A recent open letter penned by Engr. Adeyemo Adesina, a notable All Progressives Congress, APC member from Ibarapa Central Local Government Area, has brought attention to concerns regarding Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli’s representation of the Oyo South Senatorial District.
While congratulating Senator Alli on his electoral victory, Adesina expresses disappointment over the perceived disparity in project distribution and program implementation within the district.
According to Adesina, despite Ibarapa delegates’ significant contribution to Senator Alli’s emergence in the 2022 APC primaries, the area appears to be marginalized in terms of development projects and federal employment opportunities. Adesina contrasts this with the perceived concentration of projects and benefits in Ibadan, the state capital.
The letter highlights specific initiatives undertaken by a first-term House of Representatives member from the opposition party that have positively impacted Ibarapa, questioning Senator Alli’s commitment to the area’s development. Adesina urges the senator to reflect on his performance and take corrective measures to address the imbalance.
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The open letter concludes by suggesting that Senator Alli invite his allies from Ibarapa to account for the projects claimed to have been brought to the area and engage with the people’s feedback. Adesina also advises the senator to prioritize infrastructural development, human capacity building, and explore opportunities within his committee assignments.
This development has sparked a conversation about representation, accountability, and inclusive development within the Oyo South Senatorial District, raising questions about Senator Alli’s commitment to his constituents.
ASSESMENT OF TWO YEARS IN OFFICE OF SENATOR SHARAFADEEN ABIODUN ALLI- WE DESERVES MORE THAN BEING TREATED AS AN INFERIOR
AN OPEN LETTER FROM ENGR. ADEYEMO ADESINA, OYO SOUTH SENATORIAL DISTRICT, IBARAPA CENTRAL L.G
Dear Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli,
Let me seize this opportunity to officially congratulate you on your victorious emergence as the senator representing Oyo south senatorial district at the National Assembly. It is indeed a rare privilege for you to have got this seat, more like an ease, and I hope you might have seen yourself as the luckiest among the South west senators, if not in the entire 10th assembly.
If you vividly remember how it all started, you will recall that you were not at first in the Primaries queue as aspirants for the battled for the hallowed chambers’ seat. You remember how our brother Kolapo Kola-Daisi (KKD), former Senator Kola Balogun and the rest fought hard to win the souls of the party, through the delegates power. You will also recall that former senator Kola Balogun joined the All Progressives Party (APC), towards the odd hour to vie for the ticket. Unfortunately, his inability to level chances and manage the first opportunity given to him thrown him off the radar during the virtually competitive primaries.
I am sure you still remember how our delegates especially from Ibarapa stood firmly and delivered their votes for you unanimously at the primaries, having got testimonies of your political credentials, which they are convinced stand out among the contestants. This was exactly why I begin this letter by saying, “you are indeed the luckiest of all senators from our state, or even beyond.”
Culled from Dr Rasaq Lamidi’s submission in one of our platforms engagements, he submitted that “Delegates from Ibarapa North and Ibarapa Central Local Governments overwhelmingly gave Distinguished Senator Sharafadeen Alli _99 out of the 185 votes_ he secured during the 2022 APC Oyo South Senatorial Primary elections. Today, however, he has taught us a hard lesson on trust. While delegates from other constituencies may have aligned with the highest bidders, it is on record that our people supported you “without collecting a single dime”. Yet, today, the Ibarapa axis is largely remembered only for what could be referred to as peanuts, compared to what you did and still doing in Ibadan (where your own people rose against you at the primary election), while federal employment opportunities and physical infrastructure remain concentrated in Ibadan.
Like a flash of light, two years are already gone edging us towards a time for reckoning which is no other time but now. We are conversant with loads of credits (projects and programs) which you facilitated within these two years. I heard about your agricultural, women and youth empowerment programs, loan acquisition, entrepreneurship training (like phone repair workshop, e-business seminar among others for youth) which were held in Ibadan and some parts of Ibarapa. I heard about facilitation of a modern state of art resource center courtesy National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), at Methodist Grammar School, Igboora and one other school around Ibadan. You have dug numerous bore-holes across Ibadan as the major senatorial district. We are still waiting for our turn in Ibarapa region. Or are we not part of the senatorial district again?
Distinguished senator Sir, few months ago, I came across large bill boards across various locations in Ibadan, with bold graphics of projects and programs you facilitated. In this same Ibadan, I have heard people gave testimony of how you gave jobs to youths in Ibadan cities and metropolis. Are the Ibarapas not on this agenda, because we are far from Ibadan?
