The keenly contested gubernatorial ticket of the APC has been won and lost. After a long walk that was full of avoidable controversies, unwarranted acrimonies, endless claims and counter-claims, a winner has eventually emerged. To say that the party was stretched almost beyond its elastic limit in Oyo State is an understatement.
Like many others, it affected me directly. This “Monday Morning Reflections” that I have been uninterruptedly producing to promote the party for the past five years had to be paused. The heat on me was suffocating, and next to unbearable condition. Several attacks and insults were hurled at me for the stance I took. At a point, I was caught in the political web. My loyalty of almost a decade to Oloye Adebayo Adelabu was put to serious test.
Which way should I follow, I began to query myself? Should I follow the way of the party, believing the stories being relayed to us line, hook and sinker? Should I go along with my principal, Oloye Bayo Adelabu, who was perceived as the “heir apparent” abinitio, trusting his own version of the story? Should I sit on the fence and watch events as they unfolded? The confusion was so much that making a choice out of the available options was very hard
By my nature, I do not like sitting on the fence on issues. It is either I am here, or I belong to the other side. It is either I am with you, or I am against you. For me, sitting on the fence on issues amounts to an act of cowardice, which of course is a sibling of intellectual laziness. Man must be man enough to form opinions on issues, and be able to take decisions no matter how difficult it is. But in this instance, circumstances beyond my control actually forced me to tarry, and to tread softly.
Thank to goodness, the storms are over. In the wisdom of the leadership of the party, Senator Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli is our candidate. If actually we love our party, we have to swallow whatever reservations we may have against the process, embrace the products so that our party members can prosper this time around. The party’s supremacy cannot at this point cannot be whisked away. Their decisions should not be queried to the extent of damaging the party. Even though the top echelons of the decision-making bodies of the party may be fallible, they have spoken and their voices must be respected.
The events of the past one week had finally laid the controversies surrounding the primaries to rest. “Emo lo, Afe lo. Sibe sibe enipe ki nwon di isa pinpin. Hun-un, kin ni o tun ku?” What else is left inside? Therefore, my message to the illustrious members of our great party is to accept the verdict and fall in line. Let there be peace in the APC. According to Bhagavad Gita, “Inner peace is beyond victory or defeat.
Reclaiming the government of Oyo State back in 2027 from the impostor and fraud in the State House is a serious task that must be done. In 2019, lack of unity propelled the aggrieved members of the party to engage in protest votes and we lost to the charlatan. In 2023, the “Jagba Syndrome” undisputably accounted for the loss of gubernatorial election. Must we allow the trend to continue in 2027? Tuafiakwa! Abomination!! God forbid!!!
I have come to realize that there is no perfect democracy anywhere in the world. Not even in the United States of America from where we copied our own version of democracy. Things are not perfect there as well. The system is inherently vulnerable and can be highly corruptible. There are instances where the “tyranny of the majority” occasionally marginalizes the minority groups. In actual fact, this can equally happen in a converse manner whereby you find the “tyranny of the powerful minority” suppressing the voices of the majority. In spite of all these flaws, democracy still remains the very best form of government.
In light of the above, let’s swallow the pill, no matter how bitter it is and embrace the much needed unity. Let’s forget the political vicissitudes of the past couple of months and turn in a new leaf. Jumping ship at this critical time can never be a viable option. I once engaged in cross-carpeting sometimes ago in protest against injustice. But the outcome of it was nothing to write home about. I stormed out of the party in anger, and I came back with absolutely nothing to show for it. This actually lays credence to the saying, “North or South, East or West, home is the best “. It is better to be a messenger in heaven than to be a king in the hell. APC remains our party and our shelter. Therefore, all hands must be on deck to salvage it.
Did the system hurt us? Yes. Did they oppress us? Yes. Did they deny us the democratic licence to pick our choice of candidates? Yes. But that is not enough to rock the boat considering where we are coming from. Egypt, you may wish to say. Being confined to political coolers for good eight years is not a joke. Another eight years in political wilderness will be a disaster.
However, the interesting part of it is that both the oppressors and the oppressed are members of the same family. Both the assets and the liabilities of the family belong to us all. Take it or leave it, God is a just God. He has a way of equitably given to us what actually belongs to us. In this dispensation, our portion, no one shall take”. But this statement can only be valid if we work together, and assiduosly too, to deliver victory for Senator Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli in the gubernatorial elections of 2027.
Finally, three measures must be taken immediately in order to put the party back on track. Number one is reconciliation. Number two is reconciliation. And number three is reconciliation. I call on our party’s gubernatorial flag bearer, Senator Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli, who is the burden-carrier as we speak to be serious about it. As a matter of urgency, he must be purposefully magnanimous and intentional in reconciling all the aggrieved ones. Reconciliation will be inconsequential, immaterial and ineffectual without sincerity. And without having the mind to give room for negotiation, harmonization and concession where necessary, it will be an effort in futility.
May we not labor in vain in 2027.
B. Aderemi Ogundele
(JagunmoluBAO)
Former Executive Chairman,
Ona Ara Local Government.
July 6, 2026
