The just concluded Osun Guber election has sent a message loud enough to echo in Abuja and across party secretariats.
It was not about who could shout the President’s name the loudest. It was about roads, welfare, and who showed up for the people.
Political analyst and convener of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Ideological Group, Bamidele Atoyebi, says the governorship result is a blunt reminder that grassroots acceptance and performance now beat slogans and money bags at the polls.
Performance Beat Name-Dropping
Atoyebi congratulated Governor Ademola Adeleke and called the outcome a critical lesson for the All Progressives Congress in Osun. According to him, Osun voters have a pattern. They reward incumbents who deliver, not those who lean on ethnic ties or presidential branding.
“You cannot name-drop the President to victory. Better go and give your people good governance,” he said.
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He pointed to history. Adeleke had delivered Osun for the PDP even during a presidential race where Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a fellow Southwest Yoruba, was on the ballot. From Nuhu Ribadu to Rauf Aregbesola and Gboyega Oyetola, the state, he argued, has always moved with whoever reflects its current mood.
The Strategic Blunder APC Must Own
Atoyebi faulted Osun APC leaders for shutting the door when Adeleke reportedly sought to join the party alongside allies like Senator Francis Fadahunsi. That, he said, was politics at its worst.
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The smarter move would have been to negotiate and secure Oyetola’s second term through unity, not exclusion. Instead, the party chose confrontation. The result was billboards pulled down, alleged attacks, accounts frozen, and a campaign atmosphere he described as vindictive, archaic, and non-democratic.
Money Politics Is Fading
The analyst commended President Tinubu as a refined democrat for staying out of the manipulation and directing the EFCC to remain neutral. But he warned the APC not to repeat the mistake ahead of 2027. He described the Osun primary as an imposition and said excessive power concentration could cost the party more seats.
His charge to politicians is simple. Invest in human capital, infrastructure, and real empowerment. Vote buying and financial inducements, he warned, are losing their power with every election cycle.
For Osun, and for Nigeria, the lesson is clear. Win with work first, then with words.
