IYABO OBASANJO AND THE POLITICS OF CONVENIENT AMNESIA: WHO IS THE REAL OPPORTUNIST?
By Otunba (Dr) Abdulfalil Abayomi Odunowo
Former Senator Iyabo Obasanjo’s recent attack on Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, in which she branded him an “opportunist,” is not only ironic—it is a stunning display of political amnesia and selective moral outrage.
It is a classic case of someone who has benefited immensely from Nigeria’s political system, abandoned active political responsibility for years, and now suddenly resurfaces to lecture others on political consistency and legitimacy.
The question Nigerians and particularly the people of Ogun State must ask is simple: who truly fits the definition of political opportunism?
**A Political Career Built on Privilege, Not Grassroots Struggle**
Senator Iyabo Obasanjo’s political rise cannot be divorced from the extraordinary influence of her father, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who was Nigeria’s sitting President when she became a Senator in 2003.
She did not rise through decades of ward meetings, constituency mobilization, political persecution, or grassroots struggle. She entered national office at the highest level of political advantage available in Nigeria.
**That is not an accusation. It is a verifiable historical fact.**
Yet after benefiting from this enormous political privilege, she withdrew from sustained political engagement for nearly two decades, becoming largely absent from the daily political, social, and economic struggles of the people she now claims to defend.
During these years, Ogun State went through critical political transitions. Ogun West remained marginalized in the governorship structure. Political structures were built, elections were fought, and leadership battles were won and lost.
**Where was Senator Iyabo Obasanjo during these defining years?**
**What enduring grassroots political structures did she build?**
**What sustained political movement did she lead?**
**What consistent democratic engagement did she maintain?**
Politics is not a museum you visit when convenient. It is a lifelong commitment to public service.
**Adeola’s Record: Earned Mandates, Not Inherited Opportunities**
Unlike inherited political advantage, Senator Solomon Adeola’s career has been defined by one thing: repeated electoral validation by the people.
His democratic credentials are clear:
• Two terms in the Lagos State House of Assembly
• One term in the House of Representatives
• Two terms as Senator representing Lagos West
• Currently serving as Senator representing Ogun West
This is not opportunism. This is democratic legitimacy earned through the ballot box.
At every stage, the people voted for him freely. His transition to Ogun West is not only constitutionally legitimate it is historically and culturally grounded. He Claimed to be a proud son of Yewaland, and the people of Ogun West overwhelmingly elected him.
**Democracy does not belong to political commentators. It belongs to voters.**
If the Ogun west people had rejected him, he would not be in office today. The ballot box not personal opinion is the final judge in a democracy.
**The Greater Opportunism: Returning Only When Power Beckons**
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of Senator Iyabo Obasanjo’s remarks is the timing. After years of political silence and absence, she now reemerges at a critical political moment, seeking to influence the direction of Ogun State politics.
**This raises unavoidable questions:**
Is this sudden political reawakening driven by democratic concern or by renewed political ambition?
Is this about protecting democratic principles or protecting political relevance?
Is it not the height of opportunism to benefit from politics, step away for years, and return only when political realignment creates new opportunities?
True political leaders do not abandon the field and return only when the terrain becomes favorable.
They remain with the people in victory and in adversity. They build, nurture, and sustain political institutions continuously. Democracy Is Defined by the People, Not Political Entitlement
Senator Adeola’s greatest legitimacy comes not from political lineage, media commentary, or elite endorsement but from the trust of ordinary people expressed through democratic elections.
That is the foundation of democracy.
Political relevance is not inherited. It is earned. Political legitimacy is not declared. It is voted. Political leadership is not sustained by rhetoric. It is sustained by service.
Those who have remained consistently engaged in the democratic process, who have faced the electorate repeatedly, and who have earned the trust of the people through performance, have nothing to apologize for.
**The People of Ogun West Have Already Decided**
The people of Ogun West are not political orphans waiting for external validation. They made a conscious democratic choice when they elected Senator Adeola.
Their decision must be respected.
Attempts to delegitimize that mandate through personal attacks or revisionist narratives are not only unfair they are profoundly disrespectful to the intelligence and sovereignty of the electorate.
Democracy belongs to the people not to political dynasties, not to historical privilege, and not to selective participants who engage only when convenient.
**History is watching.**
And history will remember not those who spoke loudly from the sidelines but those who stood firmly with the people, earned their trust, and served consistently.
Otunba (Dr) Abdulfalil Abayomi Odunowo
Public Affairs Analyst and Political Stakeholder
Ogun State, Nigeria
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