Nigerians are an excitable lot. It is, therefore, not surprising that the outcome of the August 15 off-cycle Osun governorship election is generating so much buzz. To be sure, the outcome calls for celebration because for the first time in a long while, the will of the people prevailed in an election. And it prevailed not because attempts were not made by the powers-that-be to replicate the September 21, 2024, Edo State governorship election heist. Till date, the beneficiary of that abracadabra, an open sesame of sorts, sits comfortably on the purloined mandate while the actual winner is languishing in political purgatory.
It almost happened in Osun last Saturday but for the determination of the longsuffering people of the State who, individually and collectively, vowed like the biblical Queen Esther that, “If I perish, I perish,” rather than allow the political vampires to trample on them.
And their unflinching resolve paid off handsomely. Officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) behaved themselves. Security operatives respected their calling. Sensing that they may not live to tell tales of their violent exploits, political thugs mobilised from far and near to cause mayhem played safe. By 2 a.m. on Sunday, the game was over. President Bola Tinubu, the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), called to congratulate Governor Ademola Adeleke, and APC chieftains who had invaded the state to do what they know how best — manipulation of election results — scurried out of town with their tails between their legs: in deep shame, humiliation and utter defeat.
