Adeleke: The entrance of a new era in Osun
Jeleel Olawale
November 27, 2022 marks another milestone in the history of Osun State as the state has new governor who will steer the affairs of the state for four years.
The triumphant entry of Senator Ademola Nurudeen Jackson Adeleke into Osun politics was no doubt a surprise as he was neither known nor heard in politics, but destiny beckoned on him.
His political career was relatively unknown in Osun politics until the death of his elder brother, Isiaka Adeleke, who was a senator until his death on April 23, 2017.
The death of his brother brought him to political limelight in Osun. It is impossible to deny the fact that late Isiaka had a remarkable career and a legacy to be proud of. He was the first executive governor of Osun State.
Though, Ademola was said to have been involved in the re-election of former governor Rauf Aregbesola of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in 2014, as a member of the then ACN with his elder brother, Isiaka Adeleke before his demise.
Adeleke attended Methodist Primary School, Surulere, in Lagos State, Nigeria, Nawarudeen Primary School, Ikire, Osun State and then proceeded to both Seventh Day’s Adventist Secondary School and Ede Muslim Grammar School, Ede for his secondary education.
He went back to school after the 2018 gubernatorial election to study Criminal Justice and Political Science at Jacksonville State University, Alabama, in the US in 2021 as a result of academic criticism and legal tussle he faced on his academic history.
Ademola Adeleke is a successful businessman and an administrator who served as Pacific Holdings Limited’s Group executive director from 2001 to 2016. Unknown to many, Ademola has worked in different companies as against the belief of his political detractors claiming that he has no work experience.
The Osun West Senatorial District and other party powerful men agreed to return the ticket to Adeleke’s dynasty and Ademola stepped in, to fill Isiaka’s vacancy in the Senate since it is a constitutional requirement. Although, he was first denied ACN ticket before PDP offered him the ticket.
It was a surprise win in the by-election for Ademola. Nine of the ten local governments in the senatorial district elected him, and he received 97,280 votes in total. He dedicated his victory to his late brother, Isiaka Adeleke.
His life was a shining example of goodness and patriotism who rides on the back of his late brother, Isiaka Adeleke to climb his political ladder. Adeleke dynasty is a popular household name in the politics of Osun and the South West in particular, because their father was a former senator and political figure in the old Western Region.
The family name, good legacy of his father and late brother, Isiaka Adeleke helped him a lot in his political adventure. The family is well known not only in Ede but Osun State. Ademola enjoyed the support of the whole family which pundits described as uncommon gift.
Ademola’s interest in clinching the gubernatorial ticket of the People’s Democratic Party was said to have made Senator Iyiola Omisore dumped the party for Social Democratic Party alongside his followers to pursue his governorship ambition in SDP when he realized that he could not secure the ticket because the party executives’ support for Ademola.
On September 22, 2018, Adeleke ran for governorship of Osun State on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) against APC’s Gboyega Oyetola and Iyiola Omisore, candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP). The “Osun West lokan” slogan and Adeleke being their candidate helped him against all odds.
He faced series of legal battles over his academic qualifications in a build-up to his guber ambition. Some of his adversaries sued him for certificate forgery. He was also alleged of faking his secondary school testimonial and WAEC results to terminate his gubernatorial campaign in the election but triumphed.
The court threw out the case because the plaintiff had failed to provide evidence of Adeleke’s forgery; and therefore dismissed. Adeleke surmounted all these challenges despite provocative and unprinted name calling, but never gave up.
His political life has never been without challenges but as a dogged fighter, he surmounted them. He is convinced that he fits the picture of the kind of man who could govern the state and worked his way into the heart of the electorate.
He was underrated among the candidates in the 2018 governorship election but sprang surprises when he won the poll with slim margin, even though the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ruled the election inconclusive, rescheduling a rerun for September 27, 2018. But Oyetola, who was the candidate of the APC, won the run-off election.
Adeleke referred to the election as a “coup” and opposed the outcome. On March 22, 2019, a Tribunal proclaimed Adeleke, winner of the election. But the supreme court upturned his victory and declared Oyetola validly elected governor. Ademola believed that he was robbed of victory since he had highest number of votes in the first ballot before INEC declared the poll inconclusive.
But the unrelenting Ademola was cleared by his party (PDP) along with Akin Ogunbiyi and four others to contest the party’s primaries ahead of July 16, 2022, Osun State governorship election.
His victory in the primary election of their party made Akin Ogunbiyi to defect to the Accord Party, while Prince Dotun Babayemi challenged his emergence as the candidate of the PDP in court, which Adeleke won at the Supreme court, Abuja.
In his second bid for the governorship election, Adeleke defeated the sitting governor, Oyetola, in the July 16 2022 gubernatorial election which many described as a “supreme achievement”.
While announcing the results at the INEC collation centre on Sunday, July 17, 2022, in Osogbo, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, who was the returning officer, said that Adeleke polled 403,371 votes to defeat his closest rival, Gov. Gboyega Oyetola, the candidate of the APC, who scored 375,027 votes.
A close associate of the family, Mr. Miftaudeen AbdulAzeez said, the family is a good source of inspiration to Ademola’s career in which he had the backing of the family, “I had never seen this type of family in my life, always supporting one another despite all odds, but triumphed at the end. It is a happy family”.
“There is hope that Osun will be better than before, with Ademola as governor. The family will not want to soil its name. The future is bright for Osun”.
“They have been planning how to pay pensioners and salary arrears of the civil servants owed by the outgone APC governments in the state. The family is well blessed and I am very sure that Osun people will enjoy the government”.
When contacted, Mr Kayode Ogundele believed that the new government will need more revenue to function adequately. “He will do things differently through provisions of infrastructural facilities”.
“The governor will provide basic human needs and conducive environment for economy to strive. Adeleke is qualified to govern the state because of his business experience”.
“He needs to be more practical in his administration. He should listen to practical advice and run open door policy”.
Ogundele urged the people of the state to support the incoming PDP administration to enjoy dividends of democracy.
As Osun now has a new governor, all expectations are now placed before Ademola Adeleke to take Osun to an enviable height. It is hope that his victory will be a blessing to Osun where dividends of democracy will be enjoyed by the people of the state.
It is believed that he will do better than expected and Osun people will cooperate with him to have a better state that everyone will be proud of, to do the job of urgent reconstruction and regeneration of Osun State and there is need to rally round him for a new dawn in Osun.
