A Rejoinder to Pastor Stanley Ajileye: On Facts, Fairness, and the Okun Political Question
***A call to introspection, unity, and strategic maturity
By Adewale Olorunju
Pastor Stanley Ajileye’s article, captioned “Prince Olatunji Olusoji Should Be Mindful of His Dance Steps to the Rhythm of the Tortoise,” presents itself as moral counsel but unfortunately rests on conjecture, false equivalence, and assumptions that do not stand up to facts. One expects better depth and restraint from an assumed intelligent media veteran and a clergyman whose calling should place truth above sensational allegories.
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First, it must be stated clearly and without ambiguity: Asiwaju Prince Olatunji Olusoji cannot be compared with any of the past leaders or political actors referenced by Pastor Ajileye. Such comparisons are not only lazy but intellectually dishonest. They ignore context, character, timing, and intent. Leadership is not a one-size-fits-all garment, and history does not repeat itself simply because one desires a convenient narrative.
Pastor Ajileye’s use of the tortoise-and-elephant tale to suggest that Asiwaju Prince Olatunji Olusoji is acting based on some promised political reward reveals a troubling leap of imagination. At no point has Asiwaju Prince Olatunji Olusoji claimed—publicly or privately—to have been promised any position. His consistent message to the Okun people has been simple, transparent, and principled: the pathway to Okun governorship is through peaceful negotiation and sustained dialogue, not desperation, blackmail, or political brinkmanship.
If Pastor Ajileye believes Asiwaju Prince Olatunji Olusoji is like every other desperate Okun politician of the past, then he is clearly operating on a false assumption. Desperation announces itself through reckless ambition, transactional politics, and loud entitlement. None of these describe the posture or record of Asiwaju Prince Olatunji Olusoji.
One must then ask: why speculate about matters one does not know? At no time, nowhere, and under no circumstances has Asiwaju Prince Olatunji Olusoji discussed his personal political future with either former Governor Yahaya Bello or the incumbent Governor, Alhaji Usman Ododo. This is not an opinion; it is a fact.
Ironically, the truth is the complete opposite of what Pastor Ajileye insinuates. Asiwaju Prince Dr. Olatunji Olusoji has openly stated that both former Governor Yahaya Bello (FGYB) and Governor Usman Ododo, on different occasions, asked him what he wanted politically. His response has remained consistent and selfless: he wants nothing for himself other than to support them and to ensure the actualization of the long-standing dream of an Okun person becoming Governor.
In his own words:
“The struggle for Okun governorship isn’t about me; it didn’t start today. The question we should ask ourselves is: all these years that we have been agitating, why have we not gotten it? What strategies have we been using that have not been productive?”
Instead of engaging these critical questions, some prefer envious conversations, subtly portraying Asiwaju Prince Olatunji Olusoji as the obstacle—as if he, singularly, has prevented Okun from producing a governor over decades. Nothing could be further from the truth.
He further observed, with painful honesty:
“The truth remains that even in Okun, we are not yet united enough to speak with one voice. We envy one another, and we suffer from pull-him-down syndrome. That is why we have been left behind in the political scheme of things. May God deliver us.”
This is not the language of a schemer or a tortoise dancing deceitfully. It is the sober reflection of a leader calling his people to introspection, unity, and strategic maturity.
Pastor Stanley Ajileye owes the Okun people—and the truth—more than allegories and assumptions. The Okun project deserves clarity, sincerity, and unity, not mischaracterization of those who have consistently chosen sacrifice over self-interest.
-Adewale Olorunju, he is a political analyst, commentator and a media consultant
