Yewa/Awori: Healing Ogun’s 50-year political wound in 2027

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As political alignment intensifies across Nigeria, Ogun State voters face a distinctly narrow field for the upcoming 2027 governorship election. Although the Independent National Electoral Commission has yet to publish its final consolidated candidate list for all states, the contest in Ogun is rapidly consolidating into a high-stakes two-horse race. On one side stands Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, aka Yayi, representing the All Progressives Congress. On the other is Oladipupo Adebutu of the Peoples Democratic Party. With no other formidable political force currently breaking through the noise, the electorate is functionally presented with a stark choice between two heavyweight gladiators.

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However, the defining question of the 2027 contest is not merely about a limited candidate menu. The central issue rests on what each candidacy signifies within the delicate socio-political architecture of Ogun State. This election is not a routine ballot exercise. It is an ideological and moral crossroad. While Senator Adeola’s platform is anchored on equity, inclusion and historic redress, Adebutu’s bid threatens to entrench the self-serving status quo of an elite minority that treats executive power as an exclusive regional birthright.

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To fully comprehend the stakes of 2027, one must examine the long-standing geographic imbalances that have defined Ogun State since its creation on February 3, 1976. The state is structurally divided into three primary senatorial districts: Ogun Central (Egba), Ogun East (Ijebu/Remo) and Ogun West (Yewa/Awori). Yet, in nearly five decades of statehood, the governance matrix has operated with a glaring, indefensible void.

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While Ogun Central and Ogun East have repeatedly produced executive governors who completed full multi-term tenures, Ogun West has been systematically sidelined from the highest office.

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Consider the record. Ogun Central gave the state Chief Olusegun Osoba, who served a single term, and later Senator Ibikunle Amosun, who served two full terms. Ogun East produced Chief Olabisi Onabanjo, Otunba Gbenga Daniel (2003–2011) and, subsequently, Prince Dapo Abiodun, who by 2027 would have completed eight years. Between them, these two zones have held the governorship for over 32 of the 50 years since 1976.

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Ogun West, by contrast, has never produced an elected governor. The closest it came was during the military era and brief transition periods. In democratic contests, Yewa/Awori candidates have been used as running mates, commissioners and party chairmen, but never trusted with the top seat.

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For nearly half a century, the people of Yewa/Awori have contributed immensely to the economic engine, intellectual capital and cultural wealth of Ogun State.

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They are farmers feeding the markets of Lagos and Ogun.

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They are traders at Seme, Idiroko, Imeko and Ilaro borders, generating huge IGR.

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They are academics, industrialists and professionals spread across Nigeria and the diaspora. Yet, when it comes to executive leadership, they have been subjected to an unwritten rule that consigns them to political subordination.

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It is a pattern that mirrors what political scientists call “rotational exclusion” — the polite practice of rotating power among the favoured while pretending the third zone does not exist.

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Maintaining this status quo is not merely a political strategy. It is an inherent, structural injustice. Demanding that a major, highly populated and economically vibrant section of a state remain perpetual spectators in the governance of their own homeland violates the foundational tenets of democracy, fairness and mutual respect.

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Democracy is not just about voting every four years. It is about the sense that every community has a stake. When one senatorial district watches two others trade power between themselves for 50 years, cynicism sets in. Young people disengage. Voter apathy grows. And eventually, the state pays the price in lower cohesion, lower trust and lower development outcomes.

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This is why 2027 cannot be business as usual. The electorate must ask: what kind of Ogun do we want to build? One where power is a private estate, or one where power is a public trust?

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While it is undeniably Oladipupo Adebutu’s democratic right to aspire to lead the state, it is equally crucial to recognise that governing Ogun State is not the exclusive preserve of any single individual, family or senatorial zone. To suggest or act as though executive leadership must continuously revolve around specific postcodes ignores the vast human capital spread across every corner of the Gateway State.

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Ogun State’s legacy as a cradle of excellence was built not by a single district, but by trailblazers from every region who have shaped national and international history.

