Elections In Nigeria: The Osun Example, By The Conscience Chronicler

For decades, Nigerians have watched their electoral process degenerate into a theatre of the absurd, a grim spectacle where the will of the people is routinely subverted by the machinery of state power, where votes are traded like commodities, and where the sacred act of choosing one’s leaders has become a ritual of despair.

The litany of stolen mandates, rigged results, and judicial compromises has bred cynicism so profound that many have simply stopped believing their votes could ever matter.

Then came Osun State, on Saturday, August 15, 2026. And for one shining moment, the Nigerian people remembered who they truly are.

The Osun governorship election was not merely an electoral contest. It was a referendum on the soul of Nigeria’s democracy.

Against the backdrop of a presidency determined to retain control, a federal apparatus deployed with partisan intent, and a political machinery that has grown accustomed to getting its way, the people of Osun stood firm. They resisted. They refused to be cowed.

And in the end, they demonstrated that the most potent weapon against political tyranny is not money, not military might, not federal power; it is the collective will of a people determined to be free. And a beacon shone in the darkness.

The final results tell the story. Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party secured re-election with 511,067 votes, defeating the All Progressives Congress candidate, Bola Oyebamiji, who garnered 444,815 votes, a margin of 66,252 votes.

Adeleke won 19 of the state’s 30 local government areas, while the APC took 11. The African Democratic Congress candidate, Najeem Salaam, finished a distant third with 17,180 votes.

But the numbers, while significant, do not capture the full import of what transpired.

This was an election where the federal government deployed all its might, including the presence of APC governors, party leaders, the Senate President, and a partisan federal police force, days before the poll.

This was an election where Amnesty International warned that threats and political violence could drive voters away.

This was an election where allegations of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and security agency overreach threatened to undermine the entire process. And yet, the people prevailed.

Yiaga Africa, which deployed 300 observers across the 30 local government areas of Osun State, described the election as a “significant demonstration of how technology, citizen vigilance and institutional preparedness can strengthen electoral integrity”.

The civil society organisation’s Process and Results Verification for Transparency (PRVT) statement confirmed that the official results announced by INEC were consistent with its independent verification of ballots counted at polling units.

This consistency was no accident. It was the product of an electorate that refused to be passive. Across the state, ordinary citizens understood that their vigilance was their only shield against manipulation. They watched the polling units. They monitored the counting. They demanded transparency. And when they saw irregularities, they spoke out.

In one particularly remarkable incident, which has since become the stuff of legend, youth in a local government area confronted two armed soldiers to their faces. The soldiers, reportedly intent on carrying out “nefarious acts,” threatened to open fire. But the youth did not retreat. They stood their ground, refusing to be intimidated.

Their courage prevented what could have been a catastrophic manipulation of the electoral process in that locality.

This is what resistance looks like in a democracy. Not violence, that is the weapon of the oppressor. But courage. Vigilance.

This was how Osun said no. Unwavering commitment to the principle that the people, and the people alone, must determine who governs them.

—The Role Of Technology—

Technology played a crucial role in ensuring the credibility of the Osun election. Kudos to INEC in this regard.

According to Yiaga Africa, the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) was deployed to all polling units and functioned properly in 80 per cent of them, with malfunctions in 20 per cent subsequently resolved.

By 8:30 a.m., 48 per cent of sampled polling units had commenced accreditation and voting, rising to 96 per cent by 9:30 a.m.—a performance comparable with the 2022 Osun governorship election.

The transparency of the counting process was generally high, with polling officials showing the marking of ballot papers to people present in 99 per cent of sampled polling units, while official results were posted for public viewing in 91 per cent.

Presiding officers used BVAS to scan or photograph Form EC8A and transmit it to the INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV) in 85 per cent of polling units.

However, the technology was not without its challenges. Yiaga Africa reported that transmissions stalled between 8:48 p.m. and 10:00 p.m., leaving 471 polling-unit results outstanding after 3,292 had been uploaded.

Transmission resumed at about 11:50 p.m., but the disruption raised concerns. Atedo Peterside, founder of the Anap Foundation, called on INEC to explain why results from 62 polling units were yet to be uploaded to the IReV portal even after the declaration of the winner.

Despite these glitches, the overall performance of the technology was a significant improvement over previous elections. As of 8:48 p.m. on election day, INEC had uploaded 87.48 per cent of expected results.

The IReV portal, despite its imperfections, provided a level of transparency that was previously unimaginable.

—Irregularities And The Dark Spots—

The Osun election was not without its dark side.

The European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub (EU-SDGN EOH) recorded 323 electoral offences and irregularities across polling units observed, including 103 cases of vote trading, 85 cases of exposure of ballot papers, 31 cases of obstruction of voters, 38 cases of campaigning at polling units, 28 cases of inducement of polling and security officials, 14 cases of voter impersonation, 12 cases of multiple voting, and 7 cases of misconduct by election officials.

In Irewole Local Government Area, party agents from both the Accord Party and the APC were observed engaging in vote-buying. According to reports, after a voter cast his or her ballot, a party agent handed the voter a tag, which was reportedly to be presented at another location to claim cash.

This practice, beyond its corrupting influence, undermines the secrecy of the ballot and places undue pressure on voters.

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) condemned the practice, describing it as “electoral robbery disguised as generosity” and “an assault on the sovereignty of the people”.

The association urged INEC, the Nigeria Police Force, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission to investigate credible allegations of vote-buying and prosecute electoral offenders.

