(Opinion) KWARA LG POLL: What We Saw Vs What We Got, By Temitope Muhideen
Aldous Leonard Huxley, an English writer and philosopher, wrote over 50 books. In one of his books, he said, “That men do not learn very much from the lessons of history is the most important of all the lessons that history has to teach.” Last Saturday, during the local government elections in Kwara State, Kwarans came out in large numbers to vote, taking advantage of the recently granted autonomy by the Federal Government. The election was conducted by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWSIEC). The aftermath of the election clearly shows that there was a blatant arrangement between the Baba Okanla-led KWSIEC and the ruling party.
It appears that a script was written and perfectly acted upon, as Baba Okanla declared all APC candidates winners of the election. This seems like a case of unfairness—robbing Peter to pay Paul—but let’s delve deeper into the matter. There is substantive evidence indicating that the election did not hold in major areas, especially Kwara South, yet winners have been declared. There are instances where KWSIEC polling unit officials announced candidates of the opposition party in the state as winners of Councillorship seats (Alanamu, Ojuekun/Zarumi, Gambari Ward 1 and 2, et al.); yet, the Okanla-led KWSIEC undermines the credibility of the democratic electoral process by announcing APC candidates as winners.
This blatant disregard for democratic principles has left many wondering, including this writer, if the election was predetermined. Many are of the opinion that it was daylight political robbery, political gangsterism, and an assault on common sense by local collaborators determined to rig reality to serve the interests of a few, using Baba Okanla as a tool.
On many platforms, I have maintained that in a local government like Offa, one of the important LGs in the state, the election only started and was aborted in 11 polling units out of 173. I was on the field alongside other journalists and media practitioners; it was what we recorded. In the entire polling units in Offa LG, there was no record of a successful election in a single polling unit; I stand to be corrected.
The 21st-century electoral fraud that would have happened in Offa was vehemently rejected by the people and opposition parties. For instance, in ESSA C Ward, PU 015 (ODU HALL), apart from KWSIEC officials arriving late, there were signs of intentional electoral manipulations: 600 registered voters’ names were pasted, yet no ballot papers were available on the ground. The voters reacted, insisting that no election would hold unless KWSIEC officials provided enough voting materials; the video is in the public domain.
Another event occurred at Agunji ESSA of Offa, where the election began despite insufficient election materials for half of the eligible voters in that polling unit. PDP supervisors reached the unit, disputed the process, and insisted that the election would not continue unless KWSIEC officials provided enough materials. However, in a twist of fate, APC supporters gathered, singing and chanting, “ATIDIBO ATIWOLE” (meaning “we have voted and we have won”). Like a revolution, the information spread to all polling units in Offa LG; people refused to vote unless materials like result sheets, tally ballot papers, and others were provided. They stood their ground; in most polling units, KWSIEC officials left without recording a single vote.
To this moment, Twitter has yet to come across a single polling unit result from the election in Offa. How Baba Okanla allocated votes to the APC candidate in the LG and across Offa LG’s twelve wards remains a mystery—it is one of the biggest electoral frauds of the 21st century. However, this writer has placed a bounty price on anyone who can provide videos of KWSIEC officials recording, counting, and announcing polling unit results in at least 20 PUs in Offa.
Like Offa LG, neighboring Oyun LG did not record voting in most polling units. Setting the record straight, only polling units in Ilemona town recorded voting; the majority of polling units in towns like Erin-Ile, Ira, Ipe, and Ojoku did not record voting in any of their polling units. Yet, Baba Okanla-led KWSIEC said the APC candidate for the chairmanship position in Oyun LG scored 22,524 to emerge victorious. Where is the sincerity of conscience?
I have read people justifying the undermining of our democracy by citing past impunity in Kwara State’s 2017 LG election. However, for clarity, the Ajidagba-led KWSIEC declared six councillorship positions for the then-opposition party; elections were held in 90% of polling units, and results were announced at each unit. Although electoral fraud is not to be celebrated, what happened in 2017 differs little from what transpired in Kwara last Saturday. In reality, Okanla is a bigger electoral criminal. Like Ajidagba, Okanla will be remembered.
However, it’s important to clarify that, the revolution and reaction we saw during that election was a sincere reaction to reality, it’s not a war between PDP and APC, it was a war between the people and the govt. For Baba Okanla and his likes, history will not be forgotten. Till another time, Your friend, Convydence.
Temitope Muhideen is the published of Confidence News Nigeria and a member of Greenfield Library Limited, Atlanta Georgia, USA