It is a well-worn axiom in political communications that when a hired pen cannot intellectually elevate his patron’s chosen puppet, he must resort to fabricating deficiencies in the frontrunner. This is the tragic, theatrical trap into which our own Oga Sulaimon Olanrewaju has found himself.
In his recent commentary, “Adekanmbi vs Alli: Between substance and sensationalism,” Oga Olanrewaju attempts an architectural feat of grand delusion: inventing a narrative of “emptiness” around Senator Sharafadeen Alli, whilst clumsily attempting to construct a statesman out of thin air.
The ultimate objective is clear: to satisfy the overblown ego of an executive paymaster desperate to install an obedient, malleable surrogate in the Agodi Government House come 2027.
Oga Olanrewaju’s central thesis – that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Sharafadeen Alli Campaign Organisation possess “no blueprint, no policy direction, and no economic plan”, is not merely flawed; it is a brazen act of factual erasure.
To claim a vision vacuum exists simply because one chooses to keep one’s eyes tightly shut to protect a ruling benefactor, is the height of intellectual dishonesty.
The fatal blow to Oga Olanrewaju’s sponsored illusion was delivered emphatically on Tuesday 29th, September 2026, at the Oyo Rising Citizens Forum (ORCF) one-on-one interactive dialogue in Ibadan.
Before a discerning audience of citizens, professionals, and community stakeholders, Senator Sharafadeen Alli did what no other candidate in the 2027 gubernatorial race has had the courage or conceptual clarity to do: he laid bare a granular, measurable, and uncompromising policy roadmap for the governance of Oyo State.
Oga Olanrewaju, I will systematically contrast your scripted fiction with the unassailable realities articulated by Senator Alli in that event.
Local Government Autonomy: A Definitive Structural Break
Oga Olanrewaju vigorously defends the status quo, claiming with a straight face that local government administration is thriving under the current dispensation. Oga Olanrewaju, this to me, is a direct insult to the intelligence of the good people of Oyo State. The absolute truth, which Oga Olanrewaju conveniently suppresses, is that the citizens of Oyo passionately demand true local government autonomy. Crucially, they know they can never get it from Oga Olanrewaju’s principal, who has repeatedly and publicly hinted at his profound disdain for local council independence, openly stated that he does not believe in local government autonomy, and continues to strictly dictate to and micromanage all local government chairmen across the state.
Senator Alli did not offer vague platitudes to counter this executive overreach; he offered a definitive structural break. He pledged full fiscal and administrative autonomy for all 33 Local Government Areas from 29 May 2027. “My administration will not spend one kobo belonging to Local Governments. They will build their schools, build their health centres, and employ their own workers. That era of stifling the councils is over,” Alli declared authoritatively. This is genuine devolution, the ultimate antithesis of the highly centralised puppet-show Oga Olanrewaju’s handlers wish to sustain.
Education: From Rhetoric to Measurable Reform
Furthermore, where is the “emptiness” in an educational policy that commits to crashing classroom populations to a strict maximum of 30 pupils per class? This targeted reform directly addresses learning outcomes while simultaneously triggering the employment of thousands of qualified teachers and graduates.
Where is the “absence of vision” when Alli explicitly commits to dedicating at least 18% of Oyo State’s annual budget to education. This is coupled with regular training and retraining for educators. Oga Olanrewaju, this is a comprehensive roadmap, not a vacuum.
Workers’ Welfare and Economic Stimulation
Oga Olanrewaju praises alternative figures for textbook definitions of a modern economy yet ignores Alli’s pragmatic industrial and social security framework. For the state’s workforce, Alli moved past rhetorical empathy by promising a 13th-month salary for civil servants alongside the prompt payment of regular salaries, pensions, and gratuities.
On economic stimulation, his focus anchors on agriculture and mining, featuring the establishment of at least one cottage industry in every single local government area. To check devastating post-harvest losses for agrarian communities, Alli has already set the ball rolling, pledging to provide functional parabolic dryers across the state, including all seven towns in Ibarapa and two in each senatorial district, before this December.
Land Rights and Infrastructure: Temperament Over High-Handedness
Even on volatile matters of state overreach and the controversial Ibadan Circular Road project, Alli displayed the temperament of a seasoned, empathetic administrator. Instead of the high-handedness characteristic of the current administration, Alli pledged to intervene within his first few days in office by setting up an independent grievance committee within 48 to 72 hours.
His philosophy remains unyielding: “We will not seize people’s land, and we will not sell state assets.”
Healthcare: A Blueprint for Functional Facilities
In healthcare, the contrast is equally sharp. While the current establishment presides over deteriorating facilities, Alli’s blueprint mandates a functional general hospital in each of the 33 local governments and a fully equipped primary healthcare centre across all 351 wards. Demonstrating that he does not just talk but acts, he revealed plans to facilitate and commission three fully equipped healthcare centres across Oyo South Senatorial District before the 2027 elections even begin, handing them directly over to the state.
The Panic Behind the Prose
It is transparently obvious why Oga Olanrewaju is frantic. When a political establishment realises that its scheme to impose a malleable successor is threatened by a formidable, experienced legislator with a detailed, public agenda, panic sets in. Noise, as Oga Olanrewaju correctly notes but wrongly attributes, becomes a shield for emptiness. But the noise here belongs entirely to the uniformed writers trying to wish away an unassailable policy platform.
By subjecting his blueprint to rigorous public scrutiny at the Oyo Rising Citizens Forum, Senator Alli has elevated the gubernatorial conversation above superficial spin.
The good people of Oyo State do not want a puppet dancing to the tune of an outgoing benefactor’s ego. They want substance, local government autonomy, and predictable governance.
No amount of elegant prose can hide the fact that while others are still searching for a script, Senator Alli is already delivering the blueprint.