The anxiety level was heightened obviously by what winning or losing would mean to the two main contending parties, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC). Analysts got it very correct when they said a victory for PDP would likely lead to an early death for APC, while victory for APC would mean that the task ahead of the 2015 presidential election would still be a herculean one for PDP, and so has it turned out to be eventually.
Why did Aregbesola of the APC win? That has been the question and I have seen analysts fall over themselves trying to bring out the factors that made that possible. What I have enjoyed in the whole of the outpouring is the observation that among the main reasons proffered, some are outright ridiculous but I tell myself that is what you get when you allow the tenets of democracy to gain full expression. There is nothing as good as every citizen having the right to see things from their perspective. That is the beauty of democracy.
If we desire to get the best from democratic practice, then those who push the strings (and there would always be) should get this into their heads that true democracy is essentially about every citizen and even residents having the unfettered freedom to play their democratic music the way they dim fit but within the confines allowed by law. Once they take to this, everything is well and good; and what we reap from this is the much cherished variety which of course would include the foolish. Like someone educated me recently, in things about life, we sometimes especially in very critical moments require the foolish to fully understand the sensible.
Back to where I was before the slight stray into something else: some have said PDP lost because it deliberately fielded a candidate that carried a lot of baggage arising from the dastardly killing of late Bola Ige. Yet, those who parrot this point forget that the APC candidate equally ruffled feathers with his obvious religious posturing. There have been those who claim PDP gave out Osun, so that it could do terrible things elsewhere and when it would matter most. My response is that this explanation seems to be a product of our usual wild imagination and subtle acceptance that no good can come from our land, and or our inability to do anything good for ourselves. In part, this last position is also about stretching the contentious view that the conservatives have never won and can’t win in a free and fair election. Is that true? I don’t think so. The close nature of the Osun election result, which we all now celebrate validate my position that such claims are not only false but can be misleading. Conservatives do and can win free and fair elections. When you have to face a hungry population, that atmosphere favors them because they are not only rich but they know what to do with money far better than social democrats. I have always said wherever conservatives exist, in or out of power, they are strong forces to contend with.
When they control the strings of power, they seem invincible, because they prove practically they know much about power and more importantly about its deployment. They are masters in the pursuit and intention of power. I don’t want to waste space rehashing how they systematically halted the decimation of their ranks by APC and suddenly the hunter became the hunted. So they did not lose Osun because it is part of a grand design to do something sinister in future, or that suddenly Aregbesola became the grassroots politician that everybody loves. No, none of these factors applied greatly. What happened, from my knowledge of our politics is that the debacle that APC turned out to be in Ekiti State during governorship election in which its governor lost woefully, jolted APC party apparatus from the state of stupor they choose to hide in.
A critical review of the state of APC before the Ekiti slap would confirm the party glorified in acts and strategies that were at variance with reality. In the first instance the party felt because it has plenty of Yoruba coloration it could sleep and wakeup to win elections in area it considers its traditional home. The party that should have intellectualism as its forte failed to catch many of the fine points it ought to know from experience and especially the fact that conservatives remain so irrespective of location where they domicile or do business. They are always one and the same united by a common economic interest. So to think that Yoruba irredentism will whittle down their strength is to totally miss the point. That has been a cardinal mistake of APC and it turned out to be its major undoing in Ekiti but set the stage for its recovery in Osun. I want to believe they must have learnt from that miscalculation and I think the way they fought in Osun is an indication of having learnt the hard way. That Aregbesola the APC candidate began to move, dance, campaign vigorously as well as provide funds in millions as confirmed by its national legal adviser, Mr. Banire in a newspaper interview more than confirms that if Osun had come before Ekiti the calamity would have still happened.
It is my wish that the opposition gets strong; the benefits to the nation are immense. On a final note we must commend President Goodluck Jonathan for efforts made to ensure that votes count. I have heard those who say it was not of Jonathan’s making. Those who hold such positions are not patriots. The federal government could well have done whatever they wanted and heavens won’t fall. If democracy must succeed we must learn to give credit where it is due. We should also not believe that the main party must lose before we accept that our elections are credible. We must keep our eyes on the process. On this score I re-emphasize that JONATHAN has it. I also commend the electoral umpire and of course the security agents. I believe given where we are our voting environment should be well secured. It is better to do so than to lose a life. Competition for power which is often reckless in this part is not worth the life of one citizen. If we desire less policing then our politicians must prove they have jettisoned politics of do or die. For now I am yet to see any sign of change, what I rather see are clouds of ominous dimensions which we must prevent or be doomed. God Forbid!
Source SUN NEWSPAPER