Former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has warned that politicians who acquire power and deploy it for selfish ends will face divine punishment.

Obaseki spoke in a video shared on his official X handle, where he reflected on leadership, governance and his years in office, stressing that politics should be about service, not personal enrichment.

According to him, leaders who focus on building wealth for themselves and their inner circles after winning elections have betrayed both God and the electorate.

Obaseki said: “If you are in politics just to get power, and when you get that power it is only for you, your friends and those close to you, then God will punish you.

“Power is given by God for a purpose. If God has given you power and you cannot use it to serve Him by serving the people and glorifying His name, then you have missed the essence of leadership.”

The former governor said he had no regrets about his tenure, maintaining that every major decision he took was guided by the interest of Edo people.

“I have no regrets about my time in office. If I am given another opportunity, I won’t change anything. In fact, I will do the same things even more, and I will do them quicker and faster,” he said.

Obaseki noted that while his administration recorded achievements in several sectors, particularly education, he wished some reforms had started earlier to allow more time for their impact to be felt.

“On education, for instance, I wish we had started some of the reforms earlier so that by the time we were leaving, people would have seen even more results,” he added.

He also defended his decision to support a successor, describing it as a deliberate effort to sustain policies and reforms initiated by his government.

“That is why we fought to bring in someone I know will continue. Everything I did was planned. All the actions I took were for the benefit of the people, not for myself,” Obaseki said.

The former governor warned against the dismantling of programmes introduced by previous administrations, arguing that such actions only end up hurting ordinary citizens.

“When I see people trying to destroy what we did, I say you are supposed to add to what you met, not destroy it,” he said.

“You are not hurting me. If you remove health insurance or close hospitals, it is not me that will suffer. It may be your brother or sister tomorrow who will need treatment from that hospital you refused to open.”

Obaseki further questioned the conscience of leaders who remain comfortable in power while citizens struggle to survive.

“How can somebody gain power today, and sleep well and be happy, seeing that so many people are not able to eat and suffer? What is the purpose? Because God has given you power, you don’t see the purpose,” he said. (Daily Trust)