By Ade Omoniyi
For over 40 years, Yewa has been told it is their turn to produce the governor of Ogun State. Yet every election ends the same way, the dream dies at the ballot box. The real joker is not just numbers or population. The hidden joker is the Alake of Egbaland.
Yewa already starts at a disadvantage with only 5 out of Ogun State’s 20 local governments and with the least population compared to Ogun Central and Ogun East. That means unity is the only weapon Yewa has. But unity never comes because Ota, the biggest local government in Ogun West, does not fully see itself as Yewa.
The Alake of Egbaland claims Ota and the Gbalefa Peninsula. Many Obas in Ota owe allegiance to him instead of the Olu of Ilaro. And in politics, where the traditional rulers go, the votes follow. The Alake will always back an Egba son over anybody else. In Yoruba we say: Omo eni o se’di bebere, ka fi ileke si idi omo elomiran — no parent ignores their own child to adorn another.
History makes this crystal clear. In 2011, Ota gave Amosun 39,077 votes while Yewa’s own Gboyega Nasir Isiaka, GNI, managed only 16,196. That gap sealed the race. In 2015, Amosun again polled 89,181 in Ota while GNI got just 12,769 even though he swept Yewa North, Yewa South, and Imeko-Afon. In 2019, Adekunle Akinlade, a Yewa son, ran under Amosun’s blessing. Statewide, he scored 222,153 against Dapo Abiodun’s 241,670. In Ota, he edged Abiodun 27,859 to 24,838 but only because of Amosun’s Egba caucus. Abiodun’s masterstroke was picking his deputy from Ota which softened the swing. Without that, the result might have been different.
The bitter truth is this. Ota is Yewa’s biggest local government, but its divided loyalty makes it Yewa’s weakest link. Break Ota, and Yewa’s numbers collapse. That is the Alake’s hidden joker.
But Ota is not the only problem. Yewa elites often sell out their people, trading loyalty for contracts, appointments, and personal gain. They follow the money instead of the mandate, leaving their people divided and weak.
So, every four years, Ogun West becomes a bargaining chip, not a power bloc. Promises are made, votes are split, and the governorship goes elsewhere. Until Yewa unites, until Ota stands firmly under the Olu of Ilaro, and until leaders put the people above personal gain, the Alake’s joker will keep blocking Yewa’s governorship dream.
The question is simple. Will Yewa keep playing the joker or finally take control of the game?
