Opinion
Edo 2024: Finally, Edo people have spoken with their PVCs
By Ehichioya Ezomon
As you read this copy, the results, and the winner of Saturday, September 21, 2024, governorship election in Edo State is known – and declared as such by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) – in one of the most contentious campaigns that put the electoral umpire in the eyes of the voting and non-voting publics in Edo, the entire Nigeria and the global community.
I crave your indulgence to describe the INEC announcement on Sunday evening, September 22, 2024, as both “BREAKING” and “OFFICIAL” declaring the candidate of the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo, as winner of the poll, and returning him as the “Governor-Elect” of Edo State.
Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central) won the fiercely-contested balloting in a landslide in 11 local government areas (LGAs), and scored 291,667 votes, to defeat the candidate of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Dr Asue Ighodalo, who won in 7 LGAs, and polled 247,274 votes to place second.
The declaration of Okpebholo as Governor-Elect and his running mate, Hon. Dennis Idahosa (APC, Ovia Federal Constituency), as Deputy Governor-Elect, comes as a test for INEC on the back of calls by PDP governors – led by Adamawa State Governor Umar Fintiri – for the commission to postpone the announcement for a review of reported rigging of the election by the APC.
However, the only reason INEC can’t declare a winner is if the election is inconclusive by virtue of none of the parties meeting the legal requirements for a decisive win, or the process was flawed such that the electoral umpire needs to review the outcome before taking a definitive action within seven days allowed by the laws, regulations and guidelines to so do.
Indeed, there appeared to be a “k-leg” (a problem) with the poll results that were bandied on social media – even when actual results were yet to be announced in many polling units, and collation done at the ward level – claiming that Ighodalo of the PDP had won the election.
The PDP further alleged that the APC – in connivance with the INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Edo, Mr Anugbum Onuoha – wanted to “switch Ighodalo’s victory” to Okpebholo, hence the postponement of collation of the results at the state INEC headquarters in Benin City.
This prompted Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki – accompanied by Ighodalo – to storm the centre, to “force” the officials to continue the collation throughout the night of Saturday, September 21. But after almost four hours, Obaseki’s literally “walked out” of the place by security operatives.
Nonetheless, a careful perusal of the “poll results” on social media – as posted by PREMIUM TIMES – indicates that they’re almost a replica of the 2020 governorship results, which returned Obaseki to his second term in office.
For example, how can the so-called “2024 poll results” be the same as the 2020 results from Owan East, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Etsako West and Akoko-Edo local government areas, respectively? This is kind of confusion sowed in a desperate “do-or-die affair” to win the election.
Interestingly overnight at the weekend, there’s jubilation at the APC Situation Room in Benin City, and across Edo State: that the election had returned Okpebholo as the “Governor-in-waiting” even as the collation of results would commence at 10:00am on Sunday, September 22. In tow were seven APC Governors – reportedly on ground in Benin City – who joined in the celebrations.
Meanwhile, the poll controversy stemmed from a roller-coaster kind of vile and vicious electioneering, characterised by inflammatory and inciting rhetoric, insults, mockery, blackmail, harassments, intimidation, threats and physical attacks, resulting in destruction of opposing political parties’ campaign materials and structures, members’ and supporters’ businesses, and injuries and deaths in several instances.
The height of the bloody campaign was the broad daylight assassination attempt on the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Monday Okpebholo (APC, Edo Central), and reinstated Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu on July 18, 2024, in the vicinity of the Benin Airport, in Benin City, capital city of Edo State.
The alleged political thugs – who waylaid the joint convoy of Okpebholo and Shaibu, as they arrived at the airport from Abuja amid jubilation by their supporters – succeeded in killing Okpebholo’s chief security detail, Inspector Akor Onuh, and injuring three police escorts, and several persons, including Okpebholo.
Over two months after, there’s no reported headway in the police investigation into the dastardly act, save a reaction by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to the allegation by Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and his ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, that the police, under the direction of Mr Egbetokun, had arrested and detained 10 PDP members in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city.
Though Egbetokun denied knowledge of the arrest and detention of the PDP members, saying that, “I am aware that individuals, who committed crimes and political violence in the state, have been arrested,” an Abuja court on Thursday, September 19, reportedly “granted bail” to the 10 PDP detainees.
