Lagos Elections: Sanwo-Olu has gone off the rails

The Lagos APC and Governor Sanwo-Olu have unlocked Pandora's box. They have breached an insurmountable boundary. The physical wounds inflicted on innocent individuals by the thugs may heal in the coming weeks, but the scars of ethnic profiling and violent and destructive preaching of hate may take an entire generation to cure. Was it valuable?

Senator Bola Tinubu (now president-elect) lost his home state to the Labour Party's nominee, Mr. Peter Obi, when the results of the 25 February presidential election began to trickle in, shocking many, notably the political elites in Lagos. Although the All Progressives Congress (APC) also lost in Kano, Osun, Katsina, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, the loss in Lagos seemed to sting more.

Two major takeaways from the postmortem of the horrific outcome in Lagos. The first was that young people in Lagos, a pivotal voting bloc in the 2023 elections, had abandoned the ruling party. Second, and more seriously, it had lost the trust of Lagos's educated middle class. It became clear that the party risked a similar outcome in the contest for governor if it attempted to win over voters over the age of 30 and those in the educated middle class without appealing to them.

In a desperate attempt to stay onto power, the APC in Lagos waged the most racially charged and ethnocentric campaign since the city's restoration to democracy in 1999. Sanwo-campaign Olu's wasn't predicated on the results of his administration, as some of his backers would have you think, but on a primitive method of attaining power — fascism.

The primary feature of fascist politics is the creation of an adversary to unite the in-group (often the dominant group) in opposition to. With the Igbos, they had an easy target; they were used to being beaten up. Typical of fascist propaganda, the Yoruba majority is made to feel that they've been victimized by an outside force that has stolen something precious from them.

Arendt, a philosopher, writes in her book on totalitarianism that "fascists are never happy to merely lie, they must transform their falsehood into a new reality, and they must persuade others to believe in the unreality they have created." So the ruling party in Lagos managed to persuade the Yoruba majority that Labour Party candidate Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, who is a genuine Lagosian, is actually an Igbo man and a supporter of the deadly terrorist outfit, the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Curiously, both the governor and his deputy are not native Lagosians, but have found a means to persuade the populace that a foreigner is a true Lagosian.

This would not have been as significant if the objective of this polarizing tactic was merely to mobilize a large number of indigenous voters to the polls to participate in a free and credible process. It turned out to be a suppression and intimidation campaign against a specific set of voters, which ultimately led to widespread violence against Igbos and individuals who resemble Igbos.

In Amuwo Odofin, Isolo, Ajeromi, and Eti-Osa, Igbos who insisted on exercising their right to vote, even if it meant voting against the ruling party, were either denied admission to the polling booth or forcefully attacked. Thugs mobilized in gangs while flashing firearms and patrolled Igbo-dominated neighborhoods while telling residents not to vote.

Igbos were subjected to violence and intimidation during an election that was mostly fought by Yoruba men. I have inquired as to what problem the majority of these ethnic racists have with the Igbos, and their responses are frequently humorous, if not absurd. "They refer to Lagos as a no man's land," "they do not appreciate our culture," and "they are quite conceited." Happily, I have many Igbo acquaintances, and I am extremely fortunate to be married to an Igbo woman. But, I have never heard anyone suggest that Lagos is a no-land. man's And if we're being honest, neither have you, the reader.

The topic of disregarding the culture of Lagos is humorous due to the fact that the ruling party has on multiple occasions forcibly evicted indigenous families from their land, elevated cabinet chiefs to royal rank, and demolished heritage sites to make way for luxurious buildings. Hence, what is the true culture of Lagos? Prior to Saturday's sad events, Lagos could have been defined as the only location in Nigeria where ethnic nationalism has given way to cosmopolitanism — a place where mutual respect and universal ideals trump feelings of shared identity.

However, the fundamental promise of liberalism to preserve individual freedom, which has made Lagos a magnet for talent and investment, is now endangered by a handful of fascists determined to win elections at any cost. In their typical blindness, these politicians overlook that the darkest chapters in human history are the result of our inclination to gather in groupings and demand group recognition. Conflicts between different identity groups have been the leading cause of human strife, and an unjust and exclusive democratic process can intensify these conflicts significantly.

The Lagos APC and Governor Sanwo-Olu have unlocked Pandora's box. They have breached an insurmountable boundary. The physical wounds inflicted on innocent individuals by the thugs may heal in the coming weeks, but the scars of ethnic profiling and violent and destructive preaching of hate may take an entire generation to cure. Was it valuable?

Ayodele Adio, a political and communications strategist, is Young Party's national publicity secretary.

Source: Realnews