Osun guber election: Davido and Okpebholo’s tango — by Olabode Opeseitan

Let me start with a blunt truth. Governor Monday Okpebholo has become one of the most consequential leaders in Nigeria today. He has been in office for less than two years, yet the signs of transformation are impossible to ignore. Market women pray for him with a conviction that cannot be staged. They call him Akpako Rescue. They say he came to save Edo.

The contrast with the previous administration is stark. Godwin Obaseki arrived with the aura of an economic technocrat. Eight years later, Edo was left with unanswered questions. Public assets, including a five star hotel and a state funded museum, somehow slipped into private hands. Roads crumbled while billboards went up to remind citizens that the Federal roads were “not his responsibility”. The state waited for leadership. It did not arrive. Instead of remarkable delivery, Edo people bore the heavy burden of consultancy fees. They were thrilled with the pristine queen’s English and intellectual vacuity, yet nothing in their daily lives improved.

Then Okpebholo stepped in. Critics mocked his English. They called him an illiterate. Yet he delivered results that forced even his loudest detractors into silence. Over fifty projects in under two years. Each one visible. Each one measurable.

• Ramat Park Flyover completed with deep drainage that ended years of flooding and gridlock. Everyone who has seen the project attested to the quality of execution.
• Adesuwa-Sapele Flyover already at 40% completion, set to unlock Benin’s southern corridor.
• More than 500 kilometres of roads initiated across the state, with over 30 corridors already completed.
• Oba Market rebuilt into a modern 450-shop facility and allocated free to traders.
• A 100MW power plant secured with a 10% state equity stake to power industries by 2026.
• Udomi village transformed with a 150-bed hospital still under construction, tarred roads, an army barracks, a smart school and a water board.
• Sixty-eight schools rebuilt or upgraded within one year.
• Ambrose Alli University rescued with subvention raised from ₦41 million to ₦500 million.
• A 400-hectare mechanised farm launched to cut food costs and boost supply.
• Forty one Edo indigenes evacuated from South Africa by the Federal Government were supported with ₦1 million grants and soft loans.
• Edo Line, once moribund, revived to support citizens travelling across Nigeria for socio-economic progress.

Commute times have dropped. Transport costs have fallen. Markets revived. Schools secured. Rural communities restored. This is governance that leaves fingerprints on daily life.

Now the tension. As political activities intensified in Osun towards next Saturday’s gubernatorial election, Okpebholo took a swipe at Governor Ademola Adeleke, mocking his constant dancing at public events. His remarks went viral. Within hours, Davido, fiercely loyal to his uncle, responded by posting what appeared to be an unverified WAEC result allegedly belonging to Okpebholo. No caption. No explanation. Just grades that social media quickly weaponised. The move electrified the online space and dragged celebrity firepower into an already heated political contest. Davido reserves the right to fight tooth and nail to protect his uncle’s job, which is clearly slipping away.

As an Osun State indigene, I look at my own state and feel a tightening in my chest. The performance of Governor Adeleke has been underwhelming. Osun deserves the kind of momentum we see in Ogun, Ondo, Akwa Ibom, Edo, Abia and Enugu. Calling Adeleke’s performance mediocre feels polite. The state needs a leader who can build, reform and deliver. Not a dancer who trends.

I am not moved by certificates or theatrics. I am moved by results. I am moved by competence. I am moved by leaders who change the lives of ordinary people.

And Ademola does not sit among Nigeria’s intellectual or administrative heavyweights. Osun must choose better.