The killing of Okpebholo’s police orderly, Inspector Onuh, and subsequent arrest and detention of 10 PDP members prompted the refusal of the PDP to sign the Peace Accord facilitated by the National Peace Committee (NPC) on September 12 in Benin City, committing the political parties, their candidates and supporters to an orderly and peaceful conduct before, during and after the election. The APC, which’d earlier withdrawn from signing the accord, citing a lack or none progress of the police investigation into the murder of Onuh, eventually appended the peace deal.
Despite signing the accord, politicians and political thugs still upped their antics to manipulate the electoral process. From the last day of the campaigns on September 19 – when the INEC started the distribution of sensitive materials to the local government areas – through the eve of the election on September 20, rival parties were engaged in several unnervy and underhand incidents to upend or tilt the poll in their favour.
There’re reports of APC political thugs – as broached by the state government through a press conference by the Commissioner for Information, Mr Chris Nehikhare, in Benin City on September 20 – trying to seize control of the Oredo local government area’s office of the INEC, but were resisted by military personnel. Yet, the thugs laid siege around the facility, “to prevent a rival party (PDP) from jijacking the sentive materials to rig the poll.” Similar sieges to INEC offices were reported in Esan West and Etsako West local government areas.
The candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Olumide Akpata, received a rude shock on September 20, with reports that he’d “stepped down” his governorship bid, and “endorsed” the candidate of the PDP, Dr Asue Ighodalo. But Akpata quickly rebutted the viral reports as “false, wicked and baseless,” and “unequivocally” declared that he remained in the race to win on Saturday.
* On September 20, Prince Henry Okojie, a member representing Esan North-East/Esan South-East Federal Constituency of Edo State, reportedly escaped assassination – foiled by the timely intervention of police personnel attached to him – at his residence in Uromi, headquarters of Esan North-East. Hon. Okojie’s the Edo Central coordinator for the APC Governorship Campaign Council.
Another attempt by the APC to disqualify PDP’s candidate, Dr Ighodalo, from the governorship poll failed on September 20, when an Abuja Federal High Court, via Justice Peter Lifu, dismissed the suit – which also runs in another court in Abuja – as “frivolous, baseless, and unwarranted,” describing the APC as a “busy body and a meddlesome interloper.”
Similarly, attempts by a litigant to prevent the APC candidate, Senator Okpebholo, from presenting himself at Saturday’s election was thwarted by an Abuja High Court, through Justice O.C. Agbaza, who granted Okpebholo leave to file for a judicial review of a “criminal summons” issued against him by Magistrate Abubakar Mukhtar, over alleged forgery of his (Okpebholo’s) name. Okpebholo, who’s to appear before Magistrate Muktar by noon on September 20, averred he’d rectified the anomaly at the Supreme Court registry.
This and other issues preceded the poll that reportedly started early in many polling stations across Edo State, amid a poor weather forcast the previous day that actually resulted in a downpour, with enthusiastic voters covering themselves with umbrellas or donning raincoats, while waiting in long queues to accredit and cast their ballots, which ended officially at 3:00pm on Saturday.
The importance of the election was symbolised by a septuagenarian, Fatima Jimoh, who left her sick bed to vote. Aided by her daughter, Ms Jimoh said she wanted to “make Oshiomhole happy” by ensuirng his party (APC) won the polls. After voting at Unit 3, Ward 10, Iyhamo Primary School, Jimoh said, “I am not feeling well. I like Oshiomhole. I come out of illness to vote,” as The Nation reported.
Some observers monitoring the election expressed satisfaction with the early movement of election materials across the state, and also commended the security put in place “to ensure the safety of both the materials, electoral staff and the voters.”
Executive Director, Partners for Electoral Reforms and Board member, YIAGA Africa, Ezenwa Nwagu, praised the INEC for the “smooth and early distribution” of sensitive and non-sensitive materials across polling units statewide. At Ward 12, Agbado Primary School, in Benin city, Nwagu said the process was a far cry from previous situations where materials left for polling units late, resulting in late commencement of polls.
“We have monitored the transportation of the materials from the RACs to polling units, and we are pleased with the organised and timeliness of the operation so far,” Nwagu said, even as the Chairman of Connected Development (CODE), Hamza Lawal, said “INEC has adhered to its promise of early deployment of election materials, which is a critical factor in ensuring a free, fair, and credible election.”
