In recent days, unfolding developments within Owo Local Government Area have brought to light a disturbing pattern of political manoeuvring capable of undermining peace, tradition and democratic order in the ancient kingdom. Credible intelligence available to the people of Owo indicates that Hon. Timehin Adelegbe, a member representing Ose/Owo federal constituency in the national assembly has elected to align himself with the suspended council chairman, Mr. Tope Omolayo, in what appears to be a calculated effort to foment unrest and destabilise the socio-political equilibrium of the land.
It has become a matter of grave concern that Hon. Adelegbe, together with his political benefactor in Abuja is alleged to be providing a financial war chest amounting to several millions of naira to sustain a campaign of crisis against Owo. This sinister collaboration shrouded in duplicity and executed under the guise of political loyalty has emboldened Mr. Omolayo to persist in acts of provocation rather than show visible remorse for the catalogue of infractions that warranted his suspension.
The orchestrated protest staged yesterday in Owo, purportedly sponsored by Mr. Omolayo did not emerge organically from the populace. Instead, reliable accounts confirm that it was midwifed and strategically choreographed by Hon. Adelegbe and his coterie of media associates. These media operatives, acting on the explicit directives of their principal were visibly present to lend voice, structure and propaganda support to the embattled council chairman. Their involvement betrays a wider conspiracy; one aimed at manipulating public sentiment through choreographed misinformation, thereby attempting to distort the collective will of the people.
This pattern of clandestine political interference raises fundamental questions: What does Hon. Adelegbe stand to gain by sowing seeds of discord in his own home constituency? What truly motivates this reckless descent into the politics of sabotage particularly against a kingdom whose honour, culture and traditions are revered across Nigeria and beyond? His conniving and conspiring with his Abuja camp to destabilize the state by escalating matters that they were supposed to prevail on and medidiate in the state cannot alter the political destiny of Governor Lucky Ayedatiwa, who remains God-chosen. Adelegbe, Owo is noting.
The Olowo of Owo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Dr. Ajibade Gbadegeshin Ogunoye III stands as a towering figure whose dignity, influence and moral authority transcend partisan politics. It is, therefore, profoundly troubling that Hon. Adelegbe and his political co-travellers would elect to undermine the revered throne by encouraging and financing actions that are patently hostile to the collective sensibilities of Owo sons and daughters at home and in the diaspora.
No individual, no matter how politically ambitious, is permitted legally, culturally or morally to weaponise discord against the heritage of an entire kingdom. The orchestrated defiance against the decision of the Owo Legislative Council, the unified stance of the youths, the resolution of Olowo-in-Council and the overwhelming condemnation by traditional rulers across the local government is not only disrespectful but profoundly sacrilegious.
By engaging in a dangerous game of hide-and-seek, Hon. Adelegbe has unwittingly embarked on a political voyage that could ultimately consume his own ambitions. History is replete with examples of public officials who blinded by desperation, sought to challenge the collective conscience of their people and paid dearly for it. When a politician becomes the architect of anarchy, when he deploys mercenaries to disturb the peace of his homeland, when he elevates personal interest above communal harmony, he digs a political grave from which recovery is hardly possible.
Owo is not a theatre for political misadventure. It is a kingdom whose traditions are sacrosanct, whose cultural institutions command profound reverence and whose people have never tolerated acts deemed antithetical to their socio-political wellbeing. The gods of the land, the custodians of culture and the collective moral force of the kingdom do not look kindly upon those who attempt to desecrate its peace.
The world must understand that Owo will not succumb to orchestrated anarchy dressed in the garb of political agitation. The kingdom stands united. Its people are resolute. Its institutions are unshakeable. The attempts by Hon. Adelegbe and his Abuja collaborator using Mr Tope Omolayo to turn Owo into a battleground for personal supremacy will fail, as every subversive plot against the kingdom has failed throughout history.
For the sake of peace and posterity, Hon. Adelegbe is hereby called upon to retrace his steps, abandon this perilous trajectory and desist from actions that seek to embarrass the throne of Olowo or diminish the cultural and political integrity of Owo. The kingdom shall remain steadfast, unbroken and unmoved by the theatrics of those who place ambition above honour.
Owo rejects the politics of chaos.
Owo repudiates the sponsorship of anarchy.
Owo will not bow to clandestine conspiracies, no matter how richly financed.
The message to the world is clear: the heritage of Owo is inviolable and no political desperado shall be permitted to defile it.
E-Signed:
Olarenwaju Adeleke Joseph
President, Concerned Citizens of Owo for Good Governance and Cultural Integrity
