A stalwart of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan’s aide on Special Duties, Mr. Felix Tony Nwaka, has called on religious and political leaders, to call their aides to order especially as it regards elders.
Nwaka’s position is coming on the heels of the Edo State governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, who cautioned his appointees not to speak ill of the Oba of Benin, no matter the circumstances.
A post on his verified Facebook page, titled: “GOV OBASEKI REMINDS ME OF GOV UDUAGHAN”, Nwaka praised Obaseki, for preventing his aides from engaging in disrespectful statement, noting that the directive was fascinating.
Hear him: “I just read online that H.E. Gov Obaseki of Edo State has issued a strong directive to members of his government to refrain from making any disrespectful statement against the Oba of Benin, over the contentious issue of the artefacts being returned from Europe. You’ll recall that the revered royal majesty appears to disagree with the governor on the modalities for retrieval of the priceless antiques.
“I find the Edo governor’s directive to his aides personally fascinating. It’s reminiscent of our experience as aides to H.E. Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, former governor of Delta State. I recall that, in the heat of the fierce criticisms against Gov. Uduaghan by Chief E.K. Clark, the governor warned us, his aides, never to reply to him in any language that might remotely be considered disrespectful.
“In fact, for some of us who would not hesitate to take a full page in a national daily to jump to the governor’s defence, we took it as an official directive to never raise our voice against the elder statesman. And we never did.
“Indeed, there are occasions a leader must draw a clear boundary for his aides; a red line of sorts. No matter the gravity of the disagreement, there are specific elders a leader must not allow his aides to drag to the mud.
“While it is commendable for aides to rise in defence of their masters, the finer nuances of statecraft demand that a leader must restrain his aides from publicly soiling those eminent garments that animate our collective heritage”,. warning that “power is transient”.
