Lawyer and public advocate, Tope Temokun, has warned Nigerians against remaining silent amid the growing political tension and reported arrests in Osun State ahead of Saturday’s governorship election.
Temokun, in the latest edition of his Poli-Ducation Series, titled “The Atmosphere Is Hot in Osun: And at Last We Will Destroy This Democracy With Our Silence,” said developments in the state should concern every Nigerian, regardless of political affiliation.
His warning followed reports of the alleged midnight arrest of a Special Assistant on Media to Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, whose residence was reportedly stormed by police operatives at about 1 a.m.
According to Temokun, the reported incident is part of a wider pattern of arrests and political tension ahead of the August 15 governorship election, with political actors and supporters allegedly increasingly becoming targets.
He urged Nigerians not to judge alleged abuses based on the political identity of those affected.
“We must resist the temptation to interpret every abuse through the political identity of the victim,” he said, stressing that the fundamental question should be whether such actions are compatible with the democracy Nigerians want.
Temokun argued that the issue extends beyond Governor Adeleke or the political interests of the Peoples Democratic Party, All Progressives Congress, Accord or any other party.
According to him, the bigger concern is what Nigerians are willing to tolerate in the name of politics.
He likened political silence to watching a neighbour being robbed simply because the neighbour is considered an enemy.
“If your enemy next door is being robbed and you remain silent simply because he is your enemy, your silence does not make you safe. When the robbers are finished with his house, yours may be next,” he said.
Temokun further warned that political tactics tolerated in Osun could eventually become a model for future elections across the country.
He said the developments surrounding the election should therefore not be dismissed as a partisan battle, warning that the consequences of normalising political intimidation could extend beyond Osun State.
“What we tolerate in Osun today may become a rehearsal for what Nigeria encounters in the general election tomorrow,” he warned.
He added that Nigerians who remain silent because those allegedly targeted belong to a different political camp could eventually find themselves facing the same treatment.
“If the election holds under this atmosphere of tension and mass arrests and we remain silent because the victim is not one of us, we are not protecting ourselves. We are merely waiting for our turn,” Temokun said.
The statement was issued as part of the Poli-Ducation Series 4, focused on politics, democracy and citizenship.