24/03/2022
OGUN WEST 2023; WHAT IS IN IT FOR US IN IPOKIA
The heat is on! The macabre dances floor is gradually is being ignited and the 2023 general elections maneuvers and gerrymandering’s are on top gear. Another 4 years opportunities of writing our political dividends amount on the open checks the elections seem to present is before us . Electives posts in contentions ranges from National Assembly Membership slots to the State Assembly position as well as the governorship seat. The focus here in this article is the Ogun West Senatorial seat.
It is a common knowledge that many senatorial aspirants are already jostling up for the exalted seat. Prominent and loudest among them especially from the ruling Party APC are: Senator Tolu Odebiyi-the incumbent senator representing Ogun West, Senator Adeola Olamilekan , Yayi-also a current senator representing Lagos West in the National Assembly, Hon. Abiodun Isiaq Akinlade, a former 3-term House of Reps Member representing Ipokia/Yewa South Constituency in the National Assembly and Gboyega Nasir Isiaka. Though the senatorial seat is for 5 local governments including our own dear local government, Ipokia local government, as rational minds, we need to ponder on what our local government stands to gain if any of the above individuals become a senator. This article seeks to present this writer’s view on the background of each of these candidates, how they stand and what their candidature portends for us in Ipokia local government.
INCUMBENT SENATOR TOLU ODEBIYI
Tolu Odebiyi (TOD) is an erstwhile Chief of Staff to former governor Ibikunle Amosun and the current Senator representing Ogun West in the National Assembly. He is a native of Ibooro in the Yewa North local Government of Ogun State. He was one of the proteges of Senator Amosun who declined to followed Amosun in the 2019 elections. He was actually said not be happy with Amosun for considering another candidate for the governorship ticket rather than him as highly speculated then. This paid off and earned him the senatorial seat under the APC umbrella. He had since came back to pitch his tent with his former boss in his caucus under the same APC. As expected, he is currently putting his hat in the ring to come back for a second term in the national Assembly. Unfortunately, if the currently supremacy battle in the ruling party subsist and the senator not really playing his card wisely with the camp of the sitting governor in the state, he might be kissing that seat goodbye in the 2023 elections.
As for the elections proper , even if the senator is able to secure the APC ticket for elections, he may also be having a herculean task of selling his candidature to the electorates. Though he actually tried his best in terms of bills presentations, facilitation of few employment slots for the citizens and did few empowerment programmes, these achievements are deemed to be very minute for a senator that seems to have such an opportunity as his especially when compared with other senators from other constituencies. Perhaps, what is more worrisome is the fact that his presence is sc****ly felt in Ipokia local government even beyond such other past political office holders. To the best of our knowledge TOD has few visible projects in Ipokia local government, no active constituency office and no much infrastructural interventions except his occasional voices on the customs/citizens brouhahas in the local government. This his apathy for Ipokia could actually be attributed to the fact he might had scored very low votes in Ipokia in the last elections. Perhaps, he might only ride on the bandwagon of the political party to be elected again when given the ticket, but for us in Ipokia local government, another 4-year term of TOD might not really be much fruitful in term of democratic dividends.
SENATOR ADEOLA OLAMILEKAN (YAYI)
Senator Olamilekan , Yayi, though a thoroughbred politician, a robust and cerebral one for that matter was born and bred in Lagos, he schooled in Lagos and had all his professional and political careers in Lagos with little affinity with Ogun West or Ogun State in his early days. He started off as a state Assembly Member in Lagos State as he was elected as a member to represent Alimosho State Constituency 2, at the Lagos State House of Assembly from 2003 to 2007, and again from 2007 to 2011. Yayi was thereafter elected to the Federal Legislature to represent Alimosho Federal Constituency at the Nigerian House of Representatives in 2011. He was later elected to the red chambers (senate) in 2015 as a senator representing Lagos West. In 2019, he attempted to contest for Ogun west senatorial seat but there were several controversies surrounding his origin as he was touted to had first claimed somewhere in Abeokuta, when that failed he was said to have claimed Ipokia local government and somewhere in Yewa North but these all failed before he was able to find somewhere to claim in Pahayi,Ilaro, Yewa South local Government. Because of all these, he couldn’t actually contested for the seat in Ogun State in the 2019 elections. He quickly returned to Lagos West where he comfortably won the APC ticket for Lagos west again and subsequently went ahead to win the elections to presently represent the same Lagos West senatorial district again. Beyond these controversies, Yayi is actually an excellent politician, a wealthy and liberal one for that matter. He was a prominent senator and heads one of the most viable and visible committees in Assembly. He had also facilitated many infrastructural projects and did many viable empowerment programmes in his present constituency and also the Yewa axis in Ogun state. But controversies still rage on his foray into Ogun west politics.
