Sagacious steps of savvy strategists are mysterious and marvelous to many around them as they could somewhat or somehow exhibit enigmatic tendencies in maneuvering their ways forward and upward in the scheme of things. Elin Peer, a passionate and prolific American writer, originally born in Denmark, was such an enigmatic personality having traversed several places and savoured the allure of nature as an explorer herself. She globetrotted traversing the Asian jungle where she rode on elephants; she sauntered through the scorching sun of the Sahara on camel’s back; she explored as a tourist sailing down the Nile in the ancient country of Egypt; back home in the United States of America (USA), inside hovering helicopters over Greenland, she grinned at the work of nature while reveling athe quiet and noiseless creative power of the Almighty that is beyond human comprehension. Therefore, she was in a vantage position to simply and squarely surmise her perception of nature in a salient but succinct statement: “a seed
grows with no sound, but a tree falls with huge noise. Destruction has noise, but creation is quiet. This is the power of silence …”
It is instinctive and instructive to initiate this week’s edition of the “Followership Challenge” quoting Elin Peer. Is it coincidental? The researcher’s instinct inherent in this columnist stirred up his curiosity. I viewed, even until the time of writing this piece, the WhatsApp status of the Governor-Elect of Ekiti State, Mr. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO), and it was akin to the statement of Elin Peter as quoted above. It could therefore be summarily surmised or stated that in the epic but supposedly surreal political battle of 18 th June 2022 in Ekiti, BAO’s camp before and during the election was noiselessly composing, creating and crafting critical winning sagacious strategic steps that outsmarted the opposing political camps.
As an ethnographic researcher, I was once again, like I did in the past two consecutive gubernatorial elections (June 2014 and June 2018), present in Ekiti State to perform my civic duty as a “son of the soil”. I have written and stated saliently in virtually all my appearances on prime airtime (Channels TV, TVC News and Arise TV) that some of our political problems would be solved if the mass of elites, making up the followership, within our polity, refuses to be
alienated or docile in the political process. However, the trend is changing, even though we still have a long way to go as many elites even though formally educated need to be enlightened politically! This columnist was opportune to engage Mr. Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (popularly called BAO) before the election of 18 th June 2022. In a one-on-one interaction with the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), BAO, published in the Nation of Sunday, 12 th June 2022, he succinctly stated his Unique Value Proposition (UVP) that gave him so much upbeat that he would unsettle any opponent at the poll. This columnist as an ethnographic researcher (type of an inquirer within a scene conducting an investigative study and yet making his activities covert), was at my polling unit within my ward and equally moved round to observe happenings. Moreover, phone calls and text messages were used intermittently to decipher on-
goings at other towns within Ekiti State. It is remarkable to state that the election having been
convincingly won with a wide margin of almost 105,000 votes by Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji of
the APC, there is the need to pinpoint some seemingly quiet, quirky and queer moves of the
ruling party in the state in plotting their winning while downing the supposedly noisy highflying
kite posture and positioning of the duo of Engr. Segun Oni, of the Social Democratic Party
(SDP) and Chief Bisi Kolawole, of the People Democratic Party (PDP).
Oyebanji: Sagacious strategic steps to the saddle!
There were indeed sagacious strategic steps, albeit benign, that the camp of BAO took that beat
his strident competitors’ hands down! It is worth stating here for the umpteenth time even as
some analysts who possibly were ignorant of behind-the-scenes strategies of APC ascribed
BAO’s victory at the polls to vote buying or selling. It is both misplaced and mischievous to
disparage or denigrate the hard-won victory of BAO in such an indecorous and inglorious
fashion.
At the outset of the campaigns, incessant and unceasing house-to-house canvassing by APC
members in all units of the 177 wards of Ekiti State was a unique and uncommon winning
strategy. This method ensured members were well mobilized before the election akin to
evangelism and follow-up methodology of the church in winning converts. This was evident in
my hometown, Ido Ekiti, headquarter of Ido Osi LGA.
However, it could not be jettisoned that SDP had sympathy of retired public servants and
disgruntled serving public servants clamouring for prompt payment of pensions and gratuities as
if that is an achievement by any government. To this essayist, is it not the responsibility of an
employer to pay her employees while simultaneously enhancing the growth of the organisation
should be the former’s feat? This group was fixated with a firm purpose to vote for SDP
candidate, Engr. Segun Oni. This explains the large votes recorded in Ado Ekiti, the state capital,
where many retirees and dissatisfied serving public servants were domiciled.
Moreover, it should be pinpointed that SDP seemingly has an imaginary crowd making
vociferous and vehement remarks of disallowing continuity, specifically on social media.
However, the reality on ground is that the ruling party in the state, APC, has the real people with
well-oiled structure in all the units of the 177 wards in Ekiti. In Nigeria’s context, any politically
discerning analyst knows that any party with strategic direction possessing strong structure leads
in the polls.
