Deputy Editor, DAPO FALADE, takes a look at the decision of Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State to concede defeat in the senatorial election held last Saturday, vis-à-vis a similar example set by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.
Quite expectedly, the presidential and National Assembly election, held last Saturday, and which results are still being collated, has continue to generate all sorts of reactions and baleful comments from all divides, especially from members, supporters and loyalists of the two main political parties in the contest, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), across the country.
Like it happened, in the aftermath of the 2015 elections, many people, politicians and their followers alike and from the two political parties, in the heat of passion and emotion, made comments that may literally set the country on fire many Nigerians, the APC and PDP leadership inclusive, rejected the results of the election, held last Saturday, making pronouncements that are capable of derailing the democratic process.
#TribuneElectionUpdates in 28 states as declared by INEC
However, and like it happened in 2015, some of the prominent defeated candidates in the 2019 election have appeared like doves, flying the peace kite to calm frayed nerves. Rather than joining the maddening crowd, they have chosen to follow the footsteps of former President Goodluck Jonathan who, at the peak of the tension generated over the 2015 elections, famously declared “my ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian.”
The former president, truly walking his talk, picked his phone and called to congratulate his fiercest opponent in the presidential contest, Muhammadu Buhari, even when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was yet to make a final declaration of the result of the election. What Jonathan did then has continue to be a reference point in political tolerance, even in the face of defeat.
Taking a cue from Jonathan are Senate President Bukola Saraki and Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State who both contested and lost out in the senatorial election, last Saturday. Saraki, the PDP candidate for Kwara Central Senatorial District, a former two-term governor and two-term senator, lost out in his bid to retain his seat and, coincidentally, to his long-time political foe, Dr Yahaya Oloriegbe of APC. Saraki lost in all the four local government areas that make up his senatorial district as he polled 68, 995 votes, against the 123, 808 votes scored by Oloriegbe.
In another shocking development and in the neighbouring Oyo State, Ajimobi, a former senator and a sitting two-term governor, lost out in the senatorial contest to a less-fancied opponent, though a candidate of a very strong political party in the state, nay the entire country, PDP, Muhammed Kola Balogun (MKB), to the bewilderment and consternation of political observers. Ajimobi scored 92, 218 votes, while the PDP candidate coasted home to victory with a clear 105, 720 votes.
In the aftermath of the election and its eventual outcome, eyebrows were raised as the parties and supporters of both Saraki and Ajimobi, smelling foul play, kicked and asked that the results of the two senatorial contests be cancelled. The Saraki camp initially dissociated itself from a statement that the Senate President congratulated APC and its candidate, Oloriegbe. In the same vein, the Oyo APC leadership particularly protested the outcome of the election as its Public Relations Officer, Dr Azeez Olatunde, alleged that some disturbances in three wards in Ibadan South-West Local Governemnt Area, which he said could affect the final result of the Oyo South Senatorial District. However, reason prevailed as the camps of the two political leaders decided to tow the path of peace.
Senator Saraki followed the Jonathan example as he, on Tuesday, congratulated the candidates who emerged victorious in the election, in spite of what he described as ‘inadequacies in Kwara polls’. The Senate President, in a press release signed by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, said, while the election was generally peaceful, there were inadequacies like the card readers not used in over 70 per cent of the polling units, multiple voting, over-voting and other discrepancies, as reported by PDP agents across the state.
Noting that the state chapter of PDP would take a position on the right response to these inadequacies, Saraki said: “However, whatever the final outcome of the election, I wish the candidates that have emerged all the best in their attempts to serve our people. It is my prayers that the good people of Kwara State will always have the best from any government both at state and federal levels.
“As a product of a family and a political structure that is, from its foundation, devoted to the service and development of our state and its people, it is my wish that our people will always have a good deal at all times. The new development will even provide the people the opportunity to compare and contrast. After all, the people who have emerged from last Saturday’s election are not my enemies; they are fellow Kwarans.
“I thank all Nigerians for their goodwill and I want to enjoin all of us that, as we patiently await the outcome of the presidential election, we pray for peace, unity and genuine development in our country. It is also our prayers that at all times, the wish of the people will always prevail in the choice of the leadership and the electorate will always enjoy the benefit of good governance.”
Governor Ajimobi had, earlier on Monday, issued a statement in which he thanked the people of the state for their support for him and Oyo APC and also congratulated the victorious PDP senatorial candidate, Balogun. While many people (supporters and foes alike) still rue the outcome of the election, Ajimobi did the unthinkable: the governor displayed a true spirit of good sportsmanship by accepting defeat in his bid to return to the National Assembly as a senator, after he must have served out his second term tenure. He did not only accept defeat, but also conceded victory to Senator-elect Kola Balogun.
Ajimobi, in statement signed his Special Adviser (Communication and Strategy), Bolaji Tunji and credited to the state Commissioner for Information, Toye Arulogun, said the people of Oyo State showed their love for APC by voting massively for President Muhammadu Buhari and the party’s candidates in the election and equally congratulated the candidates of the party who won nine out of the 14 federal constituency seats and two out of the three senatorial seats in the state.
The governor, in the statement, tagged, “Ajimobi thanks Oyo people, congratulates victorious NASS candidates”, further said: “We appreciate our people for coming out last Saturday which led to APC winning two out of the three senatorial and nine out of the 14 Federal Constituency seats in the state. The victory has shown the unassailable leadership of APC in Oyo State. It has also shown that our people are appreciative of the developmental strides of the APC in the state and the country at large. We have taken Oyo State to an unprecedented level in terms of massive infrastructural renewal. Most importantly, we have ensured peace in the state”.
Accepting the outcome of the election, he described his loss as unfortunate but noted that no sacrifice is too much for a leader to make, adding, “The results of the Oyo South Senatorial District have been released by INEC, indicating that I lost to the PDP candidate. I hereby accept the result as announced. Although there were a number of grievous infractions and established electoral malpractices, I have decided to let go in the interest of peace. I therefore congratulate the declared winner, Honourable Kola Balogun and our other senators-elect, Abdulfatai Buhari and Teslim Folarin.
“If I lose the ticket and the party was able to gain, then it is nothing to feel sad about. APC has done well, but we can always do better. If out of three senatorial seats, we won two and out of 14 federal constituency seats, we picked nine, then we should congratulate ourselves,” he said as he enjoined all APC members in the state to prepare hard for the March 9 governorship election.
Ajimobi said the battle is not over yet, even as he, like Senate President Saraki, vowed that adding that the loss of the senatorial seat would not deter his firm resolve to work for Oyo APC victory in the governorship election.
To many, what Saraki and Ajimobi did amounted to nothing as they are of the opinion that the duo saw their defeats coming. However, it is worthy to note that the utterances, actions and inactions of leaders, especially in our clime, always go a long way to determine the spontaneous reactions of their rabid followers and loyalists. It is without a doubt that towing a path of peace, which seems very cheap and which some people may take for an act of cowardice, is far more honourable than unchecked and unguarded utterances which are capable of putting the people on edge and setting the country on fire. Former President Jonathan laid a good example in this regard by creating a peaceful environment in which the current democratic experiment thrives.
and then