The President of One Love Foundation, Chief Patrick Osagie Eholor has has commended Governor Godwin Obaseki for promising to fix bad portions of Sapele Road in Benin.
Recall that the governor had met with protesters who blocked the major federal highway and told them he is going to act by making sure the road is fixed.
Responding to the development, Chief Eholor, who initiated the first protests on the highway said the governor was forced to make the pledge because of the importance of the road. He however commended the governor, but cautioned him against failing in his promise, as the people will be compelled to return to the streets.
Eholor also commended the protesters for achieving such a feat and said it is the way forward for democracy.
His words “It gladdens my heart to see that after many days of protest, the people wins again because power belong to the people. I have always said that. If only the lion recognizes the power he has in the forest, no other animal will dare him.
“The people are lions, the people are bigger than the government. When the government fear the people, it means there is transparency in democracy.
“What happened yesterday in a show of shame, when Godwin Obaseki succumbed to the people is an attestation that the democracy prevails if the citizens have the strength and the power for their rights because, the rights is our life and we must demand it.
“There is nobody who is going to give us our human rights because human right is ours from birth. So no animal can give us human rights. As you are already aware, I started this protest with my organization, the One Love Foundation, and the DSS came to my house to threaten to arrest me. I said, when you arrest one, you arrest all.
They pleaded with me that they will ask Fashola as a matter of urgency, fix that road, because that’s an economic hub in the South-south. But unfortunately, Fashola as usual with his Buhari administration that has failed abysmally, paid a deaf ear, until the people took the matter up and went back to the streets again.
“They went to the Government House once or twice to see the governor but as usual, Obaseki dodged, and asked his SSG to approach the people. Then we became tired of his excesses, and went back to the streets, that he either listen to us or there will be no movement on the road again.
“It affects the politicians, the clergymen, the good people of Edo State, the police and other security. They were all stranded and I think this is the reason they had to force Obaseki with his police escorts to come and address them, and tell them what to do.
“And yesterday he swallowed his pride to attend to the people. He had to tell the people that as a matter of urgency, they are going to commence work in that road. We hope he is going to do what he has promised the people, otherwise he is going to see the people again on the streets.
“He has only about two years of governance but has failed abysmally. You failed in APC, and you failed in PDP. He has been recognized as the greatest MOU writer who would talk on paper but cannot practicalize anything.
“This also vindicates me again as the president of One Love Foundation, Chief Patrick Osagie Eholor, Democracy Observer-General that the power belong to the people.
“I also want to commend those men and women who left their comforts, their jobs and other responsibility to attend to the needs of the people. May God meet you at the time of your needs”.