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Obe Ess – No Condition Is Permanent
This is a conversation between two individuals on how they voted in a gubernatorial election and how they would like to vote in the general elections in 2019.
Here, there is a man that was “settled” to vote in a certain way but voted otherwise. “Settled” in the Nigerian parlance could mean “bribed”. So, the man was bribed to vote for one candidate but went for “change” instead. In this context, “change” is a loaded word.
First, change could mean transformation or transition from one state to another. Second, it may refer to the campaign slogan used by the members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2015 electioneering process. Third, it may have monetary undertones. It could refer to what one gets after a transaction. Or, also in the Nigerian parlance, a small amount of money that one begs for or gifted.
Therefore, in this instance, the man who voted for change, voted for the APC. He might have done so because he really wanted a change in government, or because he was given a certain amount of money to vote for APC.
The big picture in this cartoon is that vote-buying and -selling is an issue in Nigerian democratic processes.
Obe Ess – Strange Bedfellows
In this conversation, two individuals are discussing the recent wave of defection in (possibly) the All Progressives Congress. While one of the individuals sees the defections as something that should be avoided while the other thinks that there is a way to render defected politicians valueless in their new political parties.
Their strategy for rendering them valueless is to recover their loot (almost certainly by reporting them to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In essence, this piece foregrounds how Nigerian politicians think about corruption and the so-called fight against it.
Obe Ess – The Return Match
This is a a reflection on voters’ suppression and victimization in Nigeria. Overall, it reveals how state’s security operatives are being deployed by the Federal Government to intimidate opposition politicians.
