Akinyemi Onigbinde

By Akinyemi Onigbinde

The jury is still out, interrogating the course through which the APC candidate emerged after a presumed rerun, adjudged by international observers-EU,UK,US – to have been marred by ‘intimidation’ of voters. That is if you will wish to discountenance the graphic reports of violence engagements, including the reported killing, by gun shots, of a PDP ‘youth leader’, as graphically revealed in the (social) media. But the question remains: why should the leading opposition party in Osun state threw away the opportunity to free their ‘loved’ ones from what is considered the rule of ‘colonial masters’.

In Nigeria, right from the beginning of electoral contestation for power, elections, by political parties,has always been a call to war against opponents, with supposed election umpire and security agencies,expected to be neutral in coordinating events and give to us the political actors we asked for, taking sides with their paymasters at governmental level- be they at federal or state level, as national and state conducted elections has often revealed. But the (leading) opposition party shot itself in the foot by acting in negation of a Yoruba aphorism, fielding a personal character and education- integrity wounded candidate in an election when it ought to have gone for the best in its fold. I shall explain

In Yorubaland, descendants of Oloofin, another name by which Oduduwa is called, believe that you can procure charms in aid of any expected benefits; for sales, riches, political power , sports, including football( we remember the days of ’emawule’- your opponents not scoring goals against you). So, also love charms and for sex inducement by mere infatuation with the opposite sex.Such love-sex charms are meant to be effective by the wearer merely touching or blinking of eye lids at the subject-girl of desire, who is expected to be hypnotized, losing consciousness, and merely follow her suitor for the ‘deed’. True or false, these assorted charms are still objects of merchandise, and patrons are not in short supply. And, if in doubt, take a walk to Ojuwoye and Awolowo markets in Mushin and Oja’fo(Ifo market) . But, then, Yoruba in their collective wisdom, avow of the efficacy of this love-sex charm on some clearly articulated precondition, and the extant condition is anchored on pure empiricism, and not any wooly mysticism- nothing esoteric, as the charm itself

For the Yoruba, ‘a da’ra die, k’ato s’ogun amu’do’, literarily meaning a suitor, someone desirous of a lady’s relationship, either for love or for raw sexual act, must be a bit presentable , as to be attractive to the subject of desire. You don’t look horrible in appearance, emitting a repulsing body odor and smelling mouth and expect to be given any attention for your charm to work. The leading opposition party, PDP, failed this minimum requirement in in a desire it was more suited to achieve, if only it remembered the Orunmila injunction in the use of love charm. Or, did the party suffered the effect of ‘eedi’, a counter-factual charm deployed by his serious rivals, APC and SDP.

Considering the fact Rauf Aregbesola campaign symbol is ‘Opa Oranyan’, the mythical weapon of offence by the legendary Ìfe warrior, and Iyiola Omisore is a Prince of the source, are we, therefore, permitted the academic luxury of speculating the duo conspired to summon the services of over 300 gods of Yorubaland, domicile in the numerous shrines of Oduduwa to deal with PDP for their indiscretion.Otherwise, why should a party in the vanguard of ‘liberating’ a long- suffering people, in the throes of unpaid salaries, gratuities and pension, in an education conscious state, as Osun, be so careless, as to be insensitive as to elect to have a stigmatized character, in the garb of weird street dancer, with no known vocational and professional address, yet lacking in the minimum academic qualification, as its flag bearer in a crucial gubernatorial election. Osun state, a sub-group in Yoruba ethnic-nationality in Nigeria is not short of sterling quality, and PDP was grossly unfair to his sympathizers, thus affording its opponents the grounds to rationalize the heinous crime of electoral fraud committed against democracy

Definitely, the ‘gods are not to blame’