Time for APC leaders to have a rethink
By Drhammed
The results of the Osun Governorship election is now public knowledge. The candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola has been declared winner and APC leaders have made a u-turn, praising the process that led to the emergence of their governorship candidate, as against the rhetoric that the APC and her media and civil society friends availed members of the public before the declaration of the result.
Aregbesola polled 394,684 votes, while Omisore of PDP polled 292, 747 votes. This result was declared by the returning officer of the Osun State Governorship election, Prof. B. Omole, the VC of OAU Ife. The result represented the free will of the Osun people, despite a few hitches in the electioneering process.
Few days to the election, APC leaders backed by hired media associates and questionable civil society officials questioned the security provided by the Federal Government and INEC in order to safeguard the electioneering process and ensure that the Osun Governorship election was not truncated.
Between Wednesday and Saturday, APC released countless statements lampooning the process of the Osun Governorship election, heaping insults on INEC, the Federal Government and the person of President Goodluck Jonathan. The party’s top officials took to the social media casting aspersions on all leaders on the other side of the divide. Most painfully, former Minister of FCT, Nasir el-Rufai led this onslaught, with his favourite pastime of insulting President Jonathan and questioning the integrity of the Armed Forces and the Police.
Late on Saturday when it dawned on them that they were on their way to victory, the story changed. They started attempting to incite their supporters on ground. The same incitement that led to the post election violence in 2011 claimed several innocent lives. To the advantage of Nigeria in these trying times, enough security personnel were on ground to dissuade ignorant supporters who may have been tempted by APC leaders to engage in violence.
Pray, why did APC leaders who are not from Osun State re-locate to that state for the election? What value did they add to the conduct of the election other than attempting to distract security personnel? Why the vicious and malicious attempt to lampoon security personnel during the Osun election? Why the consistent attempt by APC leaders to drag Nigeria’s image down the street of infamy? What advantage accrues to APC leaders each time their several unfounded press statements and allegations attract baseless insults to Nigeria in the international media.
A look at the results of governorship elections conducted by INEC under Jonathan indicate clearly that the President has deliberately worked to create a level playing field for all political parties. The facts don’t lie.
Since 2011, PDP, President Jonathan’s party has won only one governorship seat. In Edo 2012, ACN won, Ondo 2013, LP won while Anambra 2013 APGA won and Ekiti 2014, PDP took the seat. Of course, APC won the 2014 Osun State Governorship election. For all these elections, adequate security were provided to dissuade political criminals from subverting the will of the people.
To date, none of the election has been upturned by the courts. Despite the several allegations put in the public domain by the APC leaders and their media associates against the Anambra election won by APGA, they have so far been unable to prove anything up to the level of the Court of Appeal. In Ekiti, the gentleman Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi accepted defeat, but his party towed another line.
This attitude that an election can only be credible when APC wins is to say the least laughable. This attitude by the APC leaders that they are the only ones who know the solution to Nigeria’s challenges is regrettable. This attitude by APC leaders that the only way forward for Nigeria is for them to always attack the nation’s leadership and lampoon the law enforcement agents is unfortunate. This attitude by APC leaders to always allude to violence and incite the people against constituted authorities leaves much to be desired. APC must as a matter of urgency begin to rethink their idea of patriotism.
In the average Nigerian community, the attitude of Í too know’ (popularly called ITK) is not a virtue. This attitude is robbing the APC of whatever gains they have made in the process of their merger. They must realize that Nigeria is more than any single man. Their desperation to have access to Aso Rock can only be achieved in a peaceful and united Nigeria. Always, subtly taking sides with the perpetrators of violence will do them no good.
Nigeria needs a strong opposition to deepen democracy. But it must be said very quickly and with the right emphasis that these current opposition leaders are merely seeking power for personal gains, rather than for the good of the Nigerian people. Their actions and inactions have exposed their ulterior motives.
Unless there is a change in the attitude of the current opposition framework, they would again weep in 2015. Nigerians are tired of men and women who only chant “Crucify them, Crucify them”, without any credible alternative. The people cannot at this juncture of our development annoint men and women who lack the benevolent spirit of placing the people ahead of their desperation to be leaders who manage our commonwealth.
Just imagine what would have been the situation in Osun State few hours to the declaration of the results had the security personnel not been overwhelmingly on ground to check those incited to violence by the APC leaders who have taken over the social media.
I cannot conclude without a word to the media associates of the APC leaders. A critical analysis of majority of reports posted online by leading newspapers as the Osun election progressed exposed a highly compromised and partisan media. For democracy to flourish, media practitioners must endeavour to uphold the ethics of journalism. Worst was the chants at the Collation Centre by some persons who pretended to be journalists, while in reality they were supporters who hijacked press accreditation tags. We cannot continue on this path.
I whole-heartedlycongratulate INEC, the security agencies, the Osun people on ground, Governor Aregbesola and most importantly, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan for keeping his word of ensuring that the votes of Osun people count. Our democracy is growing steadily

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Your epistle won't cover up the fact that we have nothing to thank Jonathan for.

Cry me a river! You must be a dreamer if you seriously believe Omisore polled 292, 747 votes in Osun state. For the avoidance of doubt, it was a sham of an election.

The election has come and gone but to attribute the success of the election to Jonathan is the height of deception. The people came out to vote despite the harassment and intimidation. That is the voice of the people

Jona 2015

@ drhammed, pls u need to help me confirm these things before we can argue better on this issue. 1. Was there any case of ballot snatching? 2. Did the number of voters INEC announced that will vote more than that after counting? 3. Will u have prefered to hear many lost there lives due to election violence. Pls i dont want to join issue but i have been covering election and i have seen how rigging of election and balot snatching works. For now it seems we are getting it right gradually,.u and i can go and vote knowing fully well that no tug will harrass us, let the election for now be millitarised untill our politicians learn how to sell their programs to electorate instead of grooming tugs

motif8: @ drhammed, pls u need to help me confirm these things before we can argue better on this issue. 1. Was there any case of ballot snatching? 2. Did the number of voters INEC announced that will vote more than that after counting? 3. Will u have prefered to hear many lost there lives due to election violence. Pls i dont want to join issue but i have been covering election and i have seen how rigging of election and balot snatching works. For now it seems we are getting it right gradually,.u and i can go and vote knowing fully well that no tug will harrass us, let the election for now be millitarised untill our politicians learn how to sell their programs to electorate instead of grooming tugs

kindly read again , you still don't get it or mayb you are too curious to comment when you see its all about APC ... No one here says the election wasn't free and fair ...#Peace

APC is a nuisance to every right thinking Nigerian. Only tribal bigots, political jobbers and clannish fools still support APC.

Despite the mass militarization of osun,the voice of the people prevail.