Edo State Governor,
Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has again immortalized the two-time Governor of the
defunct Mid-West State and Bendel states by naming the rebuilt and remodeled
New Era College in Benin City after the elder statesman.
This is the second
time the state government under Governor Oshiomhole would be immortalizing Dr.
Ogbemudia as the governemnt had, in 2014, built a statue in honour of the
former Governor at the state-owned Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
Speaking at a birthday
party organized by the State Government to celebrate Dr. Ogbemudia on his 84th
birthday, on Saturday, Governor Oshiomhole said, “You came, you saw and you conquered
and Edo people are proud.
Therefore, with your
permission and in exercise of my privileges as the governor of the greatest
state in Nigeria, the only state that is up-to-date in the payment of salaries
in the entire South-South, the only state that increased the minimum wage when
others cannot pay it, on behalf of the government and the people of Edo State,
this college, New Era College that you built, that they destroyed after you
left, that I came to rebuild will hereafter be named Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia
College.
It is my hope this
will inspire other people to give their best to our state, to our country so
that role models shall be formed within us. God bless you. God bless your
family, and if you ask me, may God give you another eighty-four years.”
He continued, “I just
want to say, we are very proud of you and we thank God for your life. We are
celebrating an example of how just one man can lay such a solid foundation for
generations upon generations to build on. So, our leader, Dr. Ogbemudia, I am
proud of you. Edo people are proud of you. Nigerians who know you are proud of
you, and even children yet unborn will be proud of you when they read the
history of your contributions to the growth and development of Midwest Region,
Bendel State, and Edo State.
“Fashola, former
governor of Lagos State, now Minister of Works, Housing and Power said to me,
'do you know if any one government under any one governor can complete the
process of governance, Ogbemudia would have done so'?
"So, you have
people in the North, in the East, in the West, across all the divides in
Nigeria that respect you for your patriotism, your doggedness, your commitment,
your honesty of purpose, your leadership by example, and your unwavering
commitment to building and supporting one indivisible Nigeria.
May God continue to
give you long life, good health that more and more of your effort is required
even in times like this to remind us that nations are built by citizens,
citizens that are inspired, citizens that believe in the future.”
Responding, the
celebrant who was elated by the honour done him said, “My mission here today is
not to come and praise you, but to catalogue your achievements so that the
verdict of history will be in your favour.
You have done
wonderfully well. Nowhere in this state, nowhere in this region, in all the six
political regions can you find a building like this (new Era College Hall)
meant for a College. So, you have done wonderfully well. It is said that it is
better to make history than to write it. You have made history today and you
will always be remembered and your memory will never fail.”
Dr. Ogbemudia who used
the occasion to canvass votes for Mr. Godwin Obaseki, the candidate of the All
Progressives Congress said: “I want to appeal to the people of Edo State
through those who are here that 28th September, is a day of decision, a day on
which we will decide our future.
We have two options,
either to remain as we are and nothing happens and two years hence, we will be
looking for boats to travel on the roads because it would have been flooded or
we work hard, get the right person to carry on from where Comrade will leave
it. So, that option is staring us in the face.
“For me, I choose the
option to get somebody who understands good governance to carry on from where
Comrade Oshiomhole will leave it. He has done enough. He has left sufficient
evidence for historians to appreciate, and many years hence they will be
falling on each other to determine what made you do this or that. And I think
you have wonderful wisdom and that wisdom will live with you forever.”
He continued, “Well,
for the young ladies here, I have always appreciated the need to work with
women because at the political field, they are very useful. Once they tell you
they are with you, they are with you.
So, I want them to go
back home to make sure that every one of them here today has a hundred persons
queuing behind them to vote for Obaseki. And for the men, of course, the number
is limitless. What we want to do is to see that the votes the man acquires are
such that it leaves no doubt as to his popularity.
“Two days ago, when
the Governor told me that there would be a banquet, I thought it was a joke and
I never knew that he will be able to bring together so many people as we have
seen here today. So, I do believe that if he can get these people together like
this to vote for Obaseki, the victory is already assured.”
The APC governorship
candidate, Mr. Godwin Obaseki who had earlier given his tributes to Dr.
Ogbemudia said “We are so happy to still have you around with us.
I am aspiring to fill
your shoes. You have been twice governor in the state and I am aspiring to be
governor for the first time. And my inspiration is largely you.
My assurance comes
from the fact that you are one leader who I met after I decided to run for
governor. You would recall that I have met you about three times, and each of
those times, you have meticulously guided me and told me about what to do and
what to emphasize as governor of Edo State.”
Obaseki concluded, “I
want to assure you, sir, that I owe it to you and our Comrade Governor not to
fail Edo people. The fact that we are here today, this school, New Era was your
idea. We want to thank our Comrade Governor for taking that idea forward, and
by the grace of God, I will take it even further.
“So, the assurance is
that you laid a foundation for us as a people and as a state. The last
development plan for Midwest and Edo was under your term. The last master plan
was designed by you. My responsibility is to now continue from where Adams
Oshiomhole has stopped to create that new design and place our people where
they should be in the next century.”
Source: www.samurahblog.com
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