“Butterflies Do Not Become Birds” – A Lesson for Chris Nehikhare and His Band of Political Orphans

By Fred Itua

“You are a butterfly who thinks himself a bird.” Gbokan to Odewale, The Gods Are Not to Blame

Life has an amusing way of mimicking art, and nowhere is this truer than in the politics of Edo State. Chris Nehikhare the self-appointed town crier of a fractured, rudderless PDP embodies Gbokan’s timeless verdict in Ola Rotimi’s The Gods Are Not to Blame. A butterfly, no matter how colourfully it flutters, can never soar like an eagle. It’s time for Chris and his diminishing band of political orphans to confront this reality.

His latest press release a cocktail of bile, bad grammar, and recycled sarcasm is a textbook example of projection. The real comedy is not Governor Monday Okpebholo. The actual circus act is a PDP spokesman still clinging to the ruins of a party hollowed out by betrayal, arrogance, and serial incompetence, confusing social media chatter for grassroots relevance.

Nehikhare attempted to mock Governor Okpebholo’s bold declaration to deliver 2.5 million votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027. But let’s put sentiment aside and examine facts. This is the voice of a sitting governor elected, sworn in, and steadily steering Edo out of the wastelands left by the PDP’s calamitous misrule. In less than a year, Okpebholo has kickstarted ambitious infrastructural projects, revitalised agriculture, empowered youths, and restored dignity to governance. The people see it. The people know it. And, most importantly, the people will remember.

What Nehikhare labels “absurd” is the sound of a new Edo a progressive resurgence sweeping across the South South, with Senator Okpebholo as its frontman. He is not merely the Governor of Edo State; he is the new APC star boy in the region. By 2027, he will not just deliver votes he will deliver a political masterclass, with performance as his currency, and destiny as his compass.

Let’s not forget: this same PDP that’s sobbing over “291,000 votes” couldn’t even present a credible governorship candidate. They fielded court-imposed aspirants and cobbled together emergency alliances in hotel lobbies, while APC was mobilising in markets, streets, and villages. Today, the PDP in Edo is a house with many landlords but no tenants — no credible structure, no candidate-in-waiting, and no roadmap to redemption.

So, before Nehikhare points a trembling finger, let him reflect on his party’s tragicomedy:

A governorship candidate that required political oxygen from Rivers State to stay afloat.

A national leadership trapped in endless litigation and caretaker drama.

And a state chapter where the spokesman mistakes online hashtags for ballot strength.

Yes — butterflies are colourful, but they are fragile, fleeting, and ornamental. They do not lead revolutions. Birds do. Eagles soar. And Senator Monday Okpebholo is soaring — above the noise, above the lies, above the decaying remains of yesterday’s politics.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu understands Edo’s strategic importance ahead of 2027. And in Okpebholo, he has a grounded, battle-tested general — not a sycophant, not a court jester, but a result-driven leader with the grassroots firmly behind him. The South South will not be left behind this time. The new wave is APC red, not faded umbrella blue.

So, let Nehikhare continue his open mic nights. The real business of leadership and national victory is already underway, with Okpebholo leading from the front. Butterflies may dazzle in the sun, but when the eagle appears, they vanish into the shadows of history.