The Great Edo Heist: Corporate Bandits and the King’s Jewels.
A man governed a state for 8 years, and in one year since he left office, he has not stepped his foot in that state. He does not even own a house in the state, not even a rented one! Think am na. Do you really think such a man ever had any real attachment to that land he ruled for 8 years?
Let us be clear and unequivocal: the administration of Godwin Obaseki was not a government. It was to him, another 'corporate appointment'. Edo was a company, and he was CEO for 8 years. Edo for him was business, not service. He came with his autocratic socialist mentality, and behind him his corporate goons, wearing suits and carrying briefcases full of documents that have today become crime exhibits.
It was a meticulously planned, ruthlessly executed corporate raid on the treasury, heritage, and soul of Edo State. For eight years, we were not governed; we were looted. We were not led; we were conned by a syndicate of technocratic marauders and corporate bandits who saw our beloved state as a virgin territory for their predatory ventures.
This "Lagos Gang," as they are rightly known, did not arrive with a vision for development. Under the guise of consultants, advisers, and "best-in-class" technocrats, they seized the state's civil service machinery, rendered trained career administrators redundant, and orchestrated a grand heist, using consultancy fees, retainerships, kickbacks, commissions, agency fees, and contract inflations as their weapons of choice.
The most profound and painful evidence of their treachery is the scandal of the Museum of West African Art (MOWAA). This was not a policy misstep; it was a premeditated, cold-blooded assault on the Benin Kingdom, orchestrated from the very top.
As detailed by our revered Oba, His Royal Majesty Oba Ewuare II, the international community was united with the Palace on a single, sacred vision,- The Benin Royal Museum. This was the agreed destination for our looted treasures, under the custodianship of the throne that has protected our culture for centuries. But Obaseki and his cohorts, their nostrils flaring at the scent of over $50 million in restitution funds and international donations, decided to hijack this vision.
While the Oba was using his diplomatic clout to secure the return of our artifacts, Obaseki was in dark corners, conspiring with the former DG of the NCMM, Tijani Abass, to create a parallel, opaque entity they called MOWAA. This was not a museum, it was a vehicle for fraud. Structured as a private charitable trust, with the state investing ₦3.8 billion and providing prime land worth over ₦10 billion, yet holding zero equity. it was a masterpiece of theft.
The recent aborted opening of MOWAA is the smoking gun. If their hands were clean, why was the event shrouded in secrecy? Why were foreign diplomats invited to a "cultural dialogue" in Benin City without the knowledge of the State Government or the Palace - a blatant and intentional breach of all protocol and tradition? There charade of an opening was the final stage of a con, an attempt to present a fait accompli and legitimize their theft before the long arm of the law could catch up. It was an act of profound disrespect, not just to the government, but to the Benin people and our ancestors.
The MOWAA fraud is merely the most culturally sensitive symptom of a systemic disease. The same blueprint was applied across the state. Take the ‘Radisson Blu Hotel’ project, a monument to their greed.
The Edo State Government provided over 80% of the capital for this project. Yet, in a move that defines criminal audacity, the ownership structure was fraudulently switched in the twilight of the Obaseki administration, leaving the state with a pathetic 20% stake in a project it largely funded. This is grand larceny. Guess who the "advisers" on this heist were? Obaseki's own Afrinvest, which acted as the financial advisor, and Asue Ighodalo's law firm, Banwo and Ighodalo, which pocketed a scandalous N1.5 billion for "Legal Advisory Services"- a situation akin to the criminal paying his accomplice to draft the perfect crime.
The story repeats with the Modular Refinery, initially touted as a state project, only to emerge as a 100% privately-owned entity. It repeats in the secretive land grabs and infrastructure deals where state assets were systematically stripped and handed over to this cabal. Thankfully, the people of Edo State saw through the polished veneer and recognized the gangsters beneath. We rejected Obaseki and his stooge, Asue Ighodalo, because we will never be a colony of Lagosian corporate raiders.
In their place, we have a LEADER, not a conman. Governor Monday Okpebholo, our modern-day Akpakomiza, is living up to his name as the one who rescues and restores. He has fearlessly confronted the MOWAA charade, committing to working with international stakeholders towards finding a way to restore the project to its rightful purpose as the Benin Royal Museum. He is committed to paying the N7 billion debt on the uncompleted Stella Obasanjo Hospital that Obaseki shamelessly commissioned in a pathetic farewell tour, a man so desperate for a legacy he was commissioning foundations and skeletons of buildings like the Education Hub at Iyaro.
We must give kudos to the courageous Edo youths who rose in righteous indignation to defend our heritage. We applaud the Governor for maintaining peace while steadfastly protecting the dignity of our traditional institution. And we stand in solidarity with our Oba, who is doggedly continuing the fight of his forebears. It is a tragic irony that another renegade "Obaseki" once again features in a plot to harm the Benin Palace, a century after the first betrayal. This time, we are grateful it has failed.
In every great heist movie, from ‘The Sting’ to ‘Ocean's Eleven, the con artist's greatest weapon is illusion - making the victim believe in a reality that does not exist. Obaseki was a master illusionist. He spoke of "thinking big" while his gang was thinking of big steals. He commissioned uncompleted projects, hoping we wouldn't notice they were empty shells. But the curtain has fallen. The illusion is shattered. The American English has fallen silent. The media blitz has run out of lies.
Crude, uneducated, uncultured, and half-intelligent social media minions blab about Obaseki’s records. What records? If Obaseki is so proud of his record, why is he a ghost in the state he supposedly governed for eight years? Why does he avoid Benin, even for significant social events? Why is he reportedly globetrotting? The answer is the cold, paralyzing fear of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). A man with a clean conscience does not flee from his own home.
The exposure is complete. The gang is naked before the people. Governor Okpebholo is now undertaking the arduous task of reclaiming and rebuilding what they tried to destroy. The rescue mission is underway, and Edo State is being returned to its rightful owners: the people of Edo.
For Obaseki and his band of corporate bandits, having chosen to spit in the face of history and rob the kingdom, we can only await the inevitable culmination of their madness. The gods and the law are not sleeping. Their judgment is imminent.
*#SMOkingGun*
11/11/2025
