Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, European Union Election Monitoring Coordinator, Mr Paul Edwards and Ambassador of Kingdom of the Netherlands,Mr John C.M Groffen during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor at Government House, Osogbo on Sunday 10th-08-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, European Union Election Monitoring Coordinator, Mr Paul Edwards,during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor at Government House, Osogbo on Sunday 10th-08-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, European Union Election Monitoring Coordinator, Mr Paul Edwards and Ambassador of Kingdom of the Netherlands,Mr John c.m Groffen, during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor at Government House, Osogbo on Sunday 10th-08-

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, European Union Election Monitoring Coordinator, Mr Paul Edwards and Ambassador of Kingdom of the Netherlands,Mr John c.m Groffen during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor at Government House, Osogbo on Sunday 10th-08-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, European Union Election Monitoring Coordinator, Mr Paul Edwards and Ambassador of Kingdom of the Netherlands,Mr John c.m Groffen during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor at Government House, Osogbo on Sunday 10th-08-2014

Governor State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, European Union Election Monitoring Coordinator, Mr Paul Edwards,during a Courtesy Visit to the Governor at Government House, Osogbo on Sunday 10th-08-2014

The European Union Election Monitoring on Sunday tasked the Governor of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, to use all legal instruments available to challenge the alleged arbitrariness by the security agencies drafted to the state by the Federal Government.

The EU Election Monitoring Group Coordinator, Paul Edwards, gave this advice when his team paid a courtesy visit to the Governor at his residence after the announcement of the election results.

In his congratulatory remark to Aregbesola, Edwards said the most dependable way to deepen democracy in Nigerian is by strict adherence to the rule of law.

Aregbesola had complained about the recklessness and arbitrary use of force, arrest without charges and total clampdown on party chieftains by the security agencies to the EU.

The EU envoy observed that the most acceptable and preferred way to challenge arbitrariness of opposition is to seek legal remedy.

“We are here to congratulate Your Excellency on your victory in the Saturday governorship election. Besides, our mission here is to also find out from you about the conduct of the election.

“We have observed the election all over the state and have our reports.

“In any election like this, there are bounds to be issues. But it is our opinion that whatever the complaint you have, you should choose the legal option to seek remedy.

“Let us rely on the instrumentality of law to purse whatever anomaly or violation of rights we have suffered.

“Let us always use the legal method to stop the impunity used by one unit of government against the other.

“It is through this option that we can deepen democratic institutions wherever it is practised in the world.

“If you send your complaints to the EU, we shall take note of it and act accordingly within the framework of law,” the EU coordinator said.

In his remark, Aregbesola commended the EU Monitoring Group for the organisation’s interest and commitment to development of democracy in Nigeria.

Aregbesola however lamented the show of brute force by the forces of occupation drafted to the state by the Federal Government.

The Governor observed that voting is a minute aspect of a democracy but as tiny as it is, it should not be backed by force so that people can freely choose the candidate of their choice.

He also condemned the commando-like manners the hooded security men operated on the streets in the state and the gale of arrests of members, chieftains and supporters of All Progressive Congress (APC).

He said: “Our victory did not come because the federal authority designed it so but because we were favoured by the people as the best party that can serve them better.

“Or how do you rationalise the presence of strangers (security personnel), people I cannot control, who took over the administration of security of my state with impunity, which adversely affected life in the state?

“It is humiliating, worse sort of what a unit of government like ours should suffer. There was a deliberate attempt at muzzling the people voice through votes.

“By now we should know that voting is just a routine aspect of democracy and even at that, the people must not be denied their freedom to choose their leader freely.

“We must prevent the Federal Government from the recurring culture of arbitrarily invading the territory of a unit within the federal structure. This is an abuse of power,” Aregbesola said

Below are the Certificates of Return for the Governor and Deputy Governor of the State of Osun, Mrs Titilayo Tomori and Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. Once again, we congratulate the duo, their excellent team and the great people of the State of Osun on the success at the polls on Saturday, Aug 9 2014. Osun ti n dara!

The elections that have gripped the nation’s imagination just ended yesterday – with Osun voters choosing to return their governor, Rauf Aregbesola over the corn-eating Senator, Iyiola Omisore.

So we know who won the election and who lost it, but who really won from the events of yesterday?

