Oshiomole's Secretary Gunned!

Late Olaitan Oyerinde

The private secretary to Adams Oshiomole, governor of Edo state, Olaitan Oyerinde, has been assassinated, Edo government officials say. He was shot by unknown gunmen in his home in Ugbor GRA, Benin City, the capital of Edo state, at about 1:30 a.m Friday morning.

First, we would like to pray for a peaceful repose of the dead and pray also that the family of the bereaved who lost their breadwinner right before their eyes have the strength to bear the irreplaceable loss.

Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde is not a politician. He is not even an Edo citizen. Why he was chosen for this assassination remains unclear but dirty Nigerian politics cannot be far from the motivation behind such a wicked act. Oyerinde who before now was a career unionist was also a UNILAG alumni.

Nigeria has had a rough history of politically motivated assassinations. Most of these deaths have remained unsolved and many of the suspects remain free for lack of evidence among other reasons.

Should politics not be a contest to service? Should it not be a platform on which to test popularity of position and let the electorate be the ultimate judge? Should the electorate not have the right to be the employer of a servant who should serve them in a public institution called government? The desperation for public office which at one time was described by a Nigerian president as a "do-or-die affair" has seen many bright minds die for mere intent in trying to serve fatherland at a certain capacity.

We take a look at popular assassinations and their conclusions. DELE GIWA. The journalist met his death by a parcel bomb in 1986. The case remains unsolved. Alfred Rewane. The NADECO financier met his untimely death at the hand of unknown persons as all the suspects plead innocent. The case remains unsolved. What more can be said of Obi Wali? He was murdered in his residence in Port Harcourt. That too remains unsolved. Bola Ige and Funsho Williams are also quick to come to mind but as popular as these men are, their murder cases remain unsolved. Perhaps, with exception of Kudirat Abiola for whose death Al Hamza Mustapha is yet to know his fate, nearly all politically motivated killings in Nigeria have never been solved by the Nigeria Police Force.

The list continues to grow. Memorials will be raised in honour of the dead. Sadly, it ends there. Nothing else beyond these and a rousing speech will be carried out in the interest of justice. One can conclude from the antecedent of political murders in Nigeria, that Oyerinde will join the growing list of men and women whose lives have been cut short for having a face unloved by their assailants.

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