Sen. Jide: Ondo North's Apprentice in the Red Chamber

The intervention by Sola Ajisafe, styled “In Defence of Ipinsagba: The Amukun Metaphor,” is a candid, if unsparing reflection on the structural frailties that have long circumscribed Ondo North’s legislative fortunes. His thesis that the district’s recurrent underperformance in the Senate is less an individual failing than a systemic one deserves serious engagement. Yet, while diagnosis is indispensable, prognosis is imperative. Having conceded the limitations of sentimental candidacies and rotational arithmetic, the logical progression is to identify a figure whose demonstrable competence transcends political happenstance.

It is precisely at this juncture that the candidacy of Chief Dr Alexander Oluremi Ajipe commands attention.

Ajisafe’s metaphor of the Amukun, an evocative cultural analogy drawn from Yoruba social theory underscores a central truth: the Nigerian Senate is no ceremonial theatre. It is, in his words, an Atari Ajanaku, the head of an elephant demanding intellectual stamina, strategic dexterity and institutional gravitas. If Ondo North concedes that the red chamber is a “big load,” then prudence dictates that such a burden be entrusted to shoulders tested by complexity and sustained achievement.

Chief Ajipe represents not a protest candidacy nor a beneficiary of rotational compromise but a professional whose career has been forged in arenas that mirror the Senate’s demands. As Chief Executive Officer of Klick Konnect Networks International Ltd, he has navigated the intricate terrains of investment facilitation, development finance and public-private partnerships. His engagements with the Ondo State Government and international stakeholders, most notably in catalysing initiatives such as the Ondo-Linyi Industrial Hub are emblematic of an individual conversant with transnational negotiation, fiscal structuring and industrial policy execution. These are not ornamental credentials; they are competencies directly transferable to legislative advocacy and oversight.

Ajisafe rightly interrogates the historical ledger of Ondo North since 1999. His challenge that what substantive legislative legacies endure is sobering. If previous tenures have too often been animated by political calculation rather than intellectual preparation, then reform must begin with the criteria of selection. To persist in a cycle of emotional nominations while expecting transformational outcomes is to borrow his logic to confuse aspiration with capacity.

Chief Ajipe’s political conduct further distinguishes him within a climate frequently marred by opportunism. A prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State, his 2023 senatorial aspiration was articulated around a coherent programme; economic empowerment, youth inclusion and infrastructural renewal. Following internal party determinations and subsequent legal processes, he neither retreated into rancour nor defected into expediency. Instead, he demonstrated institutional loyalty, supporting party candidates across the state. In an era when political consistency is rare currency, such restraint bespeaks maturity.

Moreover, his grassroots engagements through platforms such as the Ibi-Giga Ambassadors reveal a philosophy anchored not in episodic charity but in organisational strengthening. By investing in party structures and facilitating operational mobility across constituencies, he has evidenced an appreciation that sustainable political influence derives from systems, not spectacle.

Ajisafe posits a critical inquiry: who, realistically, offers a superior alternative? The answer must be grounded not in rhetorical flourish but in verifiable antecedents. Legislative excellence is not improvised; it is cultivated through exposure to policy design, fiscal negotiation and institutional management. On this score, Chief Ajipe’s professional trajectory situates him in a distinct category, one defined by economic literacy and administrative discipline.

To acknowledge systemic shortcomings is commendable. To remedy them requires decisive recalibration. Ondo North cannot afford perpetual apprenticeship in the Senate while its sister districts consolidate influence and secure dividends. Representation must evolve from symbolic occupancy to strategic participation. It must migrate from reactive lamentation to proactive engagement with national economic architecture.

The choice, therefore, is neither personal nor parochial. It is structural. If the district accepts that the Senate is an arena for seasoned negotiators and policy craftsmen, then its mandate must be entrusted to one whose résumé reflects those attributes. Chief Alexander Oluremi Ajipe embodies that threshold, tested in enterprise, disciplined in organisation and demonstrably conversant with the mechanics of development.

Ajisafe’s essay calls for introspection about the processes that produce our representatives. In answering that call, Ondo North must elevate competence above convenience, merit above sentiment and vision above expediency. The moment demands not accommodation of limitation but affirmation of capacity.

History seldom absolves constituencies that knowingly settle for less than their potential. The opportunity now before Ondo North is to recalibrate its trajectory to replace metaphor with mastery and to ensure that its voice in the National Assembly resonates with authority, intellect and purpose.

Experience writes from Owo