OSUN State stands on edge. As its people prepare to elect a governor on August 15, the state is gripped by fear and uncertainty. The political temperature has risen to a frightening level. This is disturbing because an election is not supposed to be war.
Yet, the state is increasingly becoming a theatre of violence, intimidation and institutional warfare. Unless reason prevails, Osun’s toxic politics could end in a tragedy. That must not happen.
The state has remained in turmoil for four years. What began as a dispute over local government control has snowballed into one of the most dangerous political crises in the country.
Governance has been crippled. Local councils have become battlefields. Federal allocations have been trapped in legal and political disputes. The people have become unwilling spectators in a vicious power struggle.
The roots of the crisis are well known. The LG election at the tail end of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola’s administration was challenged in court and later nullified by a Federal High Court.
