Governor John Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State, whose tenure ends in October this year, has been singing a new song concerning his defeat at the recent gubernatorial election held in his state. In an interview granted to the Sunday Sun and now available on the internet, Fayemi, who received accolades for accepting defeat and congratulating governor-elect Ayodele Fayose, says he never conceded defeat and chose not to mount a legal challenge against Fayose’s victory because, “Anyone who heard me throughout the campaign would recall my consistent remarks that I won’t go to court for any reason, genuine or otherwise over the election.”
Displaying a hint of the “intellectual arrogance” that some pundits partly blamed for his loss, Fayemi said: “Anyone who understands the English language well would know that that speech was not the concession speech that many people are talking about. Yes, I have said I won’t challenge the election in court and congratulated Mr Fayose, but that’s not tantamount to accepting the result.”
To the say the least, the above quote shows an interesting choice of words by a man who may still wish to lead others. If many people, as Fayemi says, consider his speech a concession speech, does it not point to a failure on his part to communicate clearly? And was it necessary to imply that those many people who took his speech to be a concession speech do not understand the English language? But then, perhaps, understanding the English language is the exclusive preserve of Fayemi alone.
In any case, this volte-face by Fayemi, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), should not come as a surprise. The outgoing governor’s new song can easily be traced to his party’s objection to Fayose, the governor-elect, and Peoples Democratic Party’s victory at the Ekiti election. The APC, despite all evidences to the contrary, has kicked against the fairness of the election, calling it “highly militarised.” As such, it is not inconceivable that the party has leaned on Fayemi to reverse himself.
Be that as it may, Fayemi is entirely responsible for the decision to backtrack. As he himself said in the interview regarding the decision of the Labour Party candidate to help Fayose win the election, “Opeyemi Bamidele took his own decision; he is an adult and I think we should respect his decision. But likewise he would have to deal with the consequences of his decision.” In the same vein, though one respects Fayemi’s decision to squander the goodwill he earned when he conceded defeat by now reversing himself, he will have to live with the consequences of that decision. For in the eyes of the world, including die-hard critics of electoral processes in Nigeria, like those in Fayemi’s civil society constituency, the results of the Ekiti election reflected the true will of the people.
An example worth citing is that of Jibrin Ibrahim, Director of the Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), the civil society organisation which Fayemi led before his foray into politics. Ibrahim wrote: “Having spent a week observing the run-up to and the election in Ekiti, it appeared clear to me that Fayemi was not rigged out; he was simply voted out by the people.”
Perhaps even more significantly, the Americans, who are known in civil society circles to be very good friends of Fayemi, also said that the results of the election reflected the will of Ekiti voters. Recounting the American perspective in a recent column published in ThisDay, Akin Osuntokun wrote: “They do not come more unbiased, objective and interested as the Americans and to put their money on what they say the American observer team in the election numbered in the 30s. Two days after the election the embassy issued the following categorical statement.
“We congratulate the many electoral stakeholders for the successful conduct of the June 21 Ekiti gubernatorial election. The Nigerian Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) oversaw a credible, efficient process, and by all accounts the result reflected the will of Ekiti’s voters. The security forces collaborated effectively and provided a safe and secure environment free of major incidents. The parties and their supporters acted responsibly during and after the election, and the magnanimity exhibited by all candidates afterwards speaks highly of them and the people of Ekiti. That more than fifty percent of registered voters turned out to make their voices heard bodes well for the future of Nigeria’s democracy.”
So, Fayemi can record an entire album of new songs about the Ekiti election. Nigerians, nay the word at large, know the truth. Rather than continue on the path of honour on which he started, Fayemi has today decided to sing along to the discordant tunes of his APC masters. This is sad, unfortunate, and shameful.
Written by John Udumebraye.
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