Edo Gubernatorial Aspirant, Asue Ighodalo Tackles Language Barrier

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has endorsed a gubernatorial aspirant within the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Asue Ighodalo, who hired an interpreter to communicate with his Esan kinsmen.

In a video circulating widely, Ighodalo, a Lagos-based lawyer originally from Ewohimi in Esan Southeast Local Government of Edo State, was seen in his hometown ward. Despite his self-proclaimed identity as a true Esan boy, he faced difficulty speaking the Esan language

The governorship aspirant (Ighodalo), said: “I do things in Esanland because we are not noisy. My brother is here, I am here, and my parents were here. I am a true Esan boy. I am not going to use home boy, because they have used it badly. I am an Esan boy.

“I’m a true Esan boy. I am a true Edo boy. I am a true Nigerian. This is what I am. Since 2008, I have been in the economic team of the state, starting from the administration of former governor Adams Oshiomhole. Since Godwin Obaseki came in as chairman, Economic Team, I have been coming to Edo State to support and advise the government.

“I have been advising since 2008, which is 15 years ago, which means I came into Edo State, five, six, so many times a year for government business, not to talk of my own business. So, people can say what they like. Because we are not noisy, and because we are not jumping from one ‘mama put’ to another, does not mean am not a true Edo boy.

“This issue of an Edo boy, this issue of a true son of the soil is in the heart.

Many of our brothers and sisters in the diaspora demonstrate a deeper connection to Edo than some who live here. Genuine commitment is about inner conviction, not the number of joints one frequents. All members of the diaspora, both in Nigeria and abroad, have a crucial role to play in the development of Edo State.

“Someone cannot sit in the village or in ‘mama put’ and say the rest of us cannot come and develop our state. It is not done. We must all come together and develop Edo State, plus the people in ‘mama put,’ plus the people in Canada, we must come together and develop Edo State.”

Senator Oshiomhole, a former national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, also a governorship aspirant on PDP’s platform, hail from Edo North, while Obaseki is an indigene of Benin in Edo South.

Kanyi Daily recalls that Godwin Obaseki of Edo State had promised to provide N500 million in monthly assistance to poor residents of the state to mitigate the effects of the Federal Government’s removal of fuel subsidy.