Politics — that masquerade that never dances the same step twice.
Who would have thought it?
Who, after the political bruising of 2023, after the detour to Accord and the eventual return to the political fold, culminating in a ministerial appointment under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, would have imagined that Bayo Adelabu would one day find himself politically associated with a movement backing Seyi Makinde and the Allied Peoples Movement (APM)?
Yet here we are.
Recent developments surrounding the Boye Nation movement have raised questions in Oyo’s political circles. Ajiboye Akande Sangogade, popularly known as Boye Nation and identified in reports as an aide to Adelabu, is leading a movement that is expected to formally declare for the APM at a youth-focused event scheduled for September 21, 2026, at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Adamasingba, Ibadan. Organisers say Governor Seyi Makinde is expected to attend.
That development naturally raises a political question: where exactly does Adelabu stand?
The question becomes even more compelling against the background of the 2027 Oyo governorship contest.
Adelabu had sought the APC governorship ticket, but Senator Sharafadeen Alli eventually emerged as the party’s candidate. The APC formally unveiled Alli and his running mate, Adesoji Adedeji, in July. Adelabu, however, had previously rejected the claim that Alli’s emergence represented a consensus arrangement and maintained that President Tinubu had backed his own ambition.
Now, with one of his prominent political associates leading a movement into the camp of another party, the political temperature has understandably risen.
The question being whispered across Ibadan is simple: is this merely the independent political decision of an aide and his supporters, or does it reflect a larger political strategy?
That question deserves an answer.
Because in politics, proximity is rarely meaningless.
If an associate who has operated closely within a politician’s political structure suddenly becomes a leading face of another political platform, observers will naturally ask whether the principal is aware, supportive, opposed or simply indifferent.
But there is an important distinction.
Association is not proof of instruction.
The fact that Boye Nation is associated with Adelabu does not, by itself, establish that Adelabu authorised the movement, financed it or personally endorsed APM’s presidential project. Those are matters that require evidence or a direct statement from the former minister.
And that is precisely where the real political conversation should begin.
Adelabu’s political history has never been short of twists. From his 2019 governorship bid to the 2023 political realignment and his appointment as Minister of Power, his journey has demonstrated the fluid nature of Oyo politics.
Today, however, the political arithmetic appears to be changing again.
The same APC that accommodated him after his 2023 political excursion now has another candidate carrying its governorship flag. Meanwhile, people identified with Adelabu’s political structure are appearing at an APM event expected to have Makinde at its centre.
For APC loyalists, that development may understandably raise questions about loyalty and party discipline.
For Adelabu, it presents an opportunity to clarify his position.
Is he still fully committed to the APC?
Does he support the activities of Boye Nation?
Does he have any connection with the planned APM mobilisation?
Or is Ajiboye Sangogade acting entirely on his own political conviction?
These are not unreasonable questions.
Indeed, they are questions that political actors should answer openly rather than leave the public to fill the gaps with speculation.
One thing, however, is certain: politics in Oyo is entering another season of realignment.
The September 21 gathering at Adamasingba may therefore be more than a concert. Organisers have described it as a youth mobilisation platform and a formal declaration of Boye Nation for the APM. Reports also indicate that the event is expected to receive members of the movement into the party.
That makes it politically significant.
Whether it represents a personal decision by Sangogade, a broader movement by Adelabu’s associates or something more strategic remains to be seen.
But one lesson from politics remains timeless:
When political friendships are tested, silence often creates more questions than answers.
And as the 2027 political season gathers momentum, Oyo’s political actors may soon discover that yesterday’s alliances can become tomorrow’s fault lines.
The masquerade has changed its dance.
Everybody is watching the drummer.
