By Chuks Nwachuku
Sanwo-Olu made too many mistakes and he is still continuing on the wrong path. I made a video in which I warned him not to attempt to rubbish the report of the panel of inquiry that he set up on the EndSARS imbroglio which had turned up a report that there was a massacre of young protesters that dark night. I warned him not to pick a fight with the young people as he could never win it. I warned him that he would be jeopardizing his political future if he did, except he was willing to sacrifice it for the BAT and his dubious political ambition. I warned him that at the critical hour, the BAT would disappoint him.
The BAT merely reduced the margin with which he was beaten in Lagos and also left the results in Abuja largely intact because he wanted to avoid demonstrations in these leading cities against the entire results. He knew that any protests that would have the potential to ignite similar protests nationwide would begin from either of these two cities, and perhaps, one or two others from the North. However, the BAT would find himself in the lurch on Saturday. Any attempt to interfere with the votes could ignite the worst kind of protests that would be labelled and confronted by his thugs as an ethnic conflict. This could ignite the nationwide conflagration that could incinerate his controversial victory at the polls.
Sanwo-Olu would largely be facing his demons alone on Saturday. That is, if the State elections do not get to be postponed as result of the legal battles over the BVAS devices that ought to be used for the elections, which both the LP and the PDP have received court orders to inspect and examine forensically. INEC is seeking contrary court orders to reconfigure the devices in preparation for Saturday State polls. It has to convince the court that the exercise would not interfere with the evidence the court has given those parties leave to obtain. I saw political adverts of Sanwo-Olu along Third Mainland Bridge where he stood alone, for the first time ever, divorced from the City Boy who is now a pariah in his own city.
Sanwo-Olu, who is otherwise an excellent debater, refused to attend debates during the campaigns following the lead of his master that is allergic to public scrutiny for obvious reasons, forgetting that Lagos is not called Centre of Excellence for promoting the subliminal. Sanwo-Olu who gave official imprimatur to the control of the roads by thugs and hooligans with the creation of an agency of State for them headed by their kingpin, had no qualms about auctioning off vehicles of the citizens of Lagos with all the televised drama of lamentations so close to the elections. It took the order of the Federal High Court to stop him. Indeed, it is the Federal High Court that has continued to save the residents of Lagos from the absurd rules and high-handedness of the Lagos State Government under Sanwo-Olu.
Worse of all is the insensitivity that Sanwo-Olu showed for the hating on and demonization of a large segment of the population of Lagos who make huge contribution to the claim of Lagos to be among the prime cities of Africa in cosmopolitan character, commerce and size of the economy. Lagos is blessed because of its large settler population. Sanwo-Olu, who should know better allowed myopic persons, who thought that Lagos could be both highly advanced in infrastructure commerce and texture of the population and Ekiti State in mindset and outlook, lead the narrative of “go back to your State”, and give it the coloration of official policy.
However, looking at Jide Sanwo-Olu, he does not really come off as such a character. He comes off as gentle and urbane. It was the same way that he failed to stamp his real self on the aftermath of the unfortunate EndSARS bloody repression that he has continued to fail to assert his personality to abjure these unfortunate myopic ethnic attacks that make Lagos look like a city at war with its own blessing.
I do not know what Sanwo-Olu would do to placate the anger of Lagosians in the next few days. However, I certainly know what he is not doing right and that is allowing the hate speeches to continue to fill the atmosphere of Lagos. The city is just too sophisticated. It will read this again as a sign of incorrigibility and respond accordingly on election day. There are other issues that bother Lagosians. At the ATM today (which remains frustrated of cash and with the mobile banking network in limbo as usual) one elderly Yoruba man swore that he voted LP last Saturday, and swore again to make APC pay, yet again, this Saturday.
Chuks Nwachuku can be reached at [email protected]
