There are a lot of explanations for Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, Osun state’s former Governor, latest attempt to wish away his loss at the July 16 governorship poll, but they are all rooted in a defining character trait-his lust for power. By impugning the sacredness of God in stirring false hopes in the minds of supporters at a prayer organised by the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Monday, Oyetola showed the whole world the horrible side of inordinate ambition.
The first thing to note is that the legitimacy for power is well vested in the people, who exercise this in every election circle. This was the reflection of the Osun governorship poll, where the people were equivocal in their choice of Senator Ademola Adeleke to administer the state for the next four years. This simple and straightforward democratic norm is what Oyetola and his party, the APC, are doing everything to undermine.
In a democracy, it is not out of place to dispute the outcome of an election, but
Sincerity and interest in deepening democracy should be the abiding principle of the process. This is something that is glaringly lacking in Oyetola’s litigation efforts to upturn the return of Governor Ademola Adeleke in the July 16 governorship election.
From the very start, it was clear that Oyetola’s interest in going to the Tribunal was not because he has a valid claim but to distract the incumbent and create a sense of doubt in the country’s electoral system. This explains the wholesome misinformation of happenings at the Tribunal by his lieutenants and the deception in Oyetola’s fairytale of hearing from God.
The truth, as aptly established by a popular Latin phrase, “Vox populi, vox Dei”, which literally means that the “Voice of the People is the Voice of God”, is that God speaks through the people. Even more, the Holy Quran in Chapter 3 verse 6 says “O Allah, Lord of power! You give power to whom You please, and You remove from power whom You please. You give honor to whom You please and You disgrace whom You please. In Your hand is all Good. Indeed, over all things You have power.”
All of these go to puncture Oyetola’s increasing efforts to circumvent known route to power in a democracy, which is the people. In reality, Oyetola is overwhelmed by his desperation for power that he could not come to the realization that Osun people have long decided, which explains his tricks to sneak himself in through the backdoor. Anyway, abusing the system and mindless machination to grab power is what all power mongers do.
At this point, there is no other way to characterize Oyetola’s posturing since he lost power in Osun state other than he is power-hungry and confused about the way to manage the reality of his rejection by the electorate. Things are bound to get worse, and the recent attempt to manipulate thoughts with the incorrigible tale proved how far Oyetola is willing to go in his power-grab push.
For weeks now, we continue to hear Oyetola and his supporters boast about upturning the election outcome even though there is nothing concrete to point at as the basis to do that. Going by their lines of thoughts, it is evident that their confidence isn’t from the strength of their claims before the Tribunal but the plain manipulation of the judiciary.
This has every trapping of the 2018 governorship experience, where Oyetola crawled into power in the most obscene manner. In that election, Oyetola was never the choice of the people but was imposed as Governor with the aid of a ‘remote control’. It is well understood that he’s backing on similar machination to reach for power.
This is why every man of conscience must rise against this starkly anti-democratic move to strip the people of their power to choose who administers their affairs. By every intent and purpose, democracy is anchored on the people, and this enticing feature will mean nothing if the people are no longer the ones who decide their leader, but crude manipulation of the system, particularly the judiciary.
Thus far, Governor Adeleke has done well in trusting the system, especially the judiciary, in resisting the overtures of Oyetola to impose himself on the people. Despite the relentless effort to distract him with false claims, Governor Adeleke has remained focused on the core issues of governance, which are the basis of the mandate of the people.
But Governor Adeleke and the Osun people should not underrate the extent that Oyetola and his party can usurp this mandate. In the past few days, many supporters of Oyetola have hinged his return to power on the emergence of his Uncle, Bola Tinubu, as president in next month’s presidential election.
Unwittingly letting out the plot to steal the mandate of Osun people, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, at the inauguration of the APC presidential candidate in Osogbo on Thursday, noted that “…The coming one will not be up to July 5 and Oyetola will be returned as governor.” This is not just a threat to our democracy, but also an attempt to impugn the integrity of the judiciary, which Owoeye, like many other leaders in Osun, is suggesting will dance to Oyetola and APC plot to impose themselves on Osun people.
So, the question to ask is whether a ‘President Tinubu’, which I see as very unlikely, only goal for seeking the presidential seat is to remove a Governor by fiat? Or, are they simply warning Nigerians that under Tinubu as President, the judiciary will be rendered impotent and worse, an appendage of the presidency, despite being an equal arm of government with the Executive?
It is also important at this point to remind the anti-democratic elements that the post-election litigation in Ekiti state and that of Osun is somewhat similar. And going by the verdict reached by the panel, it is more clearer that Oyetola and the APC are not looking at the law in their quest for power but simply want to steal the mandate freely given to Governor Ademola Adeleke by Osun people using the judiciary.
•Sarafa Ibrahim writes from Iwo, Osun State. He can be reached via Twitter: @SarafaNgr or email: neyoclass09@gmail.com
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