THE WINNERS

APC

Rumours of the party’s demise were greatly exaggerated. After Ekiti, the narrative spread – with good reason – that Nigeria’s only real opposition party in a decade had imploded, done in by its confusion, its arrogance and its lack of connection with the larger populace. Apparently, it was just a question of numbers. The All Progressives Congress went into Osun with all it had and it got a crucial lifeline. It’s game on, again.

Bourdillon

The story of the ApC is the story of its center of power, and for that all roads lead to the Kingdom of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the lion who resides at Bourdillon, Ikoyi, Lagos. Losing Ekiti was a perception disaster for him, just as he was consolidating a repitatioon as the country’s alternative leader. He had to deploy an Opeds machine across media to combat the odour of loss around him. Aregbesola is also his right hand man, in more ways than one. With this results, expect the strut to return.

Attahiru Jega

For the first time in as long as any member of this generation can remember, we are all in awe of an electoral commission. Professor Attahiru Jega, who heads the Independent National Electoral Commission, has recovered from egregious errors in previous elections to restore faith through the conduct in Ekiti and now in Osun. It is now official: this man will do right by us. His heart has always been in the right place, but now his hands are firmly on the till.

GEJ

Of course 2015 will be the real test, but as it stands, the president, Goodluck Jonathan has made a very good case for himself in ensuring free and fair elections, which is one of the first promises he made when he got into power. The toga of desperation that other presidents (we’re looking at you, OBJ) have carried won’t fit with this man. When the story of our democratic evolution is told, the man who let the Labour Party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance and the APC thrive will have pride of place.

Pollsters

This week, wherever you turned there were pollsters talking about the Osun elections. There was TNS-RMS, there was the BD Consultants, there was this one and then there was that one. They all predicted victory for Rauf Aregbesola. And they were right. All suspicion is gone, data is good, and Nigerians elections are the better for it.

THE LOSERS

Iyiola Omisore

We know we said losers apart from the two candidates, but Iyiola Omisore loss goes far below the loss of this election – it’s the loss of standing and of a national profile following this. First, unlike his competitor, he has no existing political job. Second, he has so much baggage leading from the Bola Ige death that his election here would have done well to wipe away. Third, following Ayo Fayose’s victory, his is in fact a humiliation. The only way from here is not up for him.

Femi Fani-Kayode
We’re not sure if this wasn’t his plan in the first place – to somehow find his name mentioned when the story of the Osun elections is told. That is the certainly the only explanation that makes sense as to why the man half of the country already sees as unstable would wait until it had become abundantly clear that the APC was winning the election… and then declare that the PDP was. By the time this man is through with his own reputation, not even his gate man will take him seriously.

Olagunsoye Oyinlola

We hope Oyinlola knows that not even his new friends in the APC trust him? We don’t have any exclusives in that regard, but it would appear madness for them to trust a man who has moved from the PDP to the nPDP, then to the APC, always in the nick of time. Not only is it nationally confirmed that loyalty is not his strength, but it appears the former Osun governor is also of no electoral value. He lost in his Okuku Ward polling youth – and badly too. The PDP got 125 votes. His party got 61.

Omisore’s deputy

The other half of the losing team also makes it to this list. Adejare Bello, who was running mate to Omisore didn’t just also lose the election; he also lost in his polling unit in Ede. The APC got 130 votes, and the politician? Just 30! With Omisore’s loss, a strong showing by his ostensible deputy would have bolstered the latter’s reputation as an independent political force. But right now, he’s just a postscript moving forward.

Bisi Akande

The former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress is a former governor in Osun. His party also just won the elections to the seat he once held. So he certainly must have a played a huge part in that process, yes? Not if you ask his neighbours. He lost, though only by four votes. Much better than those before him here, but sir, the title they gave you is National Chairman. You can do better.

