By Isaac ASABOR
A visitor to Benin City may be inclined to consider the city for its famous “bronzes” and for its ivories and wood carvings, particularly for its museum that years back portrayed the metropolis as a terminus for beautiful arts and crafts. In fact, the city’s present artisans still practice the ancient method of cire perdue (“lost wax”) casting, and its wood carvers are organized into a cooperative craft society.
In fact, the city today has many of the familiar features and institutions a city can boast of as there are seven universities and other categories of tertiary institutions, of which one belongs to the federal government, two belong to the state government, and four are privately owned. Other public infrastructures that can be found in the city include all essential systems and facilities that allow the smooth flow of an economy’s day-to-day activities and enhance the people’s standard of living. It includes basic facilities such as roads, water supply, electricity, telecommunications, and banks.
However, the color that beautifies the city is with each passing day palling into insignificance as it is troubling that the challenges generated by various cult sects in Benin have been dominating social media space. Its notoriety is fast becoming worrisome as tears and blood are shed virtually on daily basis without let and hindrance. It is stubbornly reported day after day, in many different forms on social media and traditional newspapers, and is converted into several genres of communication, furthered, and kept alive, through jokes, warnings, protests, condemnation, and as a breeding ground of distrust for the government under the leadership of Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
To anyone in the city, headlines that have the similitude of the following, “8 die in Benin cult war”, “Police Arrest 30 for Alleged Cultism in Edo”, “Corpses litter streets in Benin as cult war rages” “Many killed as cult groups fight in Benin”, “Cult war: Police crack 30 suspects, recover the severed head of …” and “Police Move To Stop Cult Killings, Nab 4 In Edo …as court …” are not astounding news on the pages of newspapers and on virtual space.
It would be recalled that the governor, Obaseki in November 2019, set up a special team to combat cultism
At the time, he said the special team would ensure that the law passed on cultism in the state is activated while persons found culpable of cult-related crime would be prosecuted, noting, “Our goal is to make sure that cases of cultism are properly dealt with. We will ensure that we have conviction, particularly in our institutions of higher learning.”
Obaseki noted that the review of the incidence of crime in the state for the month of October showed that kidnapping was on the increase, adding that the cases of kidnapping are reviewed with a view to improving local and state government strategies in combatting the crime.
Analyzed from the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say that despite efforts being put in place by the government to nip the challenge in the bud that cultism as an obnoxious activity in the state has kept raging.
Not only has flood posed an insurmountable challenge in the State, but it has also been causing damages in loss of lives, destruction of properties, and destruction of crops in the rural parts of the state. Without a doubt, flooding has caused severe damage, disrupts economic processes, and caused food shortages.
The city has in the recent times witnessed chaotic scenes across major roads, and prominent among the scenes was when residents along Sapele Road in the month of August protested against the bad portion of the Sapele by-pass which created gridlock around the area.
While that was on, all other roads in the city including the Government Reservation Area (GRA) were blocked as drivers of commercial vehicles protested the enforcement of their compliance to the announced state colors implementation for commercial vehicles.
The drivers in their numbers blocked the busy Sapele road, Ring road, Ugbowo road, Aduwawa, First East Circular road, and Akpapava to show their grievances.
The chaos was unarguably fueled by the government’s directive that Salon cars should begin to pay N20, 000 for the color code and N30, 000 for buses.
Most motorists in the state, kicking against the directive, were unanimous of the view that the state government was insensitive to the prevailing economic conditions when it gave a month’s notice to obtain color code and paint their buses in Edo color.
Even as Governor Obaseki, a few weeks ago, urged residents of the state to support his administration’s drive to sustain institutional reforms across different areas of governance, so as to make life better for all, not few observers were of the view that there are multi factors that can deter investors from investing in the state.
The governor, who addressed newsmen in Benin City, on the progress made so far by Edo State as it marks 31 years after its creation in 1991, said the state has changed significantly in 31 years as its population had doubled, adding: “At 31 years, Edo State has changed. The population has more than doubled and the institutions inherited 31 years ago have deteriorated significantly.
Despite the lip service that the governor has been paying to governance since his inauguration to office, it is crystal clear that the condition of infrastructural development in the state is by each passing day fast becoming deteriorated than he met it.
Given the foregoing, it is little wonder that the inept and lackadaisical attitude of the governor to governance has not gone unnoticed as he has for the umpteenth time been called to order, albeit in his characteristic belligerent manner has decided not to listen to the voice of reason.
For instance, just a few months ago, a coalition of pressure groups in Edo State, under the aegis of Benin Socio-Cultural Organizations (BSCO), carpeted him for not fulfilling his numerous campaign promises.
Sadly enough, his blatant ineptitude in governance is no doubt been detrimental to Edo State indigenes and visitors to the state. For instance, Apostle Johnson Suleiman, of Omega Fire Ministries has fallen victim to Obaseki’s ineptitude in the area of provision of Security in the state as he was on in the evening of Friday, October 21, 2022, with his convoy attacked by gunmen, along the Benin-Auchi Road in Edo State, and seven persons including three policemen were killed.
The outspoken cleric was said to be returning to his Auchi base from Benin City after a foreign trip when suspected kidnappers opened fire on his convoy around Warrake village close to Auchi Town.
