By Temitope Ajayi
Except democracy is no longer about the majority, the tiny minority alleging rigging of this election will be able to impose their will on the rest of us. But if democracy is about the will of the majority as expressed by the ballot, then Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has won the presidential election in a free and fair process with the national spread as required by law.
Make no mistake, we will not be apologetic about this win. It is emphatic. It is clear. And we will celebrate it to the fullest.
And for those accusing other people of ethnic bigotry because Peter Obi will not win, i hope you will be honest to yourselves when the dust is settled and you can think more clearly.
Peter Obi won in Lagos, Plateau, Delta, Edo and other places outside his tribe. Whereas he won all of the 5 states in South East by over 90% from available results. None of Tinubu, Atiku and Kwankwaso who are major contenders got 5% of total votes cast from South East. It is not rigging and bigotry when Obi won all from his tribe but it is rigging where other candidates won.
Before the election, i maintained the position, and it has not changed, that Obi has no path to winning a national election despite his Nzogbu Nzogbu ethnic and religious politics.
And before your next accusation of bigotry, here are the issues for you, to know where your man stands, and we can then agree who the bigot is.
Question: Who dragged this election through the tribal and religious routes?
Answer: Peter Obi did.
Obi dragged this election circle through the religious and ethnic paths. He is the only candidate who went to churches and crusades to campaign and seek endorsement.
In a multi-ethnic and a multi-religious society, Obi is the only candidate who asked churches/Christian clergies to ‘to take back their country’ with him as the annointed candidate.
Equally, Obi is the only candidate, in this election, that went to campaign majorly in communities and big markets, outside the South East, where his kith and kin are dominant.
Obi played the religious and ethnic identity politics well. It is not surprising, therefore, that he harvested the votes from his target demography. Sadly, the votes from his target population are not enough to make him President in a plural society like Nigeria.
Instead of beating drums of war, the honourable thing to do now by any aggrieved party is to seek redress in court instead of the anti-democratic call for cancellation of election you knew from day one you can’t win. With his cult following in the North, the then General Muhammadu Buhari lost presidential election three times and on each loss he approached the courts to seek redress. He only became President in fourth attempt in 2015 when strategic political alliance with the South West gave him the national spread he needed to win.
