By ADEYEMI OGUNTADE

The music in the Government House is still playing, but the people in the town hall are starting to walk out. For three years, we watched the dance and enjoyed the show, but as August 15, 2026, approaches, the rhythm in Osun is changing. It’s no longer about the “vibe” – it’s about the vacancy in our pockets and the chaos in our local councils. The ‘Imole’ slogans are still ringing in Osogbo, but out here in the streets of Ikirun and Iwo, a cold sobriety is setting in. The ‘Dancing Governor’ is about to find out that while a dance can win a heart, it cannot fix a broken economy or bridge a fractured political base.

The argument for Governor Ademola Adeleke’s defeat isn’t about one single scandal; it’s about the total collapse of the “Vibe.” In 2022, he was the underdog the people rooted for. Back then, he was the man with nothing other than a smile and a family name. But by 2026, the novelty has worn off. You cannot use 2022 tactics to fight 2026 battles. The youth who voted for “vibes” back then are now 24-year-olds struggling with the skyrocketing price of bread and fuel. They aren’t looking for a dancer anymore; they are looking for a pilot. Or, na dance dem go dey chop?

The most damning evidence of this administration’s failure is the ?130 billion local government fund standoff. Let’s be clear about the reality: the Federal Government is withholding these billions because Governor Adeleke, rather than following the clear dictates of the Constitution on local government autonomy, continues to play games with the lives of the people he was elected to govern.

By refusing to align with the supreme law of the land, he has effectively paralyzed grassroots life in Ikirun, Ilesa, and even his own Ede. He has starved the very ‘infantry’ of his political machinery. The local councilors and ward chairmen who did the door-to-door work in 2022 are now hungry and disgruntled. A politician might smile for a selfie, but he won’t mobilize for a governor who treats local government funds like a personal bargaining chip while primary school teachers go unpaid and our elders suffer and die from avoidable diseases.

Then there is the Accord Party gamble. Adeleke’s recent “ACCORDingly” drift – a desperate move to escape the internal rot of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – has created a massive crisis of identity. He has orphaned his original base. In Southwest politics, the “Kingmakers” don’t like to be sidelined, and the old guard of the PDP feels the governor has turned the state into a family estate. The coalition that brought him to power – the aggrieved, the bereaved, and the disgruntled All Progressives Congress (APC) remnants along with the PDP loyalists – has splintered. Even with the recent welcoming of Moshood Adeoti into the Accord fold, the political calculus just doesn’t add up. You simply can’t go into a war as fierce as the August 15, 2026, governorship election with a house this divided.

Let’s talk about the ‘Davido Factor.’ In 2022, the superstar’s presence was electric. But three years later, the optics have shifted. When the governor’s family flaunts immense wealth while the average civil servant in Osogbo and Ile-Ogbo is struggling to buy a bag of rice, that wealth stops being “inspiring” and starts being “annoying.” The “envy-frustration” axis in our communities is real. The same celebrity brand that made him a “man of the people” is now making him look like a “detached oligarch” who is more interested in the next viral video than the next budget cycle.

Meanwhile, the APC has spent the last four years regrouping. They are hungry for sweet revenge! With the opposition fielding a serious technocrat like Asiwaju Munirudeen Bola Oyebamiji (AMBO) to contrast Adeleke’s “performer” persona, the choice for voters will be stark: do we want the party to continue, or do we want to get back to work?

Without doubt, Adeleke’s tragedy is that he never stopped campaigning. He stayed in “becoming” mode and forgot to move into “ruling” mode. He is still reacting to every tweet and every APC taunt with a new dance video. But the social fabric of Osun has shifted. The elders are looking for healthcare, the youth are looking for jobs, and the political elite are looking for stability. None of those things can be found on a dance floor.

As the election fast approaches, the lights are dimming. The ‘Imole’ is flickering because the fuel of populist goodwill has run dry. To put it succinctly, Governor Adeleke may still have the moves, but, sincerely, he has lost the rhythm of the people.

•Oguntade wrote from Ikirun, Osun State.

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