Kassim Afegbua: For A Change, Shut Up

Tue, Aug 11, 2020
By editor
7 MIN READ

Opinion

By Solomon Ibheruneafe

KASSIM, what manner of a party man are you? Who made you a judge over party leaders especially the founding members of PDP? Your outburst on television, newspaper and the social media, has shown who you are – an Agbero of the Kabaka extraction. In the words of Nosa Igiebor, a veteran Journalist, it was Adolf Hitler, one of the baddest men the world has ever known, who elevated deception to a fine but very dark art. He said, “If you tell a big, enough lie and tell it frequently, it will be believed”.  According to Igiebor, that was how Hitler hoodwinked the Germans and led them to war that killed tens of millions of people and caused unprecedented destruction of most of Europe.

Kassim Afegbua, the man from Okpella, Edo state, has been in the news of deception for some time now. His unbridled tongue had caused mayhem in Edo political space, creating hatred, bitterness, and quarrel among brothers, even in the same political camp. “Edo Okpa no,” meaning Edo people are one, no matter the political family they belong. For instance, the two political gladiators in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in September, 2020, His Excellency Godwin Obaseki of the PDP and Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC (both just changed parties) are both Edo South sons. Their deputies, His Excellency Phillip Shuabu and Gani Audu are both Afemais from Edo State. Anybody playing ethnic politics in order to cause disaffection, hatred, bitterness and division in the state does not mean well for the good people of Edo state. And that is where Kassim stands.

Before I digress, the latest outburst of Kassim Afegbua in the media titled, SLUG: “OBASEKI REMAINS A BAD OMEN FOR PDP” left bitter taste in the mouths of all who believe in integrity, decency and a righteous democracy based on love, understanding and brotherliness. Kassim Afegbua came to limelight from the days of General Ibrahim Babangida through the Adams Oshiomhole era, where he served as Special Adviser on Media and later Commissioner for Information and Orientation. He fought and cajoled many journalists to do his bidding while he held sway as Information Manager of Oshiomhole. Any negative story during the life span of that ignoble regime was received with rebuttal (advertorial) in the papers with so much effusion of personal insults on the writers. Instead of addressing the message carried by the messenger, Kassim Afegbua prefers to malign the messenger at the expense of the message.

History they say is a mirror and it reflects whatever you portray into it, back to you. For history to be kind to Kassim Afegbua, he must be kind to history which to my mind, he is never ready to do. When Oshiomhole led Edo state into huge debts amounting to over N500billion, Kassim Afegbua was there singing the praise of the Comrade Governor and the APC maladministration. Not too long, he opted out and joined PDP. He opened his diaorrhea infested mouth to castigate the APC he so benefited from. He automatically became the spokesperson for the PDP.

Although some of us knew he was a mole, the leaders could not agree with the submission of some well-meaning Edolites about the character of the man called Kassim Afegbua.

A leopard can never change its colour. Kassim Afegbua is known for deception, lies and propaganda. In his write-up and interview he granted to some media houses recently, Kassim Afegbua accused the PDP of selling out its ticket to a stranger. He said since his outburst, he has been inundated with phone calls by those who felt his outburst against his party candidate was rather too harsh. According to him, he would rather choose his conscience than his party, stressing that while the party plays a temporary platform for acquisition and abuse of power, conscience defines the content and character of a man in his interaction with fellow beings and human emanation. “While I am in constant touch with my conscience, my party abandoned me as it sold away my right of being heard in its negotiation to a “stranger”, with the party’s ticket”. This he said was bad omen for the collective sufferance and is a sad commentary for democracy as it is a contradiction that leaves a gaping hole in the heart of proper democratic practice.

From his explanation in the first paragraph of his epistle, one can deduce that his anger is the inability of the PDP to consult and negotiate with him before the governorship ticket was given to His Excellency, Godwin Obaseki. At this point, one may want to ask what the position of Kassim Afegbua in the party is. What contribution, of financial, moral and electoral value, has he made to the fortune of the PDP he hitherto destroyed with his leaking mouth? For instance in one of his write-ups in 2016, as a member of the APC, Kassim Afegbua described Edo PDP, as parading some of the best empty brains as Chieftains. There was no single individual in the opposition party then, the PDP, that Kassim Afegbua did not castigate, vilify and insult all in the name of being the media or information manager of the government of the day.

The defection of Godwin Obaseki to all sane minds in Edo state, was a child of necessity. A situation where Oshiomhole and his co-drivers in the APC who nearly destroyed the ruling party, denied and disqualified a sitting governor from contesting in the primary of the party, leaves much to be desired.

The question Kassim Afegbua should find an answer to is: Was he expecting the governor to fold his hands and handover the reigns of governance to hawks? If he (Afegbua) believed that the governor who listened to the voice of reasoning from elders like Chief Edwin Clarke and other well-meaning Nigerians who counselled that he (governor) should go to the opposition party to express his desire for his re-election has done wrong, so be it.  In the words of the elder statesman, “if the leadership of the APC, including Mr. President, fails to intervene in the unfortunate crisis in Edo state, I would appeal to the opposition PDP to take advantage of the situation. I repeat, PDP should take advantage of this unfortunate crisis in APC to adopt the incumbent governor than of the APC, Governor Godwin Obaseki, as their candidate. It is a golden opportunity for the PDP to takeover Edo state because Governor Obaseki has so far done well…

I am appalled by the insinuation of Afegbua that money changed hands before, during and after the primary that produced the governor as the candidate of the party. Was Kassim Afegbua a delegate at the convention? Did he take the photograph and video of the governor giving out money to the party and delegates? What evidence does he have to prove that he (governor) bought the ticket? For all intents and purposes, Afegbua’s allegations are baseless and he is just acting as a mole in the party representing his godfather, Adams Oshiomhole. The earlier the party gets rid of him the better before he carves and designs the coffin of the party (God Forbid).

Meanwhile, since the publication of the attack on the governor and the party, various groups and individuals have been criticising Afegbua for his unguarded statements. Prominent Okpella leaders have condemned his utterances and distanced themselves and the Okpella community from the excesses of their son. They pledged their support for the governor’s second term project. According to them, the governor and his deputy are focused, and dedicated to the progress and development of the state.

Also the old students of Ikpomaza Grammar School, Okpella has called on the governor to investigate the illegitimate acquisition of their school’s landed property by Kassim Afegbua.

Osaro Onaiwu, an old boy of the school made the request on behalf of the Old Students Association of the school. He said the Association discovered the anomaly while trying to upgrade facilities in their alma mater, saying the encroachment had greatly inhibited their development plans for the school. This needs to be redressed.

 

**Solomon Ibharuneafe is a Journalist/Public Relations Consultant based in Lagos.

– Aug. 11, 2020 @ 9.49 GMT |

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