2026 Osun governorship: This is 21st century, let blueprints decide, not bullets — by Kazeem Tiamiyu
Dear Osun politicians, the era of ‘win by war’ is over — show us your Wi-Fi, not your weapons
It’s 2026. The world is voting with BVAS, tracking results on IReV, and debating policy on Spaces. But in Osun, some candidates are still campaigning with thugs, threats, and torn posters ahead of the August 15 governorship election. Let’s be clear: No community grows in chaos. No salary is paid with stones. No school is built with cutlass. If you want to lead Osun, lead with ideas. Because after the ballots are counted, we the people remain – and we remember who brought peace and who brought pain.
Development can only happen where there is peace and tranquility. No community grows in an atmosphere of fear, violence, or political intimidation.
As Osun moves closer to the August 15 governorship election, all stakeholders must rise to condemn politically motivated attacks. Burning billboards, harassing opponents, or threatening supporters cannot build roads, pay salaries, or create jobs. Violence only sets us back.
This is the 21st century, where technology is the order of the day, including our voting process. With BVAS, IReV, and digital accreditation, elections are no longer won by muscle but by mandate. There is a need for decorum from all parties vying for one post or the other. All political parties should have a word with their followers to ensure peaceful campaigns before the election and to follow INEC’s rules on election day and on the day of announcement.
To every contestant: The people of Osun are wise. We are not asking for blood, we are asking for blueprints. Tell us what you will do. Show us your plan for workers’ welfare, for schools, for health, for agriculture, for our youth. Sell your vision, not your venom.
And to every citizen: Remember, the Constitution guarantees freedom of political association and affiliation. Nobody should be attacked, mocked, or victimized because of the party they support or the candidate they choose. That is democracy.
We, the voters, are the ones at the receiving end in any election. When violence breaks out, it is not the politician’s children in the street. It is our brothers, our sisters, our neighbours.
The politicians seem to have no shame. See the kind of cross-carpeting from one party to another this season. If they had shame, would they jump ship after years in a party, not at the start, but now at the “tail end to the exam,” looking for a place to get paid before the election? This desperation insults our intelligence.
The issue of political thuggery that should have gone down by now is increasing daily. Our youths and young people are being recruited to cause mayhem in the name of election. Let’s ask ourselves: Election will come and go till after 4 years, but anyone killed in the course of election campaigns, will that person eat the dividends of democracy? No. The dead don’t vote. The dead don’t benefit.
I am appealing to all well-meaning Osun citizens to play the game with decorum. Our ambition must not be watered with blood.
A Call to Action:
Media houses, NGOs, traditional rulers, religious leaders, and all election stakeholders must come out and sensitize the populace to avoid problems. Let’s use our radio stations, our WhatsApp groups, our mosques and churches to preach peace. INEC has done its part with technology. We must do ours with tolerance.
Osun is bigger than any individual ambition. The peace we enjoy today was paid for with sacrifice. We must not trade it for ballots.
Let the campaigns be about ideas, not insults. About policies, not punches. About the future, not fights.
Osun belongs to you and me.
Say NO to political violence. Say YES to peace, technology, and development.
