The governorship candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Asue Ighodalo, may have been facing massive rejection from the people over his relationship with outgoing governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki – the latest coming from Edo Civil Society groups who warned him never to appear in their scheduled meeting if Governor Obaseki was also going to attend.
The candidate, who is seen as Obaseki’s surrogate, was said to have pacified his audience, telling them to be calm while assuring them that his ‘godfather’ was away out of the country and wouldn’t be in attendance.
The meeting held at the prestigious Protea Hotel yesterday in Benin City, where he also contended with questions around the Benin artefacts, saying, “when the artefacts return, they would be taken to where they were stolen from,” Asue prevaricated.
It would be recalled that the PDP candidate had earlier in another public meeting told his audience that he would consult to know what to do when the stolen artefacts return, even when he is part of the administration of Governor Godwin Obaseki, who’s building a museum to house the artefacts when they return, as against the wish of the Benin people and the Oba of Benin.
This crisis of credibility and trust in the candidacy of Asue Ighodalo has done unimaginable damage to its campaigns and public consultation, especially his relationship with his promoter, Governor Obaseki, whom the core PDP loyalists believe should be paid in his own coin during the election and now, the civil society groups joining in the opposition.
For Governor Obaseki, the development of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA) will promote cultural renaissance and attract tourism receipts to the State in line with the government’s vision to reposition the State as West Africa’s culture and tourism hub. However, the Oba, Ewuare II, differs – he had since notified the Netherlands Government about Nigeria’s Government Gazette recognizing and vesting custody and management of repatriated looted Benin artefacts in the Oba of Benin.
The Oba of Benin had warned that the artefacts to be returned were not the property of the state government or any private corporate entity that is not a creation of the Benin kingdom. The monarch warned that no state government or any individual could pose to be a legitimate destination for the artefacts to be repatriated, adding that the Benin Royal Museum was designed and will be sited within the precinct of the Palace of the Oba of Benin from where they were looted.
According to a government gazette, “The Oba of Benin Kingdom is globally recognized as the traditional ruler, symbol, and custodian of the culture, tradition, and heritage of the Benin Kingdom and people now located within Edo State of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” the March 23, 2023 gazette stated.