By Femi Adesola
Whenever the history of Osun State will be written, I’m certain Ede, Ejigbo and Egbedore will feature prominently in pages of the story book. Geographically Osogbo, the state capital shares boundary with Ede and Egbedore. Abeere which houses the Government Secretariat is an Ede territory while some parts of Osogbo falls under Egbedore local government.
Politically Ede and Ejigbo have both produced the Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly in three successive regime. Ejigbo with Professor Mojeed Alabi and Hon. Najeem Salam both have a combined 12years as Speaker while Ede with Hon. Adejare Bello has 8years.
No doubt this Federal Constituency has featured prominently in political history of the state since the beginning of Democracy in 1999 and creation of the state in 1991.
Barring any last minute change, the Former Speaker, Honourable Adejare Bello will fly the ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC) for the Ede North, Ede South, Egbedore, and Ejigbo Federal Constituency election while Barrister Bamidele Salam will fly the Peoples Democratic Party ticket.
This contest is expected to be a family affair as it pits two old associates against each other. Ambrose Bierce has aptly defined politics as ‘A strife of interests masquerading as a contest of principles and the conduct of public affairs for private advantage.’
Adejare retrogressed in his long time ambition from becoming a Governor to jostling for a House of Representatives seat, half bread they say is better than none.
One of the major reason why Adejare needed to quit the PDP for the APC few days before the governorship election was because his interest can no longer be protected in the PDP, and all odds were against him, despite perceived intervention and persuasion for him to work for the ambition of Senator Ademola Adeleke as Governor of Osun State.
The APC in its desperate move to neutralize the Adeleke block votes in Ede handed him the ticket. No doubt Adejare is a force to reckon with as far as Ede and Osun State politics is concerned, he spent a total twelve years in the House of Assembly, 4years as Minority Leader and 8years as Speaker under Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola and briefly under Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.
As a matter of fact Adejare indeed delivered his polling unit with a landslide margin, the APC also garnered over eleven thousand votes from Ede, a number which saw they close up the gap with the Ede born PDP Candidate, Ademola Adeleke.
Going by the last governorship election result, it may be difficult for Adejare to win with an APC flag in Ede, because of the Adeleke factor. Some people in Ede see Adejare as a betrayal who worked against the overall interest of Ede in the Governorship poll.
However, 24hours they say is a long time in politics, considering that the election is still bout 90days away and the “omo wa ni e ji o se” syndrome, Adejare may still spring a surprise in Ede.
Ejigbo, the only LG that survived the Adeleke tsunami during the Senatorial by-election, is expected to fall for the APC. The ultimate decider of this LGA is the current Speaker, Hon. Najeem Salam. Salam who holds the ace in Ejigbo politics has a special bond and relationship with Adejare Bello.
Bamidele Salam, an ace Broadcaster, Lawyer and Civil Advocate may encounter some difficulties in his local government of Egbedore, where he has once been Chairman. Some people describe him as inaccessible and also not an apostle of ‘stomach infrastructure.’ BS as he is fondly called is not a typical politician, he is a competent technocrat, his eloquence and vibrancy are his major selling point. He has carved a niche for himself in the media space, but politics they say is local.
The Adeleke’s and the PDP’s influence will help the Awo born politician in garnering reasonable votes in both Ede North and Ede South Local Government, but he will need to deal with the Najeem Salam factor in Ejigbo and his own local Government, Egbedore.
BS will no doubt have to work on his grassroot appeal if he is to confidently win the rural votes in his LG, also it is expected that he may find it easy in some parts of Oshogbo. The elite votes of Dada Estate, Agunbelewo/Okinni, Ofatedo and Ido Osun will be a major decider of the poll result in his local government.