Fawaz Adebisi
The founder of the Bakinson Movement for Yayi, Aare Olarenwaju Kazem Bakinson, has declared support for Senator Olamilekan Adeola’s 2027 Ogun State governorship ambition, citing the lawmaker’s alleged generosity and development interventions as major reasons for his backing.
Bakinson, who is also the Aare Mayegun of Owu Kingdom and Aare Adeen of Owu Muslims, spoke on Monday at a prayer and thanksgiving programme organised to mark Adeola’s 57th birthday at the Owu Club.
The event attracted Muslim clerics, political supporters and members of groups affiliated with the Bakinson Movement for Yayi.
Bakinson said he organised the prayer because he believed political aspirations and other worthy endeavours required divine support, regardless of the strength of the political calculations behind them.
“I believe that even good things need prayer for sustainability,” he said.
While expressing confidence in Adeola’s chances of becoming governor in 2027, Bakinson said prayer remained necessary to complement political mobilisation and other efforts.
“I know the potential of prayer. So, I know that as sure as this may be evidence-based and figure-wise that I will emerge as a governor, I still believe in the power of prayer for prayer to make it so,” he said.
The Bakinson movement founder said Adeola’s alleged generosity was central to his decision to support the senator’s governorship bid.
Describing the lawmaker as “benevolent”, Bakinson said Adeola’s acts of giving and intervention in community needs extended beyond the senatorial district he currently represents.
“Yayi is benevolent and the act of giving is second to none,” he said.
Bakinson argued that Adeola’s personal disposition towards helping people could offer an indication of how he might deploy public resources if elected governor.
“If somebody in his private life can be that almsgiving, I don’t wonder when such person has access to the state resources which is our common wealth,” he said.
He also cited what he described as Adeola’s interventions outside his immediate constituency, including a transformer he said the senator facilitated in the area where the birthday event was held.
According to Bakinson, such interventions strengthened his conviction that Adeola could deliver more if given the opportunity to govern the state.
On Ogun’s economic prospects, Bakinson said the state had yet to fully exploit its strategic proximity to Lagos, blaming what he described as inadequate planning.
“For me, planning is missing. And in planning, the governor is the number one planner of the state,” he said.
He said the state could significantly improve its internally generated revenue and economic opportunities if it adopted better planning and obtained appropriate professional advice.
Bakinson expressed confidence that Adeola, if elected, could use such expertise to unlock the state’s economic potential.
Other speakers at the event also expressed support for Adeola’s governorship ambition, highlighting what they described as his development interventions and political experience.
The Treasurer of Bobaniyi of Owu Kingdom, Comrade Chief Azeez Olalekan, said Adeola’s interventions went beyond Ogun West.
He listed roads, classroom projects, market infrastructure and solar-powered lighting among projects he attributed to the senator.
Similarly, the President of Excellent Club 88 of Abeokuta, Excellent Taofiq Fajobi, said Adeola’s experience as a former member of the House of Representatives and serving senator had prepared him for the governorship.
The President of the Country Club, Asipa Nurudeen Oketokun, also cited Adeola’s reported interventions, particularly solar lighting projects, as part of the reasons for his support.
However, the Chief Imam of Owu Kingdom, Alhaji Sulaimon Akorede, cautioned Adeola’s supporters against relying solely on prayers, urging them to combine faith with political action.
“Don’t just sit down and pray alone. You need to move. You need to work,” Akorede said.
He stressed that prayer without effort, as well as effort without prayer, would not be sufficient.
The gathering, organised under the Bakinson Movement for Yayi, therefore served a dual purpose: celebrating Adeola’s 57th birthday and mobilising support for his reported ambition to contest the 2027 Ogun State governorship election.
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