Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu And The Memoirs of Polls

By Kunle Awosiyan

Drama, blackmail, abuse and curses are the languages of the vulgar. The ranting of the social media trolls. They mark his words and give it their own meaning. By the irregular vibrations of their noise, one will think they are many, they are few in number but so loud.

The intellectuals among them have allowed their emotion to becloud their curiosity. They write to support the noisemakers so that they can be hailed as good writers. A particular OAP on their television misunderstands journalism for activism. Of course they will still write and shout because the noise is yet to subside. They claim the elections were rigged and instead of keeping quiet and allow the court to speak, they are banging the tables.

The pain of losing is hitting them hard and so they must cry and make more noise. They are losers who have refused to console themselves with the words of God that this is not their own season, it is Tinubu’s season.

I remember their slogans of “Balablue Bulaba”, 70 years old man, papa wey no well, he dey shake, he dey shiver, he go soon die, he go fall, he’s a thief, he’s a drug baron, Muslim-Muslim ticket and many others insults to demarket Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He heard them all or did you think he did not? he saw it coming but he kept his eye on the ball. To soak up their inadequacies and win or reply their innuendos and lose. He chose the former and worked out the process of winning the election and he won.

Tinubu is the president-elect but he has refused to gloat over this victory. Not because of their noise over the alleged poor performance of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, but because of his nature.

He worked for it, the victory was expected and he got it. To him, it wasn’t a gift but a mandate, which he must justify by performance not by jubilation. You don’t jubilate over what you worked for because you are due for it.

When they wait for a government of national unity, he is seeing a government of national competence in which the best across the country will form the core of his cabinet.

Tinubu’s emergence killed our clannishness, religious bigotry and ethnic sentiment. His victory, despite their bad implementation of Naira notes swap defied cash shortage. He turned a deaf ear to their noise on religiosity and set a new path to grow our democracy; that never again should religion be a factor in our search for a good leader.

He did not allow the presidential election results of Lagos to disturb him while working out his victory in Abuja. And when he flew into Lagos weeks later, everything changed.

Sanwo-Olu’s campaign strategies changed. The minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola resumed at Alimosho Local Government Area where he delivered about 84, 000 votes. All Lagos APC leaders sat up to deliver a landslide victory.

Sanwo-Olu himself resumed at various markets to meet with Igbo traders. He told them to join him and work for greater Lagos against ethnic groups whose campaigns are about Igbo agenda in the metropolis.

He rounded off his campaign by meeting with numerous interest groups ahead of the elections at a period his opponent, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of Labour Party was learning how to speak Yoruba language.

To Rhodes-Vivour, fluency in Yoruba language shouldn’t be a factor in Lagos election. He described it as a primordial sentiment but to the Lagos aborigines, it is the main factor because Yoruba language is their heritage.

They replied him with votes and before they voted against him, they first organised Orò festival on the eve of the election where the language was celebrated and spoken to the understanding of the Lagoon and its aquatic splendor.

The result was overwhelming. Sanwo-Olu polled over 700, 000 to beat Rhodes-Vivour who polled over 300, 000. Hope the noise will go down a bit now that the noisemakers had been silenced.

Congrats to Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu, Lagosians and Nigeria.