Ademola Adeleke’s Tortuous Journey to Victory
Society Watch
Can you blame Senator Ademola Adeleke if he embarks on a marathon dance now?
Victory is sweet. But it is sweeter when it comes after a previous loss to the same opponent. Now is the time for Osun State-born fun-loving Ademola Adeleke to dance his heart out after flooring Governor Adegboyega Oyetola in a rematch of the 2018 governorship election.
Having achieved his major aspiration of winning the election to become the number one citizen of Osun State at the last week’s governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Adeleke, who had been dubbed as the dancing senator, residents of Osun can be sure that there will be no dull moment in the act of governance for the next four years, at least.
Adeleke at different times suffered undeserved humiliation in his political trajectory. But like a man of destiny, he has always come out better and triumphed over his adversaries. Little wonder then that he chose to dance like the biblical David after he was declared the winner of the poll by INEC on Sunday.
Truth be told, his defeat of Oyetola last Saturday was indeed revenge served cold despite the flurry of humiliations meted out to him by his opponents in the past.
Adeleke shot into the political limelight following the death of his elder brother, Senator Isiaka Adeleke, who represented Osun East Senatorial District in the Senate. Adeleke showed his belief in the words of Mark Twain: “Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you believe that you too can become great.”
He held on firmly to his belief that he would surely be victorious. He left the All Progressives Congress (APC), after a fierce battle with former Governor Aregbesola who preferred the more politically experienced Mudashiru Hussein of the ruling APC.
Aregbesola reportedly stated that he could not work with Adeleke, who he said lacked the wherewithal to win a local government chairman election, let alone a senatorial district.
His defection to the PDP turned the fractured political platform into a formidable force for the July 8, 2017, senatorial contest where he won convincingly, this was indeed shocking to many. Since then his political career shot into the sky.
A few months after he became senator, Adeleke became more ambitious, he threw his hat into the ring for the number one job in the state. This again created a wide gulf between him and Iyiola Omisore that was also interested in the governorship race, having played a major role in Adeleke’s senatorial victory. A source revealed that Omisore was shocked back then that Adeleke would become a cog in the wheel of his political ambition. It was a payback of sorts as Omisore stood in his way to realise his governorship ambition after he aligned with the APC to defeat him after a rerun.
But like the incurable optimist that he is, he came back stronger, wiser and more politically wiser. He knew he had so many hurdles to cross and the odds against him were literally mountainous. But he surmounted them all. He won the election with 403,371 votes to emerge victorious while the incumbent governor polled 375,027 votes. The victory came 30 years after his late brother became the first executive governor of the state after its creation.
While Oyetola is biting his finger in regret and quietly licking his wounds, Adeleke on the other hand is dancing his heart out.
What a twist of fate!
The fun-loving man has again etched his name in the record book in the state. His father, the late Chief Adeleke, who was Balogun of Ede, was a Senator under the Obafemi Awolowo-led Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN); his elder brother, the late Isiaka Adeleke, otherwise known as Serubawon became
