OGUN 2027: Yayi and the concept of Ató bá tẹ́lẹ̀ – By Mikail Mumuni

In a political environment often dominated by rhetoric, the ability to point to concrete, distributed projects builds a particular form of trust: the trust that comes from lived experience rather than campaign promises alone.

In the politics of leadership, one of the most important questions voters must ask is whether a candidate has acquired the experience, developed the capacity and demonstrated the commitment required to shoulder the responsibilities of the office being sought.

For Ogun State, as preparations gradually gather momentum towards the 2027 governorship election, this question brings Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, into focus.

Adeola’s supporters point to his legislative experience, constituency interventions and projects across Ogun State as evidence of his preparation for the governorship. For them, his political journey represents a gradual accumulation of experience that would prove valuable in the administration of a state with diverse economic interests, development needs and social expectations.

Indeed, there is a Yoruba saying that aptly captures the philosophy of preparation before assuming a position of responsibility: “Ató bá tẹ́lẹ̀ kó tó jẹ́ ọba.” In essence, the saying conveys the idea that preparation and experience should precede the assumption of a position of authority. It is a principle that resonates with the argument being made by those who believe Adeola’s years in public service have helped prepare him for the demanding task of governing Ogun State.

One of the most striking aspects of the case being made for Adeola is the claim that his development interventions extend beyond the boundaries of Ogun West Senatorial District, which he currently represents in the Senate, to other parts of the state.

In Nigeria’s political system, senators are elected to represent their respective senatorial districts at the National Assembly. Their primary responsibility is to make laws, provide oversight and represent the interests of their constituents at the federal level. However, many senators also facilitate development projects and interventions through federal institutions, constituency initiatives and engagements with relevant government agencies.

Adeola’s approach to constituency development reflects a broader understanding of the relationship between representation and development. Rather than restricting his interventions to the geographical area he represents, his projects and engagements demonstrate an interest in addressing needs across Ogun State, both rural and urban.

This countless verifiable evidence of Adeola’s projects and their distribution, offers an important dimension to the conversation about his governorship ambition. For a state such as Ogun, which comprises Ogun Central, Ogun East and Ogun West Senatorial Districts, the ability to appreciate the different development priorities of its constituent communities is an important consideration in the selection of a governor. The challenges confronting communities in the state’s industrial and commercial centres may differ from those facing rural settlements, agricultural communities and emerging urban areas. A governor must therefore understand these differences and develop policies that accommodate them without creating a sense of exclusion. A statewide development outlook is consequently an important quality to examine in any candidate aspiring to lead the state.

What sets Adeola’s record apart, is the scale and deliberate geographic spread of these interventions. As senator for Ogun West, he has facilitated the delivery of tens of thousands of solar street-light poles under the “Light Up Ogun” initiative. One recent batch alone involved 5,360 poles distributed as follows: 1,900 for Ogun West, 1,400 for Ogun East, and 2,060 for Ogun Central (including Abeokuta Township). Cumulative figures cited by the senator and independent reports place the total well above 50,000–80,000 poles across the three districts. These lights improve security, extend commercial hours and visibly signal presence in communities far beyond his formal constituency.​

Road projects form another major pillar. In Ogun West, more than 100–140 roads have been constructed or rehabilitated, the most prominent being the roughly 103-kilometre Ilara–Ilashe corridor that links dozens of communities and extends influence into adjoining areas. Recent completions also include the Joga–Iboro Road in Yewa North and numerous township and access roads in Imeko-Afon, Ipokia, Yewa South, Yewa North and Ado-Odo/Ota. Critically, similar interventions have reached Ogun Central: the Magbon–INEC Road in Abeokuta South, the Olomu–Ososun Road in Ifo Local Government Area, and support for facilities and roads in Obafemi-Owode (including donations toward community development infrastructure and pledges on the Mowe–Ofada corridor). Transformers and power-line rehabilitations have also been extended into Ogun East communities such as Ijebu-Imushin, Ishagunse and Itele.​

