Osun of particular concern

Osun State is increasingly becoming a permanent political battlefield, marked by fierce and acrimonious exchanges that unsettle observers of Southwestern Nigerian politics. The media space is often filled with personal attacks and venomous language, where political disagreements devolve into hostility, exhausting for participants and unhealthy for society and democracy.

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Personal attacks have become routine. Political disagreements are often delivered in language so venomous that one wonders whether opponents still see one another as fellow citizens. The bitterness is palpable. The hostility is exhausting. More importantly, it is unhealthy for both society and democracy.

This intense political climate stands in stark contrast to Osun's cherished identity as 'Ìpínlè Omolúàbí,' the Land of Virtue. The Omoluabi ethos, rooted in Yoruba moral philosophy, emphasizes character, dignity, restraint, civility, and communal responsibility. However, when politics takes center stage, these values appear to recede, transforming contests of ideas into contests of insults and political engagement into political warfare.

The danger extends beyond rhetoric, as words often precede violence. In recent years, politically related killings and violent clashes in Osun have become alarmingly frequent. Accusations and counteraccusations dominate public discourse, with Governor Ademola Adeleke's administration raising security concerns while opposition voices accuse the government of insufficient control. This leaves the public anxious about their safety.

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Whatever political explanations are offered, one truth remains immutable, and it is that no election is worth a human life.

The article highlights the killing of Hon. Remi Abass, Chairman of Irewole Local Government Area, in February 2025, during a crisis over local government administration. This incident, like others, underscores the tragic reality that no election is worth a human life. The arraignment of relatively young men in connection with the incident pointed to a social failure, where energy should have been invested in community building rather than destruction. Another disturbing episode occurred in January of the current year, further illustrating the volatile political landscape.

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They were not elderly political godfathers. They were relatively young men whose energy, creativity and productive years should have been invested in building their communities rather than being associated with destruction.