By Erasmus Ikhide
In a tale of woes that echoes the struggles of the Nigerian people, two figures emerge as symbols of the country’s entrenched political and economic disasters. Like Monday Okpebholo, the embattled candidate facing an uphill battle, and like Tinubu, the President grappling with the weight of economic collapse, Nigeria itself seems trapped in a cycle of stagnation and ruination.
As the nation teeters on the brink of unbearable hardship 14 days to the Edo State off-season governorship election on September 21st, the parallels between these two figures serve as a stark reminder of the deep-seated issues that must be addressed if Nigeria is to break free from the shackles of its troubled past and forge a brighter future.
Apart from belonging to the same All Progressives Congress (APC), the similarities between the two precursors of ills the nation are legion. They both shared secrecy about their unknown educational background and poor grades in colleges they attended that should have disqualified them from seeking public offices. In the case of President Tinubu, it took several litigations to prevent Chicago State University from releasing his authentic results. Till date, it remained of tone-disbelief that Tinubu actually attended the said university.
All through President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential campaign in 2023, it was reported that he made 32 grammatical blunders with incoherent policy statements on how to fix the nation’s troubled economy. It is the same intolerable and embarrassing gaffes that daily attended Monday Okpebholo’s campaign engagements.
For instance, there are notable gaffes that made Tinubu a laughing stuck while his presidential campaign lasted. In a meeting with members of the private sector in Owerri, Tinubu said, “A town hall different from bala blu blu blu bulaba.” It became so popular a DJ mixed it and now many people use it for their Instagram and TikTok reels. While campaigning in Jos, Tinubu forgot his political party before he quickly corrected himself. He said, “God bless Nigeria; God bless PD-APC. “God bless APC.” The APC candidate trended for days because of that statement and of course, many people made it into a trending audio.
In another tragic outing, Tinubu uttered incoherent gaffes, “Turn the so-called Yahoo boys into experts in the manufacturing and creation of chips.” It wasn’t so much what he said but how he said it. For one, it sounded like a song, and many people took it to mean manufacturing plantain chips! He probably meant computer chips. Not done yet, Tinubu told his supporters he is running for the presidency for their benefit but then made a weird comparison. In a rhetorical question, he asked, “Is it for eba, is it for garri, is it for beans and dodo? No, it’s for you.” Many people found those rhetorical questions hilarious.
In an uncoordinated speech, Tinubu also said, “We are yet to generate electricity to even roast boli.” Tinubu seems to have a love for locally made food and does one even need electricity to roast boli? It’s made with a locally made coal grill. In an Ebonyi rally, still speaking of how bad electricity is, he said the previous PDP government could not even make a “down payment” for roasted corn. We can agree that electricity in Nigeria is abysmal, but what does it have to do with boiled and roasted corn?
Also – in many instances – Monday Okpebholo has made more blunders than President Tinubu in this campaign. Okpebholo’s frequent grammatical mistakes raise concerns about his communication skills and ability to effectively represent his constituents. Okpebholo’s repeated grammatical errors in public statements call into question his attention to detail and command of language. The numerous grammatical mistakes made by Senator Okpebholo undermine his credibility and cast doubt on his ability to effectively lead.
At an event held in his honour outside the shore of Nigeria, Okpebholo could not distinguish between a zoo and a museum when he reportedly said, “There are no animals in the Edo Museum.” On another occasion, in a viral video Monday, Okpebholo was seen saying, “From Okpella to Benin takes an average of 6-7 days” in a journey of just 2 hours, however the condition of the road. In another gaffe by Okpebholo, he said the Federal Government has agreed to use concrete tiles to fix the road in his community after meeting with the Vice President.
Since 2015, to be sure, the majority of Nigerians are of the opinion that it is the tradition of the APC to feature disdainful, colourless, controversial and unqualified candidates in major elections who eventually brought the nation to its knees. General Muhammadu Buhari’s controversial A level result sparked debate as being worthless as the NEPA bill, yet his cult following adopted him as one of the best things that has happened to Nigeria.
It is now obvious that Monday Okpebholo, is the phony equivalent of Buhari and Tinubu put together as the gubernatorial election in Edo draw closer. Edo people only hope that thunder does not strike twice on the same spot, God forbid!
Erasmus Ikhide contributed this piece via: ikhideluckyerasmus@gmail.com.
