The Eburu of Iba, Oba Prof. Adekunle Adeogun Okunoye, has praised President Bola Tinubu for the victory his All Progressives Congress (APC) recorded in the by-elections held last weekend in five constituencies across Gombe, Kano, Bauchi, and Delta states.
Oba Okunoye, a Professor of Business Analytics and Information Systems at Xavier University, Ohio, USA, stated that the results indicated acceptance of Tinubu and pointed to the victory awaiting him in the scheduled presidential elections in January 2027. He added that the president has since taken the country out of the woods and set the nation on the right track for real growth.
The traditional ruler, the current Pro-chancellor of Atiba University, Oyo, urged all Nigerians to be understanding and patient, saying no gain can be achieved without pain.
He appreciated the sacrifices Nigerians make due to the administration’s ongoing economic reforms and admonished them to see the bigger picture of the policies ultimately.
‘We need to know that it takes sacrifice and patriotism to reap the dividends of these reforms embarked upon by the administration in the past three years. I am positive that Mr President would not let Nigerians down because he has demonstrated capacity which reflects his full grasp of the situation,’ he said.
Oba Okunoye expressed dismay at the low voter turnout usually recorded at elections despite a series of awareness campaigns by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and advocacy bodies, lamenting that minorities choose the nation’s leadership at every election. However, he acknowledged INEC’s constraints in sensitising and mobilising voters, noting that most of its efforts are usually channelled to urban areas.
‘Also, the reach of the campaigns by these bodies is not wide, and the effort has not been able to significantly affect voter turnout in the rural communities, especially among youth of voting age and women demography. Government interest in civic education, especially on voting, is very low and mostly in the form of radio campaigns and television programs, which are usually out of reach of most residents of small towns and rural areas,’ he revealed.
The traditional ruler also said that after carefully analysing voting rates since 1999, results have averaged below 50 per cent, implying that only a minority of the populace votes and chooses representatives in government, while the majority sits back and criticises officials elected by that minority.
‘Maybe, if our representatives were elected by a majority, the best would have emerged with better representation, services and governance,’ he noted.
Oba Okunoye emphasised that elections are not free and fair without full citizen participation, calling on relevant bodies to focus on getting more people to exercise their franchise and challenging traditional and community leaders to rise up and be more active participants in the democratic process.
‘Addressing voters’ apathy at the community level can increase the voting rate, and that falls squarely under what community leaders can do successfully. We remain the most plausible solution to many of our socio-political challenges, but unfortunately, a lack of adequate resources is significantly limiting us,’ he said.