“The early movement of materials to polling units is particularly commendable, as it shows the commission’s commitment to a credible process, and we expect that this is replicated across the board,” Lawal said.
However, there’re some hitches that dented INEC’s roll out across the state, particularly in Ewohimi in Esan South-East, Owan in Owan West, and Jattu in Etsako West local government areas. The INEC officials and materials arrived in Ighodalo’s Okaegben ward one, unit 3 in Ewohimi at 10:30am, exactly the same time as the PDP candidate.
Condemning the alleged arrest of some PDP members in Uromi, Esan North-East, the late arrival of election materials in Owan West, and “APC supporters of doing unimaginable things,” Ighodalo told reporters: “As you can see, INEC officials and materials just arrived and they are well over two hours late. Well, we are still well around the allocated time for voting; let us see what we can achieve between now and close of voting hours,” adding, “it will only be fair if the voting hours are extended by the numbers of hours lost.”
Ighodalo expressed dissatisfaction with the process that delayed the materials, saying: “This is a single state election. INEC has all the time to prepare. We are not comfortable with the little shenanigans that is going on particularly from the APC guys. There are rumours that they are trying to undermine the election process.
“Many of them have been caught with ballot papers, PVCs. The worst is that they go round trying to buy votes. They buy vote for 15-20 thousand (naira). They are trying everything to subvert the process.
“The kind of numbers I am hearing from Edo North, Edo Central, Edo South, overwhelms me. You know in Nigeria, funny things happen. I don’t know the magic anybody wants to perform. I believe INEC to deliver free and fair election until they prove otherwise. We will win hands down in this election.
“We are not happy about a few ongoings in some places, but we will remain confident. One of our supporters was arrested at Uromi by some people with security outfit. How come it’s only PDP supporters that have been arrested? Every day you see APC supporters doing imaginable things. But nobody arrests them. Nobody investigates them.
“We will win this election by (a) landslide and move our state forward by God’s grace. If there is anybody at home, please come out and cast your vote. We are not worried. We have spent 10 months talking to people, telling them what we will do for them if they elect us. The people believed us and have accepted us all over the state. I don’t know the magic anybody will perform.” Vanguard reported the session with Ighodalo.
Voting was delayed at unit 5, ward 11, at Azama Primary School, Jattu, in Etsako West, as the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) malfunctioned, preventing voters, including reinstated Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu, from casting their ballots.
As of 12:10pm, Shaibu, who’s yet to vote, along with many voters, “who had gathered early to exercise their civic rights,” expressed his disappointment but remained hopeful. “We have been here since, and the machine is not working,” he said. “Reports from other units in this local government indicate they are not having this issue – it’s only here,” he told reporters.
Refraining from labelling the the malfunction of the BVAS as a sabotage, Shaibu added: “The INEC officer assured us that they would bring another functioning machine and extend the voting time to enable us to cast our votes. I can see that they are working on it.” Shaibu eventually voted after seven hours of waiting at 3:00pm when voting had been concluded in virtually other polling units at the sprawling centre.
The INEC was to extend the voting time in areas where the exercise commenced late. In a statement on Saturday, INEC’s National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna, said: “Our monitoring indicates early commencement of polls in many Polling Units, but there are also reports of late commencement in some locations.
“To ensure that no voter is disenfranchised, the Commission wishes to reiterate that, in line with our Regulations and Guidelines, voting will be extended wherever it commenced late and will continue until the last voter in the queue, who arrived at the Polling Unit by 2:30pm, has voted.”
As of the time of filing this article on Saturday evening, the poll had closed in most polling units, and results were coming in trickles from the 192 wards and 18 local government areas of the state. It wasn’t clear at the time, which direction the pendulum would swing in Edo North of six local government areas of Akoko-Edo, Etsako Central, Etsako East, Etsako West, Owan East and Owan West that’s a stronghold of the APC.
The same scenario prevailed in Edo South senatorial district, comprising Egor, Ikpoba-Okha, Oredo, Orhionmwon, Uhunmwode, Ovia East and Ovia South-West – which’s the largest voter turnout of over 55% of registered voters in Edo State, and overwhelmingly voted for PDP in the 2020 governorship election.
