Omo tó solenu, so àpò ìyà kó

Omo tó solenu, so àpò ìyà kó ~ An Open letter to All Oke-Ogun Youths.

Dear fellow youths,

I found it imperative this time to put up these lines, to awake the patriotic senses of our dear youths, especially the gullible ones who prefer the choice of none Oke-Ogun indigenes to Oke-Ogun indigene for material or any reason that is best known to them.

To start with, I need to categorically say here that, no one is responsible for our underdevelopment in this region of the state but we, I mean Ourselves. Yes! we are the architect of our misfortunes and lingering marginalization. I have the opportunity to have lived amongst people from other regions of the state, the last they could do no matter how intimate you are with them, is to trade their person with you for any reason, the love of their people and their region is always considered first, hence the obvious reflection of same on their geographical development.

It pains me to the marrow whenever I heard a promising young man saying, " Home is not homely" hence, the reason for his objection to Oke-Ogun Agenda. I will then quickly find solace in this saying that, it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to talk and clear all doubt. Is beheading the remedy to headache? No! It's NOT but administering an appropriate medication. If your home is not homely, what modalities have you then set in motion to make it homely?

Let me quickly remind you of Afonja, the one time Yoruba Generalissimo in the Ancient town of Ilorin, who sold off his soldiers cheaply for he considered them to be tardy and impertinent. He sold them out and bought part of Alimi's (a Fulani warrior) soldiers, he relied so much on them until Fulanis declared a war against his people, his own bought Fulani soldiers fought against his kingdom and delivered the land to Alimi (Their former master, who speaks their language). Thenceforth, his generation never had a share to the throne in Ilorin.

My analogy is to open our minds to the danger in campaigning for a non-indigene of Oke-Ogun at the detriment of our own people, all in the name of party deferences. Edward Abbey once said,  "the tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting each other - instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals".

May you not be deceived. They don't love us. The promises are fake. The empowerments are kangaroo. They want to just use you and dump. No amount of millions you may be paid to do all these could be commensurate with the value the project would add to our space, and even YOU. You will exhaust the pay remember, and your home return may not be possible.

I hereby invoke the ever relentless spirits of our elder statemen to as a matter of alacrity, unanimously present to us a credible candidate, irrespective of any political affiliation. The time is now! No further time is available to check time , as 2019 is very much around the corner.

Lastly, we youths should see ourselves as a major stakeholder in this struggle and we must do all in our capability to ensure the filling of Oke-Ogun indigene for the guber race of the state and also work assiduously for the emergence of whichever candidate presented by the region. Let's make this sacrifice, if not for anything, for posterity sake.

With everyone doing it right at all times, Better Oke-Ogun is very achievable.

Signed:

Babajide Oniyo
President,
Iseyin Youth Development Group.