Editorial

EDITORIAL: The Road To August 15th

ByOnline Editor

PublishedJune 26, 2026

It is just a matter of weeks away; however, in the atmosphere of unbridled discontent, the off-cycle governorship election in Osun State is beginning to take a disturbing dimension.

What is happening across the state today is a cause for concern. The heart-rending death of a 14-year-old boy, Ezekiel Olopade in Ilobu, which is still awaiting much-needed clarification, is a cause for heartbreaking reflection.

The tepid response of the internal security mechanism on the ground in Osun State makes one ponder about the efficacy of the framework and causes one to reflect on whether or not the milk of human kindness still runs through the veins of key operators in the society.

The police in Osun State should ask questions requiring an urgent response from a chieftain of the APC who brazenly stated that “there are those who are crying more than the bereaved.” The fellow lives in Ilobu, and the police should ask him for further elucidation.

There are questions to be answered by the contentious Chief of Police in Osun State. We want to know whether, due to the controversial circumstances leading to the controversial death, an autopsy as well as a vitally needed Coroner’s Inquest has been carried out. This is very important in order to get to the root of the crisis.

Across Osun State, there have been frightening attacks on political actors, leading to the populace becoming very apprehensive. This is not going to help citizens’ participation in the electoral process through which they can and indeed should exercise their democratic rights.

Matters are not helped by the major contenders not focusing on the issues that matter to a hard-pressed electorate undergoing a punishing erosion of living standards.

The candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Najeem Salaam, has very commendably said what should be the tone and the standard by issuing a well-worked-out campaign manifesto to guide the people of the state in making their choice.

Others should emulate him, for the democratic process is enhanced when the focus is on issues, policies and programmes in offering a choice to the voters.

This is the best way to negate and expose those who have nothing to offer the electorate and have to camouflage their inadequacies by resorting to criminal activities and gangsterism in order to browbeat the people into submission.

The off-cycle governorship election held in Ekiti State recorded a below-par voter turnout of 36 percent. This is well below the average on the African continent, and this is not good enough. Osun State is going to be a more contested election, and the expectation for this reason is that voter turnout will be high, much higher.

To achieve progress in the forthcoming democratic exercise, the Osun State Police Command must up the ante. They must become proactive and engage in scenario planning. The flashpoints have already been identified, and we know that, in particular, one political party is engaging, as its strategic imperative, in targeted voter suppression.

To defend the democratic rights of the people of Osun State, the State Police Command must be aware of this political calculus as well. It is to be expected that they have drawn up a countervailing position in order to neutralise these well-hatched nefarious activities. They have to do so.

This must be done because lives are at stake. In addition to this, we must instill faith in the democratic process. Furthermore, August 15 harbingers the pivotal general election to be held from January 2027. It is, in effect, a trial run akin to a mock examination. It has to be used as a last opportunity to tighten up processes and fine-tune perceived and indeed glaring inadequacies, fine-tune lapses, and tighten up procedures.

A lot is hanging on getting it right on the 15th day of August. Civil societies, as well as traditional institutions, must be engaged to play a central part in the defence of the democratic process. They are central to exposing anti-democratic shenanigans such as vote-buying, thuggery, corruption, ballot-box snatching, voter intimidation, and other criminal activities.

The police must start the work of prevention today rather than merely enacting a show of force on election day. Prevention is better than cure. Identified criminals who should by now be known to the police have to be placed on a watch list and be meticulously monitored round the clock. They must be told that those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind.

Too much is riding on the 15th of August, 2026, and all stakeholders must be anticipatory and proactive. The endurance of democracy is based on eternal vigilance. We must be prepared, for the anti-democratic forces are unrelenting.