Edo election: Oshiomhole's landslide and matters arising KAYODE KETEFE The Edo State governorship election which held last Saturday petered out into an anticlimax as the incumbent governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole of the Action Congress of Nigeria, conveniently brushed aside all oppositions, posting a landslide victory with a statistically memorable figure of 477,478 to consign his most putatively formidable rival, Retired General Charles Airhiarvbere of the Peoples Democratic party, to a distant second place. Airhiarvbere, who lost in his own ward, Garrick Memorial School, Oredo, to the ACN, had polled total votes of 144,235. The anti-climactic effects were realised in two folds, first, the tension generated by the fear of insecurity against the backdrop of volatility of Edo politics, exacerbated by the general insecurity in the land, dissolved, happily into bubbles of air as the poll was generally peaceful and violence-free. Secondly, even though the victory of Oshiomhole was not unexpected, a keenly contested affair between him and Airhiarvbere was envisaged, and the anticipated "photo finish" was heightened by the accusations of planned rigging, but all these were not to be as Adams posted an historic roller coaster victory. The election also spawned some interesting reconfigurations in the power dynamics and highlighted the evanishing nature of godfatherism in Edo State. This is evinced in apparent waning influence of one time power broker like Chief Tony Anenih (Mr. Fix it) who had been a political potentate in the area since 1981. Anenih surprisingly lost even in his ward and Local Government Area, being unable to stymie "Hurricane ACN" that swept all triumphantly before it. The poll precipitated some issues of concern the chief among which is the embarrassing administrative hiccups which rocked (but could have marred) the election. Giving the fact that this was just an election in one state and the ample time the Independent National Electoral Commission had to prepare for it, one should have expected a thoroughly smooth affair, but not our own INEC! Among the imperfections and deficiencies that rocked the election were logistical failure and administrative chaos as evinced in late arrival of voting materials, delayed accreditation and voting, and as reported in some cases, ludicrous discrepancies in voter registration statistics. Nobody is impressed by the excuse that inadequate infrastructure like lack of good accessible roads to some remote terrestrial or riverine areas contributed to logistical debacle - the roads did not just metamorphose into impassable wilderness overnight, they had always been there. Pre-election reconnaissance survey into all those areas should have been conducted as part of INEC's preparation. Only God knows if the same excuse would not be tendered in October when Ondo State gubernatorial election is conducted. When is INEC going to learn? Paradoxically, INEC nonetheless deserves some praise. One can still praise INEC for its resolve to succeed, its covert demonstration of independence and non-partisanship which culminated in the election being successfully held within the elusive free and fair paradigm. This kind of praise may sound unusual to a foreigner: why should one be praising an electoral commission for non-partisanship, is it supposed to be partisan to begin with? But anybody with knowledge of our political history complete with all its eccentricities would not begrudge INEC the praise! So, Bravo INEC! On the very day of the election, Oshiomhole, obviously disturbed by the deficiencies identified above, was apprehensive that something sinister was probably in the offing and he did not mince words in telling the media his fears. He openly expressed disappointment with INEC, accusing it of conniving with the PDP to subvert the will of the people via what he called "scientific rigging." Speaking now, with the benefit of hindsight, it is very easy to accuse Oshiomhole of indiscretion because of this seemingly hasty and impulsive outbursts, spawning malicious incrimination of the opponents and character assassination of INEC; this perspective might lead one to ask the governor rhetorically "Where is the rigging if you end up winning with such a landslide?", but a critical consideration of the issue would impugn such a line of reasoning since a reasonable person can only speak deductively from a prevailing set of facts at any given time; it would appear that the impassioned utterance was meant to publicise a perceived untoward plot by the "enemies" based on the intelligence gathered or it was simply conceived as a pre-emptive strategy to thwart entertainment of any such ideas. At any rate, from available information, the terrifying Monster of rigging still managed to prowl the Edo political landscape; this is borne out by the fact that fake voters cards still circulated in some parts of the state. The sinister monster was however said to have been rendered largely ineffectual by the vigilance of the Edo people. In the final analysis, Oshiomhole has enormous challenges before him; he needs to requite the people for their loyalty and steadfastness. His government must focus on the welfare of the people who repose such enormous faith in him. He must build on his democracy dividends delivery credentials. The PDP which, for the second time, was consigned to opposition will be strategising for 2016, and if the ACN rests on its oars, it will learn , bitterly, that the love Edo people has for it is not unconditional, but based on social contract. |
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