by Editorial team
The Saturday 21, June gubernatorial elections in Ekiti state ended with the triumph of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate and former governor Peter Ayodele Fayose defeating the incumbent Kayode Fayemi convincingly to emerge governor-elect of the once troubled state. According to results announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission’s chief returning officer, Ayo Fayose of the PDP polled a total of 203,090 votes, triumphing in all local governments as against the 120,433 votes of his nearest rival.
Fayose’s victory even in the face of formidable opposition domiciled in Fayemi’s incumbency factor is further proof that indeed politics is a game of numbers. When the electorate is allowed a level playing field to choose their rulers, the beauty of democracy manifests abundantly.
As confirmed by all parties that participated in the electoral process, the Ekiti state polls were considerably free and fair with impressive voter turnout in spite of heavy military presence and a positive lack of violence hinted at by events leading up to the D-day. Which makes Fayemi’s loss all the more poignant. Who would have thought that a sitting governor, considered one of the country’s most result oriented, and carrying the flag of a “progressive” party could be so easily dislodged?
The lessons the APC can learn from Fayemi’s disastrous outings can be summarised thus; politics is a game of numbers and no political system supports this maxim more than the democratic system. There are few things in the world more powerful than a united people and the good people in Ekiti state spoke with one voice. They wanted change.
The reasons for this change are as varied as they may be selfish but the peoples’ will must always be held sacred. Long denied the right and freedom to make their own democratic choices by years of imposition of electoral candidates and open election rigging, the Ekiti elections proved how loud the people can speak out when provided an opportunity to freely elect their leaders.
It is no longer enough to simply be termed progressive or be of a particular political extract. Potential candidates and their parties have to give the people reasons to vote for them. The reasons may be more wrong than right at any given time but they have to be compelling enough to resonate. Even when Kayode Fayemi was outshining his colleagues, building an unparalleled infrastructure network and commencing social security initiatives not seen in the annals of Ekiti history , he managed to neglect the human factor, alienating a wide swath of the electorate that includes the civil servants, teachers and farmers, a wide proportion of the voting public.
Fayose on the other hand proved himself a man of the people, coming down to their level and relating with the masses as one of their own. A charismatic presence and formidable grassroots mobiliser, Fayose spoke the people’s language and they listened to him with rapt attention. It is not for nothing that the PDP, the most effective grassroots mobilizing party this side of the world, forgave Fayose his sins and presented him as the man to take Ekiti state back despite his uneven previous performance as governor and even with the murder rap on his head.
Not for Ekiti indigenes, the noble idea of uniting the whole Yoruba race under one political party when such a union ultimately favoured a privileged few the most. Instead, they put out a clear message that the APC can only do well to learn from Ekiti state as it navigates another gubernatorial poll in Oshun state and prepares to play in the big leagues in 2015. No electorate is going to hand the APC victory just because they represent an alternative to the PDP. They have to work hard for it. In the way that Fayose worked hard for his. In the way they open up the party’s structure, creating opportunities for internal democracy to thrive. In the way they relate with the people, not talking down on them but communicating their policies and manifestos so that there is a clear understanding of what the party and its candidates are about. They have to check that troubling trend of disregarding popular will by imposing candidates decided by a powerful leadership.
While Fayemi’s downfall is reflective of the peculiar Ekiti scenario, the APC can only ignore its lessons only at their own peril. Sometimes the best candidate isn’t the people’s candidates and as such the party should be prepared to respect the wishes of the people. The democracy journey is a long and winding one and the deficiencies tend to correct themselves in the long run. For the first time in a long while, INEC discharged its duties credibly, bringing to bear, coordinated and cohesive organization in discharging its duties. The federal government, despite an ill-advised strategy of hounding opposition figures in the state and dispatching intimidating military muscle stayed mostly out of the proceedings, letting the electorate speak for themselves.
In the end, Ekiti people, unhindered by the machinations of any vested entities spoke loudly and clearly with their votes. In this regard, they are the real winners.
Power to the people.
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Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.
