By: Pius Alile
The recent award of the Nigerian Senator of the Year to His Excellency, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, by the respectable ThisDay/Arise organisation, is yet again a popular attestation to the former Labour Leader and former Governor’s extraordinary excellence in public service. It is a reawakening to the fact of his natural disposition to being a class captain wherever he finds himself.
It is a matter of general consensus that Senator Adams Oshiomhole’s presentations at the Senate – whether on the floor or at committee sittings – have been remarkably outstanding. He has been clear, profound, insightful, audacious and courageous.
Although, this level of performance is not surprising, given Comrade Adams Oshiomhole’s antecedence, it has nevertheless been another amazing phase of his unending revelation of inherent greatness.
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole burst into national and universal consciousness in 1999 when he became the President of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, at the outset of the Fourth Republic. Under the leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired General and Military Head of State, statecraft was under the influence of a dictatorial hand. With the pro-democracy elements now under the wings of this hybrid democracy, Nigeria needed an interventionist force to keep the militarised government under check. And the NLC became handy under the leadership of the bold and irrepressible Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Although the Nigerian Labour Congress since its formation in 1978 has been fighting for the welfare of the Nigerian workers, it had never been so important to the average Nigerian until Comrade Adams Oshiomhole took its engagement with government to another level. From a workers’ union, Oshiomhole practically turned the NLC to a people’s movement. With his charisma, power of oratory and mobilization ingenuity, Oshiomhole turned the NLC into the rallying point for all advocacy elements, including the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS. He became the timeless symbol of the struggle for the interest of not only the Nigerian worker, but the ordinary man. And for this he could be said to be the most popular Nigerian across all sectors between 1999 and 2007.
It is pertinent to state that in the year 2000, Oshiomhole was awarded Man of the Year by the Punch Newspaper. Until the end of his tenure in 2007, he received many awards of excellence from countless reputable organisations. In 2006, he was conferred with an honorary Doctorate of Law degree by the Edo State Ambrose Alli University, AAU. However, he insisted that he be addressed as Comrade.
When Comrade Adams Oshiomhole contested the governorship of Edo State in 2007, his aspiration gained tremendous support from the ordinary voters. However, he was not declared winner until the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal ruled that he had been rigged out, and, therefore, ordered his declaration as the rightful winner and Governor of Edo State. Upon this development, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole was sworn in as Governor of Edo State on November 12, 2008.
Oshiomhole continued in his trajectory of award winning performance as governor of Edo State. While he remained his eloquent best, he brought charisma, courage and creativity to the governance of the State. He changed the face of infrastructure development in the state. Oshiomhole built modern state-of-the-art roads, including Sapele Road, Mission Road, Akpakpava Road, Siluko Road, Sokponba Road, Five-Junction, Second East Circular Road, etc, across Benin City, the state capital. He took away the perennial water-logging problem from the illustrious Iheya and Isonorho quarters and built in stead, paved layouts that stand out as testaments to his sense of empathy and beauty. Of course, one cannot but mention the Upper Siluko Road “Mammy Water” flooding problem he solved, and has remained solved till this day.
It suffices to say that Oshiomhole’s development projects, including the multi billion naira Benin City Storm Water Project, the Ultramodern Central Hospital, Benin City, Edo University, Iyamoh, College of Education, Igueben, as governor of Edo State are, for the purpose of this article, too numerous to mention. However, one cannot fail to mention his signature school infrastructure development project, which was known as the “Red Roof Revolution”. It was a phenomenon which spread across the length and breadth of Edo State.
Adams Oshiomhole was a governor whose influence cut across party lines. For instance, despite being an opposition governor, he was President Goodluck Jonathan’s main man. He helped the government to navigate labour union related landmines.
Throughout his governorship career, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole received many prestigious awards for his excellent performance.
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole continued his brilliant performance in the office of the APC National Chairman which he occupied between 24 July 2018 and 16 June 2020. He began the process of reformation for more internal democracy within the ruling party. For his laudable efforts, he fell out of favour with a powerful cabal within the government, who wanted the APC in their grips for the purpose of determining the choice of the 2023 presidential candidate. Therefore, he was summarily removed from office through a plot that involved the manipulation of the court process.
Undeterred, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole remained in the APC without an office until 2022 when he won the APC Edo North Senatorial Primary to contest in the 2023 general election. His election was a fait accompli due to his unmatched influence in Edo North. This power was deployed not only for himself but for the election of President Bola Tinubu. Thus, despite Edo State losing generally to the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Adams Oshiomhole won the Edo North vote for the APC presidential candidate.
As a Senator, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has demonstrated his timeless brilliance. He has shown uncommon empathy, intelligence and bravery – presenting critical issues of national interest without equivocation or fear. Once again, Nigerians are being treated to the fearless fervour of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, which made him a hero of the masses between 1999 and 2007. Obviously this is the quality that the ThisDay/Arise organisation have seen, and for which they fittingly declared him Senator of the Year.
In conclusion, it is no gainsaying that Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has a character of excellence forged in the furnace of consistency, and which has, and will continue to transcend time and space. As they say, he is, indeed, a man for all seasons.
Hon. Pius Alile is the Deputy Chief of Staff to Edo State Governor
