LG poll: Unease over turbulent Lagos APC primaries

BOLA BADMUS, AKIN ADEWAKUN and DAYO AYEYEMI got stakeholders speaking on electoral violence in Lagos State, the kind that was witnessed last week during the primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the forthcoming local government poll.

DUST is yet to settle on last weekend’s controversial primary elections of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the July 24, 2021 local government election, which saw two people dead and widespread electoral offences allegedly committed by sponsored and aggrieved party’s rank and file.

The violence that attended the exercise has kept tongues wagging as thugs were seen all over the state brandishing dangerous weapons and freely using them, with security forces appearing helpless. The situation has kept alive the theory that the thugs were sponsored by top politicians of the ruling party jostling for dominance in their respective areas.

Although the spokesperson of the ruling party, Mr Oluseye Oladejo, declined to grant an interview request of Saturday Tribune for a post-mortem of the crisis-ridden exercise, he had earlier voiced the regret of the party about what he termed “skirmishes” during the exercise. He promised a probe by the leadership of the party.

The police in the state also declined Saturday Tribune’s request for an update on the crisis.

A former factional chairman of the party in the state, Mr Fouad Oki, however, disagreed with Oladejo, saying the killings and widespread violence were direct consequences of alleged impunity by the party leaders reportedly probing the bloody clashes in almost all the council areas. In an interview with Saturday Tribune, he said his party had lost goodwill with residents of the state and would pay dearly during the local government election.

Concerned residents of the state have also expressed worry that things could get worse during the main election, considering the show of shame during the primaries of the ruling party, which is expected to win the majority of the council areas in the election proper.

The chairman of HOB Estates Limited, Chief Olusegun Bamgbade, in a chat with Saturday Tribune, said: “If people died in ordinary party primaries, you can imagine the magnitude of violence and bloodshed that would trail the main elections. I really don’t know why people volunteered to die for clueless men in politics. We have been practising uninterrupted democracy since 1999, what can we basically point at as having improved in the country? Is it education, health care delivery, housing and other basic amenities?

We are not sincere with ourselves in this country. Everyone is struggling to get involved in chop make I chop politics. May God open our eyes to the realities of the nonsensical politics of the present crops of politicians.”

On what should be done to stem the ugly tide, he said: “The government of the day as well as the security agencies should wake up from slumber. Any unit commander of any security agency whose domain witnessed political violence should be demoted and replaced. CCTV should be installed in every nook and cranny of the metropolis to assist the security agencies in their assignments. Any erring politician should be arrested and dealt with accordingly. There must be punishments for crimes and criminalities.”

 

‘Dress rehearsal for 2023’

Although the council election is done with, Raphael Gbadebo and Mr Jimoh Alamu got the exercise into perspective.

Gbadebo, who lives in the Aboru area of Alimosho Local Government Area of the state, said there were no serious issues recorded in the local government but he viewed reports of violence from other parts of the metropolis as a dress rehearsal for the 2023 general elections.

“One thing I could deduce from all this is that governance is still not about the people. If this is the case, why would some people kill or get killed just because they want to serve? he wondered.

He, however, urged security agencies in the state to be more alert and dispassionate in carrying out their duties.

“The fact remains that they should know that the situation in Lagos is very tense for now and the slightest incidents could be hijacked,” he added.

However, he said: “It is the ruling party that normally sweeps the stakes, so I don’t see such crisis that was witnessed last Saturday repeating itself.”

Jimoh Alamu, another resident, saw things differently. He expressed fears that the forthcoming local government election in the state could turn the state into a theatre of war.

“It is like sitting on a keg of gunpowder. For instance, some individuals that feel they were cheated in the primaries could pitch their tents with the opposition. If we have this type of  situation, especially where the opposition is strong, we can’t rule out crisis in such areas, and that could impact negatively on the security of the state,” he stated.

Alamu, who lives on Akinola Street, also in the Aboru area, insisted that what the state is presently experiencing is peace of the graveyard and “nobody should be under the illusion that all is well.”

He said: “We used to think Lagos was crisis-proof before the End SARS protest came and proved us all wrong. We should realise that those who carried out the wanton destructions and killings are still very much around. Unfortunately, they are even better equipped now to repeat those heinous crimes. That is why I think all hands must be on deck to ensure that even at election period, we don’t throw caution to the wind. The security we are talking here is not for the police alone to handle; it should be the responsibility of all.”

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