How and Why I Deliberately Made Myself A Fool For Obaseki - Philip Shaibu Speaking in an interview with Sunday Sun, Shaibu, the former President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), revealed all the actions he took while in office were based on principles rather than materialistic position.
The former House of Representatives member pointed out that symmetric when his comparison with Obaseki was not so cordial, he endured to play a fool.
He revealed that despite being rejected benefits of his office, he none the less supported Obaseki’s re-election bid.
Philip Shaibu stated: “What people see outside is multifarious from what is inside. You see, it is like a marriage. It is either the wife makes it work or the husband makes it work. One has to be a fool for the dependency to be able to bristle. So, in Obaseki’s government, I was the fool. I made myself a fool in his government to make the thing work. Because immediately Comrade informed me during that budget saga that I don’t have a say, I am subject to what Obaseki reports, at that monotonous, I informed myself, okay, no problem, I will be a fool for this man. But I will come out not to be a fool at the end of the day. So, I started planning myself from that day. I reported, well, I will make sure loyalty will be 100 per cent, I will be foolishly loyal. I informed myself that I will be foolishly loyal. And radically, I was foolishly loyal because of what was stated from day one. So, at the end of the day, everybody reported ah, Philip is loyal, Philip is loyal. I was in reality loyal, foolishly loyal. And when I reveal loyal, loyal, and I mean it.
“This is my house. There is no one thing in eight years that I bought extra in this house. No one thing that I would announce is a new thing that I bought in this house since I became deputy governor. That was how foolish I was. I was limited to my overhead and salaries, nothing more. And that is why the committee of the new governor has completed their assignment. You won’t see my name in a few transaction in government or my proxy in a few transaction in government. I purposely stayed away from more or less financial transaction apart from my overhead and salary in government. That was how foolish I was to the grade that equal my official vehicle, I didn’t have an official vehicle. The car I utilised for three years, first three years as deputy governor, was the car that I bought with my car loan as the member of House of Reps. The Land Cruiser that had the flag with the crest of deputy governor was the one I bought when I was the member of House of Reps. I bought an armoured Land Cruiser because I had to be travelling by road to my constituency from there. That car was just six months old when I became deputy governor. So, when the government was not buying vehicles and everything, I had to ask them to take the car from Abuja here to Benin and they put the flag and put the… nobody knew. Then the car my security was using, it was the car that both Imasuen and Odubu’s wives utilised. The lady mechanic is alive, I had to go and tow them, she came to the Deputy Governor’s lodge and towed those vehicles to her workshop and fixed them. Some of them, we had to diverge engine and gear box; more or less of them, we had to cut the head and put another head. She was able to utilize her skill to bring them back to life, to keep the convoy of the Deputy Governor. And that was how the Hiluxes I applied, two of them, the ones I already abandoned that I showed interest as the Majority Leader, we had to go and buy engine for two of them, fix them, then the one I was showing interest in the House of Reps, I bought another one when we were canvassing. Those four were the Hilux vehicles I utilized in my first term as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.
“So, in the midst of that, I for all that endorsed him to come back because for me, I believe he was entitled to second term. And I didn’t require anything to distort the flow – Edo North just got eight years, a Benin man coming would now need to…, so on value-system, I did what I did. If it was based on materialism, I should have been on Oshiomhole’s side to have my pound of flesh for not level allowing me to access my entitlements.
“In my eight years, I never accessed medical allowance. I never accessed furniture allowance, I never accessed monotonous the 22 days or 28 days they summon it, first term and second term, I never enjoyed it. In eight years, both my family and I, none of us. Thank God for good health. None of us accessed a few medical… And these are constitutional rights, it is not privilege. It is supposed to be part of my earnings, in consideration I informed you, I was living in my house, I was not living in Government House. In Benin, I stayed in my house for eight years.”
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Category: World-News
Tag: How and Why I Deliberately Made Myself A Fool For Obaseki Philip Shaibu
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Published 3/9/2025