Osun defied the narratives by giving the rest of Nigeria a ray of hope, argues AYODELE OKUNFOLAMI
Because Andy Burnham was interested in taking over from the then troubled Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, he had to return to parliament. This meant he had to contest the vacant Makerfield seat in a by-election that he won. Burnham had earlier resigned as Mayor of Manchester to take advantage of the election meaning that the Manchester Mayoral position was now up for grabs. The by-election for mayor took place July 30th and Bev Craig was declared winner.
I want to take for granted that the reader is aware why Osun State had to go to the polls outside the regular general election cycle in Nigeria. Governor Ademola Adeleke regained his seat after a fiercely fought election. The buildup to the elections was dirty, messy and bloody. Federal might was deployed (don’t mind the Minister of the FCT) in the closure of local government accounts and other state accounts, bias police arrests, overwhelming presence of governors and senators of the ruling party, and violence that led to more than 40 election-related deaths.
Despite the feared perils and historical mistrust of the process, 44% of Osun voters came out to cast their vote compared to 24% of Mancunians that came out to vote. The Osun voter, like every other Nigerian voter, has only six hours (8am to 2pm) to vote on a Saturday or a designated public holiday while Election Day in the UK is usually on Thursdays, they have 13 hours to vote (7am to 10pm) and this is besides the option to vote by mail. Altogether, the Greater Manchester resident had about two weeks to vote yet, they have a poorer turnout than Osun.
