APC LOSS IN OSUN: STRUCTURAL CONCEQUENCE OF A WRONG CANDIDATE AND A LESSON IN POLITICAL MISCALCULATION
BY Dr. Olusoji Olatunji
The recent electoral setbacks of the All Progressives Congress in Osun State invite a sober interrogation of internal decisions and leadership choices that preceded them.
Politics, at its core, is the art of addition, of building coalitions, managing interests, and expanding the party’s base.
Where this calculus is ignored, the consequences are often self-inflicted.
It is now a matter of public record that Governor Ademola Adeleke, prior to his victory on the platform of the PDP, had indicated interest in aligning with the APC.
That overture, had it been embraced, would have provided the APC with a significant strategic advantage in Osun. Instead, internal resistance and the frustration of that entry created an avoidable loss.
In politics, the refusal to accommodate viable entrants is rarely without cost.
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Further compounding the problem was the handling of the APC gubernatorial primaries. The disqualification of a prominent and widely accepted aspirant, Sen. Iyiola Omisore, in circumstances that many within the party viewed as orchestrated, weakened internal cohesion.
The eventual emergence of Alh. Bola Oyebamiji, while procedurally valid, did not command the same breadth of support or political weight that was required to prosecute a general election successfully. The decision prioritized personal preference over party viability.
The result of these two critical missteps is now evident.
For the second time, the APC in Osun has found itself on the losing side of an election it could have influenced differently. This is not merely an electoral loss; it is a structural consequence of choices that underestimated the dynamics of Osun politics and overestimated the capacity of imposition to deliver victory.
There is a timeless political truth embedded in this experience; no individual, regardless of office or influence, can “play God” in the affairs of men and parties. Power is transient, and political capital is sustained only by wisdom, inclusion, and foresight.
The attempt to centralize control at the expense of consensus has proven counterproductive.
This episode should serve as a bitter but necessary lesson for political actors across the country.
Parties are strengthened not by exclusion but by strategic accommodation. Leadership is measured not by who is kept out, but by who is brought in. For the APC to reclaim Osun, it must learn from this history and govern its internal processes with greater maturity and collective interest.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER 16TH AUGUST, 2026)
