Opinion Poll and Kwarans Hypocrisy

By Aiyelabegan B. Rasaq OgbeniMinsah 

“We are all hypocrites. We cannot see ourselves or judge ourselves the way we see and judge others” - José Emilio Pacheco.

During the electioneering season, a series of activities will be showcased; ranging from Debates, Opinion polls among others.

Weeks ago, one of the foremost online media platforms based in Kwara state, 9jaParrot, conducted an opinion poll for gubernatorial candidates and senatorial candidates across the three senatorial zones in the state where Kwarans and social media users voted for candidates of their choice. SDP's Hakeem Lawal won the gubernatorial poll with a wide margin, while other party candidates and supporters condemned and cancelled the poll and the platform that conducted the poll as mere Online mirages.

Before long later, Mallam Saliu Mustapha of APC won the Kwara Central Senatorial poll and his supporters and party men, who had earlier dismissed the platform and polls that did favour their party's candidate, applauded the result of the opinion poll and even commended the platform that conducted it while PDP and other political parties showed dissatisfaction with the result of the poll with several name callings.

The APC loyalists that condemned the opinion poll when Hakeem Lawal won are the ones congratulating Saliu Mustapha for defeating Bolaji Abdullah, Apaokagi Ridwan, and Aiyelabegan Abdul in the Kwara Central contest.

While the drama was still unravelling in the Kwara Central, the Southerners and Northerners kept mum because the opinion poll has not been conducted for their zones respectively.

When Prof Wale Sulaiman CON of SDP won the Kwara South Senatorial district opinion poll, PDP was the first to condemn the result and call the opinion poll names and APC who is the incumbent followed suit because they believed elections are not won on social media platforms and their understanding was those who voted are not registered voters in their region. 

The last poll conducted was in the Kwara North Senatorial district where Issa Bawa of PDP was declared the winner after getting the most votes from his supporters who believed online poll has a great impact on the physical election to my dismay both APC and SDP who have won in the previous ones still condemned the poll because Bawa defeated them. Their supporters have dominated Kwara WhatsApp platforms, Twitter and Facebook to discuss the normal poll in the electioneering period.

Channels Television, on Monday broadcast, an ongoing poll conducted by the ANAP foundation which shows Governor AbdulRazaq who is seeking a reelection bid is leading, Governor's supporters and APC loyalists have since been in a joyous mood because their candidate is leading with a wide margin.

Both PDP and SDP loyalists condemned the poll asking many questions, Who participated and How is the poll running, 

I also read it some minutes ago, in one of the most trusted online newspapers; Fresh Insight TV, that APC Presidential candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, through his Presidential Campaign Council, said he is unperturbed by NOI polls, as he described the poll as “dubious and fake statistics.

Because the poll conducted by Ngozi Okonjo Iweala Polls and commissioned by the Atedo N. A. Peterside Foundation showed that Peter Obi of the Labour Party would win if Nigeria’s presidential election was held today. 

If you asked them why are they condemning the results of opinion polls, they may say the winner wouldn't get real votes during the election, but the big question is why were they happy when it served their sentiments? Like I said we are hypocrites but the coming elections will surely be a referendum on whether the opinion polls have impacts on the real votes on not,  we shall see

Aiyelabegan B. Rasaq OgbeniMinsah writes from Agbaji in Ilorin West LG