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From the legal realm, the state takes pride in figures like Akintola Sapara-Williams, the first Nigerian lawyer, and Hon. Justice Olumuyiwa Jibowu, the first Nigerian judge to sit on the Supreme Court bench. It gave Nigeria Sir Adetokunbo Ademola, the first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria, as well as legendary legal luminaries and Senior Advocates of Nigeria such as Godwin Kolawole Ajayi, Adetunji Fadairo, Idowu Sofela, Kehinde Sofela and Akintoye Akinbowale Coker, alongside prominent advocate Chief Babatunde Akin-Olugbade.

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In governance and public administration, Ogun State produced Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the first Nigerian lawyer to head a regional government. It gave us Chief Simeon Adebo, pioneer Permanent Secretary, Head of Service and Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations. It produced Dr Moses Majekodunmi, distinguished medical doctor and Sole Administrator of the Old Western Region. And it gave Nigeria two heads of state: former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chief Ernest Shonekan, Head of the Interim National Government.

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The state’s intellectual and economic footprint is equally boundless. It is home to Professor Wole Soyinka, Black Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature. It produced Dr Adeoye Lambo, former Deputy Director-General of the World Health Organization. It gave us renowned historian Professor Anthony Asiwaju, legendary educationist Dr Tai Solarin, Chief Solomon Onafowokan, Chief Michael Subomi Balogun, Chairman of FCMB, industrialist Chief Adebayo Ogunlesi, an investment banker and owner of Gatwick Airport, UK, celebrated literary figures Chief Joseph F. Odunjo and Professor Afolabi Olabimtan, and Professor Adebayo Adedeji, a world-class economist, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

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It is the birthplace of the revolutionary Ransome-Kuti family — Funmilayo, Beko, Olikoye and Fela — whose contributions to human rights, medicine and global culture remain unmatched.

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And crucially, many of these icons came from all three zones. Awolowo was Egba. Soyinka is Egba. Obasanjo is Egba. Shonekan was Egba. The Ransome-Kutis were Abeokuta. But Yewa/Awori has its own proud lineage: Chief (Mrs) Ebun Oyagbola, Chief Jonathan, Dr Tunji Otegbeye, Asiwaju (Senator) Solomon Ayodeji Otegbola, Senator Iyabo Anisulowo, Chief (Mrs) Iyabo Mathilda Apampa, Senator Tolu Odebiyi, Dr Isiaq Kunle Salako, Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare; Brig-Gen Idowu Olurin, former Military Administrator and Sole Administrator of Ekiti State; Gen Bamidele Shafa (retd.); and industrialists in cement, agriculture and logistics who have built companies employing thousands.

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With such a rich, diverse tapestry of human excellence drawn from every section of the state, no single zone can credibly claim a monopoly on governance or administrative capability.

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Every district in Ogun State possesses an abundance of qualified, visionary and high-performing leaders ready to serve. To reduce state leadership to a regional birthright is an insult to this shared pedigree of excellence.

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The emergence of Senator Adeola as the APC’s consensus candidate represents a conscious, calculated step towards dismantling this long-standing inequality. Motivated by Governor Dapo Abiodun’s forward-looking succession plan, party leaders, elders and stakeholders across all three senatorial zones recognised that the time for political tokenism had passed. After eight years of an Ogun East governor, the logic of equity demanded that the next slot go to the zone that has waited the longest.

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The overwhelming endorsement of a power shift to the Yewa/Awori bloc was not an act of political charity. It was a necessary act of restitution to correct a structural defect dating back to 1976.

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In Senator Adeola, Ogun West presents a candidate who is not a placeholder, but a tested legislator with a track record of institutional governance, resource attraction and capacity. As Senator for Lagos West, he oversaw constituency projects worth billions, attracted federal presence and built a reputation as a ranking member of the National Assembly’s finance and appropriations committees. His candidacy offers a viable mechanism to finally integrate Ogun West into the executive leadership matrix of the state.

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It signals to future generations that every child born in Ogun State, regardless of their senatorial district, possesses an equal claim to the governance of their state.

