Kunle Oyatomi
For the electorate, the expectation after voting in their preferred candidate at the poll is to be showered with industrious and excellent performance by the office holders. It isn’t an unreasonable hope, given the sacrifices of time, money, skills and other unquantifiable resources they exhaust to see their choice through.
They want to be paid back with selfless service by the political office holders. It is a game of reciprocity that has stood the test of time in every clime worldwide.
Something of a similar hue plays out in the life of the elected politician. When he is put into office by the sacred ballot of the people, the politician exerts himself as much as he can to please the mandate-givers.
Just as the people look up to worthwhile and profitable service from the politicians they have sacrificed so much for, their leader has his own undeniable expectation: he wants to be rewarded with a constitutional encore if he’s enjoying a first term; he looks forward to a second term. It amounts to being rewarded for service. It’s a sacrosanct quid pro quo affair which benefits all the parties in the long run.
The beauty of this inviolate political tradition is unfolding in State of Osun at the moment. The leaders of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun West Senatorial District have met to endorse Governor Gboyega Oyetola for a second term when his first tenure runs out in 2022. At a news conference in Iwo, some 42 recognised APC chieftains out of 48 from Osun West Senatorial District announced their support for Oyetola to continue in office as his wages for ‘’performing creditably in the district’’, adding that ‘’the governor deserves the support of the district for the second term’’.
They spoke of Oyetola’s Administration ‘’magnanimously’’ building ‘’health facilities, especially PHCs across all over 100 electoral wards within the District.’’ They also alluded to the recommendation by the governor of a son of the area as a non-career Ambassador as well as the establishment of the Federal College of Education in Iwo.
They argued that although it is legitimate for Osun West to aim at the office of governor in 2022, they are waiving it in honour of the worthy accomplishments of Oyetola.
Their intervention came in the wake of a newspaper advertorial clamouring for ‘’power shift to Osun West in 2022.’’ The APC leaders in the District dismissed this agitation as ‘’ridiculous’’ and a move to ‘’precipitate friction within the party.’’
Can there be a more enduring compensation than when your good political works trigger encomiums from others?
Sometimes, you can put away your trumpet and let others blow the horn for you. But only performing political leaders can afford to take such risks, with the full assurance that their feats can’t be controverted or distorted. That’s a lesson for us all: leave lasting legacies to speak for you.
OYATOMI, a journalist/lawyer is the Spokesperson of All Progressives Congress in the State of Osun
