Osun and the Rising Coalition Against Oyetola / Oyebamiji

 

Osun and the Rising Coalition Against Oyetola / Oyebamiji

Six months to the Osun guber contest, certain facts are worth reiterating ahead of the battle royale. Bola Oyebamiji is realistically not the candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) but rather the handpicked choice of Marine Minister, Gboyega Oyetola.

Don't claim to know the above already; don't simply dismiss that fact. It is not enough to know that worthy sons of Osun were rubbished by the minister with arrogant impunity. We should know that the implications of that democratic arrogance on the forthcoming race are huge.

If a candidate is that of one leader rather than that of a collective, the colour and character of the contest change dramatically. One can say today, without equivocation, that Mr. Oyebamiji is a candidate of the minute minority within Osun APC. By implication, the Ikire man's approval rating among APC rank and file is less than 30 percent.

Election is about collective action; every vote matters; every hand must be on deck. In the case of Mr. Oyebamiji, his candidature is a product of one man's lust and obsession with power. In his mind, election is not about one man, one vote; it is about election rigging; it is about snatching ballot boxes.

In that warped minority circle, with Omowaiye, Owoeye, Banik, and Akere alongside “mother of the state,” Aunty Kafaya, winning elections does not need your party members or the voters. With an evil-clouded mind, they think federal might is enough; with it, you just get declared winner and all will be alright.

What devil-inspired thinking in the 21st century?

As a potential danger to the community, this Oyetola-led circle proceeded in autocratic errors, ignoring their party members by rigging them out of the guber primary and subsequently calling their bluff in pseudo-reconciliation. As the election approaches, their party members are ‘siddon-looking’ or crossing to the Accord side.

As they rode roughshod over their party members, they are repeating the same arrogance on the people. Many in that caucus have been quoted declaring they don't need the voters to win the election. Recently, they proclaimed ‘ejagba’ as their campaign slogan.

Never in the history of Osun has there ever emerged a group so sadistic, so anti-people, and so conscienceless like the Oyetola caucus of the APC. What confronts Osun is not an ordinary danger. The state faces an existential threat from a cabal without faith in democracy, in the rule of law, or in the moral-based running of society.

Hence, this election is about the people against a fascist-minded clique led by the Marine Minister and his handpicked flagbearer, Bola Oyebamiji. It is a war between democracy and dictatorship; between light and darkness.

The above explains why there is a rainbow coalition across political divides against the Oyetola caucus. August 15 is a date to strike down anti-democratic forces who shamelessly hold that the voters don't count in a democracy.

@ Public Interest Media