It is better to begin this reaction with a question and the question begging for answer is: did Senator Fatai Buhari make a data gaffe with his election statistics or was it a deliberate attempt at watering down the ongoing advocacy for Governorship Power Rotation in Oyo State?
Recently, many of us will recall that, Senator Abdul Fatai Buhari, who is representing Oyo North Senatorial District of Oyo State in the Red Chamber of the National Assembly, granted an interview where he gave a wrong and miscalculated statistics about the voting percentage of the five regions who are stakeholders with equal right to the first political seat in the Pace Setter State.
Before we go further in this reaction, it is good to state that Senator Fatai Buhari is from one of the three Local Governments in Ogbomoso that had been drawn with the ten Local Governments of Oke-Ogun to make up for Oyo North Senatorial District.
In addition, it is also good to put it on record that, for good twelve years, Senator Buhari has been serving for third term in the National Assembly as the Senator, representing the thirteen Local Government Areas that make up Oyo North Senatorial District.
In the interview under review, the Senator gave some disturbing and unsubstantiated Data about the voting strength and pattern of the regions or zones of Oyo state.
The wrong statistics presented by the distinguished Senator said Ibadan had 51% of the voting population of Oyo state; Oke-Ogun had 22%, Ogbomoso had 18%, Oyo had 7% and Ibarapa had 3%.
Now, a simple summation of these figures from the Senator adds up to 101%, not 100%. From this calculation, therefore, it is evidently clear that the Senator, a politician of such caliber, is not current with electoral data and statistics of the State he wants tp govern. The figures he gave were not in sync with the original Data from INEC – the electoral body managing the process elections in Nigeria.
To further buttress the point we are making, the INEC Data for the 2023 gubernatorial election for Oyo state is as follows:
1. Oyo State total number of registered voters is put at three million, two hundred and seventy six thousand, nine hundred and five (3, 276, 905).
2. Total number of votes cast in Oyo State is nine hundred and eighty seven thousand, six hundred and eighty eight (987,688) representing a 30% voter compliance.
3. From total number of votes cast in item 2 above, Ibadan had 40.6%, Oke-Ogun had 30.9%, Ogbomoso had 13.1%, Oyo 9.8% and Ibarapa 5.5% representing 99.9%, which is approximately 100 %.
Furthermore, according to INEC Data, the voting character or pattern of each region or zone is as follows:
a. Ibadan region had 1, 778,372 registered voters.
The total votes cast in Ibadan was 401, 209 votes, which represented 22.6% voter compliance.
b. Oke-Ogun region had 651, 090 registered voters.
Total votes cast in Oke-Ogun was 305, 634, which represented 46.7% voter compliance.
c. Ogbomoso region had 394, 539 registered voters.
Total votes cast in Ogbomoso was 129, 636, which represented 33% voter compliance.
d. Oyo region had 282, 738 registered voters.
Total votes cast in Oyo was 97, 220, which represented 34.4% voter compliance.
e. Ibarapa region had 170,166 registered voters.
Total votes cast in Ibarapa was 53, 989, which represented 31.7% voters compliance.
The above is INEC Data breakdown and is genuine, authentic and verifiable. Now, the question to ask is, where did Senator Buhari get his own Data from? Was it a mistake on a calculated attempt at suggesting that Rotational Governorship agenda is unachievable in Oyo State, the Pace Setting State like in other Southwestern States.
Or, could it be a deliberate attempt to water-down or jeopardise the agitation for an Oke-Ogun Governor come 2027?
Senator Buhari made some comments during the interview that Governorship should first be zoned to Oyo North Senatorial District after which micro zoning would later be discussed. After his twelve years of being the Senator over the ten Local Government Areas of Oke-Ogun, he still has the effrontery to be talking about micro zoning? Isn’t that saying that Oke-Ogun people are fools or foolish? Is that not a case of greed and selfishness that some politicians are known for?
A good assessment of Senator Buhari’s statistics shows how unfair politics has been in Oyo State where some regions want to dominate the other perpetually.
