By Abdul-Qudus Oyindamola Yusuf
There is a principle older than any political party in Nigeria, older than the constitution itself: that justice must be seen to be done. In a constituency made up of multiple wards, each with its own people, history, and aspirations, fairness demands that the privilege of political representation must, over time, reach every community. In Oke Ogun Constituency, that principle has been honoured albeit selectively. And the community that has been left out, year after year, primary after primary, is Igosun.
With the All Progressives Congress (APC) set to conduct its primary election to determine the party’s candidate for the Kwara State House of Assembly in the 2027 general election, this moment is not just a political opportunity. It is a democratic reckoning. The people of Igosun ward and indeed every fair-minded stakeholder across Oke Ogun Constituency and Kwara State, must ask themselves a simple question: how much longer must one community wait? how much longer must one community be neglected?
Let us be honest about the history. Ikotun ward has served as the constituency’s representative for eight years. Ojoku ward has held the seat for twelve years which is a full decade plus two which includes 4 years in the State House of Assembly, four years in the House of Representatives and 4 Years in the Senate. Ijagbo ward has contributed eight years of representation. Ipee ward on the other hand spent 2 years in the aborted 3rd Republic and currently rounding up another 8 years in the 4th Republic which makes it a total of ten years. These are not trivial figures. Together, they represent twenty-eight (28) years of shared political stewardship among four wards at different democratic dispensation in the history of Kwara State, most especially since the emergence of the 4th Republic in 1999-2027.
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Igosun ward’s contribution to that tally? Zero. Not one year. Not one term. Not one primary victory. In three decades and eight years of collective representation across Oke Ogun Constituency, Igosun has sat on the outside while being patient, loyal, and overlooked. This is not a minor administrative oversight. It is a pattern. And patterns, in politics, do not correct themselves. They require deliberate, principled intervention. That intervention must begin now and it must be at the forthcoming primary.
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Rotational representation is not a radical idea. It is, in fact, one of the most practical tools a diverse democracy can deploy to maintain cohesion, trust, and a sense of shared belonging among communities that must co-exist within the same political unit.
Nigeria understands this principle well. At the federal level, the doctrine of federal character as enshrined in the Constitution, exists precisely because the founders of our republic understood that when certain groups never see themselves reflected in power, the social contract begins to fray. Political parties, constituencies, and local governments that ignore this principle do not merely risk losing an election. They risk losing the trust of entire communities.
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When a ward watches its neighbours cycle through political office while it remains permanently excluded, the message it internalises is corrosive: that its people do not matter equally, that their votes are welcome but their aspirations are not. Over time, that message does not produce compliance but alienation. And alienated communities do not strengthen political parties; they weaken them. The APC, as the ruling party in Kwara State, should be deeply invested in the political health of every ward within its fold, including Igosun. A party that governs well governs for all.
Although, some will argue that rotation should not override merit and that the best candidate, regardless of ward, should carry the party’s flag. It is a fair point in principle. But it misreads the situation in Oke Ogun Constituency entirely.
The question before the APC primary is not whether the people of Igosun are capable of producing a capable, qualified, and credible candidate. They clearly are. The question is whether the party will create the conditions under which that candidate can emerge or whether the same structural advantage enjoyed by wards with established representation will be allowed to perpetuate indefinitely.
Igosun ward has, for decades, produced men and women of education, enterprise, and community service. It has contributed its sons and daughters to the civil service, to business, to education, and to the APC’s own grassroots mobilisation efforts. The talent and the commitment are not in question. What has been missing is the political will on the part of party leadership and delegates to say: this time, it is Igosun’s turn; Igosun Lo kan. That political will must be exercised now.
Most importantly, to the party elders, ward chairmen, delegates, and leaders of the APC across Oyun Local Government and Kwara State, this is a direct appeal: do not let this primary pass without addressing the Igosun question. The party’s credibility in Oke Ogun Constituency; its ability to mobilise votes, build loyalty, and govern with legitimacy — depends in part on how it treats this moment.
A primary that once again sidelines Igosun will not go unnoticed. It will be remembered. And the cost of that memory will be borne not just in one election cycle, but in the trust deficit that compounds with each passing year. On the other hand, a primary that boldly and deliberately cedes the ticket to Igosun ward will send a message that resounds far beyond this constituency: that the APC in Kwara State is a party that keeps faith with all its people, not just the most politically prominent.
Party unity in any democracy is built not just on shared ideology, but on the lived experience of shared opportunity. When every community in a constituency can point to a time when one of their own held the seat, when every family in every ward can tell the story of how representation came home, the party becomes something more than an electoral machine. It becomes a community institution. That is the kind of APC that wins not just elections, but hearts.
Lastly, to the people of Oke Ogun Constituency- in Ikotun, Ojoku, Ijagbo, Ipee, and most especially Igosun, this moment calls for solidarity, not rivalry. The argument for Igosun’s turn is not an argument against any other ward. It is not a dismissal of the contributions made by representatives who have served before. It is simply the recognition that in a constituency of multiple communities, a principle that has worked for others must, in due course, work for all.
The people of Igosun are not asking for a favour. They are not asking for charity. They are asking- respectfully, firmly, and with the weight of twenty-eight years of patient exclusion behind them- for what is fair. For what is right. For what any reasonable reading of democratic equity demands.
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The 2027 primary is not just about selecting a House of Assembly candidate. It is about what kind of constituency Oke Ogun wants to be. It is about whether the APC in Kwara State will model the inclusive, rotational, community-conscious politics it preaches, or whether inclusion will remain, as it has for Igosun, a promise permanently deferred.
Igosun has waited long enough and the time is NOW.
And the men and women with the power to make it happen are the APC leaders of Oke Ogun Constituency and in Kwara State. History will judge this moment. Let it judge wisely.
Abdul-Qudus Oyindamola Yusuf writes from Ile Olofin, Olaifa’s Household, Igosun, Oyun Local Government Area, Kwara State.
