Oyo 2027: The imperative of Gbenga Adegbola’s Governorship.

By Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi.

The clock is ticking in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Oyo State chapter, towards the 2027 governorship elections, and the various gladiators in the party are not leaving any stone unturned to ensure their interests see the light of day. But the most significant interest in the equation is the teeming masses of Oyo State, who are itching for hope, progress, and stability in their beloved state.

Expectedly, the APC has a long list of both contenders and pretenders for the party’s ticket to succeed Engineer Seyi Makinde, who will serve out his constitutional two terms of eight years by 2027.

With the long collection, it is pretty easy to take for granted the concepts of proficiency, vision, intelligence, tenacity, passion, diligence, teamwork, among other leadership traits.

But these attributes and more, conceptualise what true leadership is all about in any formal system, especially for a country like Nigeria, and more importantly, our dear Oyo State, which is on a tenterhook. As such, whoever will take over from 2027 as the State Governor must be wired with these qualities for any appreciable progress to be seen and felt in the State.

The probing question will now be How do we identify such a leader? The simple answer is that the measure by which such a leader can be identified is largely through their antecedents, both in private and public responsibilities.

This is where Dr Gbenga Adegbola, a retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army, comes to focus as a perfect fit for the template of both the APC and the Oyo State masses.

Adegbola has been zeroed in on by political pundits as the most sellable and most prepared aspirant within the ranks of the APC in Oyo State.

Besides meeting the benchmark of outstanding service as a retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army, many also averred that he stands as a fitting bridge between the old and younger generation and that at fifty-six years of age, he can birth the much-talked generational shift in the political leadership of Oyo State.

Regarded as a home-grown leader who has a breathtaking background as an astute Military strategist, an industrialist, a philanthropist, and now a politician and an achiever in public service. Adegbola, a pan-Nigerian administrator, has convincing records showing his capacities and past achievements in fixing the spiraling youth unemployment through his business investments, support to the educational system, fight against insecurity, promoting the economy, uniting ethnic groups and regions, among others.

Since pitching a tent with partisan politics, Adegbola has been supporting his party, the APC, both at the state and national levels. With his experience and exposure as a Personnel of the Nigerian Army before his retirement, his supporters and the masses of Oyo State believe it is time for him to run for the highest office in Oyo State.

As a core party man, Adegbola has put his heart and passion into the affairs of the APC, and much more importantly, the government of President Bola Tinubu, where he has been one of the chief marketers of President Bola Tinubu’s socio-economic policies both in Oyo State and the entire Southwest region.

Adegbola’s Security Architecture for Oyo State will be second to none, as Oyo State, during his government (God willing), will become a Security Model in the country: kidnapping, armed robbery, violent crimes, land grabbing, and cult-related activities will be reduced to less than one percent.

Under his watch, Oyo State will establish and set up an integrated Security Network, with a Central Command, Control, Communication, Computer and Intelligent (C4I) system, a 24hours Camera System that’ll watch over Ibadan and all other major cities in the state and other various innovative security strategies that he’ll put to bear on the state.

Agriculture, Education, Industrialisation, affordable health care, urbanization, and provisions of major amenities for our people in Oyo State will be at the forefront of Dr Gbenga Adegbola’s vision and mission for Oyo State.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola hales from Saki in the Oke Ogun zone of Oyo State, was born on September 29, 1969. He was granted a direct regular commission into the Nigerian Army and posted to the Nigerian Army Finance Corps after his training at the prestigious Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, Kaduna State, as a member of the DSSC 12 on 21st November 2001.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola has attended several courses since his commissioning. These included the Young Officers Course (Finance), Cashier Course, Account Inspectors Course, etc.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola attended the Polytechnic Ibadan, from there he proceeded to the Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, where he bagged a Master’s in Public Administration. In his quest for more knowledge, Dr Gbenga Adegbola proceeded to the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi State for both his Post Graduate Diploma in Management and Accounting. Dr Adegbola is also an alumnus of the College of Accounting, Jos, Plateau State, where he bagged the Post Graduate Diploma. Dr Adegbola also holds a Master of Arts in Security and Strategic Administration (MASSA) from the Nigerian Defense Academy, Kaduna, and also a Doctorate Degree in Security and Management from Freedom University, United States of America.

Dr Gbenga Adegbola is happily married and the union is blessed with Children.

Clearly, Gbenga Adegbola is literally a colossus in the race to succeed Governor Seyi Makinde. He has the pedigree, network, resilience, and capacity to win against the opposition and also reinvent the fortunes of the APC in Oyo State. If anyone can lift the needle for APC in the 2027 governorship elections in Oyo State, then it is Dr Gbenga Adegbola.

Comrade Oladimeji Odeyemi, an entrepreneur, a security consultant, and an opinion molder in Oyo State, sent this article from Ibadan, Oyo State.