“The Osun lessons were clear: partisan politics in Nigeria are being criminalized and elections transformed into crime scenes”.
BY OWEI LAKEMFA
There were the beautiful political party dresses, worn with The Osun lessons were clear: partisan politics in Nigeria are being criminalized and elections transformed into crime scenes. pride as their wearers danced in the streets displaying fantastic dance steps. I wondered where these textiles were made. In Nigeria? If so, ‘kundus’ (kudos) to the procurers.
What I do not wonder about is who paid. Doubtlessly, not the mass of those clad in them; hungry people cannot afford to buy and sew fabrics just to dance in the streets and attend political rallies. Their wretched state is obvious in viral videos in which those of them being given one-kilogram sachets of rice were being told that neither they nor their children will make any progress in life if they do not vote for their benefactors. So, the political parties and election investors paid.
Where did the monies come from? Ultimately, it will be from state coffers. Those of us who are not from Osun State should not rejoice that the billions of Naira spent or wasted in such cavalier manner did not come from the coffers of our states. Ultimately, they did, or will. All allocations to the different tiers of government come from the free money flowing from our oil resources.
Multibillionaire Adedeji Adeleke claimed that the All Progressives Congress, APC, alone spent N60 billion on the Osun elections. But he did not tell us how much his younger brother, Governor Ademola Jackson Adeleke, spent and where the money came from; ultimately, the state coffers will be lighter, as would our national coffers.
At least sixteen serving state governors turned up at the APC election rally in Oshogbo. Clad in flowing blue ‘babanriga’ or ‘agbada’, they were a beautiful sight to behold as they made a show of their determination to unseat Governor Adeleke. They added colour and panache to the opera.
However, a related issue I cannot fathom is why Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo declared war over the elections, vowing to capture Osun, which would be tantamount to leading its people into slavery. His long convoy of heavily armed security men, heralded by thugs threatening to maim and kill, gave some ring of seriousness to the threats. Was this mere grandstanding or thoughtlessness?
As governor of a people with an ancient civilization and civility who produced great leaders like Chief Anthony Eromosele Enahoro and Professor Ambrose Alli, would Okpebholo say his acts in Osun portray his origins or lived up to the meaning of his name, which literally translates to “wonderful people”?
Whatever it was, Okpebholo added a subplot to the Osun drama as Governor Adeleke and his nephew, the music star David ‘Davido’ Adeleke, took him on. They described him in uncharitable terms and published his alleged poor results in the school-leaving examinations.
This scene in the opera is likely to have a sequel as the Okpebholo administration banned Davido from Edo State, threatening him with physical violence if he dared show up. Kassy Chukwu, an apostle and Okpebholo’s Senior Special Assistant, Digital, issued the regime’s decree declaring: “You have been banned from coming to Edo State to perform. We don’t want to see you in Edo again.” Sure, it is an unconstitutional, illiterate and criminal declaration, with no force of law, but with the Edo State thugs that invaded Osun, the ban can be enforced.
However, this can be part of the farce. I will not be surprised tomorrow to see Okpebholo and the Adelekes embracing and smiling at each other. Only non-critical minds will take such political tantrums seriously.
Did we not witness Governor Adeleke immediately after his victory trying to make it up to the APC and its national leader, President Bola Tinubu? This was despite the fact that 29 persons were murdered in pre-election violence.
The number might have been significantly higher if the 74-year-old retired Customs officer, Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, OFR, had his way. The senator from Osun East had publicly told his APC supporters to kill members of the Accord Party: “From now on, whenever you see Accord members, kill them. I authorise you to kill them. They have wives and children too. This is a Federal Government election. On election day, even if they come with voter cards, we won’t allow them to vote.”
Distinguished Senator Fadahunsi is free and, in this age of impunity, is unlikely to be brought to book. So, in the 2027 General Elections, he is likely to be available to perfect his act.
However, Fadahunsi is not as colourful as Ero Falilatu ‘Olekemeje’ Arike, a lady who sings, dances, curses and threatens to kill those who do not do her political bidding. She erupts like a volcano, spewing hot lava down towards all those who do not support her political preferences. In one of her viral videos, she boasted: “I myself carry the instrument around. I can release (shots). Yes, I have a gun. I have a gun that is my security. In my neighbourhood, I will first shoot around me. You know I live in a storey building. So, if any enemy approaches downstairs, I will be spraying him with bullets. I will be spraying him with bullets. I have no regard for anybody.” Arike was so sure of victory that she made a video that went viral saying if her party lost the election: “Change my name to Ero Arike Omoale (The Bastard).”
The elections produced numerous hit songs. The one I found most amusing was women warning their husbands that if they supported a particular candidate, they would be denied food and their conjugal rights at home.
The three leading candidates were studies in themselves. Adeleke’s campaign was presented as ‘Imole’ (Light). As incumbent governor, I wondered where in the last three years he hid the light.
The APC candidate, Bola Munirudeen Oyebamiji, was baptized ‘Ambo’, literally meaning he is on his way. But he never arrived.
The African Democratic Congress, ADC, candidate Najeem Salam, Ph.D., was called ‘Iwaloye’, literally that leadership is about good or comely character. He refused to be part of the brazen criminality in the elections. He rejected bloodshed and tried to run a campaign that reflected his philosophy. But the elections were not tolerant of such culture. The system was so disdainful of such an Omoluabi (civilized) culture that the votes in his polling booth were not even counted.
The Osun lessons were clear: partisan politics in Nigeria are being criminalized and elections transformed into crime scenes. Unless there is a change of direction, bandits would start off-loading the ransom they collect unto the electoral system and become Honourables in our Local Government, State and National Assemblies, making laws and, ultimately, becoming Their Excellencies in Government Houses.
As the lingo in the streets goes, we haven’t seen anything yet