A Political Analysis of the August 9, 2014 Gubernatorial Election in Osun State, South West Nigeria

Abstract

The August 9, 2014 gubernatorial election in Osun state, South West Nigeria was significant in many  ways. It was the second in the series of major elections before the 2015 general elections. Coming on the heels of the June 21, 2014 gubernatorial election in Ekiti state it provided an opportunity for the two major  political parties in the country the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress  (APC) to test their electoral strength once again. In Ekiti the PDP was victorious and there was much talk  about the Osun election also going the way of the PDP. As it turned out, the Osun election was won by the APC and there are major lessons to be taken from the election. Among other things, it is clear that when elections are keenly contested, the political parties and their candidates go the extra mile to woo the  electorates. The ultimate gainers in such a scenario are the people because it is they that decide the  outcome. As a corollary, the country’s democracy is strengthened. While there have been complains  about the militarization of the election, this paper is of the opinion that it was the so-called militarization that led to the success recorded in the election. The paper advocates that the country needs to build on  the successes recorded in the Osun election to make future elections in the country even better. It  strongly recommends staggered elections for the country so that adequate men and materials can be  mobilized for elections in the country as was the case in the Ekiti and Osun elections.

Key words: Political Analysis, Gubernatorial, Election, Osun, Nigeria