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In 1896 the unwelcome visit of the English expedition to Benin during the Igue Festival prompted the ambush and killing of Captain James Robert Phillips.  In retaliation, in 1897, the British looted the city, killed hundreds of the inhabitants, and stole precious treasures and artifacts. Oba Ovonramwen was forced into exile in Calabar where he died in 1914. The dethroning of the Oba was  a severe blow the political, spiritual and religious fabric of the Edo people.

Ovonramwen was forced into exile, but today thousands of Edo children are forced into exile of sorts by the hostile economic and political conditions of Nigeria. The Binis are all over the globe from Rome to Pittsburgh, from Johannesburg to Sydney.  The exodus is a serious brain drain on the Edo Nation. The result is we have a city in a state of arrested development.

At some point, the prodigal children, the self-exiled sons and daughters of Benin, will have to come back home, to fix the roads, the schools, lift morale, contribute their quota to the social and economic development of the Edo people.

Anyone who seeks to lead Edo State must have a plan.  It is not sufficient to want to be a governor, you must have a definite plan, a detailed and verifiable strategy on how you intend to raise the standard of living of the people.  Samuel Ogbemudia brought pride to Benin in the 1970s, through concrete projects he undertook: University of Benin, Bendel Line, Agbede Mechanized Farm, Ogbe Sports Stadium, the National Museum to name a few of his accomplishments. The Edo people can no longer afford stagnation.

It is not enough to wish, you must have the intelligence, the capacity to make the people's life better. This has to be reflected in enunciated plans to uplift the economy.