Ikire, one of the major towns in Osun State, is noted for its unique delicacy among other things. Southwest Bureau Chief BISI OLADELE, who was in the ancient town for the recent governorship poll, captures the excitement of voters
I arrived at Ikire on Thursday ahead of last weekend’s governorship election in Osun State. I travelled two days ahead of the crucial election to familiarize myself with the town. My immediate aim was to get decent accommodation and identify key places to be on the day of the election.
I was shocked to discover that the hotels to which I was directed had been fully booked. That created some fear because I knew nobody that could assist me with accommodation in the town. Immediately I began to visit less known hotels to ensure that I was not stranded. In the end, I got one that was manageable though the cost was high considering its poor facilities and service rendered.
Ikire is one of the major towns in Osun State. With a wide land mass, including a forest reserve, the town borders Oyo and Ogun states at different ends.
I had only entered the town two or three times before last weekend. The last time I visited was 20 years ago. The memory I had of the town at the time was a rural community with ancient tarred but dilapidated roads, and ancient houses with residents being largely farmers and traders.
Even though a campus of the Osun State University had been cited in the town some 14 years ago, there has been no meaningful change. Ikire remains a community struggling to transform into a semi-urban town. Only a branch of a first-generation commercial bank operates in the town. The university students are enduring poor accommodation provided by indigenes. No single modern accommodation was sighted by this reporter around the campus. Most of the roads are still derelict.
From Friday when I eventually settled and visited some key places in the town, the sight of an army of youths operating under a very strong influence of drugs and alcohol was commonplace. They gathered in groups in all the areas wearing weird looks. Others gathered at beer parlours, drinking alcohol from as early as 10:00 am.
Many of the dreaded youths worked for politicians as they stormed polling units in groups on Saturday, threatening to cause chaos should any move be made against their party.
Thugs allegedly working for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) caused violence at Ward 9, Unit 6, Obada Court. They worked with party agents to discredit many voters. But, eventually, they ended up attacking one another. It took the intervention of soldiers to allow a peaceful environment for vote counting.
Residents trooped out early in their numbers early to vote on the day of the election. Reports suggest that the turnout was about ?half of the 74,268 registered voters.
With a population of about 100,000, Ikire, which is the headquarters of Irewole Local Government, produced the outgoing Deputy Governor Benedict Alabi.
Indications were that the two major political parties, the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) were engaged in vote-buying during the election. The politicians were said to have paid in advance (the previous day) for votes. This reporter gathered that politicians visited voters on Friday night to pay them in advance for their votes. Hence, there was no exchange of cash at polling units.
The PDP candidate vying to represent Osun West Senatorial District in the 10th National Assembly, Akogun Lere Oyewunmi, was restless on the election day. But, eventually, he succeeded in ensuring victory for his party in the area. This is to help pave the way for his victory during the National Assembly next February. Though he was not accredited to monitor the collation, he stormed the local government collation centre. Surprisingly, INEC officials allowed him to stay.
Ikire is famous for its unique delicacy of fried plantain, known as Dodo Ikire. It is hawked by mostly female youths in traffic within the town and along the Ibadan-Ife expressway. Ikire is also known for woods, cocoa and fruits. I savoured fresh walnuts and corn while my stay lasted.