There is a popular maxim which says that in every contest, you either win or lose. This is true to a degree but when the context of the Osun election is considered, you can as well lose and be a winner. This is the case with Senator Iyiola Omisore. Ab initio, the election was a three-horse race but now it is a two-horse race that the winner will be determined by the third-horse. The third horse which is literally a white horse now holds the highest stake to determine who will be the next governor of the state of Osun.
The leading political parties in the Osun election, PDP and APC have, since the declaration of the election as inconclusive, wooed the SDP governorship candidate, Omisore who has a history with both the PDP and the APC. Omisore was deputy governor under the aegis of AD which transformed to be AC and subsequently one of the parties that formed the APC; he was also the governorship candidate of PDP during the previous governorship election. This affinity with different political parties is not alien to the Nigerian politics. The question on the lips of many is ‘Who will Omisore support?’
The Senate President, Bukola Saraki, met with Sen. Omisore and tactically asserted that the former PDP governorship candidate would support the PDP during the re-run elections scheduled to hold on Thursday. However, the APC , led by the incoming governor of Ekiti state, Kayode Fayemi also met with Omisore to convince him to support the APC during the re-run election. After the meeting, there have been suggestions among some APC supporters that Omisore and the APC reached a truce and he will definitely throw his weight behind the APC.
Omisore has however played the ‘good politician’ role by insisting the he would not trade the over hundred thousand votes he garnered with the desperate urge of the APC and PDP to gain control of the state. He has allegedly tabled his plans with the PDP and the APC and the party willing to carry them out will have his support. Whether this is what Omisore really bargained with is still unknown to the public. Omisore is an experienced politician who presumably understands the psyche of those who have sat with him to gain his support. As a result of this, it would not be a difficult choice for Omisore to decide who to support.
Although political manifestoes in Nigeria have proven to be like the pre-marital promises the groom makes to the bride which is not mostly fulfilled, Omisore will indubitably have strategies on ground to make his bidding come to past. Who then should Omisore support? From the look of things, the adage that the devil you know is better than an angel you don’t really know might not be justifiable enough here because Omisore knows the two devils or perhaps knows the angels-if there is any-. Omisore’s divorce with the PDP is recent and the feelings of couples who recently divorce could still ignite if efforts are being made to mend their broken bonds.
The loosing winner, Senator Iyiola Omisore, might be more comfortable supporting the PDP rather than the APC as a result of his not-too-long departure from the party. The active players in the PDP are not unknown to Sen. Omisore and the votes garnered by him and Ademola Adeleke show that the electorates might prefer if the ‘change is changed. If Sen. Iyiola Omisore decides to support the APC, on the other hand, his requests might as well be granted. Whichever way he chooses to go, Omisore is definitely the loosing winner. He has supporters who are ready to take any side he takes and hopefully, that would be the winning side!
