Tope O. Oyetayo, ACIPM

Who remembers that Yoruba book titled "Eégún Alaare”? 🤔

Sungbo’s Eredo, a network of Yoruba defensive mud walls and moats built over 1,000 years ago, is considered the largest pre-colonial monument in Africa. Larger than the Pyramid of Khufu. Larger than Great Zimbabwe. It sits in Ogun State and most Yorubas have never heard of it.

My dear people of Ogun State, I’m asking a sincere and righteous question. I am a proud Lagosian, a Yoruba woman born and raised in Lagos. If I come to Ogun State and declare my intention to contest for House of Representatives or Senate, will I be allowed to do so? Because if you ask me to show you my father’s house, I can only point to Lagos.

If not for politics, you really wouldn’t have electorally deficit individuals with chronic voter-rejection syndrome trying to intellectually audit a man who has clearly mastered the sociopolitical biomechanics of mass appeal. Some of you still think governance is a TED Talk mixed with LinkedIn vocabulary and three PowerPoint slides. Meanwhile, Adeleke has already understood something posthuman politics keeps proving globally: in the age of affective democracy, emotional connectivity, symbolic accessibility and populist resonance now outperform elite performative intellectualism. In simple terms: the people actually like him. You can write all the epistemological dissertations you want on “capacity” but elections are not marked by external examiners. They are marked by human beings with PVCs.

She’s a resident of Osun, so her opinion matters. She lives here in osun, pays taxes, and votes in Osun, so I don’t see any reason her views and stance shouldn’t be respected.

Funny how some Nigerians want acceptance, opportunities, and protection abroad, yet become uncomfortable when an Igbo woman works in Osun or another Nigerian succeeds outside their ethnic region. Chinwe is Nigerian. She has a right to live, work, contribute, and thrive anywhere in Nigeria. We cannot condemn xenophobia in South Africa while practising ethnic exclusion at home. A country cannot progress when competence is constantly filtered through tribe. Nigeria either belongs to all Nigerians or it belongs to nobody.

Funny how some Nigerians want acceptance, opportunities, and protection abroad, yet become uncomfortable when an Igbo woman works in Osun or another Nigerian succeeds outside their ethnic region. Chinwe is Nigerian. She has a right to live, work, contribute, and thrive anywhere in Nigeria. We cannot condemn xenophobia in South Africa while practising ethnic exclusion at home. A country cannot progress when competence is constantly filtered through tribe. Nigeria either belongs to all Nigerians or it belongs to nobody.

Today in Abuja, I appeared before the APC Governorship Screening Committee ahead of our party primaries. I am grateful for the clean bill of approval and clearance to move forward. This journey is about service and a commitment to all Lagosians. We have built a solid foundation and now we are ready to take the next step toward a greater and more inclusive Lagos. The work continues and I am ready to keep moving forward with you.