The people of Osun State, last Saturday, re-elected the incumbent Governor Rauf Aregbesola for another term of four years. The governor polled 394,684 votes to Senator Iyiola Omisore’s 292,747, while Alhaji Fatai Akinbade of Labour Party (LP) came third with 8,898 votes. It is commendable that despite the drumbeats of war from the candidates of All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Osun election held without any violence or a breakdown of law and order, as widely anticipated.
Despite the heavy presence of security agents and the reported manhandling and arrest of some politicians, the voter turnout was impressive, as a significant percentage of the electorate voted. The election, which was adjudged largely credible, free and fair, by local and international observers, is an improvement on the recent Ekiti and Anambra polls.
The outcome of the election is a victory for Osun people in particular and Nigerian democracy, in general. It shows that the people’s votes can count and, indeed, counted in Osun.
We commend the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security agents for the peaceful conduct of the election. INEC should replicate its good performance in Osun in next year’s general elections in the country. Nigerians will expect no less from the agency. The will and choice of the Nigerian people must be widely seen to be respected, as we had it in Osun State last Saturday.
While the other political parties that participated in the Osun poll have congratulated the winner and conceded defeat, the PDP and its flagbearer, Omisore, have headed to the election tribunal to contest the outcome. They have every legal right to do so, if they feel aggrieved by the electoral process. Such action is proper, since the electoral tribunal offers room for ventilation of perceived electoral grievances. Elections, at times, end up at the tribunal or courts. Going to the tribunal to redress electoral infractions is better than resorting to self-help or violence.
We laud the security agents for comporting themselves decently and with high sense of professionalism during the poll. In future elections, the security agents should avoid the rumoured bullying and intimidation of some politicians. They should be neutral in their attitude to politicians and their supporters during polls because they work for all Nigerians, and not any particular political party or individual.
The deployment of a high number of security personnel for the Ekiti and Osun elections will certainly not be feasible in 2015, when so many states will be having their own governorship polls. Nevertheless, the Nigerian electorate should take a cue from the voters in Osun and be peaceful during the 2015 elections.
We urge the returned governor to be magnanimous in victory and treat the entire Osun State as his constituency. He should use the opportunity of his second coming to office judiciously and improve service delivery to his people.
We say this bearing in mind that, to whom much is given, much is also expected. Let all Osun politicians, irrespective of party affiliation, join hands with the re-elected governor to take the state to the next level of development.

Osun poll: A post-mortem