*Insists ‘Edo no be Lagos’
*Declares comment insult on hardworking Edo people
*Warns Tinubu to steer clear of matters too exalted for him
Oluchi Chibuzor
The Edo State government has described as sacrilegious, unacceptable and condemnable last week’s comments by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, during a campaign rally in Benin City, that he would turn Edo youths, “yahoo yahoo boys” to experts in manufacturing and creation of chips.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media Projects, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, stressed that the APC candidate’s comments at the rally that took place at the University of Benin Sports Complex was in bad taste and should be condemned by any right-thinking member of the society.
The APC presidential candidate had at the rally in the state promised to transform advance fee fraudsters, otherwise known as “Yahoo boys,” by creating technological hubs for them, if elected in next month’s poll.
But Osagie stated, “The Edo State government strongly rejects the negative stereotyping of Edo youths by the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who made a blanket comment, painting our hardworking youths in bad light as fraudsters at the campaign grounds.
“It is rather troubling that among the socio-economic issues that Nigeria is faced with, including rising inflation and exchange rate crisis, all that the APC presidential candidate can think of speaking to in Edo is the issue yahoo yahoo boys. Yahoo yahoo, as is well known, is a reference to internet fraud. By consequence, Tinubu sees all Edo youths as internet fraudsters.”
Osagie added, “It is, indeed, curious that Tinubu, at different points in his campaign trail has met with youth groups and also held town hall meetings with them but at no time did he make reference to them as yahoo yahoo boys.
“To be specific, Tinubu has held town hall meetings with youths in Lagos and Abuja. He did not mention yahoo yahoo in these gatherings. Why is it that it was when he got to Edo State that he thinks it appropriate to profile youths in the state as internet fraudsters? So we see through his gimmicks and we reject the negative tag.
“We take an exception to this false characterisation and demand that he withdraws this comment. There is a plethora of other issues that bedevil the country that should have agitated the mind of a serious presidential candidate. However, he picked on the youths to make such a dark and demeaning comment.
“Tinubu’s comment desecrates our land and what we stand and live by. Edo youths are honest and engage in legitimate ventures and their genius is celebrated the world over.”
Osagie also noted that no matter how hard Tinubu tried to sell himself in Edo State, “Edo is not Lagos, as we say in local parlance: ‘Edo No Be Lagos.”
“During the governorship election in 2020, we made it abundantly clear that ‘Edo is Not Lagos’ as the people stood steadfast to reject the candidate of the APC and the Lagos godfather at the polls. The same fate will befall the APC and Tinubu in the elections this year.”
He also noted that Tinubu’s comments regarding the returned artifacts and the reference to the Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Oba Ewuare II, the Oba of Benin were in bad taste, warning the candidate not to drag the monarch into his troubled narratives.
The statement said, “Tinubu should not poke his nose in matters that are too exalted for him. The revered royal monarch is too regal and respected to be dragged into politics by the unworthy mouth of Tinubu. We respect our monarch and would expect that others accord him equal regard.”
