SIR: To steal is criminal, how much more to steal a peoples' mandate. In a civilized society, when the people have spoken, their voice should be heard. This is the essence of democracy; giving power to the people. It is the government chosen by the majority of qualified people in an area. When votes are being manipulated or fraud is being perpetrated to install unpopular candidate by a powerful minority, this is no more democracy. It is stealing and it is more heinous than theft.

In the Offa local government run-off election held on Saturday, August 31, the results of the wards clearly favoured All Progressive Congress (APC) with all wards but one in favour of APC candidate. Constitutionally, the result of the election is supposed to be announced by the Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC) Returning Officer of the local government. Instead, the Returning Officer disappeared and an unknown man found his way to the state radio station to announce a contrary result.

A returning officer is required to be fearless, upright and bold; he or she is expected to consider national cause over and above selfish interest. He is like a soldier who goes to war to protect the integrity of his country. Anybody who fears human beings more than God cannot serve as a returning officer. Anybody who cherishes bribe or fear human threat more than due diligence cannot serve as returning officer and ought to reject the post.

For how long shall we continue to be in this wilderness? For how long shall we be patient before we get to the promise land? Now, the efforts of those that voted for their candidates have been reduced to nothing so much that it will be difficult to convince some of them in future elections.

According to Winston Churchill, "the greatest lesson in life is to know that even fools are right sometimes". So if the majority of people in an area are fools and they have foolishly but constitutionally chosen their representative against the wish of the wise minority, the wise minority should see it as one of the weaknesses of democracy and allow the wish of the majority fools to rule. There is no sense in ruling by force and it helps nobody to be in government against the wishes of the majority. Nigeria is not moving forward despite its great potentials because the right people are not in the right places.

Over eighty per cent of our youths are not engaged. We have over 17 million housing deficits which means that majority of Nigerians are either homeless or living in sub-standard houses. We have never enjoyed 24 hours uninterrupted power supply. Our universities' gates are perpetually under locks and our children under-fed in a country with abundant arable soil. We have oil but it has been our undoing; we would be better off without it. Our people are stark illiterates though they have passed the four walls of a school.

Do we say that the KWASIEC officer who has turned back the hand of the clock in Offa local government re-run election does not know the implications of his actions on democratic development of the nation? No. He knows. The government should be interested in this case and punish the culprit as a deterrent to others in his shoe. Whether his action is right or the people are right is a matter of time.

• Olufemi A. Oyedele

Osogbo, Osun State