Ynaija

All is quiet now in the aftermath of the governorship election in Osun State, bar the exuberant rejoicing in re-elected Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s circle, which stretches all the way from Osogbo to Bourdillon Road in Ikoyi, Lagos, the grieving in Aso Rock and in Wadata Plaza and the gnashing of teeth in the palaces of some wayward monarchs.
Make no mistake about it:  The election was a contest between the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, Ogbeni Aregbesola, on the one hand, and President Goodluck Jonathan, and the entire apparatus of the Federal Government on the other, with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Iyiola Omisore, playing along as bit actors.
With the Federal Juggernaut behind you – slush money, logistics, the police, the army, the secret service, clandestine armed services of no known provenance, and the desperate craving to “capture” more opposition territory – with these and much more behind you, who can stand in your way?
Besides, the governorship election in Ekiti two months earlier had not only pointed up a winning formula that accorded sophomoric stunts a greater salience than solid achievement, it had also shown that the entire Southwest was politically ripe for the picking.
But something went horribly wrong on the way to the orchard.
The would-be harvesters suffered a comprehensive sandbagging.
All the intimidating display of force and might, the warrantless arrest of officials and operatives of the governing party in the state, the bullying, the stoking of religious differences, the claim to possession of private facts that showed Omisore not only leading but coasting to victory —everything ended in a puff, “just like that,” to borrow a phasing from Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Afro-beat king.
Such was the compass of the intimidation that Chief Isiaka “Serubawon” Adeleke, who once governed the state on the Caligula Principle —”You can hate us, so long as you fear us” — was driven by fear to flee his home in Ede and go into hiding as the Federal Juggernaut widened the reach of its ravenous dragnet.
At Aso Rock and in the palaces of the wayward monarchs and in Wadata Plaza and in the ranks of Dr Jonathan’s private army of ghost “public affairs analysts” and “public affairs commentators”, who invariably live in Abuja, they must be wondering how what was supposed to be an easy take-over turned into a comprehensive rout of the would-be receivers.
They conveniently forgot that Osun is not Ekiti.  Believing that the dividends of democracy begin and end in the stomach, they could not see beyond the stomachs of the electorate. Accordingly, they tailored their messages to appeal to that organ and its immediate satiation. They mis- apprehended an outlier, an aberration, for a trend.  They willfully set aside the public record and stuck with their private facts.
And so, what was supposed to serve as a bridgehead for the capture of the Southwest in Dr Jonathan’s all-but-certain presidential run in 2015 ended up as the graveyard of that strategy. They will now have to go back to the drawing board on that one.  And, despite the gain in Ekiti, his faction of the National Governors Forum remains a minority; the most it can hope for is parity in membership with the group from which it was suborned to defect.
The Osun verdict is on one level a personal triumph for the austere and driven Rauf Aregbesola.  Unlike some who stumbled into office in a fit of absent-mindedness or were dragooned into it, he entered office fully prepared, a man with a mission, armed with blueprints for transforming the State of Osun.  From his first day in office, he has pursued his progressive agenda with a singularity of purpose that has alienated some around him who regard political office not as a summons to service but an invitation to eat, drink and be merry.
The election outcome is also a victory for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the National Leader of the victorious APC.  Following the party’s freak defeat in the Ekiti governorship race, some commentators had begun to script his political obituary.  They said he was waning as a political force in his Southwest redoubt, and was headed for the abyss.
It is not the first or the second time such things are being said of him, and it won’t be the last. Those counting him must be prepared for a long wait. The man’s capacity for resurgence is simply astonishing.
The election was in a way a proving ground for the Chairman of the APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, whom I got to know quite well when he served as a consultant to the Editorial Board of The Guardian, where I was chair of the board and editorial page editor.
He acquitted himself magnificently, displaying the intelligence, the sharp, analytic mind, the capacity for sustained engagement, the eloquence, the resoluteness and the forthrightness that made him one of the youngest, if not the youngest person to be appointed permanent secretary in the Federal Civil Service.
The decisiveness with which he moved the APC machinery to Osogbo to counter the designs of the Federal Might was vintage Oyegun.  He is not combative by nature, but he is not afraid of a fight. You can count on him to fight a good fight.
I cannot recall the context now, but in one of the many conversations I had with General Olusegun Obasanjo during visits to his farm in Ota, I mentioned that Oyegun had marked his 55th birthday lately.  Obasanjo, who is as flinty with praise as he is with his money, spoke glowingly of Oyegun who served with him when he was head of state.
He asked me to convey to Oyegun his desire to host a birthday luncheon for him, his family and friends. The luncheon did take place, several weeks later.
That is a measure of the esteem in which Oyegun is held.
The on-again, off-again candidate of the Labour Party, Fatai Akinbade, finished as an also-ran.  But he provided a comic relief that dispelled somewhat the high tension that marked the vote tallying. Losing on every turf and registering for the most part less than token presence, his spokesperson nevertheless called on the candidates of the APC and the PDP to withdraw if they felt threatened by Akinade’s profile.
At this writing, Omisore has not conceded.  The man, who could win election to the Senate from prison where he was being held as a suspect in the prosecution of the murder of the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige, has now twice failed to win election from the outside. He lost his re-election bid to the Senate, and was crushed in his governorship quest.
His political future is uncertain.  Dr. Jonathan may well compensate him with a ministerial appointment, an ambassadorial post, or some other sinecure.
In whatever case, you will never see Omisore again riding an okada or devouring a cob of roast corn purchased from a street vendor.
THE NATION