In addition, Senator Buhari deliberately settled for Senatorial District instead of region in order to present to the world that Oke-Ogun cannot push the advocacy without Ogbomoso that it shared the Oyo North Senatorial District with. This is nothing, but a case of complicating a straight forward issue when it is on record that late Adebayo Alao Akala, of blessed memory from Ogbomoso, was the Governor of Oyo state between 2007 and 2011 zone.
At this juncture, it is good to state clearly that the agitation for rotational Governorship in Oyo state is as a result of political dominance which produced the marginalisation and exclusion of some regions from the scheme of things in Oyo State. Apart from Ogbomoso region which has produced late Akala in 2007, Ibadan has been the one producing the Governors in Oyo State since 1999 when the new political dispensation began.
It is also good to note that, Ibadan has 11 Local Government Areas, Oke-Ogun has 10 Local Government Areas, Ogbomoso has 5, Oyo has 4 and Ibarapa has 3 Local Government Areas. After Ibadan, Oke-Ogun has the highest number of Local Governments; but, since the creation of old and new Oyo State, it has never produced a governor. Oyo and Ibarapa have also never produced a governor and they are all stakeholders in the politics of Oyo State.
With all the points raised so far, the next salient question to ask is: what can be the justification for Senator Fatai Buhari’s call for the zoning of the Governorship seat to Oyo North instead of Oke-Ogun region? Well, a good reader of political statements will not be caught unaware that what Senator Buhari had in mind was that there is no difference between the three Local Governments of Ogbomoso and the ten Local Governments of Oke-Ogun.
But, it is good to say that the two regions are not the same. Oke-Ogun is Oke-Ogun and Ogbomoso is Ogbomoso. The two of them are Yorubas but from different historical backgrounds.
In other words, within the same Yoruba race and language, the two regions have different histories, orientations, perspectives, idiosyncracies, intonation, etc.
During the First and Second Republic, Ogbomoso was classified as Osun 2 Senatorial constituency. It was not part of Oyo State at all. But, because of politics of unfairness, injustice and inequity, Ogbomoso was brought Oyo State to always slug things out with the regions it came to meet.
Then, it is good to put it on record that, despite the numerical advantage in favour of Oke-Ogun, her people have been magnanimous enough to vote for Senator Buhari on three good occasions to represent Oyo North Senatorial District; but, instead for Senator Buhari to be in the vanguard of the campaigning for an Oke-Ogun Governor in 2027 as a token of appreciation to Oke-Ogun, he is busy rolling out wrong and unfounded statistics to prove antiprogressive point with a view to supporting his Gubernatorial ambition.
Another thing to take up Senator Buhari concerning his submission that Oyo North Senatorial District must wait and watch out for the candidate Ibadan region will present before determining whether they could match such a candidate or not?
What a ridiculous, self-defeatist and demeaning assessment?
Answering Senator Fatai Buhari on this, it is good to say that good people are not the exclusive preserve of just one region. With this in mind, it is good to say that Oke-Ogun is blessed with different sons and daughters, in large numbers, who are eminently qualified to match any candidate from Ibadan region.
Put differently, as we have such qualified indigenes to be the Governor of Oyo State in Ibadan, so also we have in Oke-Ogun, Oyo, Ogbomoso and Ibarapa.
Therefore , on the final analysis, Senator Buhari’s interview calls for serious concerns. We can ask about where exactly he belongs on the advocacy for power rotation? The non-negotiable truth is that, God-willing, Oke-Ogun will produce the Governor of Oyo State in 2027. This is possible, achievable and doable and, the earlier the Senator flows with what God and the people of God want, the better.
With the statements he made in that interview, it is safe to conclude that he is not interested in the Oke-Ogun for Governor project, rather, his intention is to continue setting Oke-Ogun people against themselves for personal and selfish agenda.
We implore every sons and daughters of Oke-Ogun to shine their eyes and wise up.
Lastly, if Oke-Ogun is able to produce Governor in 2027, then hope would have started rising for other regions that had suffered marginalisation and exclusion in the Scheme of things in Oyo State, the Pace Setter State.
BY: *ẸGBÉ ÀJỌṢEPỌ̀ FÚN ÌTẸSIWÁJÚ GBOGBO WA*
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