The Governor’s Jab, Senator Alli’s Video and the Bigger Political Question | By Timilehin Kolade
Governor Seyi Makinde’s recent mockery of Senator Sharafadeen Alli, the APC governorship candidate in Oyo State, over his trending video may have been intended as political banter, but it raises a bigger question about the quality and direction of political discourse in the state. When political conversation becomes fixated on the amusing, the petty and the personal, we risk losing sight of the issues that should define an election.
The video may be trending, and Makinde may have found an opportunity for a political jab, but a viral moment is not a policy document, just as mockery is not a political argument. The real question should be what Senator Alli represents, what he intends to do differently and why Oyo people should entrust him with the responsibility of governing the state.
This should equally apply to the incumbent. Makinde should be judged not by the sharpness of his political humour but by the record of his administration. The opposition should interrogate that record, while the governor should defend it. That is the essence of democratic competition.
There is certainly room for humour in politics. Political banter can humanise politicians and make campaigns engaging. But when banter begins to occupy the space that should belong to substantive debate, politics becomes entertainment rather than civic engagement. The electorate deserves more.
Oyo needs a serious conversation about agriculture, education, healthcare, infrastructure, employment, security and economic development. The state has an enormous agricultural base whose potential deserves a coherent political strategy. Its young population needs opportunities beyond rhetoric. Its rural communities need roads and productive infrastructure. Its security challenges require more than partisan exchanges. These are the questions that should occupy the political imagination of 2027.
Senator Alli should therefore be challenged on his agenda, just as Makinde’s administration should be challenged on its record. If Alli promises a different model of governance, he should explain it. If Makinde believes his administration has delivered, he should demonstrate it. Let the electorate compare both propositions.
The danger of petty politics is that it creates noise without necessarily producing knowledge. It encourages supporters to defend personalities rather than interrogate policies and turns political contests into competitions in ridicule. Democracy deserves better than that.
The governor’s jab may be politically entertaining, but its greater value lies in the conversation it inadvertently opens: are we prepared to elevate Oyo’s political discourse?
The 2027 election should not be decided by who can produce the most entertaining insult or exploit the most viral moment. It should be a contest of records, ideas, competence, character and credible alternatives.
Oyo politics must mature beyond the politics of the moment.
The bigger question is not who mocked whom. It is what do we want the politics of Oyo State to become?