To the people of Osun, August 9, 2014, will forever remain august! It was the day they buried the shackles of perpetual slavery. They openly resisted and rejected those who sought to throw them into economic and social captivity. They broke the crab fingers of looters and killers. They expelled domination and oppression. They defied over 50,000 boots and guns deployed to the state to harass, intimidate dehumanize, and steal their inalienable right to elect a leader of their choice under a peaceful, free, fair and credible elections. They voted for the All Progressives Congress (APC). They re-elected Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola as governor.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had stolen Aregbesola’s victory in 2011. He fought for three years to retrieve it. This time round, when the PDP came like a flood, the great people of Osun raised a standard against it with their votes. They have confirmed to the whole world that they elected Aregbesola in 2011 and not the candidate of the poverty development party who was wrongly declared winner then.

How could an Otunba Iyiola Omisore, the PDP governorship flag-bearer in the just concluded elections in the state, have ever dream of ruling the great and sophisticated people of Osun? In 2007, he went to the Senate by fraud. He was in prison. Nominated in prison. Won in prison. And was surreptitiously let off the hook to go to the Upper Chamber. A fugitive as federal lawmaker! He was given the appropriation committee. And he lived in a fool’s paradise thereafter. Omisore loves roasted corn. In a manner that evinced the greed in him, he grabbed two cobs and grubbed them simultaneously. What manner of man is this that sought to rule over the sophisticated people of Osun, the land of Oramiyan?

The victory is not for Aregbesola or the APC. The victory is for the great and valiant people of the State of Osun. Osun today represents the new face of true democracy in Nigeria. The people of Osun have displayed their rich pedigree with royal courage. The PDP thought they could beguile the people of Osun like they did in Ekiti. But the people were wiser. The people of Osun did not fall like the people of Ekiti. They showed resistance and now they are happy for it. They were not cowed by the overwhelming importation of thugs dressed in national security apparels and other hooded security agents to intimidate the people and make them abandon their mandate. They were not moved by the slush funds that were openly distributed to security agents in a bid to make them complicit in the rigging of the election.

Nigeria needs to borrow a leaf from this exemplary determination and courageous disposition, if this country must witness the needed change in 2015. The people of Osun were too positive to be doubtful. Too optimistic to be fearful. Too determined to be defeated. They have not only elected Aregbesola but have defeated the worst form of coup against democracy in the annals of Nigerian history. The total clampdown on the leaders of the APC with over 250 of them arrested within 12 hours led to the outcry by the leadership of the APC that except the people rose, their state might again fall into the hands of plunderers.

The Chief John Odigie-Oyegun-led superlative national leadership of the APC must be commended for their courage and doggedness to preserve and make democracy work in Nigeria. They must be specially commended for exposing the rigging plan of the PDP before the election. They must be lauded for refusing to run out of town in the face of the fiercest intimidation and political terrorism in the history of this country. Even the national publicity secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, was among the over 250 APC stalwarts that were arrested in a Gestapo style by agents of the state and detained in a bid to break the resolve of the party’s leadership and supporters at ensuring a free, fair and credible governorship poll in Osun. The leadership of the APC has been vindicated. The people can now see that the Ekiti fiasco was a broad day robbery which must be reclaimed. The harder the battle, the sweeter the victory. Security agencies at the behest of the PDP   harassed APC governors, intimidated and deceived the people of Ekiti and stole their mandate scientifically. But the leadership of the APC and the people of Osun, even though they were stretched to breaking point, persevered till victory was attained.

