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Being one of the most anticipated elections in Nigeria, the Edo governorship election has come and gone, but the dramas embedded in it will for the foreseeable future remain a point of reference in the political history of Nigeria. Psephologists will definitely realize that life is a stage where humans come to play multiple and different roles. While there are actors on stage seen by the audience, not all actors come on stage at the same time and we have offstage actors. As some mount the stage to act their assigned roles, others leave. The most important thing is that there must be a performance so that the audience remain entertained and stay glued to the play. But the script-writer knows which actors should be projected and the impression to be created. This scenario neatly summarizes the political drama in Edo State.
Using Erving Goffman's dramaturgical perspective, I analyze the defeat of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC and the victory of Godwin Obaseki of the PDP. I show how the poor as a social category continue to be used as bargaining chip by the elites and politically exposed Nigerians to shied themselves when they fall of favour. Also, the political climate of anointing certain candidate by a master in politics is also featured with the experimental imprints of such act on the populace. With the rejection of Obaseki by the All Progressive Congress on the ground of his failed-annoiting by the political heavyweight in Edo State, Comrade Oshiomole, there was a heightened tension in Edo State. It was raised that Obaseki, the incumbent Governor has a lot of issues with his certificate which might be inimical to the party in the future. Others raised the fact that Obaseki has fallen off the favour of Comrade Oshiomole, who is considered the mastermind of APC in Edo at present. The drama became heightened as Obaseki plotted his graph and moved to the People's Democratic Party, which eventually endorsed him against Ize-Iyamu of the All Progressive Congress.
The political drama in Edo State however generated national attention as to what becomes the fate of Godwin Obaseki in his quest to wrestle the anointed candidate of the APC in the state. The Ambode's political Waterloo in Lagos came to minds. Eventually, Obaseki recorded a landmark victory against Ize-Iyamu in the 19th September electoral battle in the state.
Beyond the actors who acted on the stage of the failure of Obaseki in his efforts to secure the APC ticket for the second term, some off stage actors played a triggered role in ousting him from the party. Same can also be said of the fall of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the election. The performance of the Edo governorship drama was well scripted as recruited actors came to the stage to embellish suspense, tension, and heartbreak. From the defection in and political game of division of the House of Assembly members and the Executive Council that worked with Obaseki in his first term. Also, there was dramatic defection of key PDP chiefs and leaders to the APC thinking that the ball will roll to the favour of the APC as Lagos' similar issue proved. The Coronalisation of campaigns in Edo was very dramatic while the use of Police and other security security measures mixed reactions on the part of analysts and commentators.
The drama got spiced up when the likes of Governor Wike, Secondus, Bola Tinubu, Ganduje, Oshiomole and other political heavyweights stepped on the stage to canvass monetarily and diplomatically in winning the hearts of the poor masses.
The historical reality often untold or neglected in the ongoing narrative is that while Obaseki made history through the circumstances that surrounded his defection to the People's Democratic Party, it has also become a big question on the All Progressive Congress on the question of godfatherism in the cloudscape of the nation.
Some traditional rulers were also involved in the off-stage transactional performance of candidate endorsement and alignment with the two frontline aspirants. In the same drama, some traditional rulers were prompted to give insincere endorsement to Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu of the APC due to the federal government's might that would surely rest on him. Sadly enough, most of the off-stage actors represented another thing entirely and acted different character role on the election day. Admittedly, the APC lost, Oshiomole's strength became weakened, the federal might couldn't stand like Modes' rod, Tinubu's Lagos tactics suffered a severe injury and Obaseki could no longer rest with the roof on fire. The APC will continue to chew their pain with philosophical equanimity till another opportunity beckons for a shot at a target, while the PDP keep dancing to the song of Obaseki's victory.
Beyond theatrical performance in the drama of September 19 in Edo, we must subject the drama in Edo to serious analytical question as regard the implications on the people. It is obvious that the election was a play of national strategy and performance by the political elites and the subjectively sympathetic but poor masses. The drama foreground the contradictions in the power-play between the two frontline parties in Nigeria. The effort to yank Obaseki out of the throne and the parallel wrestle by the PDP to flush Oshiomole and his party out of Edo was met with a lot of financial implications in this trying time that the economy of Nigeria is begging for God's immediate intervention. The two parties dramatically borrowed, donated, and spent a huge amount of money in buying the will of their helpless supporters. This will definitely take a decade for the state and Nigeria to recover from and will complicate the economic quagmire in the face of Coronavirus hurricane. The dramaturgical perspective that should be highlighted is the place of the poor masses in the political game of power-play. The idea of godfatherism and anointing of candidates in Nigerian politics should also be subjected to crucible of rigorous explanation. This will make us see this drama clearly beyond mere looking.
