By SUNDAY OMO IDAHOR ESQ

PERMIT me to humbly appeal to your highly esteemed organization that I be allowed to use your medium in making known to the whole world events that occurred in the above-mentioned trip to my native land Benin City Nigeria!

I left Boston MA in the United States of America on the 8th of May 2010 with a sole purpose of getting my entire immediate family to relocate to the united States after nine agonizing years living separately.

Hence my joy knew no bound when I boarded the Greyhound bus at south station in Boston en-route JFK international airport.

Haven in my possession five tickets from Qatar airways purchased with my entire six-month savings. I finally flew out of the United states at exactly 4.45pm 8th of May, 2010.

Suffice me to say here that before I boarded my flight, after I was checked-in, I had to hide my Nigeria passport in other to avoid any over-zealous security officers in Qatar. I arrived Qatar after a long 13 hours flight and was very impressed with the clean and sophisticated international airport that welcomed me to that country. At the custom desk, I was treated like a human being and was never denied any legitimate request made.

I was offered a free chauffeur round the capital during my six hours stay before my connecting flight to Nigeria. But had to refused the offer pretending to be more catholic than the Pope by alleging that I could not accept the offer because I feared being kidnapped due to the fact that I was travelling with an American passport!

I was offered a free meal voucher that covers any delicacies of my choice during my six-hour stay.
Though the outside temperature was about 120 degree, yet the airport was so cool and comfortable you would think that you are In Jos (Plateau state- Nigeria) during the cold season

After six hours my honeymoon was over and I had to board another flight to Nigeria. But please note that some Nigerians at the airport were mad at the custom personnel for giving ‘Americans’ special treatment.

According to them, they were never offered either the free ride or the voucher. It took me nearly 35 minutes to lectures my aggrieved Nigerians that the issue is not that of deliberate selected ‘special’ treatment but the demand of the United state authority on how her citizens should be treated any where in the world, Nigeria Government please note!

6.35am on the 10th of May 2010, we landed Lagos ‘international airport’ and after we disembarked from the plane, we all were greeted with strong fowl odor, intense heat, and very dirty and dilapidated so-called international airport.

On getting to the arrival hall, we were told that there was no electricity, and the generator was not functioning either thus we could smell human odor all over!
The conveyor belt was out of service too.

We were told to wait for about one hour for them to manually deliver our luggages.
We had to pay between 2 to 5 dollars each to have access to any of the aged and dilapidated trolleys.

I personally counted nine deferent uniform personnel of various names and unknown security organizations with tags turned or covered to hide their identity.

Qatar airways crew members stood by watching our show of shame from a good distance.
After a ‘short’ delay of two hours I finally got my luggage and headed toward the exist door. This was the beginning of my woes;

Surrounded by four deferent security personnel, I was asked ‘ oga wetin you carry? Any thing for the boys? And my answer was a very hash NO!

Their boss ( senior officer) appeared from no where and he was told that I was not cooperating, he then ordered that I be searched thoroughly according to him he was sure I was one of the ‘ drug dealers’

While they were meticulously going through my bags, they found my photograph as an officer of the temple of justice. There and then I was freed from my ‘egunje’ imposed prison!

JOURNEY TO BENIN CITY.
I left Lagos on the 12th of May 2010 in company of my wife and three kids whom had earlier joined me in Lagos for a ten-day family reunion in my native land-Benin city! We boarded Efosa motors at Ojota thus the bus finally departed Lagos by 8.45 am, the journey was not too bad, neither was it interesting. From the old tollgate to the one before Oluku near Benin, I counted without exaggeration a total of 53 police checkpoints!!

It got to a point after Ore that I told the driver to stop, got out of the bus and proceeded to ask the inspector of Police if Nigeria was at war? He could not offer any reasonable answer, and I had to succumb to the pleadings of my wife and other passengers to the effect that I must avoid anything that could lead to any accidental discharged!

Benin from Lagos ought to be a two hours thirty minutes journey but we made it in six hours ten minutes but at last we were in Benin!

Permit me to say here that prior to this trip, we the ‘binis’ in Boston are not un-aware of the numerous development efforts of our governor. But I never prepare myself for the shock that awaits me on entering Benin city-the land of my Birth!

WAIT a minute, I am not a politician, I am not a political party oriented person, but when I see anything-positive there would be no power under heaven that would stop me from saying what I perceive to be the truth! Therefore, I am not holding brief for either Edo state Government or AC as a party in Edo state.

To me, politics is the madness of the many, for the benefits of the few!
Having said this, I made bold to declare that based on what I saw in Benin city, and the numerous villages I visited in Edo state during my 10 days trip PDP as a political party is dead and buried in Edo state!
Note:
1. As a result of the developmental projects currently going on in Benin City alone, it would take a madman to vote for PDP in Edo State in the next seven years!

2. PDP in Edo state in not dead because Oshiomhole is using state resources to fight the party, but the mere fact that the governor is doing what past governors could not achieve in 30 years all within two years is the single reason why PDP would never be the same again in Edo state. Thus the super numerous achievements of the people’s governor is the bullet that had killed PDP in Edo State! 
3. My ten-day trip became a fact-finding mission! And what I saw is more than enough to further lay credence to the fact that Nigeria problem is LEADERSHIP!

This is the same Edo state that could not provide any development projects to its people due to ‘lack of fund’ and now the entire Benin City is like a construction site! From five junctions to ring road, mission road, airport road, Akpakpava road, Sokpoba road, all erosion sites, drainages built with the kind of standard that is only seen here in the United State. Even Sapele road, stadium road and the stadium itself is under renovation. The schools are been repaired, and for once I am proud to say I am from BINI the land of great OBA(s)

4. Permit me to say also that on my way to my village – Ogba Nazagba ten miles from Ugo niyoko Orhiomwon I met what nearly gave me a heart attack! Not that armed robbers attacked us during the trip, but I met a construction giant – Setraco Nigeria limited in full force working on this road! I got out of my car, tears in my eyes, and I lifted up my hands to the God of heaven for giving Edo State Adam Oshiomhole.

Since my arrival back to the state, I have had conference-like meetings with over 100 Edo state indigenes, explaining to them what I saw, and making them to see the reason why we must all turn our focus back to the land of our birth! We are coming home to join hand with our Oba and the governor to move the state forward. As for PDP, many of their members are cold; few of them are already politically frozen!