Osun election and ominous auguries

No fewer than 2.3 million eligible voters and 14 political parties will participate in tomorrow’s governorship election in Osun State. Already, the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Joash Ojo Amupitan, has expressed the commission’ readiness to conduct the off-cycle poll and assured Nigerians and Osun people of a free, fair, credible and peaceful exercise in which their votes will count.

Although 14 political parties will compete in Osun poll, the fierce contest is between Governor Ademola Jackson Adeleke of Accord Party (AP), Bola Oyebamiji of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Najeem Salam of African Democratic Congress (ADC). The parties and their candidates have fulfilled the usual ritual of signing the symbolic peace accord which is organized by the National Peace Committee (NPC) led by former head of state, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar (rtd), as chairman, Chief Emeka Anyaoku as co-chairman and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of Catholic Diocese of Sokoto as the convener.

Despite signing the peace accord, signs coming from Osun State are indeed ominous. With violence, hate speeches by political actors and killings of the people of the state in the name of politics, it will be a great miracle to have a free, fair and peaceful poll in the state. The needless killings in Osun and inflammatory speeches by political actors on both sides of the divide are signs that the election may be marred by violence.

The way and manner the APC is going about the poll does not suggest that the contest will be free and fair. The alleged intimidation and interference by the central government in the exercise will lead to voter suppression and low voter turnout. Some APC governors and ministers have left their duty posts to be in Osun to ensure that their candidate wins. This practice is needless. It is overkill.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) joined the fray when it froze the account of Osun State a few days to the August 15 gubernatorial election. Following public outcry, President Bola Tinubu intervened and ordered the anti-graft agency to vacate the order freezing Osun account. Although Tinubu intervened in the face-off between EFCC and Osun State government, the harm has been done. Perhaps the motive for EFCC action has been achieved. Prior to this, the Federal Government has seized the allocation to Local Governments in Osun State over the issue of which party is in charge of the local governments. This is happening in a country that practises federalism.

The events in Osun do not encourage participatory democracy or even multi-party democracy. The ruling party is already controlling about 31 states. This should be enough for it. Making further moves to control all the states may ruin this democracy and spell doom to the country. The culture of ‘do or die’ politics should be done away with. The language of violence and ‘kill the opponents or kill their votes’ is an aberration in politics and must not be tolerated. Those involved in inflammatory and combustive utterances should be arrested and interrogated before they set fire on Osun State.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari did not perform well in office with his nepotistic tendencies and bigotry. Despite his poor grasp of economic matters and lopsided appointments, Buhari did not interfere in state elections whether off-cycle ones or general elections. President Tinubu should emulate Buhari in this regard. He should allow free, fair and transparent election in Osun State.

Let no candidate win simply because he is backed by the federal might. Let all the candidates compete on a level playing ground so that the loser will have the face to congratulate the winner as Amupitan has alluded in many occasions. Our nascent democracy will die if we don’t play by the rules. Voters will lose confidence in future polls if their votes did not count.

If INEC is not allowed to conduct free and fair elections, the loser will never congratulate the so-called winner. He may go to court. He may choose to resort to violence or self-help or jungle justice. One off-cycle election should not be allowed to unduly overheat the polity because of some vested interests.

This election is for Osun people and not for outsiders who weep louder than the bereaved. All the meddlesome interlopers should leave Osun State alone and mind their business. Democracy dies when elections are rigged or manipulated in favour of a particular candidate. Nations also fail when democratic institutions, including INEC, security agencies are compromised. Why should 18 people die because of Osun election? The arrest of Accord Party members some days to the poll is untidy. The alleged plan to arrest some powerful political figures in the state is also not good.

The APC took over power from the PDP because of some ills and overreach of the then behemoth and the largest party in Africa. APC should not imitate or even outdo those things they condemned and criticized in PDP now that they are the new behemoth and the largest party in Africa. The beauty of democracy is that it allows the people to make choices over those that govern them through periodic elections.

The voters’ rights to choose their leaders must not be circumscribed or vitiated by the ruling party or its agencies. Already, 15,000 police personnel have been deployed for the poll. This should be enough to guarantee peaceful poll. Osun State should not be militarized because of an off-cycle poll.

The ruling party’s focus should be on how to improve the welfare of the citizens through provision of basic necessities such as shelter, water, food, health, education and jobs. Nigeria has over 140 million people who are multi-dimensionally poor. Nigeria has over 20 million out-of-school children. Its housing deficit is said to be 28 million units even though government claims it is 15million units. Most primary and secondary schools have collapsed in all the states in the country while the governors are building needless flyovers and white elephants.

These neglected schools depend so much on lifeline from old students associations and good Samaritans. Most state universities are glorified secondary schools. The nation’s health crisis is alarming with 16,000 doctors leaving the country in five or seven years and with no hope of replacement.  ASUU is warming up for nationwide strike in these universities over unpaid workers’ salaries and allowances, in spite of the governors receiving so much allocation from Abuja.

These issues should trouble the APC leadership and not the political contest or wrestling match in Osun State. INEC should be allowed to conduct a free, fair, credible and peaceful poll in Osun. Any interference by the Federal Government will ruin the exercise and even mar the 2027 general poll. Let Osun people decide who should be their governor. Let their votes count.