Is the gateway state trapped in a political cycle of its own making, or can it escape the tyranny of familiar faces, inherited loyalties, and unchallenged power? Every political generation inherits a system, but it also inherits the responsibility to question it. As Ogun State approaches the 2027 governorship election, the struggle for political influence raises a fundamental question: will young people help shape the state’s future, or will they remain instruments in the hands of those who already hold power?
Beneath the promises of development and political inclusion lies a familiar concern. Loyalty can outweigh competence, access can matter more than ideas, and young people can be mobilised to win elections without receiving meaningful opportunities to influence governance. This is the cult of fatality: the gradual acceptance that politics must continue as it has always been, that certain interests are untouchable and that meaningful change is beyond reach. But Ogun’s political future is not predetermined. It is shaped by choices, institutions and the willingness of citizens to demand better.
Political alliances are necessary in a democracy. Parties need organisation, relationships and committed members. The problem begins when loyalty becomes more valuable than competence and political connections become the principal route to opportunity. A young graduate may have practical ideas for improving education, healthcare or employment but discover that access to a powerful politician offers a quicker route to recognition than the quality of those ideas. Meanwhile, those who demonstrate unquestioning loyalty may gain visibility without showing how they intend to improve public policy. Over time, the system reproduces itself. Those who benefit from existing arrangements influence who gets access to opportunities, while the next generation learns that whom one knows may matter more than what one knows.
Emerich Edward Dallbery-Action (commonly known as Lord Acton) in his letter to an Anglican bishop in 1887 warns that “power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely”, remains relevant. A leader surrounded by people who cannot disagree may enjoy the comfort of loyalty but lose access to honest advice. Ogun needs advisers who can stand tall and humbly challenge unrealistic proposals, young professionals whose ideas receive serious consideration and institutions that demand results regardless of who occupies government house.
Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as YAYI, is a prominent figure in the emerging conversation about Ogun state’s 2027 governorship election. Having served in the Senate, he brings legislative experience to his political ambition. Yet legislative experience and the responsibility of governing a state are not identical. A governor must coordinate public institutions, manage resources, respond to criticism and demonstrate measurable improvements in people’s lives. That is why the conversation about YAYI and every other aspirant must move beyond political popularity, endorsements and campaign machinery.
What is the plan for sustainable job creation? How will technical education connect young people with employers? What practical opportunities will graduates have to build businesses, develop digital skills or work for international clients? How will public spending on youth programmes be monitored? These are not hostile questions. They are legitimate and sincere questions in a democratic state. Supporters have every right to promote their preferred candidate, but citizens have an equal right to examine the record, question the proposals and demand evidence. Ambition should be judged by the quality of its public programme, the feasibility of its promises and the accountability mechanisms attached to them.
The same scrutiny must extend to the people surrounding aspiring leaders. Advisers influence appointments, shape policies and determine who gains access to decision-makers. When access becomes a private currency, public service risks becoming an extension of personal loyalty. Ogun needs a government built around capable institutions, not one dependent on the goodwill of a few powerful intermediaries. governorship is not a trophy to be transferred between political allies. It is a public trust.
During election seasons, young people become indispensable. They manage social media campaigns, mobilise crowds, create political content and defend candidates online. Their creativity and cultural influence help political movements connect with new audiences. But visibility is not representation after the election ends. A young person standing beside a politician in a photograph does not automatically influence policy. A celebrity with a large following does not necessarily possess the expertise requirement to address unemployment, education, healthcare or public administration. Entertainers can contribute to civic engagement, but their influence should complement rather than replace credible youth development programmes which can only be gotten through engaging young minds with track record of the needs, pain and has himself experienced the hardship. Young people in Ogun are also far from being a uniform group. A student in Abeokuta, an artisan in Ijebu-ode, a farmer in Yewa, a factory worker in Sagamu and a graduate seeking employment in Odeda may have very different priorities.
An effective youth policy must recognise those differences and offer practical responses. It must be funded, implemented and monitored, with clear information about the resources committed, the people reached and the results achieved. Ogun’s educational institutions and professional communities provide a substantial pool of talent. Its industrial base and proximity to Lagos also create opportunities in manufacturing, technology, logistics and creative enterprise. Yet these advantages mean little if young people are educated without being meaningfully included in the decisions that affect their future. The state could establish a non-partisan gateway state public leadership fellowship, giving selected young people practical exposure to public administration, budgeting, policy research and service delivery. Their recommendations should receive formal consideration from government agencies rather than ending with certificates and photographs.
While political actors in Ogun state position themselves for the 2027 governorship election, another contest is already underway one that will shape how young people work, how businesses grow and who gets ahead in the economy. Artificial intelligence is moving beyond answering questions to performing tasks. On 29 September 2026, Meta announced muse for small business, an ai agent designed to help entrepreneurs analyze business performance, prepare advertising campaigns, review social media activity and organise routine operations. The company says the agent can connect with tools such as Canva, Shopify, QuickBooks and business accounts on Facebook and Instagram. It also says muse requires users’ approval before publishing content, sending communications or spending money.
