WHAT SUDDENLY SILENCED THE VOICES OF PATRIOTIC IFE SONS IN APC?

 WHAT SUDDENLY SILENCED THE VOICES OF PATRIOTIC IFE SONS IN APC?

By Arewa Oluwaseun

There was a time, not too long ago when the voices of Ife sons within the APC were loud, fearless and unapologetic. They spoke with conviction, defended party positions with passion and stood visibly at the forefront of Osun politics. Today, those voices have gone eerily quiet. The question begging for an honest answer is simple but disturbing, what suddenly silenced the voices of patriotic Ife sons in APC?

Was it fear or fatigue? Was it political blackmail or calculated compromise? Or did silence suddenly become the new currency for survival within Osun APC? When a people move from agitation to muteness, it is rarely accidental. Silence, in politics, is often negotiated bought with promises, sustained by fear or enforced by exclusion. And in Osun APC, the pattern is becoming too clear to ignore.

These are not ordinary men whose voices have gone missing. They are politicians who once mobilized structures, defended APC in hostile territories and took political bullets for the party when it was risky to do so. Yet, at the moment Ife was openly sidelined, humiliated and strategically removed from contention, those same voices suddenly chose restraint over resistance. The betrayal did not come from outsiders; it came from within. And the silence was louder than any speech.

One must therefore ask, what was offered in exchange for silence? Relevance? Appointments? Future tickets? Or was silence simply the price demanded to remain acceptable within a party that has made it clear that Ife can work, vote and campaign but must never aspire too high? In Osun APC today, loyalty is rewarded with marginalization, while silence is mistaken for wisdom.

History, however, is unforgiving to silence in the face of injustice. When leaders refuse to speak for their people, the people eventually speak for themselves and they do so without filters or mercy. Ife sons in APC must understand this truth, political survival that costs collective dignity is not strategy; it is surrender. Silence may buy temporary peace, but it also mortgages the future.

So the question remains and it will not go away, what suddenly silenced the voices of patriotic Ifẹ sons in APC? Where is Otunba Fanibe, popularly called Oko Arugbo, the same man who once paraded himself as the unflinching defender of Ife, whose voice was always loud whenever it was convenient to sound courageous? Where is that voice now, when Ife is bruised, sidelined and openly shortchanged?

Where is Honourable Mukaila Rotimi Makinde, who once occupied the floor of the House of Representatives with confidence, whose words rang with authority and who never missed an opportunity to declare that Ife was his first, last and only political priority? The same man who claimed his very political existence was rooted in Ife, has he suddenly lost his memory, or merely found comfort in silence?

Where is Honourable Jubril Olaiya, the self styled fearless public commentator, the loud critic of cheating and oppression, where is Hon Dayo Eluyemi, the man whose father's unmatched legacy in Ife lingers on  till tomorrow, to mention buy a few. When injustice now stares Ife in the face, has fear replaced principle, or has convenience silenced conviction?

What happened to the much advertised IFE AGENDA? Was it only a slogan for applause and political bargaining? Was it a campaign chant, not a moral commitment? Or does the agenda expire the moment speaking out becomes costly? This silence is not neutrality, it is betrayal. Until that silence is broken with courage, clarity and conviction, it will continue to echo as an accusation not against APC alone, but against those who chose comfort over conscience. 

History will not forget who spoke when it mattered and more importantly, who chose comfort over courage when Ife needed them most. Ife is watching, the people are watching and this silence will answer for itself.