When news broke that the US Government through its Embassy in Nigeria had placed visa ban on Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and some of his cohorts that were involved in electoral violence and malpractices in the November 2019 gubernatorial election in Kogi State, many skeptics doubted us. Even when the whole world was awash with pictorial evidences of State sponsored violence during the Kogi State gubernatorial election including the use of Police Helicopter to intimidate and harass the electorate, the Nigerian Government ignored everyone and went ahead to impose Governor Yahaya Bello on majority peace loving of people of Kogi State.
Thank God the international community was watching and knew that President Buhari’s led APC Government will do anything to perpetuate their cronies in power. Don’t be deceived by the rhetorics of the APC Government, the recently concluded election in Edo State where the APC candidate alongside his rougish political godfathers were resoundingly defeated under a prevalent free and fair electoral atmosphere was courtesy of the attention that the international community is now paying to actions of individuals or groups during elections in Nigeria. In the case of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, he could not recover from the shock of the action by US and UK Governments sufficiently to go to Edo State to peddle his stock. Rather, he chose to remain holed up in his run-down State during the Edo election. However, he appears to have found a new Dutch confidence currently as he recently emerged on Ondo State political turf to preach his brand of violent electioneering campaign and voting in the State in order to retain APC in power.
He was seen and heard openly espousing his now hackneyed phrase ‘them go hear tatatatata…’ an onomatopoeic innuendo for gun wielding and shooting spree electioneering system that he perfected in Kogi State to the admiration of the Buhari led APC government today in Ondo State. I know that like other beholding Nigerians, President Buhari and his APC party also saw and heard Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi State promoting use of violence in the forthcoming Ondo State election but kept mum cos they are desperate to win. I am also sure that the international community saw and heard him.
Therefore, should anything contrary to what happened in Edo State happen during the October 10, 2020 gubernatorial election in Ondo State, both the Nigerian Government and the international community should know who to hold responsible. I know that the APC is desperate to salvage what remains of their political currency after its humiliating show in Edo State. But let them be rest assured that the people are also waiting to show desperate politicians like Gov Yahaya Bello of Kogi State that power belong to them and not even a million guns can stop the march to a new political dawn in Nigeria.
Let the people choose who they want to rule them irrespective of party affiliation or other extraneous persuasions. Nigerians must also demand that security agencies deployed for election duties in the forthcoming Ondo State election repeat their display of neutrality and professionalism during the Edo State election.
Again, led the APC Government and Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State know that the whole world is watching and nothing untoward must happen in Ondo State come Saturday October 10, 2020.
Usman Okai Austin
Writes from Abuja
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