An article by Chris Osa Nehikhare | Publisher, From My Window

There are speeches that arrive at exactly the right moment.

And there are speeches that arrive two years late — and, unfortunately, at the wrong address.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s words to the re-elected Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, belong dangerously close to the second category.

The President told Adeleke:

“You did not conquer anybody. You won an election.”

Beautiful.

Simple.

Democratic.

Presidential.

My only complaint is this: Mr President, where was this speech in September 2024?

Because somebody in Abuja apparently forgot to forward a copy to Benin City.

Indeed, if there was ever a governor who needed to hear those words immediately after an election, it was Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State.

Perhaps the speech was still being drafted.

Perhaps the printer at the Villa developed a fault.

Or perhaps somebody mistakenly filed the Edo copy under “To be delivered in Osun, 2026.”

Whatever happened, Edo has spent almost two years witnessing what occurs when electoral victory begins to resemble a certificate of conquest.

THE OSUN ADVICE

President Tinubu’s message to Governor Adeleke was straightforward: you have won; now reconcile.

Do not stigmatise your opponents.

Do not victimise anyone because of the campaign.

Govern everybody.

Remember that your opponents remain citizens of the state.

In fact, Adeleke himself has spoken of forgiveness and declared that the Certificate of Return belongs to the people of Osun, while announcing support for victims of election violence irrespective of political affiliation.

What a refreshing concept.

Apparently, after an election, the people who did not vote for you do not have to disappear.

Who knew?

THEN THERE IS EDO

The atmosphere following the 2024 Edo governorship election often communicated something rather different.

The political body language was not simply:

“We won.”

It frequently felt more like:

“We have arrived.”

And there is an important difference.

Winning an election gives you a mandate to govern.

Conquest gives you territory and subjects.

Democracy produces opponents.

Conquest produces enemies.

Government accommodates disagreement.

Conquest demands surrender.

That distinction may explain much of the political atmosphere Edo has experienced since 2024.

There has been a triumphalism that sometimes suggests that those associated with the previous government, the opposition or simply an inconvenient political opinion must first establish their right to remain Edo citizens.

Criticism can be treated as hostility.

Opposition can be interpreted as sabotage.

And disagreement sometimes appears to require an affidavit explaining why you have refused to join the winning side.

The conquerors have arrived.

Everybody else should kindly adjust.

ACCORD WON OSUN. OSUN WAS NOT CAPTURED.

This is what makes the President’s advice particularly interesting.

Adeleke contested the 2026 election on the platform of the Accord Party and defeated the APC candidate.

Yet the APC President received him at the Villa and reminded him that victory does not confer ownership of the people.

Think about that.

The President’s party lost.

The opposition governor won.

And the President’s message was essentially:

Do not humiliate the people you defeated.

That is precisely the democratic culture Edo desperately needs.

Because a state does not become the private estate of the party that wins an election.

Edo did not become APC property in September 2024.

Just as Osun did not become Accord Party property in August 2026.

The Government House is not a war trophy.

The civil service is not captured territory.

Government institutions are not instruments for settling campaign scores.

And citizens are not required to change political parties before they can enjoy the dignity, protection and opportunities that citizenship provides.

PERHAPS WE CAN BORROW THE SPEECH

Since the original Edo copy apparently never arrived, perhaps we should borrow Governor Adeleke’s.

We only need to change the name.

Governor Okpebholo, you did not conquer anybody. You won an election.

The people who opposed you are still Edo people.

Those who criticise you are still Edo people.

PDP members are still Edo people.

Labour Party members are still Edo people.

APC members are Edo people too.

And those who belong to no political party whatsoever are perhaps the luckiest Edo people of all.

Government must belong to everyone.

That is the difference between holding political power and occupying conquered territory.

A SPEECH TWO YEARS LATE

President Tinubu’s advice to Adeleke deserves applause because it expresses something our politics increasingly forgets: an election is a contest for the privilege to serve, not a military campaign for possession of a state.

Perhaps Governor Adeleke will heed the advice.

Perhaps Osun will demonstrate that winners can celebrate without humiliating losers and that political opponents can disagree without becoming enemies.

And perhaps — just perhaps — someone travelling from Abuja to Benin soon can bring along an extra copy of President Tinubu’s speech.

No need for a ceremony.

No need for television cameras.

Just leave it at Government House.

Highlight one sentence with a red marker:

“You did not conquer anybody. You won an election.”

Then underline it twice.

Because in Edo State, that lesson is already two years late.