By Musa Bakare
In politics, perception can win elections, but imbalance can destroy them. The moment a party begins to look like a private club, controlled by a tight circle from one corner, it sends a clear and dangerous signal: exclusion is no accidental, it is deliberate.
That is exactly the signal the All Progressives Congress (APC) is sending in Osun ahead of the 2026 governorship election.
Across the Ife Federal Constituency, the optics are not just bad, they are politically dangerous. The APC’s deputy governorship candidate, Hon. Benjamin Adereti, alongside prominent figures like Hon. Bimbo Ajilesoro and Femi Fani-Kayode, all hail from Ilare Ward in Ife Central Local Government.
As if that is not enough, the sitting member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ajilesoro, is from the same ward.
A federal constituency made up of four local governments is being politically compressed into one ward, one local government, one clique.
This is not a strategy. This is suffocation.
And suffocation breeds anger, resistance, and ultimately, rebellion.
Across Ife land, one apprehension is growing louder by the day: Will the elders be ignored ?
Because the elders are not whispering, they are issuing a clear warning.
Concentrating power in the hands of a few from the same ward is not representation; it is dominion. It is a direct you assault on the principles of fairness and inclusiveness that hold any political structure together.
No political party walks into a major election carrying this kind of internal imbalance and expects peace, let alone victory.
In sharp contrast stands Hon. Olarotimi Makinde of Ife East, a man whose political journey is defined not by convenience, but by consistency.
For over three decades, Makinde has remained loyal to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He did not arrive yesterday. He did not negotiate his way into relevance. He built it brick by brick. As a foundation member of the SWAGA movement, he helped lay the groundwork for the political momentum the party enjoys today.
His role as Assistant Secretary in the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), within the SWAGA parliamentarian structure, was not ceremonial, it was earned through trust and proven capacity.
Makinde was a ranking member of the 7th National Assembly. A tested legislator. A grounded grassroots mobilizer. A leader with both memory and machinery.
The elders know this. That is why their position is not emotional, it is strategic.
Their preference for Makinde is rooted in history, loyalty, competence, and balance, not desperation. They are weighing stability against opportunism and, structure against shortcuts.
That brings us to the most troubling twist in this unfolding drama: the emergence of a recent decampee, reportedly claiming prior negotiations as the basis for current political positioning, despite clear indications of a third-term ambition.
If this is true, then the APC is flirting with a dangerous precedent, where long standing loyalty is sidelined, and latecomers dictate terms.
That is not politics. That is provocation.
A party that rewards opportunism over consistency sends a message to its base: loyalty is worthless.
And once that message sinks in, the damage is irreversible.
The APC must not sleepwalk into this trap.
This is the moment for decisive correction. A moment to restore balance, respect structure, and listen to the voices that understand the terrain, the elders of Ife land.
This is bigger than individuals. It is about equity. It is about cohesion. It is about whether the party goes into 2026 as a united force or a house already divided against itself.
Equity is not charity. It is survival.
Ignore the elders, and the APC risks more than internal grumbling, it risks a full blown political backlash with consequences that will echo far beyond Osun 2026.
The signs are glaring. The imbalance is undeniable. The discontent is rising.
ANN Politics
Tags
Opinion