LEKE ABEJIDE AMBITION: THE NECESSITY OF SERVICE (1)
Toba Abraham
As water is a necessity to life so is Leke’s reelection a necessity to the growth and development of Yagba land.
According to David Easton, politics is the authoritative allocation of resources which implies who gets what, where and how. These realities remains the basis for individuals voyage into politics in Nigeria with no exemption to Yagba Federal Constituency.
The development of Yagba Federal Constituency is hinged on the effectiveness of political instruments as a tool for efficient allocation of our common patrimony.
At the centre of this is Leke Abejide, one of the few personalities that have represented the people of Yagba land.
Historically, considering the period between 1999 to date, the choice of who represents Yagba people at the Green Chamber of the National Assembly has been made by our people’s own freewill and not coercion. Yagba people have consistently prioritized performance, deliveries and effective representation in their choice over any primitive and primordial considerations.
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Fundamentally, the stories of rotation with respect to the House of Representatives election in my opinion only exists in the figment of the imagination of its purveyors. It is a non controvertible fact that Yagba has not been able to enshrine the concept of political rotation in its bid for House of Representatives election.
While efforts are being made by some individuals and groups to rewrite the political history of Yagbaland by coming to assert that there exists a rotational arrangement in respect of Yagba Federal Constituency election, all persons of good judgment hold the view that such assertion amounts only to nothing more than historical distortion. It far from being the truth.
Since the emergence of the present democratic dispensation, in 1999, there has not been a Congress or general assembly where Yagba people passed any resolution to adopt political rotation of the House of Representatives. To buttress this further, I cannot bring to mind any electoral cycle in which Mopa-muro did not field a prominent contender to contest in the House of Representatives elections.
For instance in 1999, Hon. Sola Ojo, 2003, Hon. Folorunsho Daniyan, 2007, Hon.Mrs Ojo, 2011, Hon. Folorunsho Daniyan, 2015, Hon. Tuesday, Hon. 2019, Retired Commodore Folusho contested, 2023, Engr. Folorunsho Olafemi, Hon. Femi Fanwo.
From Yagba East, 1999, Chief T.J Faniyi, 2003, Chief T. J. Faniyi, 2007. 2011 Engr. Kayode Adegbayo, 2015, Elder Leke Abejide, Alhaji Ganiyu Salaudeen (Erukutu). 2019, Elder Leke Abejide, Kayode Adegbayo(Olomo), Barr. James Fabola, Chief T.J.Faniyi, Engr. Dele Obiniyi 2023, Alhaji Sikiru Yusuf, Chief T.J Faniyi. Engr. Dele Obiniyi
Yagba West, 1999, Sen. Sunday Karimi, 2003, Sen. Sunday Karimi, Chief(Mrs), Abanida, Bar. Mrs Funmi Abiodun, 2007, Hon. Sam Aro, Sen. Sunday Karimi, 2011. Hon. Sam Aro, Sen. Sunday Karimi. 2015,Sen. Sunday Karimi, 2019 (NIL), 2023(Nil).
I must offer my sincere apology to those who contested at one time within these periods whose names may not have been mentioned. But from the above analysis therefore, it is clearly established that there has never been a time when a Mopa-muro person have not shown given strong expression to their aspirations – they were never undermined, bullied or restrained. This history of free political expression therefore affirms the fact that there existed no rotational arrangement be it a gentleman or conventional agreement.
An important point to remind ourselves is that between 2019 and 2023, Mopa-Muro secured the All Progressives Congress (APC) tickets twice in person of Chief Tuesday in 2019 and Engr. Folorunsho Olafemi in 2023 respectively. But to the dismay of everyone, disclosure and confession coming out suggest that few people from Mopa-Muro sold out their slots. They negotiated it out for personal benefits only to turn around now as repentant prodigal sons to be crying foul and maliciously accusing innocent Yagba leaders of political suppression.
The pertinent question is if indeed Mopa-Muro is cheated or marginalized as alleged, would they have been given the ticket of the ruling party twice? The hypothesis of marginalization is therefore frivolous, malicious and an attempt to blackmail the good people of Yagba Nation.
The pertinent question is if indeed Mopa-Muro is cheated or marginalized as alleged, would they have been given the ticket of the ruling party twice? The hypothesis of marginalization is therefore frivolous, malicious and an attempt to blackmail the good people of Yagba Nation.
It is therefore instructive to say, that those who conceived the idea that Elder Leke or indeed any other individual citizen of Yagba could be bullied and blackmailed into submission have merely embarked on a fruitless journey.
Elder Leke as a citizen of Yagbaland is constitutionally qualified, morally fit and proper to contest the 2027 general election without prejudice to the validity of the aspiration of any other individual from any corner of Yagba.
Also, the truth to know about Elder Leke’s reelection bid is that it is beyond Elder Leke himself. It is premised on the agitations of the widows, the students, farmers, the traditional leaders and the less-privileged in our society. From the experience of the 2023 general election in Yagba, a fight against Elder Leke is a fight against the widows and the market women in Yagba Land.
Principally, also, Elder Leke has been able to distinguish himself by being able to hold and manage his loyal political structure, showing respect and demonstrating commitment to the growth of his followership. These qualities make it all the more dreadful to challenge his structure. I am not sure if I have had any physical contact with Elder Leke for up to two times in my life but as a researcher and a participant in political enterprise, I can testify to the fact that up to 80 percent of Elder Leke’s supporters since 2015 have been consistent, which suggests that they are happy being with him and working for him, this is a feat that is hard to achieve.
It should also be noted, given the field assessment of the 2023 general election, that Elder Leke is a capital gain, and an asset to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Yagba. How he achieved that has been a task for continuous study.
Elder Leke is a hard nut to crack in Yagba Politics, having supported the All Progressives Congress political structures more than any elected politicians across the party line in Yagba Federal Constituency.
It is imperative to state all these to disabuse the mind of those who are accusing the elected chairmen and His Excellency, the peoples Governor of Kogi state, Usman Ahmed Ododo of Anti party activities by supporting the re-election of Elder Leke. The gentleman eminently deserve the support he is now getting across party lines.
My counsel to those exerting their energies on campaign of calumny is this: any attempt to blackmail Leke to submission should be redirected into something else; those resources should be re-deployed into other progressive strategies – even though it is impractical to defeat Hon. Leke at the poll. So, rather than going through the fruitless path our brothers should consider a more viable political understanding.
As I conclude this piece, I consider it pertinent to emphasize, stress and sound it clearly that Yagba people need Elder Leke Abejide now more than any time in our political history. His ambition is a strategic necessity of service.
(DEMOCRACY NEWSLINE NEWSPAPER, APRIL 7TH 2026)
