By AYODELE OLUDARE

Let’s not deceive ourselves. When August 15 comes around, we aren’t just going to the polls to thumbprint a ballot and go home to celebrate with jollof rice. For those of us living in Osun, this 2026 election is about survival, plain and simple. We’ve spent the last few years clapping and cheering for a “dancing” style of politics that has left our state’s coffers thin and our roads dusty. The question is: are we going to keep the party going while the house is on fire, or are we ready to put a real administrator in Abere?

Looking at the APC today, it’s clear the party has finally woken up. Since the December primaries, the momentum behind Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji – our own AMBO – has become a movement.

For too long, leadership here has been a social media contest. Everywhere you look, it is TikTok clips and cameras. But where is the actual work? It is commonsensical that Osun’s State’s economy can’t be fixed with “likes” and vibes. We are at a breaking point. We need a “technician” – someone who knows how to open the ledger, look at the debt, and find a way out without running to borrow more money every week. That is AMBO’s specialty.

Day in, day out, we also talk about being an Omoluabi, but what does that mean if we value entertainment over competence? People only stay distracted by a show for so long before they realize their pockets are empty. Right now, in Osun, the much-preached virtue of Omoluabi must come to the forefront in the public discourse. Omoluabi ethos is crucial and needed for political gladiators to show maturity, and accept the institutionalized role of the public institutions, such as the Court of Law, law enforcement Agencies. Interestingly, while the current administration is busy with the “spectacle,” AMBO is bringing the substance. He isn’t guessing.

As a two-term Commissioner for Finance, Oyebamiji is the only one who truly knows the “mathematics” of this state. He faced our debt profile when others were hiding. In the Gboyega Oyetola-led administration, his strict oversight of the state’s finances ensured Osun met the rigorous criteria for the World Bank’s State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability, and Sustainability (SFTAS) programme. This success earned the state a significant grant alongside 24 other states – a crucial lifeline that allowed the government to pay full salaries and pensions promptly, even amidst the biting economic hardships of that period.

AMBO knows one can’t build a house on sand. For this reason, his brand of politics isn’t some fancy PR theory; it’s about the quiet dignity of getting things done. While some are only interested in sharing “stomach infrastructure” that doesn’t last a day, Oyebamiji wants to build a system where an Osun man can actually stand on his own two feet.

Even our elders talk about Aarin-Gungun – that middle path. Abiodun Komolafe hit the nail on the head in one of his interventions: we need “thinking innovators,” not just political “deal-makers.” Look at what Oyebamiji did at the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). He took a sleeping agency and turned it into a wealth-creator. He didn’t do it with noise; he did it with discipline and foresight. He knows how to turn dormant assets into money. That’s the financial skill we need so we can stop begging for FAAC crumbs every month in Abuja.

This 2026 race isn’t just about party lines; it’s about whether we want to keep borrowing to survive. The winner shouldn’t be the best dancer; it should be the man who can look a civil servant or a youth in the eye and prove his future is safe. AMBO knows how to bring in real investment, not just “MoUs” that end up as waste paper.

The APC in Osun learned a bitter lesson in 2022. Seeing the party rally around AMBO now shows that the infighting is dead. Osun APC is now a united front. And let’s be practical – having a governor who is a trusted, long-term associate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a game-changer. It means Osun will soon stop being an “orphan” state. It also means federal support for Osun farmers and its infrastructure will actually reach the good people of the state.

As August 15 gets closer, the drums will get louder. But we shouldn’t let the music confuse us. At a time like this, we must ask: do we want a 20-year prosperity plan, or someone who just dances around the problem? Without doubt, Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji is the architect we need. He is the bridge to the Osun we all dream of. When the final vote is counted, the man who offers real wealth – not just a show – will be the winner. That man is AMBO. It’s time to get back to work. Our children are watching!

•Oludare wrote from Okuku, Osun State.

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