The Osun State election scheduled for Saturday, 15th August 2026, is an important moment in the political history of our dear state. It is therefore my sincere appeal that the election must be peaceful, free, fair, credible and transparent. Politics must never become a reason for brothers and sisters to fight, communities to be divided, lives to be lost or properties to be destroyed. Recent reports have raised concerns about election-related violence ahead of the poll and this makes the responsibility of every stakeholder even more required. Since the people of Osun State have the constitutional right to choose their governor, I appeal to all registered voters to go out and vote peacefully, vote for the candidate whose vision, character, competence and programme you believe can best serve Osun State.
The Independent National Electoral Commission must remain neutral, transparent, professional. The counting, collation and transmission of results must be handled transparently and where there are challenges, INEC must communicate clearly with the public. In the same vein, The Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, military personnel and other security agencies deployed for the election have a critical responsibility. They must be reminded that their duty is to protect the people and the electoral process—not to serve the interests of any political party. Therefore, Security must be provided for all citizens, irrespective of political affiliation since the essence of democracy is that the people should be allowed to choose their leaders freely.
I also appeal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to allow INEC to carry out its constitutional responsibilities independently without interference. The actions, statements and body language of Mr. President matter greatly in building public confidence in the electoral process and the conduct and outcome of Osun state election will also be a template for general election next year.
John Tosin Ajiboye, Osogbo, Osun State
Letter2
JUMPING THE AI QUEUE
A local young man wanted to do a pilates class but it was booked out so he asked AI to do something and it got him a spot by dropping someone else off the list. A bit of luck, or AI hacking a system, or just a test run for our future masters? It sounds silly but so did planes, cars and probably trains at some stage.
The technology could go wrong, the basis of many movies, it could affect the share prices, for the few that can afford batches of shares, or it could help me. I could use it to get me better seats at a show, to adjust the traffic light sequences so I always get green, or a real achievement would be to get my numbers to be the lottery numbers but only once every month so it doesn’t look suspicious.
AI isn’t the real problem, it’s AI on the loose being used by a maniac with ‘a few screws loose up top’, in the same way that a gun isn’t dangerous, it’s the person holding the gun.
Make sure the ‘off’ switch is big and easy to access.
Dennis Fitzgerald,
28 Landale St,
Box Hill, Vic
Australia