By Adegbenro Adebanjo
No, none of the political parties campaigned based on issues , policies and programmes. They also had very little connection with the people. The political apparatchiks of the All Progressives Congress APC , the Accord Party and to some extent the African Democratic Congress, ADC in the off-season August 15, 2026 gubernatorial election in Osun State simply traded insults at campaign rallies and devoted 90% of the time to OWANBE with musicians on the bandstands dishing out ribald lyrics with high decibel noise from supporters while the key actors danced on the podium and revved up the anger of their supporters against their opponents.
And deliberately they also stoke violence with their language and win at all costs messaging. No wonder, prior to the election, Osun State became a killing field of sorts with at least 30 deaths linked directly to the election. All they wanted was to win at all costs notwithstanding the danger their antics actions and plots posed to the polity.
To checkmate the warmongers and their tough boys and girls , the Police authorities deployed 30 Commissioners of Police and 15,000 personnel for the Election on D.Day. The military and some paramilitary agencies also deployed significant manpower to maintain peace. Of course, because of the carnage unleashed by the various actors leading to death and destruction prior to the August 15 Election the Police and other security agencies had to intervene. The security cordon should be blamed on the political class. The Police and other security apparatus couldn’t watch as they turned Osun into a killing field and stimulated anarchy in the land without intervention.
The Serious Question!
Now that the election is over and Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party , declared as the winner by the Independent National Electoral Election Commission , INEC and his supporters are savoring the sweet aroma of victory while Munirudeen Oyebamiji of the APC consider their next move , what is the fate of the families of the more than 29 people killed in the run-up to the election? Are they going to get justice? Is this the end of probe and hues and cries into the dastardly acts and evils that were carried out by some persons? No, it shouldn’t be. All should be done by the relevant security agencies to hunt , arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of the dastardly and anti-democratic acts and their open and closet supporters. The dead must get justice!
Indeed, the electoral violence and attendant bloodletting was engineered. Just days to the election a Senator of the Federal Republic openly called for the killing of people who do not subscribe to his political party. He has since denied it saying he was misinterpreted. People of good conscience both locally band internationally were simply baffled by his audacity. Indeed , the Amnesty International through its Nigerian affiliate had to wade in. “Amnesty International strongly condemns Francis Fadahunsi (APC) — senator representing the Osun east senatorial district, who was on video during campaign, instructing his supporters to kill members of the Accord Party ahead of the state’s August 15 governorship election. Senator Fadahunsi’s reckless remarks were deliberate and solely aimed at inciting a bloody poll in Osun state,” the international NGO stated.
According the Amnesty International, “Nigeria authorities have an obligation to prohibit advocacy of hatred that constitutes incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence. The authorities must continue to denounce any statements, live, online or otherwise, which advocate violence. Political parties have a duty to renounce incitement and distance themselves from remarks by their members or supporters that can endanger lives prior to , during and after elections.”
The open call to supporters to maim and kill coming from some of the actors in Osun including a Senator constituted a flagrant abuse of power and constituted a danger to democracy. It further worsened the pre-election violence. Security Agencies should interdict all persons who called for chaos , war and violence especially those already caught on tape doing so.
And the election like others before it also witnessed the rise of hate mongers and ethnic bigots. On the social media there is a worrying rise of hate mongers , ethnic irredentists and tribal warlords who spew out hate laden vituperative outbursts and war inducing rants. These political jingoists cut across ethnic and religious divides and they are doing incalculable damage to national cohesion and the polity. They were fully at work prior to and during the Osun election stoking violence and rallying the people to ‘war’.
Warts and all , it is not difficult to agree with former President Goodluck Jonathan that, “The outcome of the recent governorship election in Osun State demonstrates that, despite the challenges confronting our democracy, we possess the capacity to conduct elections in a manner that strengthens public confidence in our democratic institutions.” Jonathan also commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security agencies, political parties and, most importantly, the people of Osun State for the peaceful conduct of the governorship election.
However, the former President, whose profound statement that his political ambition was not worth the blood of any Nigeria , his mantra prior to the 2015 election, continues to reverberate across the land raised a fundamental issue in his statement he personally signed on the Osun Election. According to him, “The growing practice whereby serving governors, senior political office holders, party leaders and other influential government functionaries, accompanied by large numbers of aides and heavy security details from outside a state, converge on states where elections are being conducted raises an issue that demands national attention.”
Without doubt , the tension leading up to the Osun election was deepened by the antics , utterances and presence of some governors , political actors and aides who literally invaded Osun and were threatening , fire, hell and brimstones with some openly boasting about the invincibility of federal might in the scheme of things. They were so brazen in their carriage and readiness to frustrate the process, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu obviously embarrassed by some of their utterances had to issue a statement about the readiness of his administration to ensure free, fair and violence free election.
As President Jonathan posits, “ We must ask ourselves whether the increasing deployment of political power and large-scale mobilization by senior office holders on election day in states holding elections is consistent with the spirit of free, fair and peaceful democratic competition. This hardly happens in other democratic countries. We must not allow political competition to become a contest in which victory is perceived as something that must be achieved at all costs.” That is the manifesto from Osun that must be imbibe and act upon as the country prepares for the all-important 2027 general elections.
And until the key players in all the major political parties imbibe the real ethos of democracy; free , fair and transparent elections and good governance and the place and supremacy of strong institutions over strong men in power , we will continue to repeat the needless violence and bloodletting that heralded the August 15,2026 election in Osun State.
Adebanjo , former Editor with TELL Magazine sent this piece via obanijesu@yahoo.com
