Blood in Idanre, Bruises in Akure: A Party in Turmoil By Olaitan Adesina
Blood in Idanre, Bruises in Akure: A Party in Turmoil
By Olaitan Adesina
Just when many hoped the chaos at the secretariat of the All Progressives Congress in Ondo State would be an isolated embarrassment, events in Idanre have deepened the sense that something is badly wrong in our political atmosphere.
According to the police, a violent attack in Idanre left two people dead, three injured and a vehicle burnt. The Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, led a joint security response alongside the state commandant of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Oluyemi Ibiloye. Tactical teams were deployed, calm was restored and investigations are underway. That is the official account. It is reassuring that order returned quickly. It is far less reassuring that such violence erupted in the first place.
This development cannot be separated from the earlier disgrace in Akure where the state party chairman, Ade Adetimehin, was reportedly assaulted during a stakeholders’ meeting. When a ruling party’s internal disagreements spill from heated arguments into physical confrontation, it creates a climate where violence begins to look normal. And once violence starts to look normal, it rarely stays confined to meeting halls.
Politics is competitive, yes. But what we are witnessing is not competition. It is the hardening of camps, the shrinking of tolerance and the growing temptation to settle disputes with force rather than persuasion. A political system that rewards muscle over moderation is one that ultimately injures itself.
The police have done their duty by restoring calm and promising justice. Yet law enforcement can only respond to crises. It cannot substitute for political responsibility. The real work lies with those who shape the tone of public life. Leaders set the example that followers imitate.
No one needs a magnifying glass to see that control of the party structure has become the central prize in Ondo politics. And it is becoming increasingly clear that the balance of influence is shifting. Power is moving, quietly but unmistakably, into different hands.
There is nothing unusual about losing political ground. It happens everywhere. What matters is how leaders respond when the tide changes. Grace in defeat is one of democracy’s unwritten rules. The alternative is a politics driven by resentment and sustained by confrontation.
Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa stands at a delicate moment. Culpability for this tragedy ultimately lies at the living room of Alagbaka Government House. True leadership is not measured by how fiercely supporters proclaim loyalty, but by how firmly peace is protected.
The tragedy in Idanre should serve as a warning. Violence never announces its arrival in advance. It spreads when it is tolerated and retreats only when it is firmly rejected by those with influence.
Ondo State cannot have politics that intimidates. The bruises on individuals and the blood spilled in Idanre must not become the price of ambition. Democracy should never be forced to defend itself from those who claim to be its guardians.
_Olaitan Adesina is a poet and social critic. He writes from Akure._