The election was also marred by security incidents. The EU-SDGN EOH reported 25 cases of thuggery, 12 attacks on electoral officials, and 9 cases of voter intimidation by security personnel. Specific cases of voter intimidation by security agents were identified at polling units in Ejigbo and Osogbo.

In Modakeke Ward 10, voting was reportedly disrupted when persons suspected to be policemen arrived after voting had been peaceful, allegedly seized election materials, dispersed voters and election officials, and released tear gas before leaving the area.

There was also the arrest of a serving state lawmaker, Hon. Abiola Ibrahim Inaolaji, who represents Irewole/Isokan State Constituency, alongside 143 suspected electoral mercenaries. Authorities reportedly recovered more than 200 Permanent Voter Cards from his residence.

The arrest of a lawmaker and the alleged involvement of security personnel in disrupting voting are deeply troubling. They suggest that while the Osun election was largely free and fair, the machinery of state power remains susceptible to abuse by political actors.

If Nigeria is to build on Osun’s gains, it must address these issues with the seriousness they deserve.

The BVAS system, while a significant improvement over previous technologies, was not without its challenges. Yiaga Africa reported that in 11 per cent of polling units, some voters whose Permanent Voter Cards had been successfully verified were reportedly denied accreditation because the device could not authenticate their biometric details.

In Osogbo, several voters discovered that their names were missing from the voters’ register despite having voted at the same polling units in previous elections.

The Osun State Deputy Governor, Kola Adewusi, also criticised INEC after the BVAS machine at his polling unit developed technical faults, warning that if the problems persisted, many voters could be denied their constitutional right to vote.

These glitches, while not widespread enough to undermine the election’s overall credibility, highlight the need to keep improving Nigeria’s electoral technology.

*The Lesson: Active Citizenship*

The most significant lesson from Osun is that active citizenship is the ultimate safeguard against electoral manipulation.

The people of Osun did not wait for INEC to protect their votes. They protected their votes themselves. They watched. They monitored. They resisted. And their vigilance forced the system to work as intended.

As Laja Adeoye, the Lagos State governorship candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement, observed, the outcome of the Osun election sends “a strong message that political influence and government resources could not indefinitely suppress the will of the people”.

He added that “a determined people cannot be defeated. Even if all the funds in the nation’s treasury are expended, and every apparatus of the state is deployed against the will of the people, that will shall still prevail”.

HURIWA, in its assessment of the election, said the largely peaceful conduct of the poll offers “Nigeria a roadmap for credible elections”. The association commended Osun voters for turning out despite “the atmosphere of fear and tension that preceded the election”.

This is the blueprint for 2027 and beyond. Nigerians must learn from Osun that their votes are not merely pieces of paper; they are instruments of power. They are the ultimate weapons against political tyranny.

But weapons must be wielded. A vote not cast is a vote stolen. A vote that is not protected is a vote that is manipulated.

The people must be vigilant, not just on election day, but throughout the entire electoral process. It’s not enough to vote and leave. Nigerians need to “vote and stay”, henceforth.

The Osun election also showed that institutional improvements, particularly in technology, can significantly enhance electoral integrity.

INEC performed notably better than in previous elections in logistics, availability of personnel and materials, commencement of accreditation and voting, vote counting, collation, input of results in the I-Rev digital technology, and announcement of results.

But there is still room for improvement. INEC must address BVAS glitches, IReV transmission disruptions, and cases of voter disenfranchisement due to technological failures before the 2027 elections.

INEC must ensure its technology is robust enough to withstand the pressures of a national election, its personnel are adequately trained, and its processes are transparent enough to command public confidence.

Civil society organisations played a crucial role in the Osun election. Yiaga Africa’s independent verification of the results provided a check on INEC’s official figures and confirmed the credibility of the process.

HURIWA’s condemnation of vote-buying and its call for investigations into electoral offences reinforced the message that impunity will not be tolerated.

In the run-up to the 2027 elections, civil society must play an even more prominent role. It must educate voters, monitor the process, document irregularities, and demand accountability. It must be the people’s voice when the people’s voice is silenced.

The 2026 Osun governorship election will be remembered as a watershed moment in Nigeria’s democratic evolution. It was the election where the people said “enough.”

It was the election where the people proved that the snake, the monkey, the termites, and the phantom councils- the menagerie of Nigerian corruption can be defeated by the collective will of a people determined to be free.

But Osun is not the end. It is the beginning. The real battle lies ahead, in the 2027 general elections, when the federal machinery will be deployed with even greater intensity, the stakes will be higher, and the forces of tyranny will be even more desperate.

The question is: will Nigeria learn from Osun? Will the people of other states emulate the courage of the Osun electorate? Will INEC build on Osun’s gains and improve its processes for 2027?

Will the security agencies learn that their duty is to protect the voter, not to serve political interests? Will the political class understand that the era of impunity is ending?

The answer to these questions lies with the Nigerian people. The looters, the manipulators, and the power-hungry are counting on our apathy. They are counting on our exhaustion. They are counting on our belief that nothing will ever change. They are wrong.

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Osun has shown that change is possible. Osun has shown that the people have the power. Osun has shown that democracy, even in Nigeria, can work—if the people are willing to make it work.

Let Osun be the template. Let Osun be the inspiration. Let Osun be the beginning of the end of impunity in Nigeria.

The era of silence is over. The era of resistance has begun.

■ _The Conscience Chronicler is a pseudonymous Nigerian writer documenting the country’s struggle for accountability, justice, and democratic governance._