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Beyond symbolism, there is practical politics. A governor from Yewa/Awori will pay closer attention to border trade, agriculture in Imeko-Afon, road networks linking Ogun West to Lagos and Benin Republic, and the industrial corridor around Ilaro and Owode. These are areas that have been under-prioritised because no governor has had direct political roots there. Equity is therefore not just moral. It is developmental.

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In stark contrast, Oladipupo Adebutu’s insistence on keeping executive power within Ogun East, specifically the Remo zone, following Governor Abiodun’s eight-year tenure, flies directly in the face of political equity. Should Adebutu’s bid prevail, it would mean that Ogun East holds the governorship for an extended, unbroken period, effectively locking Ogun West out of executive representation for another decade or more.

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Proponents of the Adebutu candidacy argue on the basis of competence, name recognition and the PDP’s traditional base in Ijebu. They point to his experience as a former House of Representatives member and his philanthropy. But the question voters must ask is not whether Adebutu is capable. The question is whether it is just to ask Yewa/Awori to wait another eight years after waiting 50.

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Why should power cycle indefinitely between Ogun East and Ogun Central while Ogun West is continuously told to wait its turn?

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What justification exists for telling an entire senatorial district that its qualified leaders, intellectuals and public servants are permanently disqualified by virtue of their geography? No person of conscience, committed to democratic fairness, can defend such a brazen imbalance.

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Every region of Ogun State possesses an abundance of highly educated, capable and visionary leaders equipped to govern effectively. To suggest that executive capability resides exclusively within specific postcodes or dynasties is a patronising narrative designed to preserve privilege at the expense of collective unity.

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Politics without moral equity inevitably breeds cynicism, division and structural stagnation. A state cannot achieve its full potential when a significant segment of its population feels disenfranchised by a system engineered to exclude them.

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The 2027 election gives the Ogun State electorate a profound moral responsibility: to decide whether the state will continue down a path of regional dominance or embrace a balanced framework where power is shared equitably among all constituent parts.

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Choosing equity is not merely good politics. It is essential for social cohesion. When people feel included, they invest more in the state. They pay taxes willingly. They defend public property. They encourage their children to stay and build at home instead of migrating.

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By supporting a power shift to Ogun West, the electorate does not diminish any zone. Rather, it strengthens the foundational contract of the entire state. It tells the Egba and Ijebu son that his time will also come again, but that justice requires we take turns. It tells the Yewa daughter that her vote counts the same as any other.

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The choice before Ogun voters in 2027 is clear: endorse a rigid status quo that reinforces exclusion, or support a transitional moment that affirms equity, justice and shared destiny for all of Ogun State.

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Ultimately, the true strength of any democratic society lies in its willingness to heal self-inflicted wounds of marginalisation and build a system rooted in justice. Nigeria as a whole is grappling with the same question at the federal level: how do we ensure that every region feels represented?

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Ogun State has an opportunity in 2027 to model the answer. To allow one senatorial district to be perpetually locked out of executive leadership is to undermine the very spirit of brotherhood and shared heritage upon which Ogun State was founded.

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Progress cannot be built on the back of institutionalised disenfranchisement. True progress demands that every constituent part of the state feels seen, respected and represented at the highest levels of governance.

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If Ogun can get this right, it sets a template for other multi-ethnic states. It proves that zoning does not have to be a dirty word. That it can be a tool for fairness when applied transparently and in good faith.

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The 2027 ballot presents more than just a routine leadership transition. It offers a defining moment of democratic correction. It is a chance to close a 50-year gap.

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To honour the sacrifices of Yewa/Awori leaders who have served loyally without ever tasting the top office. To tell the next generation that geography is not destiny.

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By choosing a path that prioritises equity over regional dominance, the people of Ogun State have the chance to set a standard for fairness across the nation. It is time to break the chains of political exclusivity, honour the vast talent distributed across all three zones and ensure that executive power becomes a shared trust rather than a privileged inheritance.

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When history is written about Ogun State in 2031, the question will not be whether Adeola or Adebutu won. The question will be: did Ogun choose justice? Did it choose to be whole? That is the decision before the voters. And it is one they must make with both their heads and their conscience.

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Ogbonnikan writes from Okeagbede, in Imeko-Afon LGA of Ogun State.

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