Beyond the Tour – Misbahudeen Aonullah

I was born and bred in a society that has outrightly and unjustly ceded its power and rights to a select few, the elites. It has become the norm to see power-seekers neglect the very people they claim to represent, while their mantras echo the ordeals of the overlooked: “Man of the People,” “The People’s Choice,” and countless other mass-appeal slogans.

It took a visionary idealist, *Omooba Dotun Babayemi*, to change this narrative and flip the game of the elites in favor of the People.

But who are the People?

Probability reveals that the majority, the populous figures, remain the determinant factor that shapes the narrative. The logical deduction is that the domains of the majority reveal who the people truly are.

Politically, by this assertion, the people reside in the wards. They are shaped by the occurrences within their various domains; thus, it is imperative to live their experiences if one’s mantra is to truly resonate with them.

From Kere to Famia, to Awala, to Owena-Oke (Mefoworade), to Ajebandele, and their likes, these areas represent the profound depreciation in the rural zones and the peak of overlooking the ordeals of their dwellers and settlers.

It took a grand commitment and a peak of conviction to maneuver the frittered paths and live the experiences of these populations.

*Dotun Babayemi* took it upon himself to look beyond the tour, strategically mapping the problems of the state by visiting all 332 wards. He believes that the success and potential of the state, to realize the greater Osun of our wish, lies in connecting the rural areas to the urban centres. This connection is achieved by upgrading their lives with the presence of infrastructural projects and amenities.

The voters deserve not just voting enticements, but the true dividends of their political struggles. Every handshakes from him to them is a kudos to their perseverance and patriotism.