By Ijeoma Osamor
I have watched with keen interest the arguments going on across social media, both from those praising your administration and those criticising it. I don't think all of it should be dismissed as social-media noise. Sometimes, the noise is telling you something.
As a journalist, broadcaster and public affairs observer who has followed Edo politics for years, I believe it is time for you to take a hard look at the government around you and ask yourself some honest questions.
Is the government really performing as well as the people around you are telling you?
That is the question.
I am not writing this to insult you or to join those who are simply looking for faults in your administration. I am writing because Edo State deserves better, because I believe you still have the opportunity to make some important changes and because you are My Friend.
Edo is not an easy state to govern. We all know that. But Edo is also a state with enormous human and economic potential.
So, how should we judge your government?
Not by the number of people defending you on Facebook, Tik tok and other social media.
Not by the number of press releases coming from Government House.
Not by the number of people praising you at political gatherings.
We should look at the roads. We should look at our hospitals. We should look at our schools. We should ask whether our young people are finding opportunities. We should ask whether businesses are doing better. We should ask whether people feel safer.
Most importantly, we should ask ordinary Edo people what they think about the Okpebholo government.
That is where the real answer is.
Your administration has announced several projects and initiatives, and there are areas where your government deserves recognition. But Governor, announcements are not the same thing as results.
The people want to see and feel the results.
GOVERNOR, WHO IS REALLY ADVISING YOU?
This is where my concern begins.
I worry that too many people around you may be more interested in defending you than advising you.
There is a difference.
A good adviser should be able to look the Governor in the face and say:
"Sir, this one is not working."
"Sir, the people are angry about this."
"Sir, you need to change this person."
"Sir, your communication is not reaching the people."
"Sir, you are losing touch with this part of the state."
That is the kind of advice every Governor needs.
You don't need people who will clap at everything you do.
Or those protecting their appointments.
You need people who will tell you the truth.
Social media has its place, but Edo politics cannot be won on Facebook, WhatsApp or TikTok.
The people who vote are in the communities.
They are in the villages.
They are in the markets.
They are in the churches and mosques.
They are in the schools.
They are the young people looking for work.
They are the mothers struggling to provide for their children.
They are the civil servants.
They are the farmers.
They are the business owners.
They are the traditional rulers and community leaders.
Go and listen to these people.
LEARN FROM THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE YOU
My Governor, you have had the opportunity to watch people like the late Chief Tony Anenih operate politically. You have also seen what Senator Adams Oshiomhole did in Edo.
You don't have to become Tony Anenih.
You don't have to become Oshiomhole.
But you should study what they understood about people, politics, organisation and grassroots mobilisation.
Tony Anenih understood political organisation.
Oshiomhole understood how to take government to the people and make people feel part of what his administration was doing. He used the conventional media and made a large number of friends in the media, which led to his greatest success.
You need your own style, but you also need people around you who understand these things.
PLEASE DON'T SEE EVERY CRITIC AS AN ENEMY
Governor, not everybody who criticises you hates you.
Some people are genuinely concerned.
Some people are saying things you may not want to hear, but that does not mean they are against you.
Sometimes, the person telling you the uncomfortable truth is more useful to you than the person praising you every morning.
Please create room for people who can speak honestly to you.
Edo people don't need government supporters fighting critics on social media every day.
They need results.
They need good roads.
They need functioning hospitals.
They need better schools.
They need security.
They need jobs and opportunities.
They need an economy where young people can see a future for themselves.
And they need to believe that government remembers them after elections are over.
GOVERNOR MONDAY OKPEBHOLO, TAKE ANOTHER LOOK AT YOUR TEAM
My advice is simple.
Take another look at your government.
Look at your advisers.
Look at your commissioners.
Look at your communication team.
Look at your political structure.
Look at your relationship with communities.
Look at your relationship with women and young people.
And ask yourself one very important question:
"If I remove the noise, what are Edo people actually saying about my government?"
That answer is more important than anything your social-media supporters are telling you.
THE PEOPLE WILL HAVE THE LAST WORD
Governor Okpebholo, you have a mandate from the people of Edo State.
Use that mandate wisely.
You still have time to correct things that are not working.
You still have time to bring competent people into your government.
You still have time to listen more.
You still have time to strengthen your grassroots presence.
You still have time to make women and young people feel that they have a place in your government.
And you still have time to build a record that Edo people will remember positively.
But please don't allow praise singers to convince you that everything is perfect.
It isn't.
No government is perfect.
What matters is whether a government is humble enough to recognise its weaknesses and courageous enough to correct them.
My Governor, think again.
Restructure where necessary.
Listen to different voices.
Bring experienced political minds into the room.
Bring professionals into the room.
Bring young people into the room.
Bring women into the room.
And most importantly, bring ordinary Edo people into the conversation.
Because when all the noise stops, when the appointments are over and when the social-media defenders have moved on to something else, it is your record that will remain.
That is what Edo people will remember.
That is what history will judge.
And that is why I am saying this today, not as your enemy, but as someone who believes that Edo can do better and your government can do better.
Governor Monday Okpebholo, please think again.
If una like, come after me. I dey here.
I remain yours sincerely,
Ijeoma Osamor.
