By Goodwill Enegbe
Crusoe Osagie is either a sadist or suffering from a mental disorder. I say so because since he lost his job he has continued to constitute a nuisance through his jaundiced vituperations against Senator Monday Okpebholo, the quintessential governor of Edo State, whose commitment to growth and development of the state is second to none.
For the records, medicine says a sadist is someone who derives pleasure, often in an unhealthy way, from inflicting pain, suffering, or humiliation on others, whilst a mental disorder is characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual’s cognition, emotional regulation, or behaviour.
To be a sadist one has to be sick, same prognosis for a person mentally disturbed. This clearly explains Crusoe Osagie’s tirade of bitterness and sour grapes in his article, “Okpebholo’s 60 Days Without a Plan.”.
Nevertheless, what I saw is an wholesome and worrisome display of significant disturbance in Osagie’s cognition, emotional regulation or behaviour in his unsettling attempt to rewrite Edo history, malign its present leadership, and insult the intelligence of Edo people. If I was surprised, it is far from the truth because coming from someone who was the chief spin doctor for one of the most satanic administrations in Edo State’s history, I expected nothing less.
Without scintilla of doubt, Osagie’s obsession with John Mayaki is as old as the wasted years of Godwin Obaseki’s administration. Howbeit, the correlation between Osagie’s insecurity in a space where Mayaki exist, vis-a-vis the 2020 journalistic faux pax involving Mike Igini, which doesn’t has bearing on the substantive issue of Governor Monday Okpebholo’s undeniable progress in office in just 65 days, left much for the public to be concerned about the mental sanity of Crusoe Osagie as already established.
It is a cheap diversionary tactic that underscores Osagie’s mental inability to see and confront the facts. He cannot comprehend that unlike his boss, the Okpebholo administration in Edo today is focused on delivering results, not engaging in quarrelling, fighting and violence that characterized the Godwin Obaseki inglorious years in Osadebe Avenue.
Of a truth, Osagie knows that the Obaseki government empowered hoodlums that killed the police orderly of Senator Monday Okpebholo, so it is not only baseless to accuse Okpebholo of the same crime which amounts to a projection of the deciet, lies and falsehoods that defined the Obaseki ignominious administration.
Thuggery, dictatorship, tyranny and unchecked violence were hallmarks of governance during Osagie’s tenure as Media Adviser, with numerous protests erupting over draconian and anti-people policies of the Obaseki’s totalitarian regime.
In contrast, the Okpebholo’s administration has prioritized the interest of the people of Edo, law and order, and working tirelessly to restore sanity across local councils. These efforts are a testament to the governor’s resolve to clean up the mess left behind by his predecessor.
The accusation that Okpebholo attempted to reverse Edo’s e-governance and revenue systems is laughable. Obaseki’s so-called e-governance system was a charade, riddled with inefficiencies and wilfully designed to siphon public funds.
Osagie and his boss, Godwin Obaseki, were confronted with unexpected frustration when the covertly designed backend of the e-governance system to monitor the activities of Governor Okpebholo in Governor’s office was discovered by Okpebholo in the very first day he assumed office.
Okpebholo as an ICT expert immediately shut-down Obaseki’s covert operation in the office of the Governor, and ever since Crusoe Osagie has continued to serve as the ventilator wherein Obaseki ventilate his frustration.
Similarly, the claim of a monthly revenue of N8 billion is another inflated figure concocted to mask the state’s financial rot. Okpebholo’s administration inherited a bankrupt treasury but has already begun implementing reforms to restore fiscal discipline and transparency.
Osagie’s audacity in attributing ongoing road projects to Obaseki is both shameless and disingenuous. Since assumption in office in November12th, 2024, Okpebholo has continued to tackle the infrastructural deficit in Edo with righteous anger and high sense of urgency that it requires.
It’s an undisputed fact, that the people and residents of Edo State are the major users of the federal roads that cuts across Edo. It is also a clear fact, that during Obaseki’s administration these roads were a nightmare for Edo people and commuters from other parts of the country. Instead of Obaseki to fix the roads, he used hundreds of millions to erect signboards on the various federal roads with the inscription; *”This is a Federal Road, kindly bear with us.”*
But in contrast, in just 65 days in office, Okpebholo has fixed 85 percent of the federal roads and commuters now travel on these road with a sigh of relief. In the same-vein, Okpebholo’s administration has taken up and advanced State’s roads that were abandoned by the Obaseki’s administration. Unlike Obaseki’s penchant for propagandist showmanship without tangible delivery, Okpebholo is focused on real progress.
The Ramat Park flyover project, which Osagie derides, is being pursued with transparency and due process, a stark contrast to the opaque dealings of the previous administration.
The claim that Okpebholo lacks a strategic plan is as false as it is absurd. In just 65 days, the governor has initiated consultations with stakeholders to create a people-driven development blueprint. This collaborative approach is a marked departure from the top-down, autocratic style of the Obaseki years.
The so-called 400-page transition document handed over by Obaseki is nothing more than hollow jargon, devoid of actionable insights and reflective of the failed policies that Edo people rejected.
Perhaps the most laughable part of Osagie’s diatribe is his attempt to describe Obaseki’s tenure as “enviable.” This is the same administration that alienated civil servants, antagonized the business community, and squandered billions of public funds on phantom projects. The only thing enviable about Obaseki’s tenure is his audacity to claim achievements where none exist.
Governor Monday Okpebholo has accomplished more in 65 days than Obaseki did in eight years. From improved security measures to a consultation-driven governance approach and efforts to rebuild Edo’s battered economy, Okpebholo’s administration is charting a path of real progress. Crusoe Osagie’s baseless rant is nothing more than a futile attempt to remain relevant in a post-Obaseki era.
It is time for Crusoe Osagie to retire his poison pen and allow Edo State to move forward under a leadership committed to tangible development and the collective good of its people.
Godswill Inegbe is the
Special Adviser To The Governor on Communication, Strategy and Media Projects