Edo Central senatorial district of Esan Central, Esan North-East, Esan South-East, Esan West, and Igueben – longtime zone for PDP – switched camps to the APC in the 2023 General Election, producing Senator Okpebholo. In Edo 2024, the district presented two fundamentally contrasting leading candidates of the PDP and APC in Ighodalo and Okpebholo, respectively.
However, about 5:00pm on Saturday, the INEC had reportedly released (uploaded) 62 per cent of the results from the election on its Result Viewing (IReV) portal. A visit to the IReV website by The Nation revealed that 2,809 results, out of 4,519 polling units where elections were conducted in the state, had been uploaded for real-time access to the public, for transparency of the electoral process.
And snippets from the IReV – and unconfirmed, but declared results at polling units by INEC officials – indicated that the APC’s leading in Edo North; the PDP and APC were leading in Edo South; while reports from Edo Central were mixed.
The titanic battle among the big three political parties of PDP, APC and LP in Saturday’s election had never been higher, and the question now is: Will the losing parties among them accept the INEC declaration? That’s a rare occurrence in Nigeria’s politics!
Let’s wait and see, as the INEC has a statutory seven-day window to review the outcome of the election, to see if it conformed to the laws, regulations and guidelines for the conduct of elections in the country!
Mr Ezomon, Journalist and Media Consultant, writes from Lagos, Nigeria
I have worked in the National Assembly though in the Green Chambers as an aide earlier on. I have seen power games played in their rawest form. so I understand how the game is played. The National Assembly is not a debating society where lawmakers sip tea and exchange polite arguments.
It is a political war zone not for the weak but where lawmakers have been known to throw insults like free akara and rip agbadas like WWE wrestlers to assert dominance.
What happened to Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan was not an accident. It was a deliberate act of political suppression disguised as Senate procedure.
If we are being honest, Nigerian lawmakers hardly follow procedure. They shout over each other, climb chairs, and in extreme cases, physical blows settle matters faster than parliamentary rules.
In this same Senate, a senator once jumped over tables to grab the mace like an action film hero. Nobody declared him “out of order.”
So, who are we fooling?
Natasha’s real offense was not breaking Senate rules; it was speaking with the kind of confidence the system does not tolerate from women. She did not lower her voice. She did not wait for permission. She did not beg.
For that, she had to be reminded of her place.
Akpabio, who now plays the role of Senate Headmaster, was once a student of political hooliganism himself.
When he opposed Bukola Saraki’s leadership in the Senate, he disrupted, challenged, and broke every so-called “rule” to assert his position.
Nobody told him he was “out of order” when he threw his weight around. Nobody switched off his microphone when he flexed his influence.
Now, the same Akpabio wants to lecture Natasha on “respect”? Somebody help me understand this selective amnesia.
The message is clear:
Men in power can be loud and aggressive, but women must be quiet and submissive.
Women in power must not challenge the men, otherwise it’s labelled “disrespectful.”
Women in the Senate must clap, nod, and play backup singers while men take the lead.
The Senate allows men to play rough, but expects women to behave like obedient kitchen wives.
Natasha refused to follow that script, and Akpabio’s Senate is punishing her for it.
Natasha’s seat change was not a coincidence; it is a message and a Political Attack.
For those who don’t understand how the National Assembly politics works, let me educate you.
Where you sit in plenary matters. The further back you are, the less visible and important you become. Cameras don’t pick you up easily. If you raise your hand, it’s like you don’t exist.
The presiding officer conveniently “doesn’t see your hand.”The system gradually silences you without needing to say a word.
First, they moved Natasha’s seat to the far end, near the exit. As if waiting for her to walk herself out.
She sat there. Still, that was not enough for them.
Now, they have moved her seat AGAIN!
They have pushed her to the far end corner of the plenary, the burial ground for lawmakers who don’t talk, don’t think, don’t contribute!
That place is for the benchwarmers, the ones who come, sign attendance, eat money, shout “Aye!” and “Nay!” like programmed robots, then vanish!
Natasha is NOT a benchwarmer. She is not a political errand girl. So why are they trying to bury her voice?
If the Senate follows rules, why was Natasha not informed before her seat was changed?
She woke up one morning, came to plenary, and suddenly… bam! She was told to move. Why?
Why?
Since when did they start moving senators around like chess pieces?
Since when did they start treating elected lawmakers like secondary school students being punished for noise-making?