Moreover, for someone who spent all his life in Lagos, developed friends and acquaintances in that state and commanded one of the highest followership there and seemed not much acquainted with the grassroots in Ogun West but only riding on our bigotry and penchant for money politics one will be forced to say that Yayis candidacy is a slap in the face of the grassroot indigenous homegrown politicians of Yewa extraction. Moreover, his getting the senatorial ticket is a signal that anybody anywhere can just suddenly wake up and come down to Yewa, buy over the citizenship and take off a political office as high as that of the senate. In other clans, the criteria would have been more of somebody who is residence for a long time in the community he’s representing as in his own case in Lagos having being acquainted with the people, culture, life and conditions of the environment. But as it is, Yayi is coming to Ogun State as a complete stranger ostracized from the Ogun West grassroots just to serve few chop-make- I chop politicians.
For us in Ipokia, the promotion of Yayi candidature becomes more worrisome and embarrassing as no Ipokia indigene has ever become a senator to the best of my knowledge since the enthronement of democracy in 1999 with Yewa South which Yayi seemed to be claiming having to had produced two past senators. Is it that we are about selling our birthright for a morsel of bread? or that we can’t find viable candidate to promote? By and large, Yayi may be an excellent senator but may not know much of our problems and much of our people. Just like he is dividing the democracy dividends of Lagos West today to oil his candidature in Ogun West, he will also definitely share our dividends with Lagos when elected. In fact, only few individuals in Ipokia stands to gain from Yayis candidature.
On his stand in the elections, so far he has the money to spend above others and also in the governors camp, he may be having an upper hand. But one thing is, when the chips are down, our elders know what to do and when not done, we have other party candidates to the rescue.
ABIODUN ISIAQ AKINLADE
Abiodun Akinlade is from Owode in the Yewa South local government in the Ogun West Senatorial District. He was once a 3-terms of 12years member representing the Ipokia/Yewa South Federal constituency in the House of Representatives and currently a Federal Commissioner representing Ogun state in the Federal Character Commission. He is a well known grassroot politician in the Yewa/awori axis of Ogun state and Ogun state in general having attempted to contest for the governorship seat severally in the past. Akinlade is touted to be a politician with some of the most visible and overt development projects in the Yewa axis. He is seen as the human saviour of the young people having been recorded to have facilitated more than 500 hundred Federal employment slots for the youths of Ogun state (Ipokia local government seemed to be the chief beneficiary of this) and also facilitated many infrastructural projects including: school buildings, health facilities, ICT training centres etc. in the whole state with the bulk being in Ogun west. In fact, the only neutral Federal Government presence in the Yewa axis apart from military and para-military formations and the Federal Poly, the Science Park at Owode, Yewa South and the abandoned ‘God knows what’ building in Agosasa Ipokia local government are attributed to Akinlade’s handiwork. He had also at one time or the other been of great help to some of us in terms of accommodation at our early career stages in Abuja. One thing also worthy of note with Akinlade is the fact that most of his investments are within the Ogun west districts spanning from Sango-Ota to Owode in Yewa South employing many indigenes, contributing to educational developments and many more. In fact, but for Akinlade;s foresight of building a CBT centre at Owode, our wards for UTME woluld have to travel far to Ilaro or Ota for their registrations with its attending hassles and financial implications. He is definitely a grassroot politician and someone very much on ground with his people. He knows the terrace in and out and would definitely be a candidate to beat in the election to come. He would be a viable candidate for Ogun west when APC found him fit for Ogun west senatorial seat.
