In a matter of hours from now, precisely tomorrow, Saturday, October 10, Ondo people will be keeping appointments with history as they vote to choose who becomes their governor for the next four years.
It has been a very challenging, sometimes frightening, electioneering campaign period that saw sporadic violence and skirmishes in some parts of the state, especially in the riverine areas, but we hope the contenders must have put all these behind them for the sake of peace.
For tomorrow’s election, over 10 political parties will be involved, but the real contest is for three main political parties. These are the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Zenith Party (ZP) which have Rotimi Akeredolu, Eyitayo Jegede and Agboola Ajayi as flag bearers respectively.
As the clock ticks towards the zero-hour and the candidates perfect their strategies to win the election, we join other Nigerians to ask that the interest of Ondo State people should come first above any other considerations.
The peace accord which the candidates signed recently should not be seen as a mere document, but a testament that should not only shape the attitude and conduct of the election, but also define its soul and spirit.
All stakeholders to the election should do their beat. The police say they have deployed about 33,000 officers and 11 Deputy Inspectors General of Police (DIGPs) for the election. We hope that this massive deployment of officers and men will translate to a peaceful, fair and free election that Ondo people should be proud to identify with.
The Ondo , in our view, is a litmus test for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the Edo State election where it was scored high for the good job it did— delivering a free, fair and credible election. It behoves INEC to repeat this good record because, we believe, the world is watching.
We are not unmindful of the challenges and difficult terrain posed by the riverine area of the state but that should not be a reason for late arrival of electoral materials or INEC officials for the election. We urge INEC to make early preparations to ensure that no Ondo person, who is eligible, willing and ready to vote is denied this opportunity for reasons of NIEC act of omission or commission.
Additionally, known volatile areas in the state should be adequately policed to check electoral violence that could mar the electoral process or lead to the death of innocent citizens of the state. We always align with former President Goodluck Jonathan who believes that no man’s ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian. So, we plead that no Ondo man or woman should lose his life because of this election.
The security agencies should know that their neutrality in the Edo election, which endeared them to many Nigerians, has placed on them a moral burden that demands a repeat of that feat in Ondo. They should not take sides nor seen to be doing so with the ruling party or any other party for that matter.
The decision of Agoola Ajayi, the state’s deputy governor, to run on a separate ticket from his principal, the governor, raises concerns, but we can only hope that his decision is in the best interest of Ondo people, else his drive, which is a run against the current, is self-serving.
We call on the political parties not to see the election as a do-or-die affair. They should conduct themselves in a manner that shows our beleaguered democracy is maturing. We also call on both the INEC and the security agencies to rise to the occasion. Nigeria has got sufficient electoral laws that guide the conduct of elections. INEC should be able to muster enough moral courage to wield a big stick against any party that contravenes these laws.
We would like to see a situation where INEC will have enough willpower to cancel any election that is marred by violence. That, for us, is the way to go and we hope this will be communicated to the top contenders in the election.
Security agencies should not offer themselves for sale. Utmost peace, safety of life and property in all nooks and crannies of Ondo State should be their ultimate preoccupation in this election.
Available records show that poverty always plays a major role in escalating electoral violence because it influences people’s behaviour, decisions and choices a great deal when there is an inducement. We are, therefore, urging Ondo people to look beyond money, conduct themselves with maturity, go out there and vote for whoever they think will put their interest first.
