BY REMI ADEFULU
In the nation’s history, Ogun State has always held a place of pride in terms of human and natural endowments. Consequently, Ogun continues to earn a position of pre-eminence among its peers in all spheres of national life.
For instance, it is on record that Ogun State has the highest number of universities in the country, and the list keeps growing by the day.
What do you expect from a state that produced the late sage, Chief Jeremiah Obafemi Awolowo, whose vision of free education became a game changer that remains unrivalled to date?
When you mention Ogun State, the world remembers Africa’s first Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; Tai Solarin; Fela Anikulapo-Kuti; Beko Ransome-Kuti; Chief Adeola Odutola; Dr. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti; M.K.O. Abiola; Ernest Shonekan; Anthony Joshua; and more.
These and others have earned the state worldwide acclaim, devoting their God-given endowments to the upliftment of the environments in which they found themselves —music, sports, academia, business, medicine, et al.
Many are therefore worried by the state of politicking exhibited by the opposition camp in the state in recent times, and a dent on the highly revered state is, to say the least, an understatement.
This is largely because, over the years, Ogun politics has always been a marketplace of ideas, where opposing camps engage in intellectual contests to woo the electorate, selling lofty programmes and ideas.
Though politics is never devoid of brickbats, in Ogun, the people are always the ultimate winners as candidates try to outshine one another in a robust battle for elective positions.
However, the Ogun State PDP has brought political discourse to an all-time low by virtually dragging politics into the mud through its vicious propaganda machinery.
The intention was to drastically diminish the standing of the APC governorship candidate, Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi), in the eyes of the people of Ogun State, especially the electorate, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
In this connection, they reeled out all manner of lies, including alleging that Senator Adeola is from Ekiti and not from Yewa in Ogun State.
Rather than engaging them in propaganda, the governorship hopeful has been responding through impactful programmes across the length and breadth of Ogun State.
Yayi’s “ITESIWAJU Agenda,” which he recently unveiled to the people of the state as the pillars on which his administration would operate, is not entirely new. These are things he has used his current office to deliver through impactful projects across the state.
For the first time in the history of the Gateway State, a senator has positively impacted all 20 local governments in the state in less than four years.
In an amazing fashion, Yayi has delivered schools, roads, hospitals, vocational centres and markets, and empowered youths, women, the poor and the elderly. It is one of the reasons he has run a very effective campaign, with projects as his major selling point, putting him miles ahead of his opponents.
In Ogun Waterside alone, Yayi is already electrifying 50 communities to boost the socioeconomic life of the people.
A similar feat is ongoing simultaneously across the length and breadth of the state, with the aim of making life more abundant for its people.
Ask the people of Ijebu-Igbo and Sagamu about the revolution at Molusi College and Remo Secondary School. Has anything like this ever happened?
The bitter truth: Yayi is a moving train, and no one dares stop this man, who is convinced that public office offers a rare opportunity to lift people, especially the downtrodden, out of poverty. He has done this with all his energy, and the results are becoming evident for all to see across the Gateway State.
Unlike the rudderless opposition, which is presently fighting to have a governorship candidate in its fold, Yayi and the Ogun APC are more than ready for the coming elections.
Thankfully, the people see Adeola as the beautiful bride, and all segments of the state are ready to vote resoundingly for him and the APC in 2027.
Hence, from teachers and transport unions to students, traders, traditional rulers, religious leaders, youths, women and artisans, it is Yayi all the way.
The show of support is deafening, and the solidarity is more than overwhelming across all critical segments of the state.
That is why the opposition suddenly went into panic mode upon seeing the unprecedented show of support, in cash and in kind, for Yayi’s aspiration.
Call it a tacit show of victory or a sign of coronation; you are surely on the right path, as indications have shown that there is no stopping this uncommon public servant.
Little wonder their propaganda arsenal has suddenly fired blanks, as the groundswell of support is becoming more and more intimidating by the day.
Perhaps the icing on the cake was the carnival-like event in Ilaro, intended to show the people of Ogun State and the world that Yayi is a true son of the soil and that the Yewa/Awori people are more than delighted with him.
What a way to dismiss their tales by moonlight in support of a man who has transformed Ilaro into what is now seen as “Small London.”
With the governorship election still months away, the political temperature no doubt favours the Ogun West senator’s ascension to the governorship seat in 2027.
As a party, the Ogun APC has shown that it is miles ahead of the opposition, regardless of the metrics. All may not be perfect, but it is evidently clear that the party has a brand it can take anywhere in Yayi.
Unlike the opposition, the APC is well structured in Ogun, and the signs are there in terms of results and acceptability by the electorate.
From what is presently on the ground in the Gateway State, the opposition would need more than a miracle to challenge the Yayi phenomenon.
-Adefulu, a journalist, lives in Lagos
