‘Won And Lost’: Lessons From Ekiti Decides 2022, And The Future Of Nigeria’s Elections Ahead
The Oasis Reporters
June 22, 2022
The results of Ekiti State gubernatorial election has thrown up a few challenging scenarios that question the old order of Elections in Nigeria, place of physical/human structures, the place of infrastructure and relationships with voters.
While Ekiti citizens generally bemoan the lack of growth in the South West state, the election results which gave victory to the ruling Biodun Oyebanji of the APC, a second position to the Social Democratic Party (SDP) that fielded Engineer Segun Oni, a former one tenure governor of the state and a distant third position to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), where a former governor of the state, Ayo Fayose holds sway like a giant colossus.
Oyebanji polled a total of 187, 057 to win the election.
Mr Segun Oni, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) candidate, scored 82, 211, to come second.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Chief Bisi Kolawole, polled 67,457, followed by Accord (A) which scored 166; African Action Congress (AAC) 409; All Progressives Grand Alliance,(APGA) 17 while Action Democratic Congress (ADC) polled 141 votes.
Thank You, Ekiti Kete. #Ekitidecides2022 #All4BAO pic.twitter.com/XEHxDEgui1
— Biodun Oyebanji (@biodunaoyebanji) June 19, 2022
The SDP that became the second runner up, appears to be a disrupter for no one expected that impressive outcome for it over what they call, “lack of structures”, being slightly unknown. Though they fielded a well known candidate.
Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate offers an insight into the place of structures in elections:
“We’ll create the structure, and they’ll see what the structure is all about. The structure is about human beings”. — PO
He equally posits that “The elderly, our mothers, fathers, and the old ones dying or being owed gratuity/pension will be the structure. ASUU; the lecturers that are being owed, and the students who are not in school will be the structure”.
Furthermore, Peter Obi’s analysis in relation to Ekiti gubernatorial election explains a confusing scenario, when the issue is considered.
He says, “Whenever I hear of NO STRUCTURE, my answer to it is simple; the 100 million Nigerians that live in poverty will be the structure. The 35 million Nigerians who don’t know where their next meal will come from will be the structure”.
'STRUCTURE' AND LESSONS FROM #EkitiDecides2022.
— Doyin (@doyinokupe) June 21, 2022
The Ekiti elections have come and gone. It has also been won and lost.#Thread 👇👇👇
Available information in the media says that there was an avalanche of vote buying from the same people who were crying for change.
The vote purchase equally questions the position of “stomach Infrastructure”, a widely used term, generally associated with Ayo Fayose who was a stunning come-back governor eight years ago when he edged out current governor, Kayode Fayemi, before he too mastered the Fayose game by returning to power, four years after.
Here’s the limitation of stomach Infrastructure: It is obvious that the bigger stomach Infrastructure provider won the game of thrones. The APC protege has been swept to power. Fayose’s PDP candidate failed.
But if Fayose had built people who would in turn build industries and make a huge economy, he would have had enough help to remove the APC. But he was more of a populist ‘man of the people’ kind of leader, lacking the requisite skills to build a people unto making a viable economy possible.
The biggest taxpayer to the Ekiti State Government coffers is Afe Babalola University, a one man owned private university. Besides that, nothing else has been turned into viability in Ekiti State.
