By Pelumi Olajengbesi, Esq.
Having gotten used to Wole Oke, each time I read him criticizing Governor Ademola Adeleke, despite the tremendous efforts and energy the Governor is deploying to serve the people of Osun State, I just ignore it as one of those commentaries from a very alcoholic human being.
However, I decided to respond here because, in his statement, he claimed he has spoken to the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), and that they have granted his request for military fortifications ahead of the 2026 Osun State election. This is laughable. Wole Oke must have been a very poor student back in school if he actually thinks that the offices of the CDS and COAS are ones a single individual can control or use to score political points.
The CDS and COAS are powerful and sacred institutions for the protection of the Nigerian territory, not for elections in ORIADE/OBOKUN. The current CDS is one of the most educated and civilized in the history of Nigeria. That is a public office, and Wole Oke doesn’t even have access to him more than any other Nigerian. That the Army will be available for him during elections is already a lie. I have facts and records that the Nigerian Army will be neutral in the Osun State elections and will not support anyone. Please quote me anywhere, the nation has outgrown all that nonsense. If you want to win elections, get the support of the people.
It is deeply unfortunate, yet unsurprising, that Wole Oke, after over two decades in the National Assembly with painfully little to show for it, has suddenly remembered the good people of Ijesa North simply because another election is fast approaching.
The same representative who could not attract basic infrastructure, who offered more excuses than results, and who failed to uplift the constituency entrusted to him for over 20 years, now seeks to hide behind cheap propaganda to justify his record of absentee leadership and political opportunism.
Some of us who are young, under 40, are working day and night to earn a decent living, out of which we also give back to our society. Wole Oke joined politics as a complete nobody and God favored him. He made money out of the votes of the people for years. He has no moral authority or any modicum of decency to attack a Governor who is working for the people with both state resources and personal family funds.
Let it be stated clearly, no amount of revisionist storytelling can erase the reality of our people. While Oke has spent over 20 years defending his personal interests, Governor Ademola Adeleke has, within just three years and despite serious financial challenges and opposition, delivered great governance, solid infrastructure, welfare policies, and innovative people-centered programs.
Governor Adeleke stands today as the only Governor in Nigeria who has refused the usual security votes, transparently deploying them for the service of the people of Osun State.
It is therefore laughable that anyone would suggest that the Nigerian Army, a noble constitutional institution serving the Nigerian people, will become a tool for any individual for personal political validation. Absolute rubbish!
The Nigerian Army belongs to the nation. It serves our communities, not the ambitions of any politician. Wole Oke should be told that this is 2025, not 2003. Security agencies respond to credible intelligence and operational necessity, not to Wole Oke. Who is Wole Oke in the scheme of things in national politics? The only thing he has is money, for himself and his family, and even that he cannot spend on the people.
I personally made inquiries regarding his claims about the CDS and COAS, and let me state confidently that no such commitment exists anywhere. Nigeria is not in that era again. In fact they said they don’t know him.
I think Wole Oke believes we are just here to sell groundnuts. Lol. I cannot but laugh out loud. To imply that the Nigerian Army will do anything for him during elections is to trivialize the sacrifices of our armed forces and reduce national security to a campaign slogan.
Our people know the truth. Members of the House of Representatives from other constituencies who are relatively new in the House have done much for their constituents, with quarterly reports visible to the blind, but Wole Oke would rather travel alone and post pictures to mock his followers.
The era of emotional blackmail and political entitlement is over in Osun State. Our people now demand performance, not drama. They demand accountability, not desperation. They demand vision, not empty rhetoric, and Adeleke is the answer.
And I think, with all humility, some of us need to also blow our trumpets. I challenge Wole Oke to a debate on what he has done in the last 20 years in office versus what I have done as a “nobody” in our constituency. How many people has he raised, empowered, and liberated? Let’s put the records side by side. I can list mine to 50. He should just list 20.
Wole Oke is currently a political orphan seeking protection from the powers that be. He left the PDP simply because the PDP insisted on primary elections in ORIADE/OBOKUN. Now he is in APC, and the APC, authoritatively, are not comfortable giving him the ticket automatically. In fact, he is not even in the scheme of things.
It is my prayer that Wole Oke gets the ticket for the House of Representatives again. He will meet the people of Ijesa North at the polls and he will start losing from Esa-Oke. Mark my words. It will be like a dream.
Pelumi Olajengbesi, Legal Practitioner, writes from Abuja.
