A former APC spokesman in Lagos State, Mr Seye Oladejo, has described Governor Ademola Adeleke’s re-election in Osun as a triumph for democracy.
Oladejo said the outcome had also defeated the growing narrative that Nigeria was inevitably drifting toward a one-party state.
He stated this in a statement released on Monday, saying Adeleke’s victory demonstrated the resilience and competitiveness of Nigeria’s democratic space.
“Democracy is not measured by how often the ruling party wins elections.
“It is measured by whether the people retain the freedom to choose who governs them-and whether that choice is respected,” he said.
Oladejo said Adeleke’s victory was bigger than the success of an individual candidate, political party or state.
According to him, the result demonstrated that the electorate could not be permanently taken for granted and that the ballot box has the capacity to produce unexpected outcomes.
“It is measured by whether the people retain the freedom to choose who governs them-and whether that choice is respected,” he said.
Oladejo said Adeleke’s victory was bigger than the success of an individual candidate, political party or state.
According to him, the result demonstrated that the electorate could not be permanently taken for granted and that the ballot box has the capacity to produce unexpected outcomes.
“The re-election of Governor Ademola Adeleke in Osun State is therefore much bigger than the victory of one candidate, one political party or one state.
“It is a significant statement about the resilience of Nigeria’s democracy and, importantly, a powerful rebuttal to the increasingly fashionable narrative that Nigeria is drifting towards a one-party state,” he said.
He said the movement of politicians across party lines and defections into the ruling APC had generated concerns about the future of opposition politics.
Oladejo, however, said the Osun election had provided what he described as a “useful reality check” to such concerns.
“If Nigeria were indeed inexorably marching towards a one-party state, an incumbent governor contesting under a platform outside the ruling party and securing re-election would hardly be the most compelling evidence of a vibrant opposition space.
“Yet, the electorate had the final word. This is the beauty of democracy,” he said.
Oladejo said the result had punctured the perception that the APC’s growing political strength automatically translated into control of every electoral space.
He said political parties could win elections in some areas and lose in others, adding that such developments were features of competitive democracy.
Oladejo said there was nothing in democracy called the “invincibility of the ruling party”, stressing that no political party possessed a permanent certificate of victory.
“There is nothing in democracy called the ‘invincibility of the ruling party.’ Absolutely nothing.
“No ruling party, regardless of its structure, influence, resources, incumbency or political pedigree, possesses a permanent certificate of victory,” Oladejo said.
According to him, political fortunes change, circumstances change, candidates change and alliances change, while voters ultimately retain the power to make their choices.
He urged political parties, including the APC, to avoid complacency and approach every election as a fresh contest requiring renewed efforts to earn voters’ support.
