been necessary to call on Nigerians to take judicial notice of his warning and plot to harm Obi, the man who has turned out to be the main issue in Nigeria’s politics and governance. To do so over the comments of a partisan illiterate will be a waste of time. Another viral video from this same bungling man illustrates the stark illiteracy or hypocrisy or both of the man.
In the latest video he could be heard telling a crowd in the state that but for the money that President Tinubu has been giving to him, that he would not have been able to govern the state. And to provide the people needed infrastructure. Apparently the governor thinks that the president is doing him a favour by Edo state getting its statutory allocation from the federation account.
To Okpebholo, Tinubu is a generous and kind man who gives his state money from his [Tinubu’s] personal wallet. Or the president is so good that he does not seize the monies due Edo state. Okpebholo’s tomfoolery speaks to the damning leadership selection process in Nigeria. He is a tragedy. Unfortunately he’s not alone.
*Onuoha is a commentator on public issues
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