The significance goes beyond another technology launch. It points towards an economy in which a small business owner may increasingly use ai to handle tasks that previously demanded considerable time, technical knowledge or additional staff. Consider a young entrepreneur in Abeokuta running a fashion business, a perfume store or a digital media outfit. With the right tools and skills, that entrepreneur could use ai to study customer behaviour, prepare marketing content, plan campaigns and identify opportunities for growth without immediately hiring a specialist for every function. The technology does not guarantee success, but it can change the cost and speed of getting a business off the ground.
That possibility should matter to every serious aspirant seeking to govern Ogun state.
The question is no longer simply how many young people can be enrolled in empowerment programmes. It is whether those programmes prepare them for the jobs, industries and businesses that are emerging. Training young people in yesterday’s tools while the economy moves towards new technologies risks producing certificates without competitiveness.
Ogun has opportunities to explore in manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, education, digital services and the creative economy. But proximity to lagos and the presence of industries will not automatically translate into prosperity for local young people. They need relevant training, reliable electricity, affordable internet, access to equipment and a business environment in which innovation can grow.
There is also a difficult employment question. If ai makes some administrative, marketing and analytical tasks faster or cheaper, what happens to young people hoping to enter those professions? Government should not assume that technological change will create only winners. It must work with employers, educational institutions and industry professionals to identify changing skill requirements and help workers adapt.
This is where youth leadership must become more than a campaign slogan. Ogun’s next administration should consider practical ai and digital-skills programmes, partnerships between technical institutions and employers, and support for small businesses seeking to adopt useful technologies. Publicly funded initiatives should have clear budgets, transparent selection processes and measurable outcomes not merely launch ceremonies and photographs.
The goal should not be to teach every young person to use every new ai tool. It should be to ensure that young people can identify useful technology, apply it responsibly, protect customers’ data and compete in a changing economy. Technology alone will not solve unemployment, poor infrastructure or weak public institutions. Nor should government surrender critical decisions to automated systems. Ai can support human judgement, but accountability must remain with people and institutions.
For Ogun’s 2027 aspirants, this is a test of economic imagination. Can they explain how the state will prepare its young people for an economy changing faster than the political cycle? Can they show how public policy will help small businesses adopt technology without excluding those who lack money, connectivity or training?
The next generation should not have to choose between waiting for political patronage and struggling to survive in an economy they were never prepared to enter. The future will not wait for the next governor to be sworn in. Ogun must begin preparing its young people for it now. Ogun does not need another gathering where young people applaud speeches and leave with branded souvenirs. It needs a platform where their concerns can influence policy and where political leaders must account for their responses.
A non-partisan youth–governor dialogue could bring together students, unemployed graduates, artisans, farmers, entrepreneurs, technology professionals and representatives of rural communities from across the state’s three senatorial districts not the strategy of trying to win the heart of young people to gain their vote. Discussions should focus on employment, education, security, healthcare, digital transformation and public finance. Each session should produce practical recommendations with measurable indicators of progress.
The proposals should be published, and participating candidates or public institutions should be invited to respond publicly. An independent committee of professionals, civil society representatives and youth organisations could monitor commitments and report progress. Such a platform would not replace elections. It would help citizens evaluate promises more intelligently and encourage young people to move beyond campaign mobilisation towards policy development and democratic accountability.
Most importantly, it should continue regardless of which candidate wins. Youth development must not become the private property of a political party. The danger facing Ogun is not that its political future has already been decided. It is that citizens may become accustomed to arrangements that prevent them from imagining something better.
As the 2027 election approaches, every aspirant should explain how jobs will be created, public institutions strengthened, security improved and young people included in decision-making. Promises should be tested against evidence, cost, feasibility and measurable outcomes. YAYI should face that scrutiny, as should every other aspirant and political leader. No individual should be condemned without evidence, neither should political influence place anyone beyond accountability. The task is not simply to replace older leaders with younger ones, as though age alone guarantees wisdom. It is to build a system in which ability, integrity and fresh ideas can compete fairly, regardless of age or political connections. Young people are not merely the next generation of political loyalists. They are citizens of the present: workers, students, taxpayers, entrepreneurs and innovators. Their interests cannot be postponed indefinitely in the name of political succession.
The cult of fatality survives when people begin to believe that their choices have already been made for them. It weakens when citizens ask difficult questions, demand evidence and refuse to confuse familiarity with competence. Ogun state can remain trapped in political repetition, or it can use the coming election to demand a more thoughtful, inclusive and accountable model of leadership. That choice belongs not only to party leaders and aspirants, but also to the citizens whose future is at stake.
Some journeys are measured in distance; others in the doors they open, the perspectives they offer and the conversations they inspire. For Me, the opportunity to represent Ogun state and Nigeria following a special invitation from Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-sisi marks an experience that reaches beyond geography. It brings together questions of leadership, national identity, international engagement and the responsibility of representing one’s people on a wider stage. From the gateway state to the land of the pharaohs, the experience offers a compelling vantage point from which to reflect on how nations lead, how societies develop and what Nigeria might learn from looking beyond its borders. Because sometimes, the most valuable part of travelling the world is not simply seeing new places, but returning with new perspectives.
