Oyo 2019: As Oke Ogun presses on with agitation for gov seat…

THE agitation for the rotation of the governorship seat to Oke Ogun area of Oyo State has been on for many years, with advocates of power shift arguing that the area, which is the second largest in terms of population and the number of local governments as well as the largest in terms of landmass, has continued to be marginalised in the area of development because it has not been able to produce the governor of the state.

For these advocates of power shift, the clamour is premised on their reasoned need for equity and fairness in how the five zones of the state govern the state, as they accuse Ibadan, the seat of government, of not only monopolising the governor’s seat but also taking the lion share in terms of physical development and infrastructure.

Emboldened by similar agitations for the rotation of the governorship position among zones in states of the federation, adherents of Oke Ogun for governor had upped the ante ahead of the 2019 race, forming different groups and fronts to press the demand to have a governor of Oke Ogun extraction home. Of all these fronts, cutting across different political parties and age groups, the umbrella body of all Oke Ogun indigenes and a pro-development organisation identified as the Oke Ogun Development Consultative Forum (ODCF) had been the most active, engaging in massive campaigns and efforts to enthrone an indigene of the area as the next governor of Oyo State.

For the ODCF, which has a membership cutting across all works of life, getting an Oke Ogun man as governor had become an obsession and a task that must done, because according to its president, Dr Olusegun Ajuwon, the area had continued to suffer untold neglect in the hands of successive governments in Oyo State, with the state of roads and other infrastructure in the area being in perpetually deplorable state. In order to achieve that objective of presenting the next governor of the state, therefore, the ODCF had embarked on massive mobilisation, engagement and visitation to all 10 local government areas of Oke Ogun, meeting traditional rulers, politicians and the citizenry with a view to intimating them with the objective.

The body had also engaged the leadership of other socio-cultural groups across the state, persuading them to support Oke Ogun to produce the next governor, even as they made it clear that an Oke Ogun indigene as governor would be a governor for all. Similarly, the ODCF had conducted sensitisation meetings with all segments of the society including inviting governorship aspirants of Oke Ogun extraction, who were told about the body’s plan to streamline the numbers and eventually pick one candidate to be endorsed and supported by the people.

From the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state, about five Oke Ogun indigenes including the Minister of Communication, Alhaji Adebayo Shittu; Professor Adeolu Akande; Chief Remi Olaniyan; Mr Debo Adesina and others, all of Oke Ogun extraction, had been in the running for governor, with the ODCF as well as many Oke Ogun indigenes banking on a reported promise by the governor to ensure power rotation to the area, to think the area could have one of its as the candidate of the APC.

But when the reality of politics dawned on the advocates of power shift to Oke Ogun that none of the major parties would field an Oke Ogun man for governor, the ODCF was forced to return to the drawing board, a development that led it to look at other platforms with Oke Ogun indigenes as candidates. It was this development that led to the endorsement of the governorship candidate of the All Grassroots Alliance (AGA), Dr David Okunlola, as Oke Ogun’s candidate in the 2019 governorship election, while the senatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Bayo Lawal, was endorsed as senatorial candidate.

With the ODCF’s decision to soldier on with the agitation for power shift to Oke Ogun, it became clear that the road would be rough and bumpy, as the area has its indigenes scattered across the major parties in the state. But the body, comprising well-experienced professionals, scholars, politicians and individuals who are not only exposed but also strong-willed, chose to go the whole hog, engaging in another round of sensitisation and rallying to sell the candidature of Okunlola and also keep the flag of the freedom campaign flying.

For three days, the ODCF as well as Okunlola and hundreds of Oke Ogun indigenes took the ‘message of freedom’ to the nooks and crannies of the area, beginning from Iseyin, where a long convoy of indigenes and advocates for power rotation to Oke Ogun traversed the length and breadth of the city, spreading the message of hope and liberation from neglect and oppression.

