For many days to come, the talking point in Nigeria’s political scene will be the just concluded Osun governorship election where against many odds, the incumbent Governor, Ademola Adeleke was re-elected for a second term. Prior to the election,.many bookmakers did not give the ‘dancing’ governor any chance. He was dismissed as an unserious person who trivialises governance with dancing.
The All Progressive Congress, APC, the ruling party in particular was overbloated with confidence that it was their time to take over the state again after the former governor, Adegboyega Oyetola lost out to the incumbent four years ago. With the advantage of controlling the government at the centre and with 31 state governors and intimidating number of National Assembly members in their kitty, the party had swooped on Osun, sure footed to kick Adeleke out.
But come the D-Day, Saturday August 15, 2026, the people of Osun opened a new chapter in Nigeria’s political playbook. They did not only come out in their numbers to cast their vote, they stoically braved the odds and stood their ground to defend their votes.
Even at the end of voting, they followed the vehicle conveying the ballot papers on motorcycles to the collation centers and kept vigil through out the night till Sunday morning when the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC officially announced the results.
The people also did not wait for the law enforcement agents at the polling units to intervene before pouncing on some bad eggs who attempted to snatch ballot boxes and overpowered them.
Osun people were also not carried away by the lure of lucre. Before the election, there were branded loaves of bread bearing the insignia of the APC and the image of the governorship candidate of the party meant for distribution to woo voters.
Then on the election day proper, the scene almost became like a bazaar as money was openly being shared to buy votes. The people partook of all the ‘goodies’, yet stood firmly on their convictions and voted true to their consciences.
Osun people have therefore demonstrated to the rest of the country that they have seen the light. They have found an antidote to the age long theatrics often employed by politicians to steal the future of the people by manipulating themselves to power.
What is required from what transpired in Osun is eternal vigilance and placing a modicum of value and decency on oneself by refusing to compromise for a paltry dash from the power seekers.
Nigerians have also seen that 31 state governors, the presidency and overwhelming majority in the National Assembly does not translate to electoral victory when the people unite against a supposed common ‘enemy’.
Interestingly, the armada witnessed in Osun with the presence of many APC heavy weights will not be there in 2027 as the governors and the National Assembly members will all be in their various states and constituencies battling for their own electoral survival.
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So Osun has opened a new vista for the electorates ahead of 2027, to entertain the belief that the ballot box can reflect a true outcome of the decisions made by the people especially when the process is monitored till the final declaration of result.
However, it should not be expected that APC will take the shock of Osun lying low. The ruling party will be challenged to return to the drawing board and may come out more desperate in 2027.
Desperation will lead the party into employing all manner of bizarre tactics to win, after all the party leader, President Bola Tinubu has openly declared that all is fair in politics. May Osun happen to us in 2027, please.