Education and human-capital investments follow the same pattern. Hundreds of classroom blocks (including multiple 12-classroom structures complete with offices, libraries and furniture) have been delivered in schools across the five local government areas of Ogun West and beyond. A recent example is the 12-classroom block at Ibafo Grammar School. Thousands of tertiary students—figures exceeding 5,500—have received scholarships and bursaries ranging from ₦100,000 to ₦200,000. Textbooks, school bags, ICT centres and libraries have reached scores of schools. His legislative facilitation helped convert the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, into a Federal University of Technology, while support has also flowed to institutions such as the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) and the Federal College of Education, Osiele.​

Healthcare infrastructure shows comparable breadth: more than 60 primary healthcare centres constructed or upgraded, intensive-care units established at state hospitals in Ilaro and Ota, solar-power systems installed at selected facilities, and medical outreach programmes that have reached tens of thousands of beneficiaries with free consultations, drugs and eyeglasses.

Security has been strengthened through the construction of several police stations (including border facilities at Idiroko and the Imeko-Afon Area Command) and the supply of operational vehicles. Ultramodern markets in places such as Ayetoro, Iboro, Obada, Agbara and Igbesa provide economic hubs that serve traders from multiple districts.​

Yayi’s empowerment programmes reinforce his statewide footprint. The “Oloja Yayi” market-support scheme has disbursed cash grants (progressing from ₦25,000 to ₦75,000 per beneficiary) to thousands of traders, with dedicated exercises held in Abeokuta for Ogun Central and Ijebu-Ode for Ogun East before returning to Ogun West. Agricultural empowerment has distributed tractors, power tillers, improved seedlings, fertilisers and cash grants to thousands of farmers drawn from all 20 local government areas of the state. Buses, tricycles and starter kits for artisans have similarly crossed senatorial boundaries.​

These interventions are not abstract claims. They are visible assets—roads people drive on, lights that illuminate streets at night, classrooms where children learn, health centres where the sick receive care, markets where traders earn livelihoods.

In a political environment often dominated by rhetoric, the ability to point to concrete, distributed projects builds a particular form of trust: the trust that comes from lived experience rather than campaign promises alone.

Transport unions across Ogun State have publicly endorsed Adeola partly on the strength of the internal roads and complementary infrastructure he has facilitated. Community development committees, traditional institutions and ordinary residents in both urban corridors near Lagos and rural agrarian belts have engaged with the results of these projects.​

Adeola’s own framing of continuity further strengthens the preparedness argument. He has repeatedly pledged that, if elected, his administration would complete viable projects initiated by the current state government rather than abandon them for political reasons.

His nine-pillar “ITESIWAJU” agenda—covering infrastructure, tourism and culture, education and human capital, security, inclusive health, women and youth development, agricultural transformation, job creation and industrialisation, and urban and physical development—positions itself as an expansion of existing gains rather than a rupture.​

Taken together, the legislative experience, the volume of facilitated projects, and the deliberate extension of those projects beyond a single senatorial district constitute a body of evidence that supporters present as preparation in action.

Ogun State’s diversity—industrial hubs and border towns, dense urban settlements and agricultural hinterlands, coastal and inland communities—requires a governor who can see the whole map. By facilitating roads, lights, schools, clinics, markets and empowerment schemes that touch all three senatorial districts, Adeola has, in the eyes of his advocates, already begun practising that wider vision.
Whether this record ultimately persuades a majority of voters in 2027 remains a question for the electorate.

What is already clear is that the conversation about preparation is no longer confined to abstract notions of capacity. With Yayi, it is grounded in specific, locatable projects whose distribution across Ogun State is living proof of the principle embodied in the Yoruba saying: preparation must precede the throne.

*Mikail Adegoke Mumuni, MNGE is a member of the Ogun State APC Campaign Council.