There is an intriguing paradox going on in Ogun West in the strident agitation for the zone to produce the next governor of Ogun State after the expiration of the second tenure of Prince Dapo Abiodun in 2027. As we approach the next power transition, our search for a consensus candidate to represent the All Progressives Congress (APC) is becoming increasingly challenging. We aim to find a candidate the state hierarchy can adopt without controversy but we remain divided in our effort to find a convergence. So divided we are now that everybody is paying lip service to our collective resolution to queue behind a strong personality who can lead our party to victory.
For 49 years since the creation of Ogun State, the Yewa/Awori (Ogun West) people have been crying of marginalization in the power equation not for a lack of qualified and resources personnel, but due to a lopsided arrangement that confers the privilege of leading the state as a birthright in some particular sections of the state. It is also due partly to our inability to present a united front in our previous attempt to clinch the ticket.
Good enough, the renewed agitation for a change of ‘status quo’ has started well, especially having convincingly articulated genuine reasons for seeking the governorship slot and consistently engaged the relevant stakeholders in constructive dialogue. We should encourage the process to continue until we achieve the desired result. While pursuing the goal, we must all appreciate that we have more responsibility to ourselves than any other section in ensuring that there is a consensus-building process that is open, far-reaching and inclusive.
Already, significant progress has been made in the way prominent figures, including traditional rulers within the Yewa/Awori people, have been speaking in one voice in their support for Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola’s ambition to contest the 2027 governorship election.
This is not without being mindful of the array of contenders who also have all it takes to govern the state. Among others, names like Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka (GNI), Hon Abdulkabir Akinlade, Engr (Mrs) Noimot Salako-Oyedele (incumbent Ogun State Deputy-Governor) have been circulating in the media as prospective aspirants. Besides these notable individuals, there is also an increasing number of other people gunning to take a shot at the coveted seat. All of them are eminently qualified to aspire to lead the state. But can all of them present themselves to the party for the hurdles of primary without scuttling our collective effort to produce the next governor? The answer is no. By so doing, not only the aspirants but all of us as a people will be browbeaten. We have had enough experience of disappointment to allow a repeat of the past mistakes.
Therefore, the concern of the elders and other strong voices who have thrown their weights behind Adeola (aka Yayi) is to avoid the divisive politics of the past which had made it impossible for one of our own to clinch the number position.
Let’s get the issues right. No one is coming to the table with a sense of entitlement. We only crave for genuine consensus-building process that is anchored on mutual trust, understanding and genuine concession rather than popularity contest that may ultimately end in acrimony, generate bad blood and disgraceful defeat. The time is now for us to take our rightful place in the governance of our state for the good of all. Democracy is a game of number. We cannot continue to play a second fiddle in a state where we are part and parcel of the critical stakeholders. We must leverage our collective strength and forge ahead in unity.
By now, we ought to have laid to rest the raging controversy about consensus candidate to create more time for mobilisation for the party’s victory in 2027. Regrettably, we are spending far too much time in divisive politics and far less energy on a workable plan than can facilitate a smooth power shift to Ogun West after the expiration of the tenure of Governor Dapo Abiodun on May 29, 2027. Because of diversity of interests, we have not been able to move beyond the level of agitation to the arduous task of negotiation with critical stakeholders in other zones. And time is of the essence.
As we all know, power transition has always been a hard nut to crack. The only way to navigate through is genuine stakeholders’ engagement and deliberate concession based on the principles of fairness, equity and inclusiveness. It’s time we put aside our narrow self-interest and begin to address these growing concerns with open-mindedness, focusing on the ultimate goal of producing the next governor in the coming dispensation.