Why must the name of one man rend the air of Edo State political discourse, some persons may ask, marveling at the rising and rising popularity and acceptance ratings of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in the recent weeks. Attempts to answer this question will lead objective observers into finding the salt and substance of this man, into why he is rightly dominating, if not dictating the direction of political discourse in Edo.

Yet, one man’s illustrious relevance is another’s gloomy obscurity, and for this, Pastor Ize-Iyamu’s increasing fame can never settle well with everyone. While the lovers of innovative thinking, transparent leadership, and sustainable development, judging by the Pastor’s antecedents, will ride on a supportive wave, the people who, for some reasons majorly selfish, irked by this growing popularity and large support base, will begin calculations to detract from the wave.

But this, too, proves a tough job for these people who are faced with the insurmountable task of denting the image of a man whose history has no dirt, whose life is a model adopted across states and faiths by so many individuals.

What is usually pointed at is the forlorn 700 million Naira saga, a case that has been established to hold no merit.

Beginning in 2015, the case has since then died off in installment as the year goes by. Yet it is not even a shoddy death, rather a transparent and clear legal refutation of the merit of the case. The matter has been dismissed, various jurists and judges finding no ingredient of embezzlement or laundering or whatever ludicrous charges raised against the Pastor.

This same case indicted other individuals from other states and have had their lawsuit whipped out of court, proclaimed a no-case. Most recently is the example of Yobe State and the PDP party members whose experience, again, reveals the pointlessness of the whole propaganda.

Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, certain of his innocence, has more than a few times explained, in clear terms, what transpired with the funds. The money did not originate from the government, rather it was a fund raised by party stakeholders for the specific purpose of the period’s presidential election. This automatically makes the experience a party matter, yet Pastor Ize-Iyamu has followed inquiries with an even more transparent approach, allaying suspicions of embezzlement.

The fund, the Pastor, has confirmed, came in and was immediately signed for onward distribution to pertinent wards for mobilization and other campaign purposes it was generated for. The late party chieftain, Chief Tony Anineh, admitted to this fact and was willing to reveal documents that testified to this upright account.

Clearly, there are people who would want to raise the matter again, for reasons best known to them even as they are aware that the case holds no water and similar cases have been severally struck out of court in different states. It is no more than propaganda, the often referral to the case, most likely employed to deflect attention from more pressing concerns.

The popularity of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, and his rapidly growing acceptance by the people, has not done any good to the situation. If anything, it worsens it because it appears, it is the very reason fueling the callous efforts. However, what matters most is that fact is always laid to the public even as propaganda, in their usual sensationalism, seem to be the amplifier of this fruitless onslaught.

The ultimate ambition of this charade, we suspect, is to intimidate the Pastor into forfeiting his aspiration. If this is not possible, then at least to cast him in the wrong light, and draw the ire of the public. For the moment, no one knows who is resuscitating the concluded matter, trying to force it into mainstream conversation, and what their true aim is.

Nevertheless, all propaganda shares a common fate: an eventual demise, a certain exhaustion and running out of steam because truth, no matter how hard and deep it is ran into the ground, will still rise like the virgin sun of morning, and shine bright like a diamond in the sky. Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu is the truth.

Hm

Pa Oshiomole said is a thief I concur