Aiyedatiwa, the one oracle and Ondo people chose

“It is the Ifa oracle that has chosen Aiyedatiwa, not any human being. his mandate is a divine call from our ancestors, and there is nothing anyone can do to alter this” – Orunja of Odigbo Kingdom.

In the selection of a king, the Ifa oracle plays a prominent role in Yorubaland.T hat may be in the olden days as the kingmakers, not necessarily the oracle now select a new monarch whom they recommend to the governor of the state to endorse before a new king can ascend throne.

In Ibadan, Oyo State capital, the next king after the incumbent is already known. This is as a result of the prearranged succession line already adopted. Since the oracle assists in the choice of a king, it is now being consulted in the choice of a governor.

The Oruja of Odigbo may have been confused about whom he will support to be the next governor of his state among the 18 candidates who vied for the governorship seat last Saturday, November 16, hence decided to consult the Ifa oracle. Perhaps, thereafter all doubts were cleared as the oracle picked Governor Ayedatiwa over all other contestants.
The Nation newspaper of November 7, 2024 reported that “the Orunja of Odigbo Kingdom, Oba Rufus Olugboyega Akinrinmade, has said that Ifa oracle picked Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa. Oba Akinrinmade said the Governor’s mandate was a divine call from the ancestors. The Odigbo monarch spoke when the All Progressives Congress campaign team led by Governor Aiyedatiwa visited his palace and other stakeholders in the locality. He called on his subjects to rally behind the Governor and ensure he secure a decisive victory in next week’s election.”

In any event, whether you believe in the supernatural or not the governor won overwhelmingly last Saturday by defeating 17 other contestants. Isn’t it said that vox populi, vox dei which means the voice of the people is the voice of god? However, in this regard, since it was the god that spoke first, it now means vox dei, vox populi.

Ayedatiwa’s victory brought to mind the importance of name in Yoruba mythology. In Yorubaland, children are not just arbitrarily named. Our names have meaning. There is an adage that says “Ile lan wo ki a to so omo loruko” meaning events within the household determines what name will be given a newborn.
There are people whom you can easily guess what happened in their clan or family before they were born just by hearing the names of such people. Names such as Odunbaku, Babajide, Iyabode, Bashorun, Balogun, Abosede, Ajayi, Oke, Kokumo, Fasola, Jakande, Omolaja, all have deep meanings. Similarly, Lucky Orimisan Ayedatiwa have lots of meaning.

Looking at the political ascendancy and trajectory of the Ondo State governor elect, it is obvious that his names are influencing his life. For someone who never won any election to be picked as a running mate to former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu in 2020, became elected Deputy Governor, moved from there to be Acting Governor, survived impeachment scare in 2023, became governor in December 2023 after the death of his principal, Rotimi Akeredolu and now winning his first substantive election as a candidate in a landslide victory shows that God, gods and the people are rock-solid behind him.

The lucky governor reminds me of another man of destiny, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan who moved from Deputy Governor of Bayelsa State to becoming Acting Governor, Governor, Vice President, Acting President and President. Indeed, some people are what the great Novelist, Prof. Chinua Achebe said have a benevolent spirit whose chi cracked their kernel for them. Achebe advised that “Those whose kernels were cracked by benevolent spirit should not forget to be humble.”

So, how did the Ondo State governorship election of November 16, 2024 pan out? Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Lokoja, Prof Olayemi Akinwunmi, and the Returning Officer of the exercise declared Aiyedatiwa winner at the INEC headquarters, in Akure at exactly 2:30PM on Sunday, November 17, 2024.

He said Aiyedatiwa of the All Progressives Congress polled a total of 366,781 votes to defeat his closest rival, Ajayi Agboola of the Peoples Democratic Party who scored a total vote of 117,845. I watched the declaration from the studio of Nigerian Television Authority where I was a guest analyst of the election. I was meant to be on the field in Ondo State to observe the election.

However, flight cancellation prevented me. As the declaration was made on Sunday, the shout of 18 – 0 rented the air from the camp of the governor-elect as he won across the entire 18 Local Government Areas of the state.
As promised by INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu at our INEC/ CSO Quarterly meeting of October 31, 2024, the Commission lived up to expectation as all the accredited observer and media report shows that INEC was able to commence election promptly.
According to the Commission’s statistic which was tweeted on its X handle on the day of the election, “Of the 3,933 Polling Units across the 203 Wards in the 18 Local Government Areas of Ondo State, 3,823 (97 percent) opened by 8.30am.

The remaining 110 PUs opened between 8.31am and 10am.” The significant improvement on logistics over what was experienced during the September 21, 2024 off-cycle governorship election in Edo State is laudable and commendable given the fact that two local governments (Ilaje and Ese-Odo) are predominantly riverine.

The Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System device also worked optimally with very few cases of malfunctioning reported.

Thus, biometrics voter accreditation exercise was very smooth. The election was peaceful with only few instances of skirmishes reported. This meant the security agencies were able to secure the election environment effectively. The uploading of the Polling Units results on the INEC Result Viewing Portal was also very timely.

As at 7pm on the election day, over 90 per cent of the PU results were already posted on the IREV portal hence those who want to do parallel vote tabulation can do it. INEC conducted inclusive election as provisions were also made for assistive materials for Persons with Disabilities.

For instance, Magnifying Glasses were provided for voters with albinism while brail ballot guide was provided for the blind. However, people of wheel chair and those using crutches didn’t have it all easy as the topography of some of the polling units were inaccessible to these categories of voters.

However, priority voting was given to the elderly, pregnant women, nursing mothers and persons with disabilities as provided for in INEC’s guideline. Kudos to the Ondo State INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Babalola and her team of indefatigable lieutenants for pulling off a successful election.
On the flip side, the low turnout of voter which was below 25 per cent and the reported incidences of vote trading were some of the negatives in the election. These need to be worked on ahead of November 2025 off-cycle governorship poll in Anambra State.

The tasks ahead of the governor-elect who is going to transit to himself on February 24, 2025 is daunting and Herculean. Ondo people want good governance. He should identify the best brains in and out of politics and appoint them into his government. The state is not in short supply of human capital.

The “Sunshine State” needs significant improvement in its social amenities. Many of the roads are in deplorable conditions; schools, hospitals need to be upgraded. He should not spend his term in office paying political debts to those who supported him to victory.

Ayedatiwa should be mindful of how he wants to be remembered after his tenure. He should not allow the gods to be blamed in influencing his choice. Hearty congratulation and best of luck!

X: @jideojong