ÒKÈ-ÒGÙN LO KÀN: BREAKING THE SHACKLES OF SECOND-FIDDLE POLITICS AND THE AUDACITY TO RECLAIM OUR HOMELAND

For decades, we have been called the “food basket” of Oyo State. We have tilled the soil, yielded the harvests, and consistently delivered the massive voter blocs that decide who sits on the executive throne in Ibadan. Yet, when the spoils of governance are shared, our basket is returned to us empty—filled only with broken promises, abandoned roads, and a bleeding security architecture.

Today, we must look ourselves in the mirror and ask the hard, uncomfortable questions:

Are the people of Òkè-Ògùn truly ready to change from playing second fiddle?
Are we genuinely prepared to break the multi-generational chains of deliberate underdevelopment?
Are we finally resolved to reject the political crumbs thrown at us from the high tables of Ibadan politics?

Look around our ten local governments. Our ancestral forests have been illegally occupied by foreign invaders who kidnap our children, terrorize our mothers, and butcher our farmers. Our infrastructure is in a state of heartbreaking deficiency, cutting us off from economic prosperity. If we claim we are tired of this insecurity, if we claim we are fed up with being treated as political afterthoughts, then our reaction cannot remain passive.

Anger without organization is useless. The time for silent lamentation is over. Now is the time to speak with one thunderous, uncompromising, and unified voice!

The Illusion of Marginalization vs. The Power of Our Numbers
They have historically divided us with tokenism. They tell us that Òkè-Ògùn cannot produce a Governor because we are too fragmented. They make us believe that our destiny is to forever settle for the Deputy Governor’s slot, or minor ministerial crumbs. But this is a psychological chain we must break today!

No single region in Oyo State holds a monopoly on leadership capability. We boast of intellectual giants, seasoned administrators, courageous youths, and an agrarian economic base that holds the key to the state’s survival. Why must we continue to beg for a seat at a table we built?

If we truly want to end the siege on our land, fund our local hunters permanently, build world-class medical facilities, and connect our towns with economic roads, we must seize the steering wheel of governance.

Ẹ Gbé Kì-í-ní Yí Wá, Àwa Lo Kàn!
Let the political class in Ibadan and Abuja hear this loud and clear: ÒKÈ-ÒGÙN LO KÀN! This is no longer a polite request; it is a absolute, non-negotiable community mandate.

Ẹ gbé kì-í-ní yí wá, àwa lo kàn! (Bring the mantle of leadership to us, it is our turn!)
We are done standing in the wings, clapping for others while our homeland bleeds.
We are done validating a political structure that counts our votes but discounts our lives.

To every traditional ruler, every political office holder, every youth leader, and every son and daughter of Òkè-Ògùn at home and in the Diaspora: this is our clarion call. We must submerge our minor local differences beneath the supreme interest of our regional survival. If we do not stand together as one indivisible wall today, we will remain slaves to the political fortunes of others tomorrow.

The chains of underdevelopment will not fall off by accident; they must be broken by the force of our collective resolve. Let the message echo from Igboho to Saki, from Kisi to Iseyin, from Okeho to Ipapo: We are ready. We are capable. We are united.

This is the dawn of absolute awareness. No more crumbs. No more second-fiddle alignment.

Àwa lo kàn! Let us march forward and claim our destiny!

David Alani Ige (The Scribe)