By Tony Okafor
The bye-elections of August 16 in Onitsha North 1 and Anambra South Senatorial District were supposed to be a simple exercise, a chance for the people to choose.
But instead of democracy, what we saw was disgrace. Votes were bought like tomatoes in the open market. Intimidation was not hidden, it was glaring. People sold their conscience for cash.
Let us not deceive ourselves—no political party is clean. None. What happened that day was not one group’s shame; it was everybody’s shame. It was not democracy, it was a bazaar of corruption.
And make no mistake—the gods are not smiling. Our ancestors who valued truth and justice have seen this insult, and they are restless. If nothing changes, November 8 will not just be an election. It will be judgment day.
That is why every politician in Anambra must pause now and confess. Confess your sins before it is too late.
Confess the sin of bribery. Confess the sin of hiring our youths and turning them into thugs, while your own children are eating well abroad. Confess the sin of dragging democracy down to the level of a market where only the highest bidder wins. Confess, because the people know. Confess, because the gods have seen.
But confession alone may not be enough. There must be change. Real change. Anambra cannot continue to be disgraced this way. Politicians must stop buying votes, stop intimidating voters, stop treating elections like a business deal. Let the people vote with their conscience, without fear or inducement.
We need punishment for those who desecrate the ballot. We need civic education so that our people will not sell tomorrow for a plate of food today.
Democracy is not chicken you bargain for in a Christmas market. It is not the thickness of your pocket or the size of your gang. Democracy means power belongs to the people—not because their conscience is bought with blood-stained naira notes, but because their votes are freely cast.
November 8 is a test. Will politicians keep mortgaging Anambra’s future with money bags and hired thugs? Or will they, for once, allow the people to choose freely and honestly?
History will record it. It will not forget those who mocked democracy. But it will also not forget those who turned around and restored its dignity.
There is God ooo! Confess now.