This is deliberate sidelining. She has been excluded from international engagements, forced to fund her own travels while her male colleagues enjoy first-class treatment.
When she dares to raise her voice?
Her microphone is killed like an unwanted radio station.
Is this a democracy or a boys’ cult?
I have worked with lawmakers. I have sat behind the scenes. I have seen how the game is played.
Nigerian politics is not about truth or debate. It is about who can intimidate who into silence.
Akpabio’s “you are out of order” was not just a procedural statement, it was an attempt to put Natasha in her place.
To remind her that no matter how educated, outspoken, or intelligent she is, she is still a woman in a system built by men, designed for men.
That is the strategy. That is the game.
What Happened to Immunity? Or Does It Only Work for Men?
Senators have immunity for whatever they say on the floor of the House.
That is the law. That is the rule.
Yet, somehow, Akpabio treated Natasha like an errant schoolgirl, as if she was breaking some sacred commandment.
The real question is:
Would Akpabio have done the same if Natasha were a man?
Would he have cut off the microphone of a male senator mid-sentence in that same manner?
We know the answer.
Natasha represents something Nigerian politics is not used to; an outspoken woman who does not wait to be given permission to speak.
The system is playing a dirty game: if we can’t stop her from speaking, they will make sure nobody sees her.
That is why this gbas gbos was different.
This is not about rules.
This is about power.
That is the real game.
The Nigerian Senate has never been a quiet place. It has never been a place where emotions are checked at the door.
It is a battleground where policies, positions, and political futures are fought for.
So why is it that the same Senate that tolerates male aggression cannot handle female confidence?
The Nigerian Senate has always been a boys’ club. Women in the Red Chambers are expected to sit quietly, nod obediently, and support the men.
Natasha refused. And now, they are making her pay for it.
Senator Natasha did what every senator is elected to do. She had every right to push back.
The job of a senator is to speak, debate and challenge issues, not to sit down and watch like a guest at a wedding reception.
If that is now considered “out of order,” then perhaps the entire system needs to be reset.
If a lawmaker cannot express themselves, then what exactly are they doing in the Senate? What is their purpose?
Akpabio, as Senate President, has a duty to manage the house.
Leadership is not about silencing people; it is about managing power, balancing authority with fairness without being threatened by it.
Switching off a senator’s microphone is not leadership; it is dictatorship in disguise.
This was not about rules, this was about maintaining control.
What happened in the Red Chambers was bigger than one argument. It was a reminder that power in Nigeria is still a carefully guarded boys’ club.
A place where women are expected to be seen, not hear
This is not just about Natasha. It is about every woman in power who has been bullied into silence and deliberately made invisible in a room where she deserves to stand tall.
This is about a political culture that calls male assertiveness “leadership” but labels female boldness “disrespect.”
This is about a system that is comfortable with male chaos but afraid of female confidence.
The National Assembly is not a church. It is not a royal palace. It is a political arena. Senators should be allowed to speak, regardless of gender.
Call me ILUO-OGHENE but i remain ILUO DePOET and indeed, i have seen with my own eyes.👀
Oya, talk your talk, let’s hear your view.✍🏻
By Hamza Lamisi
No doubt that one of the expected big game Changers of the 10th National Assembly, particularly the Senate, is the emergence of a vocal voice who ran one of the country’s most persecuted election campaigns in Nigeria’s history. From the feminine gender in a male dominated political ecosystem to being transracial in a highly conservative District; a Christian in Muslim-saturated bargain table of stakeholders, from being single to inter-tribally married in a natively and culturally republic Ebira Land. Not only to contest in a struggling opposition party but to face the most ruthless Chief Security Officer of her State, from her District.
The odds were obviously too many but Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan upturned the guess – defeating the threatening ruling party and emerging the first female Senator Kogi State ever produced. She defined the turning point of Kogi Central’s representation in Nigeria’s bicameral Parliament. Unlike her colleagues from Kogi State who rode on the backing of the number one citizen of the State, Senator Natasha’s road to the red Chambers was never paved, it was a tough and rough journey of determination, persistence, unwavering dedication and commitment to a dream held in trust for the people.
She walked through the storms and she is shaped by the lessons – to remain bold, assertive, unbroken, unbeaten and unbowed by any circumstance, because only by struggle and perseverance freedom comes. Not unaware of the systemic dialogue, lobby and collaboration but Senator Natasha would not do so at the expense or in exchange of the People’s trust and mandate for which she swore oath to protect.
