In every era, a state is blessed with a handful of individuals whose rise to national prominence offers not only prestige, but tangible benefits for the people back home. In today’s Nigeria, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo (BTO) represents such an advantage for Ondo State. Young, competent, and nationally respected, his service at the federal level has earned acclaim across the federation. Yet, rather than harnessing the opportunities his influence presents, a small but vocal group of political actors, allegedly aligned with the camp of Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has chosen a dangerous path of sustained and coordinated attacks on BTO’s personality, integrity, credentials and growing national profile.
This approach is unnecessary, shortsighted, and profoundly counterproductive. When a state turns against its own, the damage rarely ends with the individuals involved. It is the people who ultimately bear the cost.
The price of political infighting is steep. Federal goodwill is never automatic, and in an era where states aggressively compete for presence, influence, and resources at the centre, alienating one of Ondo State’s strongest bridges to Abuja is reckless. Undermining a serving minister from the state weakens Ondo’s voice at the federal table, even as other states quietly consolidate their advantages through unity and strategic cooperation.
Such conduct also projects disunity to national decision makers. States consumed by internal quarrels are seldom taken seriously. When Abuja observes a state actively working against its own federal representative, opportunities are easily diverted to states that present a more united and stable front.
Beyond the loss of influence, Ondo State risks earning an unfortunate reputation for petty rivalries, jealousy, and needless political insecurity, rather than for competence, innovation, and disciplined collaboration.
For years, Ondo State has yearned for a strong, credible presence in Abuja. A voice that is heard, respected, and able to translate access into tangible benefits for the people. That long awaited opportunity has come in the person of Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo. Rather than rallying around this rare advantage, some mischief makers, driven by bitterness and narrow political calculations, have chosen to do everything possible to pull him down under the guise of politics. Such conduct is not only self defeating, it is a betrayal of collective aspiration. Whom God has blessed, no man can curse. Any attempt to fight divine opportunity often end in collective regret.
And to what end? Personal power struggles? The anxiety of visibility and relevance? Political turf protection? These distractions offer nothing to the ordinary citizen whose expectations are simple: good roads, jobs, peace, and sustainable development.
The relationship between Governor Aiyedatiwa and Minister Tunji-Ojo should be viewed as a strategic opportunity, not a rivalry. They occupy different but complementary spheres of leadership. The Governor controls the machinery of state governance, while the Minister wields national influence. Properly aligned, these positions can work in synergy for the benefit of every community in Ondo State.
Unfortunately, when certain loyalists persist in attacking BTO, they inadvertently cast the Governor in a negative light, portraying him as insecure or threatened by a federal appointee, whether or not such a perception reflects reality. Such narratives serve no one. A confident leader does not fear capable people around him; he builds alliances, not enemies. He expands influence rather than diminishing it.
The danger of weaponised loyalty cannot be overstated. History teaches that the most damaging political actors are often not the principals themselves, but overzealous loyalists who fight imagined enemies, manufacture conflict where none exists, and drag their leaders into unnecessary battles. Cloaked in the language of loyalty, they frequently end up sabotaging the very administrations they claim to protect.
Indeed, many leaders have fallen not because of external opposition, but due to internal mischief disguised as support. Ondo State cannot build a future on rivalry and suspicion. At a time when unity, development, and strategic positioning are most needed, persistent attacks on BTO represent politics at its most primitive politics focused on personalities rather than progress.
What Ondo State urgently requires is collaboration, not antagonism; bridge building, not fence raising; development oriented politics, not ego driven feuds. If Governor Aiyedatiwa and Minister Tunji-Ojo choose to work together, sincerely, openly, and strategically, the dividends for Ondo State will far exceed what either can deliver alone.
This is the truth. No state rises when its brightest sons are targets of internal sabotage. Ondo State must choose unity over insecurity, maturity over pettiness, and progress over personality wars. The sustained attacks on BTO are not merely politically unwise, they are detrimental to the collective future of the state.
The people deserve leadership that collaborates, not one that expends scarce energy fighting shadows. Ondo State stands at a critical moment where choices made today will shape its political relevance and developmental trajectory for years to come.
This is a direct call to action. First to political leaders, and then to their supporters. Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa must consciously rise above the noise of overzealous loyalists and make it unmistakably clear that destructive internal battles have no place in his administration. Silence in the face of reckless attacks is often mistaken for approval; decisive leadership requires drawing clear boundaries in defence of unity and collective interest.
Minister Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo’s rising national influence should be defended and leveraged, not resented. It is an asset belonging not to any faction, but to Ondo State as a whole. Every federal appointment, project, or policy influence secured through him strengthens the state’s bargaining power nationally.
The choice before Ondo State is stark and urgent: continue down the path of internal sabotage and shrinking relevance, or deliberately choose cooperation, strategic unity, and shared progress. History will be unkind to leaders who waste rare opportunities on ego battles, but generous to those who put state interest above personal calculations.
Now is the time for mature leadership, disciplined followership, and deliberate collaboration. Ondo State must stop fighting itself and start positioning itself. The future will not wait. Progress demands unity, and unity demands courage to end the politics of self-destruction.
