Osun guber: Must elections be characterized by violence?

As the August governorship election approaches, the temperature in Osun politics is rising to an alarming degree. What should be a peaceful celebration of democratic choice is fast degenerating into a theater of friction and intimidation.

Recent reports of vandalized campaign materials, clashes at motor parks, and the shocking shooting of a party chairman in Osogbo point to a familiar, yet entirely unacceptable, playbook. The question must be asked, must elections in Nigeria always be characterized by violence?

The answer should be a resounding no, but the unfolding reality suggests that political actors have learned nothing from the country’s turbulent electoral history.

The growing cases of pre-election violence across Osun State undermine public confidence and threaten to suppress voter turnout. When political parties trade accusations over armed thugs, and community leaders are forced to issue frantic appeals for peace, it is the ordinary citizen who suffers. Voters cannot be expected to exercise their civic duties under the shadow of machetes and gunshots. The security agencies must act swiftly and impartially.

Security must not merely be reactionary, deploying only after lives have been lost and properties destroyed. It must be preventive, dismantling the networks of political thugs before they find their way to the polling booths.

The political elite in Osun must be called to order. The desperate, do-or-die approach to securing state power is the primary driver of this volatility. Leadership is a call to service, not a military conquest. Candidates and party leaders must look beyond their immediate ambitions and realize that the state they seek to govern must survive the election.

Inflammatory statements that incite followers must be replaced by issue-based campaigns. If any politician, no matter how highly placed, is linked to the sponsorship of violence, they must face the full weight of the law.

Democracy cannot thrive when actors treat the ballot box as a battlefield.

The fundamental premise of a democracy is simple, the will of the people must prevail. This is a principle that political actors in Nigeria consistently struggle to accept. There is a paternalistic, arrogant assumption among the political class that they must manipulate outcomes because the electorate cannot be trusted to choose correctly.

Democracy includes the right of the people to make their own choices even if those choices appear foolish, short-sighted, or flawed to outsiders. That is the ultimate essence of popular sovereignty. If the electorate chooses to vote based on sentiment, performance, or promises, that is their prerogative. The job of the politician is to persuade, not to compel. The job of the Independent National Electoral Commission is to count the votes accurately, not to manage the outcome.

Elections do not need to be violent. Across the world, millions line up quietly, cast their ballots, and return home to await the results. The ballot paper is designed to be a peaceful substitute for the bullet. Osun State, long regarded as a cradle of culture and peace, must not allow itself to become a cautionary tale of democratic failure. The upcoming election is an opportunity to prove that Nigeria can outgrow its electoral pathologies.

The political class must sheath their swords, and trust the very people they claim to want to serve. Let the people vote, let the votes count, and let the peace of Osun endure.