Ekiti kete should be in mourning over the repeated acts of partisan political brutalities in their otherwise apparently monolithic state. The state’s image as “the fountain of knowledge,” is fast giving way to a notorious one, namely, that of “the furnace of partisan political violence.” The notoriety of Ekiti politicians’ engagement in partisan politics dates back to 1983, when Ekiti was still part of the larger Ondo State from which it was separated in 1996.
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It will be recalled that the late Chief Akin Omoboriowo, then the Deputy to Governor Adekunle Ajasin, defected from the Unity Party of Nigeria to the National Party of Nigeria in order to run against his boss in the 1983 governorship election. With the assistance of the central government and its institutions, which were controlled by the NPN, Omoboriowo sought to subvert the people’s mandate but failed. Although his ill-gotten victory was overturned by the court, the political violence following the declaration of rigged election results in his favour engendered a bloodbath in which notable NPN politicians in the state were killed and their property destroyed.
Thuggery, electoral manipulations, and political violence have been central to Ekiti politics ever since. While Ondo State has been able to contain opposition politics since Ekiti was separated in 1996, it appears that the true colour of Ekiti politics has been on display, especially since the return to democracy in 1999. This was especially evident during the re-run governorship election in Ekiti State in April 2009 during which a number of prominent Ekiti citizens were killed. The display of brutalities which characterised the event now lives on forever in cyberspace and in people’s mind.
In my commentary on the event, (see Nigerian politicians, Ekiti, and the myth of Sisyphus, The Guardian, May 7, 2010), I likened Ekiti politicians to mythical Sisyphus, who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again.
Apparently, Ekiti politicians were not satisfied with a mere analogy. They chose to become Sisyphus in a rather bizarre way. They not only rolled the rock up the hill; they chose to roll down with it. In the process, one group decided to beat up as many judges as could obstruct their political path, while another group maimed and killed suspected leaders of the mayhem.
According to various reports, three shameful events followed one another in rapid succession. On Monday, September 22, 2014, some political thugs invaded the High Court No.6 in Ado-Ekiti to prevent Hon. Justice O.I.O. Ogunyemi from presiding over the determination of the eligibility of the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Ayo Fayose. The judge had to be escorted out of his office by a detachment of police officers after he had been harassed and chased around his office by political thugs.
Again, on Thursday, September 25, 2014, another set of political thugs invaded the High Court premises in Ado-Ekiti assaulted Hon. Justice J.O. Adeyeye of the High Court No. 3 in Ado-Ekiti. Not only was he beaten up; his suit was reportedly torn into shreds. As judges, magistrates and other members of staff ran for safety, court property and records were damaged or destroyed.
A third event followed that evening, beginning with the cold-blooded assassination of a former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Omolafe Aderiye, followed by wanton destruction of property.
Governor-elect Ayo Fayose is suspected to be associated with the first two events because one of the judges is connected with the determination of his qualifications for the governorship election he overwhelmingly won, while the other has to do with the election tribunal adjudicating the petition against his election by the All Progressives Congress candidate, Governor Kayode Fayemi.
That’s why Fayemi is suspected to be behind Aderiye’s killing, because the latter is a staunch supporter of Fayose and the PDP. He is also believed to be a ringleader of the thugs involved in the assault on the judges and the destruction of the courts’ property and records.
Intensifying the suspicions is repeated posturing by Fayemi and Fayose, each denigrating the other in the process. Besides, neither has grown beyond the love-hate relationship between them, which grew out of political alliances and disagreements. Despite his brilliant concession speech, Fayemi’s doubts about Fayose’s victory deepened after the election. He also has made statements to the effect that the APC would get back Ekiti from the PDP. Similarly, many an Ekiti citizen and observers beyond the state never ceased to wonder why and how Fayose could be nominated as a candidate for the governorship in the first place, given the pending court cases involving him and the thuggery image associated with him. That’s why E-11, a socio-political group filed a suit, questioning his eligibility.
The anxiety on the part of Fayose and his supporters, who would like to see his election as settled, led to the disruption of all judicial processes associated with the election. The state must teach them a lesson by bringing them to book.
The critical question now is where do we go from here? But before we look forward, let us look back again. On the one hand, many have questioned PDP’s choice of a candidate as controversial as Fayose in Ekiti and Omisore in Osun. Honestly, I do not share such concerns, because neither of them has been convicted of a crime. Politics is about intrigues and manoeuvres. Both candidates were apparently so good at it that they won their party primaries. If INEC approved their candidacy according to its rules, so be it. I also have maintained that the election of Fayose by the Ekiti people is their problem.
On the other hand, APC’s petition against Fayose’s victory is unwarranted, given all we now know about Fayemi’s electoral problems and the lack of necessary and sufficient proofs of electoral malpractices that would upturn Fayose’s sweeping victory, which the Ekiti electorate celebrated rather than condemned.
This is not to excuse the behaviour of Fayose’s supporters or of Fayose’s poor leadership. His failure to control his band of thugs questions his governance style. True, Fayemi was smart in imposing a curfew, his action was too late. Besides, he too failed to caution his party’s thugs as he demonstrated time and time again during the election campaigns.
In order to bring the culprits to book and possibly avert similar problems in the future, many concerned citizens and groups, including the National Judicial Council and the Nigerian Bar Association, have called for arrests and investigations.
These are useful suggestions. However, I am of the view that the ultimate solution is in the hands of the good people of Ekiti, in line with the all-politics-is-local philosophy. It is high time Ekiti traditional rulers, religious leaders, business leaders, union leaders, professional experts, market women, artisans, and other stakeholders intervened. Otherwise, Ekiti will be perpetually condemned to rolling the rock of violence up the political hill, only to see it roll back to the bottom from where they would repeat the action.
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