By Sodiq Lawal Chocomilo
Wole Oke has run out of the PDP. He used the party’s ticket as a federal lawmaker for 24 years. Under the PDP, he won 5 out of 6 elections. For 24 years, he never participated in any primary election. A seat belonging to two LGs, 22 wards, and over 100 towns was occupied by an individual for 20 years.
When he expressed his interest again, they informed him that he would participate in party primaries because the party could no longer deny others the ability to participate. Oke believed he had not declined politically. He accepted the challenge and identified himself as the landlord of the Ijesa North PDP. He boasted that the whole party’s delegates were in his pocket. He stated that his primary challenger will only secure delegates from his hometown.
In the long run, Oke tested his popularity within the party. He convened a meeting with Ijesa North PDP stakeholders in Ibadan, but no one showed up. He thought Ibadan was far away. He arranged another gathering of PDP stakeholders in Esa-Oke, but nobody showed up. He realized he was no longer in control of the party and began planning strategies to remain relevant in the same party where he pretended to be a landlord.
Oke resumed his usual strategy of blackmail and rants. He abandoned his position as a legislator to become a social media bully and annoyance. If he isn’t criticizing the governor within his party, he is assaulting residents who question his poor performance in office. Oke is on Facebook, Whatsapp, and Tiktok, seeking validation.
During his good days, his critiques would have sparked a debate within the party. From leaders to followers, they would have been in his direct message or visited his home to beseech him. Instead, he was ignored. He expected them to come and beg him for the party ticket as usual, but he fell asleep inside his own dream. They let Oke indulge in his folly.
The landlord of Ijesa North was preoccupied with social media, whereas his opponents were plotting within the party. They drained him one at a time. His initial supporters, who had given him success for 20 years, stared into his eyes and called him an ungrateful, greedy, and selfish politician. They abandoned him.
Oke knew the end had arrived. He didn’t fight it. His previous blackmail approach has proven ineffective. He made a video and shared it on social media to seek sympathy and help, but it ended in disaster. Oke witnessed and read how his followers condemned and accused him of greed and selfishness. When residents from Ijesa North demanded projects that he facilitated, he locked the comment section.
Oke contacted leaders who often intercede and obtained a free party ticket for him. He aimed to be a consensus candidate. They did not answer his calls. They locked the doors against him. When he continued to visit their homes, they affixed a cardboard sign with the words “GO AND PREPARE FOR PRIMARIES” in capital letters to the wall. He visited their homes more than ten times. When he discovered they had not removed the cardboard, he did not bother returning.
The renowned landlord has become an unwelcome renter. When you hear about Oke’s tribulations, you’ll understand why Yorubas say ‘Ile o gba, ona o gba’. He floated for days in his search for a ticket. Oke, who used to arrange a meeting at 10 a.m. and everyone would arrive by 7 a.m., now calls a meeting at 2 p.m. and no one shows up. That broke the camel’s back.
He fled the PDP. Similarly, when asked about bills he sponsored or projects he facilitated, he left Whatsapp groups. Oke is a frail individual. He avoids circumstances or problems that money cannot fix. When you engage Oke intellectually, he will flee. When Oke was asked about the dormant Esa-Oke Military Games Village in a Whatsapp group, he would leave in the middle of the night. He enjoys getting some sleep. Ambition was the only reason he lost sleep. He only hangs out in groups that chant his praises from daylight to night.
I’m glad he’s gone to the APC. Oke cannot enjoy the same level of grace in the APC as he did in the PDP. It’s a good thing he left the party that gave him everything in life. As a PDP congressman, he married, educated, constructed residences, and purchased automobiles. The man who joined the PDP with a rickety automobile, an old Benz, and a four-bedroom mud guest house has now left the party with three schools, luxury cars, and lots of finances for Ijesa North’s communal development.
I do not believe in vengeance, although some claim it exists. Nonetheless, I do not wish Oke any harm. Bola Ige oversaw the famed Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke. What did Oke bring to Esa-Oke over his 20-year tenure as a federal legislator? A deserted military games village that has been converted into a criminal encampment. He didn’t prioritize projects. He preferred programmes. What kind of programme? Budgeting N100 million for empowerment, and ended up distributing hair dryers and generators to one person per ward in Ijesa North.
Now he’s departing office without any legacy projects or bills enacted into law. Oke wasted 20 years in the House of Representatives. He merely used advantages intended for development and advancement in Ijesa North to further his personal life.
I wish Hon. Wole Oke well. Either loss or gain, I also wish the APC well. May Ijesa North never experience the kind of Wole Oke in the House of Representatives again. Indeed, 20 years of wastefulness, misrepresentation and crippled legislation.
