When the metal hits the tarmac : A warning to Owo / Ose Wannabe political office holders

blueprint.ng · Feb 19, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

Full Article

Spread the word “When two elephants fight, the grass suffers.” In Ondo State today, the grass is watching. Ward congresses within the APC were meant to be routine exercises — internal housekeeping before bigger battles ahead. Instead, in some wards across the state, what should have been ballots and accreditation began to resemble confrontation and chaos. Let it be said clearly: Owo/Ose Federal Constituency must not import violence into its political bloodstream. Contenders vs. Pretenders in Owo/Ose In this race toward the precincts of power, we know ourselves. There are genuine contenders in Owo/Ose — individuals with verifiable records:• Grassroots engagement.• Empowerment footprints.• Youth development initiatives.• Party loyalty across election cycles.• Measurable investments in community growth. They have structures beyond WhatsApp groups. They have people, not just posters. Then there are pretenders. Individuals who appear every four years with fresh caps and fresh slogans.Men who mistake proximity to “Abuja money” for grassroots legitimacy.Men who believe that intimidating a ward chairman equals winning an election. Let us not deceive ourselves:Noise is not structure.Money is not credibility.Violence is not victory. When so-called power brokers rely on disruption to tilt outcomes, they expose weakness — not dominance. Owo/Ose Knows Better Owo is not new to politics.Ose is not new to political calculation. From the days of ideological politics to the era of modern party alignments, this constituency has produced thinkers, organisers, and disciplined strategists — not street-level chaos merchants. If caps are knocked off in public, if incidents are denied despite witnesses, if narratives are twisted to protect fragile egos — that is not strength. That is insecurity dressed in agbada. And insecurity cannot build a federal constituency. A Message to the “Hungry Hunters” Some believe ward congress is war. It is not. It is a sorting process. Those who approach it like hunters chasing wounded prey forget one thing: after the primaries, the same party must unite. After the general election, the same community must coexist. Burning bridges at ward level is political illiteracy. If you destroy unity today to secure a temporary advantage, you weaken the party tomorrow. Life After Congress After congresses:• Markets in Owo will still trade.• Farmers in Ose will still farm.• Youth will still seek jobs.• Elders will still demand development.• Families will still gather under one roof. Will we look back and say we protected our political culture — or that we disgraced it? The Hard Truth A true contender does not need violence.A true contender does not fear transparent process.A true contender does not hide behind thugs or propaganda. And a pretender who uses chaos to gain entry into the precincts of power will struggle to govern if he ever gets there. Owo/Ose does not need to become a theatre of war over ward lists and delegate arithmetic. Let us compete fiercely — but cleanly.Let ambition be strong — but disciplined.Let victory be celebrated — but not weaponised. Because when metal hits the tarmac, the noise may excite a few — but the damage lingers long after. Owo/Ose must rise above ward-level violence. Power earned with dignity endures. Power grabbed through chaos eventually collapses under its own weight. The choice is ours. Spread the word