From the vantage of dispassionate observation, the recent APC screening and endorsement process in Ife invites a deeper reflection on the dialectic between process and expediency, between merit and transactional politics. Yet within this unfolding drama, one aspirant’s record emerges as a testament to consistency, service, and principled engagement within the constituency.
Those who watched closely note that the conclusion on the candidate seemed predetermined, antedating the formalities of screening. Financial outlay appears to have been the decisive metric, with priority accorded to donations of ₦31m, ₦21m, ₦5m, and ₦500k. Of course, any serving legislator commands a certain financial energy in this dispensation, even if he cross-carpeted within hours. In such a calculus, the intangibles of loyalty, grassroots affinity, and legislative pedigree were relegated to the periphery.
One could say the screening and the primary election were less a process of discernment and more a marketplace of valuations — _ibi tí owó bá lọ, nibẹ ni ojú ń wo_. Where money goes, the eyes follow. It reveals a truth about human institutions: when the ontological purpose of service is supplanted by the ephemerality of pecuniary advantage, the moral architecture of the collective begins to erode.
How the Ife East elders’ council will respond to the sidelining of the area in the calculations for winning the constituency remains suspended in the realm of the indeterminate. Both the *Constituency chairman* and the overall political leader hail from Ife East, yet the ethic of inclusiveness was set aside in favor of expedience.
Herein lies the moral burden. Leadership is not merely the exercise of power, but the stewardship of trust. When elders, who ought to be custodians of fairness and foresight, delay, equivocate, and allow transactional considerations to supplant collective interest, they place upon themselves the weight of consequence. _Agbalagba tí kò sọ ọ̀rọ̀ tító, ló ń ba ilé jẹ́_. The elder who fails to speak truth is the one who destroys the house.
The screening exercise and its attendant expenditure now appear superfluous to many within the party. Money, time, and energy were expended needlessly because of the elders’ non-promptness and lack of candor from the outset. Had there been synergy and bluntness early, aspirants would have been spared needless sacrifice, and the party would have entered the season with unity intact. Had unity and fairness been the telos, a transparent and direct approach would have preserved trust and mitigated discord. Instead, the process resembled _ìlù tó ń dun lẹ́nu, ṣùgbọ́n ẹsẹ̀ kò ń jó_ — a drum sounding in the mouth while the feet refuse to dance. It was theater without substance, form without essence.
The Record of Hon. Makinde
What renders this episode more poignant is the stature of the aspirant who was edged out. *Across Ife Federal Constituency of Osun State and nationwide*, Hon. Makinde is widely regarded as the most consequential representative the area has had in recent years, both in welfarism and legislative output. His interventions in education, welfare, and constituency empowerment have been sustained and tangible.
In Ife parlance, _ọmọ tí ó bá dára, ìlú ń mọ̀ ọ_. A child of virtue does not escape the notice of his people.
He was also among the vanguard who embraced and amplified the political direction of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. As a member of the Central Working Committee of the South West Agenda, SWAGA, he participated in mobilizing for Tinubu’s presidency as early as 2020. That places him not at the margins of the party’s national project, but at its foundational strata.
Yet in the local calculus of power, _ọkọ̀ tó bá gbéni lọ sí ọjà, ni wọ́n ń fi sọkùn lẹ́yìn_. The vessel that ferried one to the market is often discarded upon arrival. It is a perennial paradox: those who build are sometimes the first to be displaced.
Party observers note the contradiction. A man of this record is often treated as an inconvenience within the local structure, one to be eased out. Yet he is also the most familiar, the one who could have been invited to make way gracefully if unity had truly been the objective.
Posture, Ethos, and Appeal to Higher Conscience
Despite the outcome, Hon. Makinde has maintained the comportment of a disciplined party man and a statesman in temperament. Records show he sent a congratulatory message to the fortunate man now seeking a third term, even though that candidate joined the party less than 150 days ago. The announcement itself relied on a letter dated 6th May but signed on 4th May — a dissonance not lost on discerning minds.
_Ẹ̀kùn tí kò rí oju òní, kò lè rí oju òla_. A wound concealed from today’s light cannot be healed by tomorrow. Truth deferred is truth compounded.
He remains within the APC and has signaled a willingness to transcend the episode in service of the party’s broader objectives, particularly in the governorship and presidential elections. His commitment to Ile-Ife and reverence for party leadership are said to remain unshaken.
For national party leaders observing Ife, the imperative is clear. Processes grounded in merit, fidelity, and service fortify the party at the grassroots and lend credibility to the presidential project. Processes animated solely by finance risk alienating the very agents who have borne the party’s message in the field.
For sure, we believe in the empathy and political nature of Mr President. We feel he would have acted differently as a Democrat. His disposition has always favored inclusion, dialogue, and the preservation of party cohesion over narrow calculations. We also appeal to the conscience of the state leader to weigh the long-term cost of sidelining proven hands for expediency. The federal and state leadership carry the moral authority to restore balance and rekindle hope among loyalists who feel discarded.
As the saying goes, _kò sí èrè nínú àgbàdo tí a bá gbìn lórí òkúta_. There is no harvest from seed sown upon rock. A structure without justice is a structure without longevity.
A Call to Begin Work
Now that the bubble has burst and this episode has passed, the best path forward is to get to work. That has always been Hon. Makinde’s wish. Politics without service is vanity, and the people of Ife cannot afford further delay. Let the work begin at the earliest, for governance waits for no man and the expectations of the constituency are already before us.
The clandestine manner of the endorsement, and the reluctance to articulate it openly, will be inscribed in Ife’s political memory. As some in the constituency observe, it reflects a praxis of politics that “cannot be learned in any university, not even Obafemi Awolowo University.”
In the words of a Yoruba proverb:
_Ti omode ba n ge igi ninu igbo, agba to baa mo ibi to ma wo si, ti ko so fun omode nko, ere wa fun niwaju Olorun._
When youths fell a tree in the forest, the elder who foresees where it will fall and does not counsel them shall answer before God.
In the final analysis, politics without ethics is mechanics without purpose. May those who steward Ife’s destiny remember that power is transient, but integrity is enduring. May the local elders reflect, and may the federal and state leadership act with the wisdom that preserves both party and people.
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