However, Akinlade has been severally touted to be an individual with speech difficulty and as such couldn’t engage in seamless debate communications. He had also been variously accused of playing political harlotry having romanced several parties in the pasts. In fact, till now, Akinlade may still not be wholly trusted in the political circles in any party because he could move at any time if his bread seemed not buttered properly. He was also seen to be against the Yewa governorship Agenda aside him being the candidate. . Furthermore, the viability of Akinlade’s political structure seemed not firmly rooted as it consists mostly of young people who had benefited from him in the past but who had little party-political weight. A politician of Akinlade’s status who had contested for the governorship seat more than twice is supposed to have other political office holders like chairmen, legislators and other office holders in his camp who are supposed to possessed sub-structures within his own structures in the party but this has not been. This will definitely affect his nominations and selections in the party. Akinlade as it stands have more strength among the electorates than the party men.
But, by and large, Akinlade’s senatorial candidature will be a very viable one Beyond these few minuses (which all politicians and all humans definitely have) Akinlade towers high in grassroot popularity beyond other candidates. And for us in Ipokia Local Government, in the absence of any indigenous Ipokia senatorial candidate, Akinlade is our probable best option, he knows the terrain, he had actually relied on us in the past, had also given us few visible attentions and his candidature will be to the benefits of majority of the citizens.
Prince GBOYEGA NASIR ISIAKA
Prince Gboyega Nasir Isiaka is from Imeko in Imeko Afon Local government area of Ogun state. He was appointed the Special Assistant on Investments by the Governor of Ogun State, His Excellency Otunba Gbenga Daniel and in April 2004, was appointed the pioneer Group Managing Director of Gateway Holdings Limited (GHL), the Investment Company of Ogun State and currently an appointee board chairman of one of the boards in Ogun state
He contested for the Governorship of Ogun in 2011 2015 and 2019 general elections and lost in all cases. He defected from his former party to the APC immediately after the 2019 elections. He was a thorough-bred professional of reputable financial institutions and also a popular politician from the Yewa axis. He is also a well known aspirant in the whole of Ogun State but unfortunately has never personally won any election before. He will be coming to the Ogun West senatorial seat when elected as someone capable of igniting a robust debate. He also possess a somewhat large followership among the electorates having oiled the ambitions of many other politicians especially from the Imeko Afon and Yewa North axis in the past.
However, GNI is largely seeing as the spoiler of the Yewa Governorship vision in the past one decade, he was seen as arrogant and a mole in wheel of that vision having contested against another Yewa indigene, Major Olurin in 2011 and Adekunle Akinlade in 2019 largely sharing the Yewa/Awori votes and giving other regions advantages in those elections. It is also doubtful if the APC could give him the ticket at the expense of others who worked assiduously for the enthronement of the present APC government before GNI came in to share the post elections b***y with them. Moreover, GNI had certainly lost many of his adherents to other camps within the APC especially the Yayi camp and may not therefore be seen as a serious contender. Nevertheless, anything could happen in politics. But beyond the party politics, GNI had the electorate to contend. His Unique Selling Points might had waned and his popularity rating actually plummeted after the 2019 elections and the blow it dealt on the Yewa Agenda.
For us in Ipokia, GNI senatorial candidacy is on a neutral free fall level in Ipokia local government, neither here nor there but might only succeeded in giving us crumbs like we have only been getting in the past.
THE MILLION NAIRA QUESTIONS!
Since the beginning of this democratic dispensation in 1999 an Ipokia indigene had never become a senator, when are we going to be ripe for that? Since the dividends of democracy is shared better if you have a representative at the sharing when will we have our own at the sharing table? In 2023 are we going to still be queuing for crumbs falling from the other local government table again? Should we still be hiding under the fact that our own had not paid us in the past to continue to pave way for others? Who are going to be major political models to our incoming generation if we continue this way? I therefore call on all of the elites, the politicians, the thinkers and shakers of the society and all of us to put our thinking cap on.
