8th March, 2023
By Oluwole Adeboye
President of the Oodua people’s Congress Reformed, OPC (R), Dare Adesope, has advised Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos who is the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for the state in the March 11 election to fix lapses in the party before the election day.
Adesope said going by the results of the presidential poll in the Feb. 25 election, the youth established their presence.
He said there was a need for the APC chieftains across the country to appeal to the youth wing of the party to sheathe swords.
Adesope passed the message in a press release he personally signed and forwarded to P.M.NEWS in Lagos on Wednesday.
According to him, APC narrowly lost Lagos to another party owing to the negligence of the party leaders.
“The youth really spoke up with their votes which means they have formed a formidable force to establish their presence,” Adesope said.
Speaking further, he said “this may not have happened if the leaders of the ruling party had actually carried the youth along and also allowed them to enjoy some deserved benefits. I have done my own opinion poll; I was able to gather some useful information.
“The youth are really bitter and angry. That is why they unleashed their anger towards the gluttonous politicians who think of themselves alone.
“Lagos is a cosmopolitan state which has a large population of Igbos but the Igbo can’t outnumber the Yoruba living in Lagos. So, for the Labour Party to win in the Lagos presidential election means that a large percentage of the predominantly Yoruba youth voted for LP.
“Another factor is religious bigotry. Some pastors feel cheated by the Tinubu/Shettima ticket. They feel his running mate ought to be a Christian.
“Thirdly, some pastors are fighting a personal battle. Imagine a pastor who was not paying money for packing space on his private jet but was only resenting the government that forced him to pay. Tell me how foolish you will look at the end of the day if you find out that your pastor only used you for his selfish interest.”
The OPC boss said Lagos which is the most populous city and commercial nerve centre of the country should be taken seriously.
“The Southwest governors up till now still neglect pan-Yoruba activists’ groups. I have been clamouring for security and even offered my group members to help in assisting the states to tackle insecurity without positive response yet,” Adesope said.
He said the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu should personally address the youths’ grievance, saying the party leaders at the local government level were not representing the party well.
He maintained that the government should go to the grass root directly via Chief heads of all communities in Lagos.
“The Baales are closer to their people, do not make the mistake of sending the kings to the baales to avoid the story of a big stone that fell on the head of a lizard. The lizard will Just nod its head but won’t be happy and since no one can interpret silence you never can tell what will happen.
“The simple truth is, Kings and Baales have different responsibilities. As a matter of fact, the baales do more of the job. So, to avoid conflict of interests, approach them separately. Do not leave any stone unturned, meet the community leaders to restructure a new political Lagos and we shall all rejoice in the end.
“Let us defend Lagos. Let us defend our heritage, Itesiwaju Eko, Ajumose ni,” Adesope concluded.