Delta Central Senate: May We Not Choose Barabbas!

By Onome Akpososo

Everyday, we are confronted with choices that define the very essence of our existence. The choices we make determine what we get out of life. Daily we may choose either to do good or evil. Sometimes we are compelled to make some difficult choices that prove a hard nut to crack, but in those critical moments, there is no middle ground. A choice must be made between options.

In the Bible Book of Matthew Chapter 27, the story was told of how the people of Israel were presented with two choices, Jesus Christ of Nazareth and Barabbas, a certified criminal. It was the custom of the king to grant state pardon to any criminal before the feast of Passover. Pilate knew Jesus had no record of crime and wanted to set him free so the criminal, Barabbas could be punished according to his crimes. However, to make his choice a popular one, Pilate proposed and posed the question before the people about who to set free between Jesus Christ and Barabbas. And the crowd chose Barabbas, electing Jesus, an innocent healer, preacher and bearer of good news, to be killed instead of the thief.

The implication of that historic choice, made about 2000 years ago is still very much with us. Light and darkness, a saint and a criminal, a peacemaker and social misfit were presented as candidates before the people, and in their rage and quest for evil and attempt at suppressing the good works of Jesus, the world chose a thief. Today, criminals have taken over the world. Barabbas, whom our fathers of old chose, have continued to multiply, manifesting terrible attributes through kidnapping, banditry, looting of the public treasury and many violent, terrible and mindboggling crimes all over the world. In the blind rage to silence the truth, the world chose a liar and a thief.

Every election year, the people are confronted with choices to make. And the choices we make through the ballot determine the kind of result or dividends we get. A man cannot learn to be left-handed in old age. The political parties have presented several choices before the people to choose from. Urhobo will have to make a choice on whom to send to Abuja to represent her interest as Senator for Delta Central. The choices before the people can be limited to two: Chief Ede Dafinone of APC and Chief Ighoyota Amori of PDP.

The choice before Urhobo is simple. You cannot continue to do one thing over and over and expect a different result. The two major candidates are well-known to the people. Their pedigrees in terms of moral, psychological and physical attributes are known to all. We have to choose between a man who has refused to leave the stage after dominating the political space for over 20 years with no result and a breath of fresh air. One had betrayed the Urhobo course in the past while the other has no such record of betrayal by Urhobo. One represents the evil of the past, the electoral wickedness that kept the people in the dark, while the other is coming with fresh hope and ideas to build on the existing wave of change by an incumbent senator. May we not choose Barabbas in 2023!

Ede Dafinone is that man with the features and attributes of a harmless dove. He is coming with a calm spirit, leading a life of contentment, giving his substances to feed the weak and resonating light to those in the darkness of political wickedness. Ede Dafinone has a name to protect, a legacy of leadership to build on, a famous heritage to guard and endangered followers to lead from the mindless and malicious recluses of the gang of political bandits who have ravaged the political space for many years represented by the PDP candidate. May we not choose a Barabbas in 2023?

Ede Dafinone is the face of the sunrise the people crave, while Ighoyota Amori is the face of the devious past the people wish to discard. Light and darkness are before the people. Delta Central cannot choose darkness over light. The people have seen the light in what Senator Ovie Omo-Agege has achieved in just 7 years. When Chief Kingsley Esiso, the state PDP chairman said that Senator Ovie Omo-Agege must be punished for taking what belongs to Urhobo to Orogun, he was simply expressing frustration and annoyance over the demystification of his party as a non-performing gang of looters. Otherwise, how can politics blind a man to the extent of saying that Orogun is no longer Urhoboland? When did Urhobo write or go to Abuja to lobby for any of those institutions located in Orogun and it was Ovie Omo-Agege that diverted them to Orogun instead of another village Urhobo applied for?

The fact is that any Urhobo man who fails to appreciate Senator Ovie Omo-Agege for his supersonic performance as a senator is only demonstrating the Barabbas in him. Such a man should be rejected as an enemy of the people. Urhobo cannot make the mistake of voting for Barabbas in 2023. It is time to consolidate the unprecedented performance of Omo-Agege by voting for Ede Dafinone for Delta central. It is the height of hypocrisy for any man to praise Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who constructed roads into farmlands in Owa-Alero, built a University and invested in several institutions in the same town, yet is condemning Omo-Agege for keying into the policy of charity begins at home.

Urhobo should simply vote for Ede Dafinone in 2023 instead of Barabbas. Barabbas is everything evil, wicked and iniquitous. Dafinone’s professional background will pave way for him to excel as a senator. We cannot make the mistake of voting for a Barabbas and expect him to bring good tidings of excellent performance when it is not in his character to do so. Ede Dafinone is the real deal for 2023. The choice is clear. Dafinone represents light. May we not vote Barabbas!

Onome is from Effurun-Otor, Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta state