The marketplace rewards only quality goods not the loudest hawkers | By Ibrahim Adekola
Politics is a marketplace of ideas, but it is also a theatre where words sometimes travel faster than facts.
As the Yoruba saying goes, "No matter how loudly the masquerade dances in the market square, it cannot change the history of the family that knows its origin."
Political communiqués may excite supporters, but they cannot erase the footprints of performance already engraved on the sands of history.
The communiqué issued after the meeting of some PDP candidates under Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja deserves a careful response; not because political criticism is unwelcome, but because democracy flourishes when facts are allowed to stand taller than emotions.
Every administration is entitled to scrutiny, but criticism must be measured against evidence rather than political disappointment.
On the Allegation of Marginalising Party Elders
One recurring accusation against Governor Seyi Makinde is that he allegedly sidelined party elders.
This claim raises an important question.
Who exactly are these "marginalised elders"?
Leadership in a democracy is not measured by how many political godfathers receive preferential treatment.
It is measured by how effectively government serves the ordinary trader in Bodija, the farmer in Iseyin, the artisan in Ogbomoso, the civil servant in Ibadan and the teacher in Oke-Ogun.
The era when a handful of individuals dictated government appointments from private residences belongs to another chapter of history.
Governor Makinde deliberately shifted governance from personalities to institutions.
An African proverb says, "When the village begins to grow, the compound of one elder can no longer contain everyone."
Oyo State has witnessed governance driven by budgets, policies, infrastructure, education, healthcare, agriculture and investment; not by political patronage.
Those accustomed to politics of entitlement may interpret institutional governance as marginalisation.
The people, however, interpret it as maturity.
On the Allegation of Betrayal
Perhaps the strongest accusation is that Governor Makinde is a "serial betrayer."
Politics is full of promises, negotiations and expectations.
However, there is a significant difference between betrayal and refusing to mortgage public interest for private political settlements.
A governor takes an oath before God and the Constitution; not before political power brokers.
The Yoruba say, "The child sent to wash his hands must not use the water to wash away the family inheritance."
Governor Makinde was elected to protect the mandate of millions of voters.
Whenever difficult decisions arose, he consistently placed governance above political convenience.
Many roads now connecting communities were not built through political agreements.
The upgraded healthcare facilities were not constructed because politicians demanded them.
Teachers, pensioners and civil servants did not receive improved welfare because of elite negotiations.
These were products of policy choices.
If protecting public resources over personal political interests is now described as betrayal, then the meaning of betrayal has been dangerously stretched beyond recognition.
On the Claim That PDP Has Become Defunct
Political parties naturally experience internal disagreements. That is neither new nor unique.
History reminds us that almost every major political party in Nigeria has survived internal crises, court cases and leadership disagreements.
To arrive at the conclusion that the PDP has become politically extinct simply because of legal and internal disputes is like declaring a mighty iroko tree dead because some of its branches have shed leaves during the dry season.
Political history teaches that parties rise, reorganise and return stronger.
Declaring the death of a political party before elections are conducted is like counting harvested yams while they are still flowers in the field.
African wisdom reminds us:
"No one buries a living man because he sneezed."
Political disagreements should not be mistaken for political extinction.
Every politician possesses the constitutional right to choose a political platform.
Nobody can deny that. However, it is ironic that individuals who accuse Governor Makinde of destroying the PDP simultaneously advise its governorship candidate to abandon the party altogether.
Yet, contemporary history has it on record that Makinde singlehandedly revived the political careers of many politicians who have today turned his political foe.
Some of these politicians are not just among the biggest beneficiaries of the Makinde led government but among the most influential and decision makers on party affairs.
This brings the new development on Arapaja's planned defection to the question; in whose interest was the idea of defection born, is it in the interest of the people of Oyo state or personal interest?
If indeed the concern is rebuilding the PDP, should the first prescription be abandonment?
One cannot repair a leaking roof by demolishing the entire house.
Political migration is a personal decision.
It should not be dressed as a moral necessity.
And the decision to pursue political trade elsewhere should not automatically make your old friends and associates enemies, only politically immature politicians whose primary source of livelihood depend on politics without any second known employment address do that.
On Loyalty to Team Arapaja, it must be stated that political loyalty is actually admirable, blind loyalty is dangerous, but
democracy belongs to institutions, not individuals.
It must also be stated that political parties always have ways of survive even the most difficult personalities and governments outlive politicians.
The African saying reminds us:
"When one tree attempts to become the entire forest, the birds eventually lose places to build their nests."
Politics built around one individual often weakens internal democracy but one built around ideas strengthens democracy.
Ultimately, voters will determine whether loyalty should belong to one leader or to policies that improve their daily lives and standard of living.
On the Allegation That Critics Were Bought with "Crumbs"
One unfortunate trend in Nigerian politics is assuming that every opposing opinion must have been purchased.
That assumption insults the intelligence of citizens.
Many supporters of Governor Makinde defend his administration because they can physically point to roads, schools, hospitals, security interventions, agricultural reforms and improved fiscal management, not because anyone handed them political crumbs.
When a farmer praises rainfall, it does not automatically mean the clouds paid him. Sometimes evidence speaks louder than accusations and Nigerian politicians should learn from this.
Even though governor Makinde is not without his faults in certain areas or deficiencies in some of his ideas, to however, try to demonize him is expecting a human to be fallible because
administration's achievements have become visible enough for independent minds, investors, development partners and ordinary residents to assess.
Support based on performance should not automatically be reduced to political patronage.
Since 2019, Governor Makinde's administration has consistently focused on expanding infrastructure, improving internally generated revenue, strengthening education, modernising agriculture, upgrading healthcare, attracting investments and enhancing security collaboration.
These achievements are documented in budgets, completed projects and measurable economic indicators.
Roads have names, hospitals have locations, schools have beneficiaries, investments have records, economic growth leaves footprints, but political propaganda leaves only echoes.
As another African proverb teaches us:
"However long the night may be, the dawn will surely reveal the true face of every traveller."
Every election ultimately belongs neither to governors nor opposition figures, it belongs to the electorate.
No communiqué can substitute for the ballot, no press conference can replace the verdict of voters, and Governor Seyi Makinde, like every elected leader, remains accountable to history.
His critics are equally accountable for presenting superior alternatives rather than relying solely on accusations.
Democracy flourishes when ideas compete, not when character assassination replaces constructive engagement.
As the Yoruba wisely says:
"The marketplace does not honour the loudest trader; it honours the one whose goods satisfy the buyers."
By 2027, the people of Oyo State will once again enter that democratic marketplace, and when they do, it is unlikely that political slogans alone will determine their choice.
They will weigh records against rhetoric, performance against promises, and visible development against political lamentation.
For in the end, the river is never judged by the noise of those standing on its banks, but by the water it delivers to every village and community along its course.
Ibrahim Adekola, writes from Yemetu, Ibadan.