The victory will remain a potent signal to the federal government under the PDP and all agents of election rigging in this country not to try their evil antics in 2015. This is not 1999. This is not 2003. This is not 2007. This is not 2011. This is going to be 2015. Osun has shown the way and Nigerians will follow their sterling example to make their votes count in 2015. The PDP and all reactionary forces in Nigeria are beatable and defeat-able. Osun has proved it. Those who are banking on stolen mandates in 2015 should beware!

Ogbeni’s performance endeared him to the people. In fact, no other governor has developed Osun State like Ogbeni since its creation in 1991. His victory has successfully upturned the lies that the people of the south-west would rather prefer “stomach infrastructure” to innovative leadership and development. They bandied the lie after stealing Governor Kayode Fayemi’s victory in Ekiti State. But the state of Osun rejected the evil label. The people were ready to die for the man that is leading them out of Egypt to the promised land. They rose up, having learnt from the Ekiti heist, to defend their votes.

Nigerians must not go to sleep. They should not be deceived by the outcome of this election, which was won due to the tenacity of the people, to believe that this outcome will usher in a free, fair and credible election in 2015. For the election to turn out the desired way, the people must insist that their votes must count. INEC cannot be trusted based on this flash in the pan in Osun. Democracy in Nigeria must truly be the government of the people, by the people and for the people and never a government of the mighty, by the mighty and for the mighty. In view of this, INEC must not take glory for the success of this election. They have always compromised wherever the people were not defiant like the people of Osun. They either shape up or ship out. The people will not tolerate any shenanigans from them in 2015. The people must be allowed to choose their leaders at all times. Osun is not the litmus test for 2015 as many erroneously think. 2015 is going to be the litmus test for credible, free and fair elections in Nigeria. Until then, let INEC not bask in false euphoria of having got it right.

Nigerians must seize this moment and say “never again” to rigging and brutal subversion of the genuine wishes and aspiration of the people for true democracy in this country. If not, we the people will have ourselves to blame, like Shakespeare said in Julius Caesar: “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves.” This is our chance; let the Osun example be our guiding light in 2015. Nigerians are more than ever before determined to vote out corruption, insecurity, poverty, unemployment and continuous looting of our national resources.

LEADERSHIP

A leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Tinubu, has congratulated Rauf Aregbesola, the party’s candidate and winner of the August 9 gubernatorial election in Osun State.
In a statement, Monday, Mr. Tinubu hailed Mr. Aregbesola for standing firm in the face of state-sponsored terror against his person, his government, and the people of Osun State.
Mr. Aregbesola polled 394,684 votes to emerge winner, beating Iyiola Omisore, his strongest challenger and candidate of the Peoples’ Democratic Party, PDP, who got 292,747.
“Your victory is the victory of good leadership over a leadership with tyrannical tendencies,” Mr. Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos State, said.
“You and the people of the State of Osun have sent a clear and unambiguous message to all usurpers and individuals who exploit power to abuse and deny the people their rights. You have bruised the head of tyranny. We have heard you and we take heed as a party, the APC and Nigerians.
“The lessons from Osun abide. We should never take for granted what we have else the gangsters in power will forcefully take it from us,” Mr. Tinubu added.
The APC leader described the build-up to the Osun poll as “abominable.”
“The massing of the military and over sixty thousand security men to intimidate and harass a peaceful people is the sign of an unsecured government and party,” he said.
“It is a pre-condition to manipulate and perpetrate electoral fraud. Under any democracy, there can be no moral or political justification for the security armada against our party leaders and followers in Osun. The implications for our democracy foretells of dire consequences.
“But the APC and its vast membership nationwide will not sit idly by and allow a band of gangsters determine our future simply because they happen to be in privileged positions. Osun has demonstrated that it is possible to confront them. On our part, we accept this challenge.
“Aregbesola runs a government that places primacy on a social welfare philosophy that pursues vigorously the vision of socio-economic empowerment and developmental ethos rooted in the progressive orientation of the Yoruba nation. The people of Osun are lucky to have him as their governor and for a time such as this.
“Our Osun victory reignites and marks the next phase of taking Nigeria back. Osun re-energizes us to the common good, a commitment to the people and an unbending commitment to ensure Nigeria is governed better,” Mr. Tinubu added.
Similarly, the Afenifere Renewal Group, ARG, a Yoruba socio-political group, has applauded Osun citizens for keeping faith with “progressive politics that Yorubas are known for, despite the heavy militarization and monetization politics that besieged them.”
In a statement issued by Kunle Famoriyo, the group’s Publicity Secretary, the ARG urged Mr. Aregbesola to renew his zeal for “welfarist” politics as exemplified by Obafemi Awolowo.
“We thank the people of Osun for resisting strange politics that seeks to take root in our land. As the source of Yoruba progeny, they have shown us an example and we are confident they would be better off for it,” the statement said, while calling on all Yorubas to a renaissance of Yoruba progressive politics.
PREMIUM TIMES
 

