Oyo APC Leadership Treading the Path of Baba Wande in Ti Oluwa Ni’le

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There are moments in the life of a political party when silence becomes complicity and when missteps, no matter how seemingly harmless, carry consequences too grave to ignore. The recent drama that unfolded at a private housewarming in Ibadan, where a fabricated endorsement claim was allowed to stand unchallenged in the presence of the Oyo State APC executive committee, is one such moment. And if the party leadership, under the watch of Alhaji Moshood Olayide-Abas, fails to rise above this charade, history may record it as the day the seeds of another 2023-style defeat were planted.

Let us be clear: what happened was not a minor slip. It was an avoidable blunder. It was a textbook case of what happens when those entrusted with neutrality and guardianship of party cohesion become unwitting accessories to political desperation. The event in question was a personal celebration, a housewarming hijacked, twisted into a platform of cheap political theatre by an aspirant hungry for attention, who falsely spun the presence of party leaders into a full-blown endorsement spectacle.

And the most damning part? They sat through it laughing, dining, grinning through the deceit without as much as a verbal disclaimer, let alone an official repudiation. That silence has now been weaponized with tendency to plung the party into yet another round of suspicion, factional grumbling, and internal tension.

If the APC leadership in Oyo State continues on this reckless path, it risks becoming the Baba Wande of our political narrative, a once-revered custodian now remembered for dancing with opportunism and paying the price. Anyone who has watched Ti Oluwa Ni’le understands the symbolism: the land was sacred, but greed defiled it. JP and Sanya sold what they did not own. Baba Wande enabled it for quick gain. In the end, death, ruin, and disgrace awaited all three. Oyo APC must take this cinematic truth to heart.

The 2023 election loss was a bitter pill that should have taught hard lessons. The party went into that race fractured, directionless, and distracted by ego-fueled pursuits. Now, barely two years to the next cycle, the same signs are reappearing, packaged in smiles, photos, and whispered endorsements that serve no one but their architects.

Alhaji Moshood Olayide-Abas and his executive team must rise above this amateurish political stunt. Their duty is not to feed the ambitions of any aspirant. Their mandate is to hold the structure together, to inspire confidence that the APC in Oyo State is not for sale, not susceptible to manipulation, and not beholden to any individual until a free and fair process is concluded.

If they fail to set the record straight now, they will find themselves presiding over another catastrophic outing in 2027. The people are watching. Party faithful are watching. And history as Ti Oluwa Ni’le so poignantly shows, is unforgiving to those who trade integrity for convenience.

Let this be on record. The path of Baba Wande is seductive, but it always ends in destruction. Oyo APC leadership must choose wisely.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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