A Rejoinder from an Observer in Idanre: Between Self-Delusion and Political Realities
In the theatre of politics, it is often said that delusion is the last refuge of a failed actor. One reads (Small Alhaji, former Reps member) Hon. Tajudeen Adefisoye’s epistle not with surprise but with a familiar sigh, for this is not the first time that political underachievement has attempted to rebrand itself as martyrdom. What is tragic, however, is the desperate embellishment of history, the weaponization of name-dropping, and the woeful refusal to confront one’s own unpopularity, even when it screams from the ballots.
Let us start with the numbers, for ballots do not lie. In 2023, you claimed to have spent over ₦1.4 billion, yet you lost your own polling unit and ward, both of which sit at the foot of your father’s house. What clearer verdict does one require? Even the walls of your home refused to echo your name. In politics, the people are the final arbiters. And in your case, their judgment was loud, clear, and damning.
Two weeks after your defeat, your party, the APC won the House of Assembly election, even in your very polling unit. Your absence was not missed. In fact, it was celebrated. They won your ward. They won your local government. Without you. That singular episode laid bare the truth you continue to run from: you are not the asset you claim to be. Your self-perceived indispensability is nothing more than a bloated illusion.
During the most recent governorship election, while others were fighting for their units, you quietly relocated yours to Ala ward. Was this cowardice or strategic withdrawal? Alas, even your new refuge rejected your ambition. The only unit that failed in that ward was yours. You failed to deliver for Governor Aiyedatiwa, the very man you now wrap yourself around like a cloak. Rest assured, the governor and the party hierarchy are not blind.
Your electoral victory in 2019 was not a testament to personal popularity but a fluke engineered by crises within the APC and PDP. While White and Kayode Akínmade battled internal wars, you benefited as the least controversial option under SDP. That brief moment in the sun should have taught humility. Instead, it birthed arrogance.
Now you speak of betrayal by Engr. Ade Adetimehin, the man you once called the strongest politician in Ondo State. You claim he undermined your campaign. Tell us, did he also instruct your immediate family and community to vote against you? Did he direct the people of Idanre to reject you across board? Did he program your unit to fail during the gubernatorial elections? Leadership commands loyalty by service, not sentiment. Influence is earned, not conferred by loud declarations.
And as for your self-styled loyalty to the APC, let us ask: what loyalty begins with public blackmail? What commitment ends with subtle threats cloaked in hashtags and riddled with innuendo? You speak of appointments, but have you asked whether you were recommended? Whether you were found worthy? Or whether the structure you claim to defend views you as dead weight?
Honourable sir, charity begins at home. Your opponent in 2023 did not just win he swept his polling unit, his ward, and his local government. His people stood with him. Yours stood against you. You now cry sabotage. Should the people of Idanre apologize for voting according to their conscience?
If you truly seek relevance, then return to the drawing board. Walk the streets of Idanre without escort. Take a popularity tour with the incumbent Rep member. Let the people decide who truly commands their trust. Until then, do not confuse visibility with influence, nor noise with respect.
The truth remains: you were rejected by your people. Not once, not twice. And no amount of phone calls, press releases, or hashtags can rewrite that.
A time comes when a man must stop blaming shadows and confront his own flaws. That time, for you, is now.
Signed,
Arch Akinuli Jones Olawande
An Observer of Conscience &
Citizen of Idanre Land
