At last, the governorship election in Osun State has come and gone. A winner has emerged and it is no other than incumbent governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola. There are many lessons to learn from the election, particularly the fact that given what happened in Ekiti State a few weeks back, the opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was again expected to carry the day, no thanks to the literal invasion of the State of the Living Spring by armed soldiers and other security agents. The outcome of the election, as rightly posited by many observers, is the triumph of the will of the people, a confirmation of the truism that the voice of the people is the voice of God. And it is a clear message to politicians across the land that no matter the amount of inducement, no matter the degree of militarisation, today in Nigeria, the electorate will reward politicians, who have been steadfast with them, who have met their needs and who symbolise what they desire.
Aregbesola himself spelt out the core of the message in his victory speech, to wit: “ (a demonstration) that in a democracy, power truly belongs to the people. … This election shows that democracy is still gravely endangered in Nigeria. We witnessed gross abuse of power and, of due process before, during and even after the actual voting process. It is so sad and unfortunate that what should be a normal, routine process was maliciously allowed to snowball into a needless virtual war by the Federal Government and the PDP.”
“Osun State was unduly militarised in an unprecedented manner through criminal intimidation and psychological assault on our people. This election witnessed an abuse of our security agencies and amounted to a corruption of their professional ethics and integrity. The security agencies were unprofessionally utilised in Osun State to harass, intimidate and oppress the people whose taxes are used to pay their salaries and provide their arms.”
Truly, the last is yet to be heard about the new Gestapo use of military men to police election activities when thousands of Nigerians are being internally displaced in the northern part of the country, but no matter what, with the way the people of Osun State responded to the invasion, with the outcome of the election, even a million soldiers posted to any other state for election will not be able to do anything against an unwanted and unpopular candidate.  And that brings me to Kwara State where, prior to the Osun election, the PDP had gathered its own crowd to celebrate their envisaged victory ahead of the polls. It has now turned out to be a deluded expression. And I think the party should, by now, realise that it will be difficult for an Abuja invasion to dislodge the current occupants at the Ahmadu Bello Way Government House. It is not about noise making; it is not even about money, as voters now know how to enjoy their own portion of the ‘stomach infrastructure’ but will still deliver their votes for their beloved candidate.
The helicopters that took millions to Osun did not make a difference. The people collected and still voted for the party of their choice. That was a defeat for arrogant and contemptuous display of the so-called federal might.
 It is not even about a candidate, who has never been in the rain or shine with the people suddenly coming home in a sedan to eat corn by the roadside while photographers wait in haste to send files to newspaper houses. The electorate have become wiser. They are no longer deceived by such demonstration. They want to know where you were before INEC announced the election time-table. If you tell them you went to Abuja to consolidate your business, so you can have enough profit to provide them with stomach infrastructure, they will then compare you with someone, who has made their welfare, day-by-day, as his business. They cannot trust you because you are their friend only for what you need from them, whereas there is someone who has been their friend for what they need. And the difference is always clear.
Let’s face the reality; the major issue of politics and politicking today in Kwara is Abubakar Bukola Saraki, ABS.  The PDP is waiting to see what he will decide, along with other leaders of the party on every issue, before they make their own moves. We even now have a newspaper columnist among them whose weekly focus is nothing but ABS! That is a sign of popularity; it is evidence of influence even though they may come out to boast they are not moved by his imprint. The truth is that they shiver any time ABS sneezes.  Let anyone of those seeking to oust him from political leadership come out and walk with him on the street of Ilorin and let’s see who pulls the biggest crowd, involuntarily.  It is not a lie to say that none of those working against him today, being prodded by the powers-that-be, can muscle up to a third of his popularity and commitment to the welfare of Kwara. Like his father, Bukola has made the welfare of the people his business; he devotes time weekly meeting with them at various levels; he has a structured system of interaction with every group and platforms in the All Progressives Congress (APC) where he has been accepted, as leader in the state.
 ABS has rightly described the Osun election: “ A clear and loud message (by the people that) we will not be bullied into submission; we will not cower until we get the change that we rightly deserve; and we will remain united in the firm belief that we can rescue our nation from the failed governance of the Peoples Democratic Party.
“Osun has shown those seasonal politicians that come out few months before election to claim a mandate from the people that no federal might can defeat the will of a powerful people. I know there are many out there that believe it’s time for a change but are held back because they believe “federal might” can’t be defeated or the people’s wish or voice doesn’t count. The good people of Osun have shown that this is fallacy in today’s Nigeria.”
Like Osun, so will it be in Kwara next year and you can take that to the bank.

Lessons from Osun guber poll