Last Saturday's Governorship election in Osun state was to me a reflection of the fact that increasingly , Nigerian politics is getting to be driven by a very strong generational change. The millennials are gradually taking over. Or how else could you explain the role a Davido for instance played in driving voters to his uncle's corner. It is also reflection of the fact that younger voters with no clue about the issues at stake are beginning to dominate the political landscape. The evolving generational shift in political discourse and expressions could have important implications for future elections in this country and future policy directions.

The comments in the social media by these younger generation on the Osun election left so much to be desired as most of the comments are mostly base on crass ignorance. I saw a comment posted by a young lady of 25 in a whatsapp group seriously abusing the APC candidate in the Osun election and I replied her message by asking if she knows the candidate personally because the abuse was just too much. She said NO , she doesn't know the candidate , and she does not care ; APC has done 8 years , and they should just pack their bags and leave. I asked her if she assessed the plans of the leading candidates before reaching her conclusion and the answer was still NO , APC should just leave and give room for another person . And when I mentioned to her that the candidate closest to becoming the Governor as things stand at present is a secondary school dropout , certificate forger and a total misfit, she replied by asking me if the guy is that bad , how come everyone is following him. And therein lies the problem. The rule of the mob is the major galvanism for these kids.

No sense of history , no care about policies , just lets follow the mob. Those long-preserved values of the older generation count for less for these emerging electorates . They see themselves as revolutionaries for urgent changes. And for change's sake. It is welcoming and highly refreshing that these Millennials are prepared to step up, vote and play an active role in the country's political life. But it is difficult to explain how they have allowed themselves to be hoodwinked into believing that someone who dropped out of high school at 21, who has never been involved in any work or project and who is the anti-thesis of all values and virtues that our older generation parents imbued in us would perform better as Governor than an MBA holder with years of experience in the Nigeria's financial sector.

What happened last Saturday during the first round of elections in Osun reeked strongly of a generational shift in our voting patterns. The older generation better be careful and provide the required guidance before things became worse than this . Back to Davido who pull all the plugs to ensure that his followers in Osun translated their love for him to votes for his uncle. He deployed industry, energy, musical prowess and fake posts (the freeze of the Adeleke's accounts by EFCC) to his Uncle's advantage during the campaigns , and the youth lapped it up. Impressive. Of further interest is the fact that most news writers and social media commentaries have failed to accord the efforts of the son of the APC candidate the same credit.

The lesser known (of course he is not a Musician) Femi Oyetola, the first son of the APC candidate is an Insurance Executive. He was no less a major participant in his father's campaigns. He was involved in the strategies , security and serious mobilization for the elections. He was highly visible at his father's campaign rallies and was involved in all activities towards the election. It was his quick thinking that led to the recent arrest of the PDP stalwart Alhaji Diekola at Alekuwodo Osogbo where the PDP chief was busy buying PVCs from voters eligible to vote during the rerun election. As at last check, a total of 62 PVCs were recovered from the PDP buyer-in-chief. Davido is everywhere for his uncle , Femi is everywhere for his father, and the millennials have completely signaled their arrival as the new dominant players in our body polity.