In addition, it is both remarkable and reassuring to highlight that of all the major candidates in
the gubernatorial election of 18 th June, 2022, BAO stood out with a well articulated and widely
publicised manifesto containing the Six Strategic Actionable Pillars. It is on record that until the
wee hours to the election that few came up with hurriedly packaged programmes, BAO, in
conjunction his team, unveiled his well targeted and tailored manifesto to cheering party
members in an epoch-making event held at the famous Adetiloye Hall, Ado Ekiti. This columnist
witnessed and wrote about the 6 strategic actionable pillars. It is expected that these 6 pillars will
be situated on the solid foundation laid by the incumbent administration of Dr. John Kayode
Fayemi. Thus, Ekitikete could decipher what to expect from him, which in turn will make his
government responsive and accountable to the well-informed people of Ekiti State.
In another vein, the once invincible and indomitable opposition party in Ekiti, the PDP, is now
living in past glory. Leadership speaking, things have fallen apart in the party. It is known within
the Ekiti context of the umbrella-symbolled party that once the head of a fish is rotten, what use
is the body? Thus, PDP in approaching the June 18 election was apparently lethargic, laidback
and lackadaisical as the campaign progressed with a glaring apathy from the national body of
PDP towards her candidate’s success in the gubernatorial election in Ekiti State. The PDP
presidential flag bearer was conspicuously absent while no serving Governor showed up to drum
up support for the candidacy of Chief Bisi Kolawole. There was a seeming perceptible
disconnect somewhere!
The political climate for the SDP in Ekiti State, a few months to the 18 th June election, was
strongly upbeat as there was a seeming unwritten accord between the SDP and South West
Agenda for Asiwaju (SWAGA) – a splinter group within Ekiti APC drumming support for
Asiwaju’s presidency. There was a make-believe that Asiwaju was favourably disposed to the
Engr. Segun Oni’s candidacy and that once Asiwaju Tinubu falls out with the cabals in APC as
the consensus contraption would be sold out eventually, Tinubu would cross-carpet to SDP as
the presidential flagbearer. That was a pipe dream that died on the 8 th of June 2022 when Asiwaju
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, against all political pundits’ perceptions, emerged as the party’s flag bearer
for the 2023 presidential election. Thereafter, the SDP in Ekiti were jittery as the fortunes of
winning the election was fatefully fainting and forlorn!
Eventually, to worsen the woes of the SDP in the 18 th June election, aftermath of the 8 th June
2022 APC Convention held in Abuja where the incumbent Governor of Ekiti State, stepped
down in an unexpected move for the candidacy of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, political
analysts saw the handwriting on the wall and that singular strategic step taken by Fayemi
inadvertently brightened Oyebanji’s chances of emerging convincingly victorious at the election.
Furthermore, against all permutations, Asiwaju Tinubu, APC presidential flag bearer,
representing President Muhammadu Buhari, was in Ekiti State to candidly and convincingly
campaigned for BAO of APC thus burying any perceived accord between SDP/SWAGA. The
National Chairman of APC, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, was not left behind, coupled with the
massive support from all the APC Governors. Anyone still wondering how APC’s candidate,
Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji (BAO), won with such a wide margin?
Lessons Learnt in the Ekiti gubernatorial election
In concluding this piece, I would make a recourse, as a Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
(MEL) scholar, to a core and critical component of MEL referred to as “Lessons Learnt.” It is
simply and squarely stated: “what works; what does not work; and why does it not work?”
Personally, and as adjudged by many other observers and analysts, the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) has improved and deserves a credit rating compared with the
conduct of previous elections. This is in sync with the stand and stake of the United States (US)
Mission to Nigeria commending INEC and the security officials on the peaceful conduct of the
election in Ekiti State. There was no incidence of loss of life, limb or property on the day of the
election. There are two things that are worth highlighting. One, despite all the campaigns, the
total number of voters fell short of the 2018 gubernatorial election by more than 42,000 votes!
This is not encouraging!! Should not the government give incentives to encourage future
participation in elections? Surely, a subject of discussion for another day! Two, the INEC staff in
my polling unit were so strict as my wife was not initially allowed to vote due to the electronic
device not capturing her finger print. She was told to return to repeat the process. She returned
and it was the same thing. Subsequently, face identification, utilizing INEC’s electronic device,
was resorted to before casting her vote. This ought to have been done the first time she showed
up as a handful of accredited voters who encountered the same experience never returned!
Lesson learnt: after the collation and counting: there was a tie among two most popular parties in
my unit. Supposing my wife did not return to vote, someone would have boasted of winning his
unit for the party with many not asking by how much margin? Afterall, winning is winning!
Democracy is a game of numbers. Meaning: votes are counting! Hence, prepare to be counted by
voting in the 2023 elections: your vote matters!! It is your voice politically!!!
John Ekundayo, Ph.D. – Harvard-Certified Leadership Strategist, and also a Development
Consultant, can be reached via 08155262360 (SMS only) and drjmoekundayo@hotmail.com
