Last week we deferred discussions on the coming governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun states. But as events unfold daily, Nigeria increasingly feels like a country of one day, one trouble. If issues are not tackled piecemeal, one risks being overwhelmed or even driven to high blood pressure.
In just the past two weeks, the scandals have been countless. From the public spat between the Alaafin and the Ooni, to a Canadian court branding the country’s two leading parties, APC and PDP, as “terrorist organisations,” and even a U.S. court jailing a Yoruba monarch for internet fraud.
Are APC and PDP truly terrorist organisations? Maybe not literally but their failure to decisively tackle terrorism, or to expose its financiers and sponsors, is nothing short of criminal negligence. Billions of naira are siphoned monthly as “security votes,” yet nowhere is safe.
The truth is stark: Nigeria has become a crime scene. The presidency, state governments, local authorities, even traditional and religious institutions all share culpability. Crime is now the new normal.
In a country where prayers are said round the clock, one must ask: with what heart and what hands are these prayers offered? Hypocrisy abounds in pulpits and in pews. Leaders suppress truth and sideline voices of integrity. “The blind leading the blind” is no mere metaphor here.
Meanwhile, the EFCC appears more interested in chasing after hapless students than in confronting the “big men” of fraud. Some now derisively call it the “Yahoo Boys Crimes Commission.”
On the political scene, the PDP recently held its NEC meeting in Zamfara, with governors dressed in flowing Sharia-style robes a symbolic irony, given that Sharia law first took root in that state under Governor Ahmed Yerima and has since contributed to Nigeria’s security crises.
Hypocrisy again shows its face: the same PDP leaders who once railed against APC’s Muslim-Muslim ticket now appear comfortable with religious symbolism when it suits their political ends.
And then there is the desperation of politicians across the divide. From Peter Obi awkwardly joining Muslim prayers in a mosque, to the fevered preparations in Ekiti and Osun ahead of their governorship elections.
Ekiti seems stable for the APC governor, whose quiet, controversy-free style and “Omoluwabi ethos” enjoy bipartisan support. Osun, however, is another story. Governor Ademola Adeleke faces a battle for survival. Will he remain in PDP or defect to APC? Can he “dance” his way to re-election?
President Tinubu, still smarting from losing both Lagos and Osun in the 2023 election, will spare nothing to prevent a repeat in 2027. Behind closed doors, the Adelekes have met with him. The field for the APC ticket in Osun is crowded, with former Deputy Governor and ex-APC National Secretary, Iyiola Omisore, a frontrunner though he faces stiff resistance from powerful political heavyweights.
As always in Nigerian politics, fortunes shift quickly. Today’s ally can become tomorrow’s obstacle, and one good turn does not necessarily deserve another. The proverb holds true: politics does not stay rooted in the same spot.
For now, Ekiti looks like a settled matter, but Osun promises to be a political battlefield worth watching closely.
