THE FALL OF THE POLITICAL ORPHANS : OBASEKI'S "YESTERDAY" MEN.

By John Mayaki

Former presidential spokesman, Dr. Reuben Abati, wrote of the phone that no longer rings. It is the feeling of sobriety and ordinariness that follows the loss of power and prestige. For those without a second address, this feeling can be terrifying and often induces a sense of desperation - the desperation to remain relevant and regain fast-disappearing influence. It causes them to do strange things and genuflect before false gods.

This is certainly the case with former governor Godwin Obaseki’s yesterday men - a ragtag assembly of washed-up loyalists and expired sycophants, desperately trying to rewind the clock. They are afraid of their future and dread the looming damnation to oblivion. These political orphans have nothing to return to, having been plucked from mediocrity and entrusted with responsibilities far above their talents. Such was Obaseki’s hiring and promotion system that it had nothing to do with competence but subservience and the willingness to carry out his sadistic demands without question.

Crusoe Osagie is a good example. Before his appointment, he was a journalist best described as a scalar quantity - no magnitude, no direction. Just now, Crusoe is now a depleted and deflated demagogue - the man who was appointed into the failed administration of Obaseki and his reputation was that of a grifter. He was regarded as belonging to the class of media henchmen who merely published carefully scripted press releases from clients. Such journalists add nothing to public discussion nor expand their readers' understanding of any burning issue. They have no readers, in fact, and merely add up the numbers at their organizations.

It was hardly any surprise, then, that he failed woefully when entrusted with the governor’s image. Under his watch, Obaseki’s profile fell horribly, and his image sank. He went from a once-celebrated stockbroker to a tyrant whose legacy includes the decimation of an independent arm of government and the denial of representation to the people. Perhaps the only thing Crusoe Osagie managed to brighten in the two terms he served was his skin. Some say this effort was aided by toxic materials that may not be fit for print, but that is talk for another day.

Despite his obvious lack of talent and the network to carry out the task he was handed, Crusoe suffered the affliction of arrogance. Like all fallen court jesters, he mistook borrowed power for personal importance. He is the proverbial butterfly that thinks itself a bird. This exaggerated sense of self pushed him to attempt a domination of the media space while he was in charge. He went about insulting his betters, berating some as “uneducated bloggers who just rant online.”

Today, he is no different from the said bloggers. He is now a lead online ranter himself, seeking relevance from the same group and characters he insulted and demeaned. Someone ridiculed him on a WhatsApp platform the other day expressing surprise when Crusoe started replying to discussions on the platform - it was like he was never conscious the platform existed before when he was in government but today, he is now on several WhatsApp platforms bantering and wailing. 

I think Crusoe would need to graduate from WhatsApp to X (Twitter), to Facebook and to some other matured and serious platforms - although he has no social media account, he can hurriedly launch one to commence the new assignment on the streets - the wailers assignment and I can also introduce him to farming too, as a second address. 

With Obaseki effectively banished and retired, these political baggage handlers, including Crusoe - the fake pastor is building an altar to a new false god. He wants a slice of Asue Ighodalo’s media budget so he, too, can scream ‘Joy is coming’ every day and on every single WhatsApp platform. Don’t worry, Asue Ighodalo will throw you a bone very soon. 

Crusoe may stick out because of how rapidly he has unraveled, but he is not alone. There are several others in this cadre of Obaseki’s yesterday men who view Ighodalo’s case as the only lifeline they have left. If he loses, as many predict he will, they know it is the end of their hollow careers. So they are throwing everything they have at it - from propaganda to distortion and other dastardly antics.

The fact that they even struggle to believe the lies they repeat daily is evident in their flawed analysis. But like all yesterday’s news, they need the delusion to maintain sanity, at least before the ruling of the court reinforces the obvious reality: that they have been rejected and defeated, and Edo has moved on from them. And the final verdict of the court will lead them to their political irrelevance in the world without end.