Stepping into the Senate as a survivor of election and litigation battles, and looking back to the unwavering support and uncommon trust of Kogi people and Nigerians by extension, notwithstanding already some months behind her fellow law makers, Senator Natasha was prepared to have the end justify the means. Barely 16 months from the very day of her swearing-in till date, Senator Natasha’s contributions and impact in the 10th Senate have left many wonder if she was a first time Senator or one elected from the minority opposition. Most popular and best performing member of the current National Assembly.
Just within one year in office, Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan lit 30 kilometers of road networks across Kogi Central with over 2,000 solar powered streetlights. Over 1,300 women and youth were trained and empowered by the law maker. Senator Natasha has supported the tuition fee of over 353 vulnerable indigenous students at tertiary institutions nationwide. She has faciliated federal employment opportunities for various graduates and facilitate capacity building trainings and empowerment for many others.
She brought a reliable supply of portable water to Kogi Central communities with 12 water reticulation projects with each being a massive 50,000-liter solar-powered motorized water system, which serves 300 locations and provides, 1,800 fetching taps.
To draw legislation closer to the grassroot, Senator Natasha engaged 100 constituency aides both men and women across the 57 wards in Kogi Central. She has distributed 12 trucks of grains, 10, 000 wrappers for women, 20,000 notebooks, 5,000 school bags and reconstructed and remodeled Abdul Aziz Attah Memorial College Okene (AAAMCO), Okene to smart school.
Within one year in office, Senator Natasha has attracted employments in both federal agencies and private organizations to over 30 graduates from her constituency.
Ihima community has been without police station for the past 7 years, Senator Natasha embarked on total reconstruction of Ihima Police Station which was commissioned by the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun.
Senator Natasha distributed 4 trucks of fertilizers totalling 2,400 bags of NPK and Urea fertilizers to Kogi Central farmers. Free Business CAC registration of 2,500 SMEs. She has empowered Kogi Central students from 12 selected tertiary institutions across Nigeria with multipurpose business cart and start up fund.
Commissioned six constituency offices in the five LGAs to make government closer to the people. Senator Natasha has sponsored two motions and two bills including the bill for the establishment of Nigeria Gold Reserve, the bill for the establishment of Ihima Federal Medical Centre, motion to investigate alleged corruption and inefficiency in Ajaokuta Company Ltd and National Iron Ore Mining Company, NIOMCO amongst other.
Senator Natasha has provided 5,000 digital learning devices to both public primary and secondary schools in Kogi Central.
For her magical achievements in office and accelerated development and impact her constituency has witnessed, Senator Natasha has received and even turned down several prestigious awards. She emerged Senator of the year 2024 which is her first year in office as Senator.
Achieving these feats in less than 16 months as a first time Senator and one from the minority party and from Kogi Central, one may wonder what could be the Achilles’ Heels of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan in the 10th Senate and why the persecution by supposed colleagues in the Chambers. Is there a question of loyalty to individual rather than institution? Is it her performance record or her dedication to the business of legislation rather than playing the cheap political cards around the leadership of the Senate? Is it her idea of universal development of Nigeria rather than regional? After all, every Senator is of the Federal Republic Nigeria and should think and act so.
We may ask further; is anyone being threatened by her uncommon pace? Is there a question of envy or jealousy among her colleagues? Do they expect Senator Natasha to be one step behind, considering the enormity of the task on her shoulders as Senator from an already underrepresented District in the past? Is there a fear that Senator Natasha may reveal to Nigerians what is due to them from their representatives across boards? We may have more to ask than provide answers.
Meanwhile, Senator Natasha is a more than equal to the task of addressing the challenges that come with standing out in an uncommon manner. She is not one to be taught the difference between ‘diplomacy and cold slavery’ or ‘breach of rules and violation of right’. Nobody can silence her or box her to a corner of the Senate. Beyond her voice and impact over the years as an ordinary citizen, the people have been her greatest strength and she can only get more strengthed by any attempt to silence her.
Nigerians know how rare it is to have a NATASHA among the current crop of leaders and they are obviously making sure she is protected against bully, intimidation or harassment in the Senate. The dream is of the people, by the people and for the people, and so the mandate too.
