BY ABADOM LAWRENCE AMECHI
OUR POLITICAL terrain has become murky. It is growing more combative, and every shred of civility we once had is being drowned out by the nastiness of a ruinous political elite.
As we approach the Osun State election, the desperation of political actors is fuelling bloodshed across the state. With just few days to the election, about 18 deaths have been reported. The APC and the Accord Party are busy trading blames even as tension continues to escalate.
The Osun State election is the last off-cycle election before the 2027 general elections. All eyes are on INEC and the ruling APC. It is widely believed that APC may use the Osun election to test-run its winning template for 2027. Nigerians are watching to see how the police and other coercive organs of government like the Police, Civil Defence and EFCC will influence the process in favour of APC.
In Nigeria today, politics pays better than any honest job. The only competition? Kidnapping, armed robbery, Yahoo-Yahoo, oil bunkering, and drug trafficking. No wonder public funds for roads, hospitals and schools vanish without guilt. It’s survival of the fittest out there. Rigging, blackmail, godfatherism, juju; anything goes. And the one who does it best gets called a “master strategist.” What a country!
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Nothing meaningful can come out of politics that is devoid of reason, ideas, and objective engagement. Our politics is all about noise, quarrels, unreasonable arguments, and endless fights. These arguments do not produce ideas for better governance or development.
Over the years, reasonable people have dropped out, and charlatans have filled the spaces they left. In 1999, it would have been unthinkable for Nigeria to have a president or governor whose academic background would be a subject of doubt. We also would not have imagined a time when a public officer could be elected and cannot even read Roman numerals – the first thing taught in primary schools.
We have sunk to a level where self-proclaimed political heavyweights can shamelessly declare to the public that an entire state has been “locked down” for a particular candidate, and that no other candidate can expect a single vote.
We have governors of Edo and Benue warning Mr. Peter Obi not to enter their states. Mr. Sunday Igboho once threatened that no other candidate should come to campaign in Yoruba land. Few days ago, the Oluwo of Iwo was quoted as saying that only President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will be permitted to campaign at his palace ahead of the 2027 presidential election. These are very unfortunate positions that only help to deepen our fault lines.
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During the 2023 elections, videos of thugs openly threatening people who planned not to vote for APC at polling booths in Lagos went viral, yet the authorities did nothing. It is now clear that “all is fair in politics,” as declared by the President.
Our politics has become increasing very combative; and it is destroying us. It has disfigured our political landscape and worsened insecurity across the country.
We saw how Niger Delta warlords were created. We saw how Boko Haram started. We cannot afford to repeat those mistakes. No politician should burn down society just to become its leader.
“All is fair in politics” sounds like a declaration of war. It is often said that politics is war without guns. But politics is actually supposed to be a civilised method of recruiting leaders. To view it through the lens of “all is fair” means even the President can deploy all the apparatuses of state to pursue his ambition – and be seen as right for doing so.
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The concept of democracy demands that the actions and utterances of political actors be guided by the rule of law. Democracy cannot survive where the pillar of justice is weak and the law is selectively applied.
If we succeed in Osun in 2026, we will definitely succeed in the 2027 general elections. The Osun election is very important. The deployment of 15,000 police personnel only precipitates fear, because it will only help to militarise the atmosphere. Already, the Accord Party candidate, Governor Ademola Adeleke, has said he has no confidence in the police.
The Osun State election is the last off-cycle election before the 2027 general elections. All eyes are on INEC and the ruling APC. It is widely believed that APC may use the Osun election to test-run its winning template for 2027. Nigerians are watching to see how the police and other coercive organs of government like the Police, Civil Defence and EFCC will influence the process in favour of APC.
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When the EFCC froze Osun State’s accounts, many saw it for what it was: a political move to cripple Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election bid.
The President’s intervention to reopen the account has eased that tension, at least for temporarily.
The real test will be the conduct of the police, other agencies, and key APC figures in government as the election draws nears.
Accord Party has repeatedly pointed fingers at former Governor Oyetola, currently a Minister in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government, alleging that he is the “invisible hand” behind it all.
All eyes are also on the NURTW and its leader, Musiliu Akinsanya, aka “MC Oluomo”. He is widely seen as close to the President, and was caught on video in 2023 telling Lagos voters who wouldn’t vote APC to “go home.”
Now, he has gone a step further. In Abuja, MC Oluomo inaugurated a seven-man Osun State Caretaker Committee for NURTW and named Alhaji Kazeem Oyewale (Asiri Eniba) as chairman. This was done in direct defiance of the Osun State Government, which had suspended all union activities in the state.
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Members of NURTW play a major role in election logistics. So, if a governor is politically opposed to the union leadership in his state, it is reasonable for him to worry that the process could be compromised. Deploying a union that the state government does not recognise for election logistics only raises more questions.
Many Nigerians are worried and asking: Under what authority did MC Oluomo inaugurated a state executive?
A Court of Appeal ruling in Abuja on November 8, 2024, nullified MC Oluomo’s claim to the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) presidency, and affirmed Tajudeen Baruwa as the legitimate leader. Despite the court orders and subsequent enforcement actions by rival factions, MC Oluomo and his loyalists have resisted the rulings, sparking an ongoing leadership tussle. “When court orders are ignored, who then is in charge?”
If we succeed in Osun in 2026, we will definitely succeed in the 2027 general elections. The Osun election is very important. The deployment of 15,000 police personnel only precipitates fear, because it will only help to militarise the atmosphere. Already, the Accord Party candidate, Governor Ademola Adeleke, has said he has no confidence in the police.
Deploying 15,000 police officers will only heighten his fears. We hope the police will not become a menace to the process.
The people of Osun deserve a free and fair election. If we fail in Osun, we definitely stand no chance in 2027
