Of Ogun West and 2019 governorship

THE agitation by Ogun West Senatorial District to produce the successor to the incumbent governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, got a boost on Saturday  August 12, 2017, at the 80th birthday celebration of Deacon Poju Adeyanju, a former Secretary to the Ogun State Government and leader of All Progressives Congress, Ogun West, when His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, openly declared his readiness to support and ensure the emergence of an indigene of Ogun West as governor of the Gateway State come 2019. To him, it is only fair and just for all of us to support our brothers from Ogun West to produce the next governor of our dear state over 40 years since its creation. He appealed to Ogun West leaders to present a single candidate that will command respect from all. He warned on the dangers of the zone presenting multiple candidates for the 2019 general election.

Ogun West has contributed immensely to the development of Ogun State in economic, social and political terms and thus, at this critical stage, requires the support of the East and Central Senatorial Districts in its quest to occupy the Oke Igbehin hilltop residence.  It is crystal clear that the Central District is solidly behind Ogun West going by their body and oral languages. With about 40 per cent of the state electoral vote, the Central has the deciding vote. But constitutionally, a candidate needs geographical spread to emerge. Though whichever district has the supports of Central District in this case will definitely emerge victorious in 2019 governorship election, a cooking pot can never be comfortable seating on two stands, hence the need for the western bloc to enlist the support of the eastern bloc for wider and comfortable victory.

On several occasions, the state’s incumbent governor made it clear that he would campaign and support the candidature of an Ogun West indigene as his successor in 2019, but will not support nor campaign for any eastern candidate. Following the governor’s consistent pronouncement, several -thank you- visits have been made to the seat of government by Ogun West leaders. But beyond these visits, how prepared are leaders and youths of Ogun West in ensuring the support of our eastern brothers, the Ijebu / Remo? Not surprisingly, some leaders of Ogun East are bent on having their son as the successor to the incumbent, forgetting the fact that the last occupier, Chief Gbenga Daniel, is from that section of the state. The Ijebu/Remo people, like their Egba counterparts, are political war veterans with a robust history of political conquest.The two topmost positions in the state rotate between the two senatorial districts. The Ijebu/Remo occupied the topmost positions for 12 years while the Egba at the end of the tenure of the incumbent would have ruled for 14 years and the only time an Ogun West indigene occupied a prime position was when His Excellency, Chief Daniel, appointed Alhaja Salmot Badru as deputy governor.

Ogun West people have to bond and blend well with their counterparts from other sections, knowing well that we all have a common interest. We need to properly map out and penetrate the territories of our brothers with the sole aim of enlisting their support. Yes, Chief Tolu Odebiyi and some co-aspirants have visited, notified and sought the support of elders of Ogun East and Central Senatorial Districts in their quest to be the next chief executive of the state.  Similarly, Ogun West leaders have consulted and sought the support of their Ijebu/Remo and Egba counterparts. The youths are not left out as peer group consultations are ongoing. Surprisingly, some Yewa/ Awori girls are proposing intermarriage in their desperation to ensure that an Ogun West indigene becomes the governor in 2019.

We must come out with our best son as sole candidate as openly and tactically demanded by the Egba and Ijebu/ Remo leaders respectively. Going by feelers from the recently concluded tour of 57 local government areas and Local Council Development Authority (LCDA) in the state by state APC leaders, Chief Odebiyi, the only son of late Senate Jonathan Akinremi Odebiyi, should be adopted as sole candidate from Ogun West and eventually by the party based on his sphere of influence, pedigree and integrity. He has no baggage of controversy hanging on him. Support for him is overwhelming.

Youths in Ijebu/Remo, Egba and Yewa/ Awori are in unison this time to support Chief Odebiyi. Maybe it’s payback time for his father, late Senator Odebiyi, Second Republic Senate Leader of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). He was a faithful Awoist, a one-time Minister of Finance and Education under Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Chief Odebiyi was instrumental to so many laudable education programmes of the then Action Group (AG) government of Western Nigeria in the First Republic. Senator Odebiyi facilitated the provision of electricity, pipe-borne water, roads and schools to several towns and villages inYewa/Awori as the senator representing them. Like his father, Tolu Odebiyi is poised to replicate such care and love all over Ogun State as governor. The time has now come for the leaders of Ogun West; political, traditional and academia, to anoint just one credible son, one whose ancestral lineage is not in doubt, one whose name rings bell positively within the state and nation, one with national and international exposure and connections.

• Ibrahim writes in from Abeokuta, Ogun State