President Goodluck Jonathan has congratulated Governor Rauf Aregbesola on his victory at the Saturday’s governorship election.
Jonathan in a statement by his spokesperson, Reuben Abati, said the peaceful conduct of the elections reaffirmed his administration’s determination to positively reform Nigeria’s electoral processes.
“The President commends the Independent National Electoral Commission and national security agencies for ensuring that the elections were free, fair, credible and peaceful in keeping with the avowed commitment of his Administration.
“President Jonathan also applauds the people of Osun State who came out en masse yesterday in all the local government areas of the state to peacefully and freely exercise their democratic right, trusting in his assurance that all necessary measures would be taken to ensure their safety and the sanctity of their votes.” Abati said.
“The President believes that the free, fair and peaceful conduct of the elections have fully reaffirmed his administration’s determination to positively reform Nigeria’s electoral processes.” Abati added.
President however, wished Aregbesola a successful second term in office.

IT is no longer news that Governor Rauf Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) comfortably beat Senator Iyiola Omisore of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to retain his seat for another 48 months in power in weekend’s Osun State polls. What perhaps is news is the avalanche of reasons for Aregbesola’s convincing victory.
1. THE EKITI WAKE-UP CALL
Although many APC stalwarts refused to acknowledge it openly, the party went into the Ekiti election knowing defeat was a likely outcome. Some party chieftains were unhappy with Governor Kayode Fayemi whom they accused of alienating them ─ and they refused to work for him. Also, APC was fractured in Ekiti State as a result of internal conflict. The loss in Ekiti, even though not surprising to party chieftains, raised an alarm in the party as a dangerous signal to what could become of APC in 2015. The loss was originally thought to be Fayemi’s problem, but it soon dawned on the party’s strategists that it was not only humiliating, it was also capable of sending  a message to Nigerians that the “ACN content” of APC was no longer in charge of its traditional base in the south-west. With several reasons adduced for Fayemi’s loss ─ including a fall-out with Ekiti teachers ─ Aregbesola benefited from this by quickly making amends in Osun. He got a soft loan from a sister state to clear two months salary arrears of workers. He also paid pension arrears. Aregbesola also started holding meetings with top civil servants to calm frayed nerves. He began to pay compensation to landlords whose houses were demolished to pave the way for an urban renewal programme. By moving quickly to address the grievances of the citizens, Aregbesola was able to re-connect with them in a matter of six weeks after the Ekiti humiliation of APC.
2. OMISORE’S BOLA IGE BAGGAGE
Omisore was never going to fly as the opponent of Aregbesola, although backed by the “federal might” and a cash-awash Kashamu Buruji, he was faintly expected to pull a surprise. But he was never going to be Ayodele Fayose who unseated Fayemi in Ekiti. For one, when Omisore was senator representing Ife constituency in the national assembly, he was not seen as among the best performers. For years, he was the chairman of the appropriation committee ─ generally seen as a plum job ─ but he was accused of not impressing his constituents in terms of bringing development projects to the district or making a positive impact on his people. However, by far the biggest albatross on the neck of Omisore is the December 2001 murder of Chief Bola Ige, a former governor of the old Oyo State, who was then the minister of justice and attorney general of the federation. Before the murder ─ which remains unresolved ─ Omisore was engaged in a very public spat with Ige, openly insulting the respected politician. Ige was humiliated at the palace of the Ooni of Ife by thugs suspected to be loyal to Omisore. They removed Ige’s cap and threatened to beat him up. When Ige was eventually killed, fingers were pointed at Omisore, who claimed innocence. He was detained in prison, tried and eventually discharged. He even won his senate election in detention. Even though he was never convicted, the Ige stigma has never left him. It was a handy campaign tool for APC in the Osun poll. Popular musician, Lagbaja, refused to perform at Omisore’s campaign, citing the Ige murder case as his reason.
