Why APC Lost Osun-West and Lessons For 2018 Osun Governorship Polls

I am more than elated with the turnout of the electorates and the eventual outcome of the Osun West Senatorial election. While it has to be mentioned that only a nomenclature difference exist between the APC & PDP politically in Nigeria,the people have at least sent a message to our leaders!

The message in my opinion is to Governor Rauf Aregbesola and it is about their total dissatisfaction with his governance style. To be sure, Governor Aregbesola has done impressively well infrastructure-wise accross the state, but at the same time.

He has lost enormous amount of goodwill in a state he was once seen as a MESSIAH.The reasons of course are very obvious. In the later part of Governor Aregbesola’s second term in office, particularly, when the states’ finances dried up, the government was very brutal. In the way he negotiated with the workers in the state. Majority saw Governor Aregbesola stance on the issue as very cruel and inhumane.

Unfortunately, he did little or nothing to make them understand it was not a matter of choice at that time. The people never forgot. They were only waiting for a day like this. So what went wrong for the APC specifically in Osun West? A number of factors in my view.

1.Many have argued that Osun West has been the most marginalized in terms of project execution. While this may not totally be true.Many of the projects in Osun West completion-wise are lagging behind those in Osun East and Central without any explantion.

2.The lack of internal democracy in the way Sen Hussein was imposed on the party as flagbearer bears some mention. He was only cleared by the NWC of the party in Abuja, despite having lost at the state and appeal screening committee levels, and dissidents within the APC in state of Osun.

In the history of Osun West elections nobody has ever won an election without winning Ede North & South, Egbedore, Iwo, and Ejigbo LGs. In this instance APC only slimly won in Ejigbo. The party lost every else it mattered.
Surely, and with this outcome, the 2018 gubernatorial elections in Osun appears not home and dry yet for APCNigeria. But time will tell.

One thing is sacrosanct 2019 will be interesting. APC will learn the hard way in 2019. 2015, there was a consensus to remove GEJ. In 2019, ‘all man for himself’. Governors, house of assembly members, House of Representatives members and senators that won due to hurricane ‘CHANGE’ will lose their seats to new players!

Kunle Oduah