Osun election: Banditry in Nigeria affecting our democracy – Osita Okechukwu

An All Progressives Congress, APC, chieftain, Osita Okechukwu, on Sunday said banditry in Nigeria is one of the major tragedies bedevilling liberal democracy.

Okechukwu, who was reacting to the outcome of the Osun State governorship election, said the political consequences of banditry were tragically manifested in the loss of innocent lives in the build-up to the election.

In a statement he signed, Okechukwu said some of the issues that demonstrate banditry are already in the public domain, citing hate speech, breach of the rule of law and the late delivery of court judgments, which often result in the loss of millions of Naira in taxpayers’ money.

In the statement, Okechukwu noted that while one frowns at the killings and prays for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives, the real lesson is that the banditry bedevilling Nigeria should be addressed.

“We must urgently focus on eradicating the ‘banditry in all of us’ as we approach the 2027 general elections.

“Banditry, take note, is not limited to bush bandits who carry arms. It manifests daily in hate speech, political intolerance, breach of the rule of law, erosion of the ethics of liberal democracy, and planlessness and squandermania.”

Okechukwu regretted that a tragedy of such magnitude could occur in Osun State, where the overwhelming majority of the indigenes are Yoruba and where there has historically been no distinction between Muslims and Christians.

He queried: “Did this intra-tribe manifestation of banditry not challenge those ethno-religious champions who contend that Nigeria cannot develop without restructuring along geopolitical lines?”

According to him, the Osun experience should compel Nigerians to look beyond constitutional and structural arrangements and examine the attitudes, values and conduct of individuals and institutions.

He stressed that democracy can only thrive when citizens and political actors respect human life, the rule of law, peaceful political competition and the sanctity of the ballot.

Okechukwu called for deep introspection ahead of the 2027 general elections, urging Nigerians to wean themselves of banditry in all its manifestations and place the interests of humanity, Nigeria and the respective states above personal, partisan and sectional interests.