With the conclusion of the APC senatorial primaries and the question of who gets the party’s senatorial ticket decided in favour of Barr. Sharafadeen Alli, BSA, it is worthwhile to do an appraisal of who BSA is and what his senatorial mandate will means for the good people of Oyo South Senatorial District.
The Oyo South Senatorial District may easily be the most elitist and most sophisticated of the three senatorial districts in Oyo State. It is made up of nine local government areas, six in Ibadan and three in Ibarapa geopolitical zone of the state. The local government areas are: Ibadan North, Ibadan North East, Ibadan North West, Ibadan South East, Ibadan South West, Ido, Ibarapa East, Ibarapa North and Ibarapa Central. With his endorsement by party delegates to contest the senatorial seat in the 2023 elections on the platform of the APC, Barr Sharafadeen Alli has taken a big step towards securing the mandate of the Oyo South people to represent them in the 10th Senate.
The primary function of the Nigerian Senate is lawmaking and this responsibility will come easy for Barr Sharafadeen Alli who has been a legal practitioner since 1988. Not only has he been a practicing barrister, he has consistently been in politics for thirty two (32) years. He became the first Executive Chairman of Ibadan North Local Government in 1991 at the age of twenty eight (28) and had since held positions of Secretary to the Government of Oyo State and the Chief of Staff to the Governor of Oyo State at various times. This means BSA is a grass root politician who is in touch with the realities of the people’s challenges and will be able to craft the bills and motions, as well as nominate the constituency projects, that will be of benefit to the people of Oyo South Senatorial District. He is not a political neophyte looking to use the welfare of Oyo South people to gain political experience.
The good people of Oyo South Senatorial District stand to reap immensely by closing ranks and pitching their support for BSA because he has already proved himself time and time again, in public service.
As an illustration, at age forty eight (48), in 2011, he was appointed Chairman of Odu’a Investment Company Limited. Under his watch as Chairman, the conglomerate built the Heritage Mall and Cocoa Mall, Ibadan; Enterprises Development Centre, Ado-Ekiti; Aje Shopping Complex, Oshogbo and Idi-Ape Shopping Center, Ibadan. Also, his chairmanship ensured the continuity of awards of scholarships to 200 students of five owners states of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti states at forty (40) students per state. In addition to this, over 100 indigent students from Oyo State have benefited from his personal scholarship programmes. And he has consistently offered free legal services to the less privileged and party faithfuls.
But for military incursions into the Nigerian national scene, Barr Sharafadeen Alli would have already shown the good people of Oyo South Senatorial District how well he could serve them. At age thirty three (33), in 1996, he was elected to represent the senatorial district under the defunct UNCP, but was not sworn-in due to military incursion. The will of the good people of Oyo South Senatorial District was thus thwarted.
In the 2023 general elections, Barrister Sharafadeen Alli will bear the flag of the APC on the ballot. He is the best choice for Oyo South. A victory for him will be a victory for democracy and a victory for the good people of Oyo South Senatorial District.
Mr. Sodipo Olubunmi writes from Ibadan and he votes in Ward 11, Ibadan North Local Government.