Addressing the campaign train, which kick-started the rally with a visit to the Aseyin of Iseyin, Oba Abdul-Ganiyu Salawu, who not only expressed joy that Oke Ogun could be bold enough to fight on despite the obvious disadvantaged position it found itself in the 2019 governorship race, Dr Okunlola said the clamour for Oke Ogun to be governor would not sacrifice merit or good governance for mere sentiment. He promised that equity, fairness and justice as well as people-oriented leadership were the qualities he was bringing on board if elected to lead the state.

The Aseyin, who has been a strong supporter of the clamour for an Oke Ogun governor, had showered royal blessings on Okunola and the ODCF. From Iseyin, the campaign train had moved to Ilua in Kajola Local Government, where the ODCF president addressed a jubilant crowd, before the train moved to the palace of the Onilua of Ilua, Oba Samuel Durodola, who showered blessings on Okunlola to break a jinx of many years and liberate his people.

At Okeho, headquarters of Kajola Local Government, the president of ODCF, Abuja chapter, Dr Seidu Bello, while addressing hundreds of supporters, said it was time Oke Ogun stopped playing second fiddle, noting that it was the turn of Oke Ogun to produce the governor of the state. Similarly, while addressing the Kajola Local Government Council of Obas and Chiefs, which had in attendance the Onjo of Okeho, Oba Rafiu Mustapha; the Onisemi of Isemi-Ile, Oba Bola Mustapha; the Oniwere of Iwere-Oke, Oba Raphael Akinyemi; the Gegun Ayetoro, Oba Najimdeen Osuolale and the Bagijan of Ilaji-Oke, Oba Jeremiah Oyebade, as well as some chiefs, Dr Ajuwon chronicled how Governor Abiola Ajimobi had promised to back an Oke Ogun indigene for governor during a visit to Okeho and how he had reneged on that promise. He maintained that the people of the area were tired of being taken for a ride in their own state, hence the decision to press on with the mandate to produce the next governor of the state, explaining how the ODCF arrived at the decision to support Okunlola.

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“You are our fathers. We have come to unveil Dr David Okunlola to you and to all our people. This is the governor we want Oke Ogun people to vote for; he is contesting on the platform of the All Grassroots Alliance (AGA),” Ajuwon said.

In his response, the Onjo expressed happiness with the decision by ODCF not to back down, noting that “it is, indeed, Oke Ogun’s turn to produce the governor.” The royal father chronicled how the area had been backward and marginalised in the areas of infrastructure, education and health as well as the economy, challenging Okunlola to rise to the aid of the area if he is elected governor of the state on March 2, 2019.

While speaking, Okunlola pointed out how successive governments in Oyo State had been treating Oke Ogun people like second class citizens, stating how some experts had warned that Oke Ogun region might experience land tremor or earthquake before 2020 and how the state government should put in place certain equipment to be able to forestall serious harms. He noted that sadly, the state government ignored that advice since 2016, perhaps because “they don’t care about us,” saying this was enough proof that those who had been governing the state do not care about Oke Ogun.’

He promised that if elected, he would run a government that cares for all, assuring royal fathers that they would get what is due to them, while also giving a message of hope to workers, farmers, artisans in the state. He lamented how education in the state has been priced beyond the reach of indigent parents, farmers and the low income earners, promising to address these issues immediately he is elected as governor.

From Okeho, the campaign train had moved to Ago-Are, Tede, Saki, Igboho, Igbeti and Kisi in Atisbo, Saki West, Oorelope, Olorunsogo and Irepo Local Government Areas, rallying the people of the area to vote one of their own as governor and stand by their resolve not to be deceived again, with a crowd of jubilant royal fathers and residents welcoming the ODCF leaders and the governorship candidate and praying for the success of what has become renowned as the Oke Ogun Project on March 2, 2019.

It is exactly two weeks to the governorship and state House of Assembly election across the country, with political gladiators across the country set to return to the drawing board after yesterday’s presidential election. But the question that will resonate in the politics of Oyo State is: how far can advocates of power shift from Oke Ogun go this time? Can the AGA’s David upstage the Goliaths in the major parties or will the advocates of power rotation led by ODCF have to wait for another four years?