The much anticipated Oyo state local government poll is set to go on as scheduled after postponement from its initial 15th of May, 2021 and the supreme Court verdict on Oyo ALGON versus the state Government. As observed across the 33 local governments in the state, the electoral umpire, Oyo state Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) appears undeterred despite repeated calls from the major opposition APC challenging the legality of the poll considered to have excluded it from the exercise.
While APC has approached the court for nullification and cancellation of the election, there is a growing discontentment among rural dwellers over the extent to which this political bickering, villication and mudslinging amongst various political parties will continue to stall and drag local government autonomy, administration and development — on ground. Already, the supreme Court judgement of May 7, 2021, between the state Government and ALGOn has made it crystal clear that the usual appointment of caretaker committee chairmen into the various local government is both unconstitutional, null and void and alien to the law of the land which separate the federating units into three components part. No doubt, election is an integral part of democracy.
But this election instructively has no substance, and that is because it is a one man show, or to captured it appropriately, one party show. Or how else do you describe this important component of democracy that seems to primarily focuses on massaging the ego of the state government and the ruling party. In other words, there is more to this election especially since the opposition party is now in court than we already know.
What this means fits properly into the aphorism that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffer. Power play between political parties as far as the country is concerned and particularly the state hardly benefit the masses and has never helped in trickling down dividends of democracy to the people at the grassroots. And what supposed to be the nearest government to the people in the remotest part of the country is already hijacked by various gladiators to further burnish their ego and whims and caprices.
Though calls for restructuring of the country has been on for years, the unanimous decision of seventeen state Governors of the Southern extraction made it the single most important and courageous step taken so far since the dawn of the fourth Republic. With the Asaba Declaration which Oyo state Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde was a party to, the coast is becoming clearer as to what becomes of the state of Nigeria and her flurry of peculiarities. That declaration alongside its vital points continue to unsettled most Northern Political hegemons who prefer the status quo especially as it regards the ban on open grazing and call for restructuring and need to address the revenue sharing formula than a paradigm shift being spearheaded by combined efforts of the Southern State Governments.
Indeed, calls for restructuring and devolution of power have always been contentious and polarizing issue between the North and Southern divides of the country, for posterity, state Government especially those from the south must shown readiness and willingness in that direction. And that includes untying local administration’s economic and political survival from their apron strings.
Interestingly, the idea of a free and fair local council poll has always been controversial. Most local council elections results are at best ridiculous and at worst farcical.When election is devoid of contest or competition because the ruling party is not interested in people’s choice, such exercise can only be dubbed ridiculously farcical. With this election set to go on, the state again, after the ridiculousness of the past regime is set to etch its name in the historical book of infamy.
OYO101, Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion on issues affecting Oyo State, is published on Saturdays. He can be reached via muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com and 09065176850.
