By Ahead of Saturday’s governorship election, AfrikTimes spent two days travelling through Ile-Ife, Iwo and Ikirun to speak with residents about what will ultimately shape their decision at the polling unit. Away from the noise of campaign posters and party rallies, the conversations that emerged were more personal; there were visible projects in their own neighbourhoods, memories of past administrations, religious duty, economic pressure, and, in some parts of the state, plain fear.
Ile-Ife: Judging Government by What Has Reached Their Corner
In Iremo, Lagere, a business district in Ile-Ife long associated with the overhead bridge that has come to define the area, trader Adeboye Abiodun said his enthusiasm for Saturday’s vote is rooted in what he has watched happen around his shop. Beyond the bridge itself, he pointed to project sites in parts of Ile-Ife he never expected any administration to reach.
“There are some corners in Ile-Ife that we never expected to see the government’s hand. This administration has gone there,” Abiodun said, describing the visible presence of government projects as the reason he wants to see the current governor continue in office. He said residents in his part of town are hoping for more of the same and are praying for the governor’s re-election.
Iwo: Duty, Memory and a Chance for the Opposition to Redeem Itself
In Iwo, reactions were more layered. A resident who identified himself only as Mr Adewale commended the current administration but argued that the opposition should not be written off entirely. He suggested that the setbacks of the opposition’s earlier time in office may have taught it lessons it could now apply if given another chance, especially with the state’s federal allocation currently higher than before. He also called for tighter security around polling units to protect every voter on election day.
For Adewale, however, his own reason for voting has nothing to do with any candidate or party. As a Muslim, he said, voting is close to a religious obligation, one he intends to fulfil regardless of who wins. He nonetheless made clear he hopes his preferred party emerges victorious.
A second Iwo resident, who asked not to be named, offered a longer view shaped by having lived through several administrations in the state. He walked AfrikTimes through what he considers the dividends of democracy delivered to Iwoland over the years, from the establishment of the Federal College of Education, Iwo, under the Oyetola administration, to the dualisation of roads in the town, to the armoured tank provided during the Aregbesola years to help contain a wave of armed robbery attacks in the area.
He urged voters to remain law-abiding and to follow electoral guidelines on Saturday. For him, the case for turning out to vote has less to do with any single candidate and more to do with the right to hold the government accountable afterwards. “Anyone who doesn’t participate in the voting process has denied themselves the opportunity to talk about any government’s failure to execute projects in their community,” he said.
At Odo-Ori, Iwo, a resident who gave his name only as Mr Dependable was direct in his assessment. He said the current administration has achieved more in Iwo than the administrations that governed the state over the preceding twelve years combined, pointing specifically to Governor Ademola Adeleke’s investment in infrastructure and healthcare as the basis for his own vote.
He acknowledged that Osun’s federal allocation has risen significantly under the current federal government, and credited Abuja for that increase. But he was careful to temper the praise, noting that the rising cost of living has eaten into the real value of that allocation and made every development project more expensive to execute than it would have been a few years ago.
Mr Dependable also spoke against the practice of parties handing out bags of rice to sway voters, calling on residents to resist being bought so cheaply. He urged people not to be intimidated by violence or the mere threat of it, and argued that the governor’s development agenda should be allowed to continue through re-election.
On the conduct of younger voters, he cautioned against allowing youths to be used as political thugs, arguing that politicians themselves often maintain friendships across party lines even while their supporters are pushed to see one another as enemies on the ground. He advised voters to go to their polling units without displaying any party insignia and closed with a reminder that voting is a right that belongs to everyone, urging residents to exercise it on Saturday without letting fear take over.
Ikirun: Silence in the Shadow of Violence
The mood shifted noticeably in Ikirun, where many residents approached by AfrikTimes declined to speak on the record. Several cited the atmosphere of violence that has gripped parts of Osun East in the run-up to the election, viewing the subject as too sensitive to discuss publicly for their own safety.
One resident who did agree to speak, Tajudeen Adeniyi Opeyemi, popularly known as “Ti e po,” used the opportunity to appeal for calm. He urged residents to go out and vote peacefully for the candidates of their choice on Saturday, while avoiding any form of provocation.
In Conclusion…
Across the three towns, a clear pattern emerged. Where residents felt the current administration’s impact directly, in the form of roads, bridges or health facilities reaching previously neglected corners, support for its continuation was strong and personal. Where memories of past administrations lingered, voters weighed decades of promises against what was actually delivered on the ground.
Fifteen political parties are on the ballot for Saturday’s election, following a last minute Federal High Court order that added the Social Democratic Party’s candidate, Francis Olugbenga Ajala, to the race just days to the poll. Despite the crowded field, the contest has narrowed in public perception to three frontrunners: incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, and Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress. It is against the records and promises of these three men, more than any other candidate on the ballot, that the voices gathered across Osun are measuring their choice.
What unites nearly every voice AfrikTimes encountered, regardless of location or political leaning, is a shared insistence that Saturday’s election be conducted peacefully, that voters be protected from intimidation, and that whoever wins be held to the same standard of delivery that residents are now using to judge the outgoing term.
