Videos circulating on social media have shown some of the dehumanising tactics used by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to woo voters ahead of Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State.
One of the videos which surfaced on X on Friday morning shows a bus with the campaign poster of Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji, the APC governorship candidate, and a black car tossing loaves of bread at residents who can be seen running after the vehicle.
The video shows bread being thrown at residents.
For some Nigerians, the sight of residents chasing after moving vehicles for loaves of bread is degrading and humiliating.
“Nigerians are really not ready for the change they desire, the people that y’all ought to stone and return their bread to them. This is a test to see if their regular N5,000 to buy votes would still work, and guess what’s working effortlessly,” wrote Samuel Tosin, a content creator.
A comment by Victor Nosa Uwaifo, a project manager, on the video reads, “Act like an animal, and you’ll be treated like one. The day the average Nigerian ‘evolves’ and demands to be treated like a walking, talking human, by any means necessary, things will change. Till then, let them stay on the floor by the master’s table and wait for scraps.”
For Akinbobola, the political party is “a demonic, retrogressive party that should never happen to Nigeria again”.
He said, “APC supporters are the most delusional, ignorant, and foolish set of Africans. They lack a moral compass; they are ideologically bankrupt and don’t stand for anything.”
Another comment on X reads: “Human life in Nigeria has been so degraded that precious beings are now chasing bread. Why won’t they run after bread when the APC has increased the cost from 400 Naira to 1,500, even with the size reduced? The poverty being created is intentional and strategic for vote-buying.”
Jennifer Omosefe, a virtual assistant, stated: “That’s how these politicians have reduced the people they serve to, and it’s so sad.”
A veterinary student wrote, “Tears in my eyes. My God. Farmers who run poultry don’t even throw food at chickens; they feed them in feeding troughs. This is like throwing food to a street dog. Street dogs who don’t know what their future awaits. They’re chasing after the vehicle. APC leaders are wicked.”
Social commentator Imbuya, who described the act as dehumanising, wrote, “First pauperise the people, then toss bread at them like dogs waiting for their master’s leftovers. It is dehumanising, degrading, and utterly shameful. A scandal!”
While Lawrence, a mechanical engineer, reacted, “I don’t think a lot of people comprehend how horrible this is,” Banke Oniru noted that it is beyond cruel, and Olamide Olawale mentioned that “This is why they try hard to keep the masses at the level they are, for that’s the only way they can continue to buy them.”
Another video, which circulated on social media platforms such as Facebook, X and Instagram, on Thursday, shows someone holding a nylon bag containing a small campaign flyer bearing the inscription, “Till 2030 Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji for Governor, Ekiti State”, alongside the candidate’s photograph.
There were four pieces of noodles and two sachets of tomato paste in the nylon bag.
Reacting to this via a comment on X, activist Cinemelumma wrote, “APC has reduced Nigerians to hungry people. Can four packs of noodles feed you for the next four years? This is what every voter should ask him/herself.”
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