Having noticed all these anomalies, I rose to think of repeating this same hypothesis which I am accustomed to, by sending similar open letter which I sent to your predecessor about four years ago. I found this to be a high time to call your attention to certain things you might know but be underrating as regards Ibarapa people and our kind of politics. We are unique people, who always unify to trust people with power and positions, but do not joke with our emotions thereafter.
I am sure you know me very well among the youths from Ibarapa, who worked assiduously for your success and that of every candidate of the APC at the 2023 general elections. Despite some shake up at the gubernatorial election, which the party and its candidate lost. We stood firmly by all our candidates, and Ibarapa delivered the bloc votes for them all, including you sir.
The year 2027 (as I do see every election year) is more of God’s decision than of men. We might have been carried away by the recent defection of some lawmakers and so-called opposition parties big-wigs into the APC. That should not make us sleep on a bed of lies, that we can easily have it all to us. Nevertheless, the “supreme determinant” of such dream lies in the hands of you and I being major stakeholders in the polity.
By now, I expect you to pause awhile and ask yourself if you think you have done satisfactorily enough for the senatorial district, especially genuine Ibarapa people which I speak on behalf to produce and return you back to the senate in 2027? Do you think you have engineered what it takes to sustain and reinforce not only the party, but the constituents with incentives that could make “US” blow trumpets of support for your return ticket, if the party does so wish to give you a second chance?
We will be ungrateful if we fail to thank you for fighting harder to revisit and reinforce the bill for the alteration of Federal Medical Center Act, for the establishment of Federal Medical Center, Igboora, (as it is significant to Igboora and Ibarapa at large), which you pulled tremendously after same was effectively sponsored by Rt. Hon Dr Muraina Saubana Ajibola- the member who represented Ibarapa Central/Ibarapa North federal constituency in the Ninth Assembly.
Nevertheless, we have not passed our boundaries by asking for more in Ibarapa because we really deserve more than we are receiving. We are the one who stood by you right from the primaries when Ibadan delegates broke their votes among aspirants for monumental gains. We, the Ibarapas refused to be compromised!!!
Sir, can you please come out with your achievements in Ibarapa so far? Maybe we might be wrong as a result of misquote or poor delivery by your “dividends errands-men”!!! What steps have you taken to help Ibarapa people address power issue in their region being under your district? Why is the fragment of the senatorial district within Ibadan enjoying stable power supply, leaving an entire Ibarapa with three local government areas and seven unique towns in the dark?
The bone of contention Sir, is to be sincere with you, by calling for a revisit into your achievements archive especially that which concerns Ibarapa. You need to see beyond open accolades from groups and individuals who might have been fortunate to get peanuts and stuffs from you, or deceiving you with lies on their feedback which you might have been requesting periodically.
Beloved senator sir, you have to buckle up your belt before it is too late!!! Honorable senator Sir, It is indisputable that some or most of your achievements might have been cornered by your personal assistants and political associates, who dictates and delivers to the constituency on your behalf.
Let me inform you sir, that majority of the trained youths during your capacity building programs are not happy with the type of training they got, because at the end of the day, they could not match their counterparts elsewhere. Most of the beneficiaries complained of how the organizers mishandled and took away training and empowerment items meant for them.
Sir, I want to strongly advise you not only to invite your allies from Ibarapa axis and ask them to justify all you claimed to have brought here. But also to find ways of hearing the people’s reactions, through avenue like this or more. Ditto to Ido and the rest of the senatorial district.
In the end, you will be able to establish whether you trustees have done you more good than harm or vice versa. Otherwise, another day may be too close to recall.
Finally, I want to suggest that you start looking beyond the items on your manifestos which you have touched, and focus on making advancements. Push for more core infrastructural and human capacity development that eludes stomach level. Explore core opportunities within the arm-bits of the house committees you belong to and beyond. Stop over-focusing on Ibadan alone!!! Shift your attention to Ibarapa, where we stood by you when Ibadan was nowhere to be found.
Revisit, harmonize and dialogue with those who worked for your victory in 2023 and see how they can be reasonably compensated and motivated. That is the tradition as it is done everywhere sir!!!
I am wishing you success all the time, just as you wish and work for it by yourself. As a body of intelligent people, and a united political family, Ibarapas will not relent in giving support to leaders who are passionate about the welfare and goodwill of our people, irrespective of their political party or status.
WE in the APC Ibarapa stand for oneness, power and progress of our people. We hope you will see this as a call to accountability and transparency being the beauty of democracy which we practice.
Eid Mubarak.
Yours in the APC!
Engr. Adeyemo Adesina.
Convener, Ibarapa APC Youths Stakeholders Forum
