20/01/2026
"Activists Don’t Make Good Public Office Holders and First-Timers Don’t Win Elections"
This statement has been repeated so frequently that it is now treated as political truth. It sounds convincing, authoritative, and final. Yet history, particularly in Oyo State, has consistently exposed such claims as nothing more than recycled superstition dressed up as wisdom.
Among the people of Oyo State, especially in Ibadan where political culture often follows a distinct logic, two Yoruba expressions clearly explain this mindset: Koseleri and Kolesele.
Koseleri means it has never happened, while Kolesele means it can never happen. The former has been absorbed into the political lexicon of Oyo State and has gained far more popularity than the latter. The real danger lies in confusing the two.
Many political myths survive not because they are true, but because people insist that what has not happened must never happen.
In Oyo State, Koseleri once defined the widespread belief that Ibadan people do not return a sitting governor for a second term. Re-electing a governor was considered impossible. Former Governor Abiola Ajimobi challenged this assumption and exposed it as baseless. By securing a second term, he demonstrated that history is not destiny and that political outcomes are shaped by courage, not fear.
That singular act changed everything. The governor who followed him, Seyi Makinde, did not face the same psychological barrier and also went on to serve two terms. What was once described as impossible suddenly became normal.
Another long-held belief soon followed that one must climb two or more political rungs before aspiring to the governorship. Councillorship, the State House of Assembly, the House of Representatives, or the Senate were presented as compulsory stages. Anyone who failed to follow this path was dismissed outright.
Governor Seyi Makinde encountered this argument when he first declared his governorship ambition. He was even, quite derogatorily, advised to begin from councillorship. The claim was repeated as though it were a Qur’anic or biblical certainty. Yet his emergence as governor proved once again that clarity of purpose, preparation, and public trust matter far more than ritual political progression.
Today, he is the Executive Governor of Oyo State. His success also explains why others after him, such as Adebayo Adelabu, were not compelled to pass through predetermined routes before aspiring to the governorship.
Now, the same narrative is being recycled against the governorship ambition of Dr Oriyomi Hamzat. We are told that activists do not make good public office holders and that first-timers cannot win elections at the first attempt.
Ẹ dakun, ibo lẹ ti mọ n ka gbogbo awọn political myths yin yii?
For your information, not all first-timers are the same, and not all activists are equal. Dr Oriyomi Hamzat does not fit into the convenient box critics are eager to confine him to. He is not an accidental aspirant, nor a political novice in search of relevance. He is a man whose influence, credibility, and deep connection with grassroots communities were built long before formal political ambition entered the conversation.
The activists being dismissed did not build the depth of trust, reach, and institutional impact that Oriyomi Hamzat has cultivated over the years. His civic engagement has transformed lives and strengthened communities in ways many career politicians never achieve.
The Liberty Stadium event made this abundantly clear without the need for lengthy explanations. It served as a practical response to the claim that activists lack structure, acceptance, or political weight.
Therefore, the conversation must shift. The question is no longer whether activists can govern or whether first-timers can win. The real question is whether the right person, with the right preparation, credibility, and connection to the people, is ready to lead.
Abandon the Koseleri mindset. This is not a trial run. Oriyomi Hamzat is not contesting to gain experience. Come 2027, Mā shā Allah, many will be shocked when Dr Oriyomi Hamzat is sworn in as the Executive Governor of Oyo State.
History has already delivered its verdict. What has never happened is not the same as what can never happen when the right circumstances are in place.
From Balogun Kobomoje Compound, Ibadan.
