[OPINION] 2023 Elections, PDP And Adeleke-Makinde Lessons

By Taofik Adekunle Jimoh (JAAT)

Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke, call him all the name you want, he delivered. And in life, not just in politics; that is what counts.

He won guber election as opposition in APC-dominated region. His victory, it was said, was unprecedented.

This is a man who is yet to spend less than 100 days in office; he took over Nov 27, 2022, yet he won presidential, federal constituencies and senatorial districts for his party.

Nobody would have blamed him if he didn’t deliver, at least Osun is the home state of the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Adeleke has his neighbour and brother-governor who could not deliver his own polling unit to the party. He even lost all federal representatives and senatorial votes for the candidates of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in his state. A sitting governor at that!

I have come to understand that achievements count in life, it is not how long one lives but what he achieved in those years, if this is applied to Adeleke-Makinde situation, the former is above the bar to the latter.

If we won’t go down the rhetorics of G-5 and their grievances, Makinde openly disassociated himself from the presidential candidate of his own party, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, PDP National body and gestured to all that he is a friend of the All Progressives Congress. What to call a PDP governor who refused to go to presidential campaign rally of his own party in his own state, whatever official assignment could be, but had time to play host to the presidential candidate of the opposition and all his national leaders who came as entourage?

Makinde is a governor who reportedly left those who had the party’s tickets for Federal Constituencies and senatorial districts to their fate. End result? PDP lost all the senatorial elections, won only 5 out of 14 Federal reps seats and 1 is declared inclusive.

This is a man I was confidently told fight the Oyo PDP structure (recall he himself defected to the party after his failed gubernatorial bid of 2015) and places himself and opinions above others.

An Oyo PDP member and a friend of mine, on Sunday, told me that: “Aside his radarada (rubbish), his failure to make local government function was the reason why we lost all our senatorial election. He has done evil to the entire PDP in Oyo State. I pray Accord is not joining the APC.”

He however ameliorated my fear that all those who lost their election bids may choose to work against Seyi Makinde’s reelection. If they choose vendetta, nobody will blame them.

All in all, I’m sure it will come as no surprises if he loses his reelection bid.

When I observe all that is Seyi Makinde is doing now, I wonder if he is the same man that contested Oyo South Senatorial seat under the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) in 2007; Oyo South Senatorial seat under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011 and Oyo State Social Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate in 2015 (he came third). While the matter of these carpet crossing would be discussed another time, I feel he supposes to know so many things and garner experiences that are enough to make political choices and calculations.

Now, the March 11 election is cloudy in Oyo State, everyone has seen the results and know “what’s up.” Seyi may lose his seat because of Rivers State Governor who is not seeking a reelection.

I want to believe I’m all wrong, but I am sure I am not the only one who feels so.

Taofik Adekunle Jimoh, popularly known as JAAT, is a trained journalist, blogger, author and editor at News Bulletin Nigeria.

He writes from Kwara State, North-Central Nigeria.
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