By Professor Mike Ozekhome, SAN, CON, OFR, LL.D.
I have carefully read and listened to former Nigerian military president, General Ibrahim
Badamosi Babagida’s public remorse and regrets over the atrocious annulment of the June
12,1993 presidential elections. He did this 32 whopping years later. I want to very quickly say
that it takes a man with strong guts and balls and a man who has become repentant, born
again and has seen the face of God to publicly recant his earlier wrongful deeds and offer
public apology to the entire nation. This was no doubt meant to heal gapinng wounds and
balm wounded and bruised hearts.
The polls, the best, most transparent and credible elections, ever held in Nigeria till date,
were meant to end decades of military d The annulment threw Nigeria into turmoil and
widespread unreast, protests, maimings and killings. This forced Babagida to “step aside”;
the enthronenent of the Enest Shonekan’s Interim Government; and the arrest and detention
of Chief Moshood Abiola, the presumed winner who later died in Aso Villa in questionable
and suspicious circumstances. Of course, General Sani Abacha who was his second in
command later sacked Shonekan in a bloodless coup. For years, IBB prevaricated on the
annulment, claiming he did it in the best national interest. But on Thursday the 21st of
February, 2025,Babangida during the presentation of his memoirs, “A journey In Service”,
pointedly regretted in the public: “I regret June 12. I accept full responsibility for the
decisions taken and June 12 happened under my watch. Mistakes, missteps happened
in quick succession. That accident of history is most regrettable. The nation is entitled
to expect my expression of regret “. And wait for it:: he acknowledged for the first time that
Abiola won the elections fair and square, trouncing his major opponent, Alhaji Bashir Tofa.
I want to salute Babagida for having the courage and humility to own up like a man; that
everything that happened during the June 12 crisis took place under him as the head of state
and the president who was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria. I salute him for acknowledging that his government which actually
organised unarguably the freest, fairest and most credible elections in the electoral history
of Nigeria when it introduced option A4 from electoral books that were hithenlrto unknown
to Nigeria or to the world. But unfortunately, regrettably like he now admits, he again turned
around to annul the same elections in a way that was most bizarre, curious and unnatural.
To me, that he has come out to open up to doing something wrong and egregious to a
bleeding nation should be appreciated. I believe that Nigerians should forgive him because
to err is human and to forgive is divine ( Eph 4:32 ). I personally have now forgiven him
because I was also a victim of the June12 crisis. It threw up all manners of challenges to me
as a person, where in my very youthful age; in my thirties, I found myself marching on the
streets of Lagos every day- from Ikeja bus stop roundabout, to Ikorodu road; up to Tejuosho
market; from there to Ojuelegba, Surulere; to Mushin; to Shomolu and Igando, Alimosho.
Everyday, we were on the streets, protesting the mindless annulment. Some of us were killed
in process; some were lucky enough to escape abroad on self exile. But some of us- very few
indeed- refused to flee our dear country; we stayed back. We stared at the military eyeball to
eyeball. We challenge authority and spoke truth to power. We challenged impunity and
repression. I suffered several detentions across different detention centres. I virtually could
not find means of livelihood for my youthful family because I was profiled, my phones bugged
and no briefs were coming in. But I personally forgive him because it takes tons of guts to
make public confession of having erred and atone for same as he has now done.
It is confession that leads to penance and penance leads to restitution and then forgiveness.
If Babagida were to die today, I believe that he will see the face of God because he has prayed
God to forgive him; and he has prayed Nigerians to forgive him. Beyond that historic and
epochal mistake of the annulment of the June 12 election which constitutes his original sin,
let me place it on record that Babagida is one of the greatest presidents that Nigeria ever had
in terms of his ingenuity, rulership mantra; ideas for national resurgimento; ideas that
contributed greatly to nation-building. These were aside the IMF-induced loans and pills
which he introduced and which we again valiantly fought against successfully.
Babagida it was who gave birth to the Federal Capital Territory and laid the solid foundation for virtually everything you see there today. His government was peopled by intellectuals and
not by half illiterates and quacks. He recognized and used intellects. He was luminous and he built bridges of understanding, friendship and brotherhood across Nigeria. Nigerians,
please, accept IBB’s confession and forgive him his sin of annuling the June 12,1993
elections. Let the wounds heal; let the heart melt; and let the spirit of national triumphalism
prevail.
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