3. THE FAILED RELIGIOUS CARD
Aregbesola was cast as a religious fanatic by the Omisore camp, who pointed out several actions taken by the governor as either anti-Christian or pro-Muslim. Aregbesola took an Islamic finance instrument, “sukuk” bond, of N11.4 billion to build schools. He changed the motto of the state from “State of the Living Spring” to “State of the Virtuous”, allegedly because Jesus Christ is also referred to as “the Living Spring”. He also declared the beginning of the Islamic calendar a public holiday, in addition to three other Muslim holidays ─ Prophet Mohammed’s birthday, Eid-el-Fitri and Eid-el-Maloud. Christians have three holidays ─ Christmas, Easter and New Year. The re-classification of schools, in which legacy Muslim and Christian schools were merged, also generated some religious tension. However, the religious flag did not fly ─ at least not on election day. Apart from the fact that there are probably more Muslims than Christians in Osun State, Aregbesola is from Ilesa, which is predominantly Christian. This gave him a double advantage. Most importantly, though, religion has never been an electoral issue in Osun State where Muslims and Christians live together peacefully. But accused of being a religious bigot, Aregbesola reached out to key Christian leaders, including Pastor EA Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Bishop David Oyedepo of the Living Faith Ministries, who visited the state and said good things about him. This effectively doused the “tension” in the Christian community.
4. AREGBESOLA’S DEFT POLITICKING
The PDP went into the election in bad shape ─ an ironic mirror of what happened to APC in Ekiti State. Former Osun State governor, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, left PDP for APC in the heat of the party’s primaries, complaining about the conduct of other PDP aspirants. Alhaji Fatai Akinbade, secretary to the state government when Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola was governor, also left the party and went to the Labour Party, whose flag he eventually flew in the election. Oyinlola, TheCable learnt, had suggested to the PDP that Akinbade was the man to beat Aregbesola. But Omisore got the ticket and Akinbade defected in protest. However, it was not enough that the party to be fractured. Aregbesola had to move deftly to cash in on this. He got Adeleke to team up with his campaign ─ a masterstroke, given that the man called “Serunbawon” is a very popular politician in Ede, one of the big political constituencies in the state. Next, Aregbesola got the endorsement of the power brokers in Iwo, where the Labour candidate comes from. It was another big score for him. And then, Oyinlola, the erstwhile national secretary of the PDP and former governor of the state, joined APC a few days to the election. Even though Oyinlola did not win his ward in Okuku, it was a PR set-back for the PDP, especially after President Goodluck Jonathan had met with Oyinlola in trying to get him to campaign for Omisore.
5. ABOVE ALL, PERFORMANCE
The fact that performance did not count for Dr. Kayode Fayemi in Ekiti State does not mean it would not count for Aregbesola in Osun State. It was widely said before the election that “Osun is not Ekiti”. The fact is that no other governor has impacted on Osun State since its creation in 1991. Aregbesola started by setting up a Youth Empowerment Scheme (YES), employing 40,000 graduates. For primary school pupils, he provided free meals. For secondary school students, he gave free uniforms. Those in senior secondary school got “opon imo” ─ tablet computers containing all their textbooks and past question papers. For the elderly, he paid monthly stipends. He got a N10.4 billion “sukuk bond” to build 24 model, modern schools. Each school, when completed, will accommodate 1000 students and have modern laboratories, power  and sports facilities. The state capital, Osogbo ─ a typical ancient city ─ is undergoing a face-lift with the urban renewal programme. Factories have been cropping up in the state and proving jobs for the people. Road infrastructure is being built. There is a clear direction in terms of leadership in the state. All these have made Aregbesola a very popular politicianwho draws large crowds anywhere he visits in the state.

NIGERIAN MONITOR

The Labour Party’s Governorship Candidate sent a congratulatory letter to Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola on his victory on Saturday at the Osun Electoral Poll. The letter titled, The People Have Spoken is found below: