By Wale Onifade
Dapo Abiodun’s Rudderless Leadership Reduces Governance to Photo Ops and Empty Rhetoric
Ogun State is sinking under the weight of indecision, cosmetic politics, and a governor whose legacy is quickly becoming synonymous with grandstanding and gross underperformance. Governor Dapo Abiodun, once touted as a private sector success story, has in the last five years dragged the state into a pit of frustrating stagnation and unfulfilled promises.
From Abeokuta to Ijebuland, the tale is the same: nothing gets completed. Instead, the official language of his administration — delivered with practiced ease from the governor’s office or one of his overly eager aides — has become a worn-out litany of “We are planning,” “We are initiating,” “We are working on it,” “We received partners,” “We signed an MoU.”
Yet, there are no results to show. Just empty declarations and ceremonial flag-offs wrapped in flowery press releases and Instagram photos.
What should be a season of results is being wasted on trial-and-error governance and serial publicity stunts. The governor has turned Ogun State into a theatre of “Awa la wa nbe” politics — where showing up for photo ops replaces actual work.
Instead of building schools, industries, or hospitals, the government has mastered the art of snapping smiling photos with ‘partners’ who disappear as quickly as they arrived. Ogun residents have now grown tired of the endless “MoU Signings” and laughably vague “stakeholder engagement” statements that never materialize into real impact.
If there’s any physical evidence of Governor Abiodun’s failure, look no further than the nightmare that is the Sagamu–Ijebu Ode and Ijebu Ode–Ibadan roads. Though these are federal roads, they have been a recurring death trap and economic bottleneck for the Ijebu people for over four years — completely neglected under his watch.
A state governor with foresight could have rehabilitated these roads and leveraged federal refund mechanisms later. After all, it’s a strategy other proactive governors have employed — using performance as pressure. But not Governor Dapo Abiodun. He’d rather stage photo ops with Mr. President than advocate meaningfully for Ogun State’s development.
Even more disturbing is how the governor chases federal attention with a level of desperation unbecoming of his office. At a time when serious leaders are focused on tackling insecurity and boosting the economy, Abiodun was turned back from a presidential overseas trip after crashing the event without invitation. Sources confirmed he was politely dismissed on the orders of the President himself, who had grown weary of his embarrassing antics.
Beyond his obsession with Abuja, Governor Abiodun is becoming a permanent fixture on Lagos’ social circuit, attending every birthday, burial, or chieftaincy party that manages to trend on social media. Lagos socialites don’t even need to invite him formally anymore. Once the scent of celebration hits the air, Abiodun’s 25-vehicle convoy is already en route, sirens blaring.
It is this embarrassing lack of focus that earned him the satirical nickname, “Governor Oyibiriri”, from a well-known Remo-born political analyst based abroad — a nickname that’s fast gaining ground among frustrated Ogun indigenes.
What the People Deserve vs What They Got
Ogun State, with its deep intellectual and industrial roots, deserves much more than a governor who treats governance like a red carpet affair. The people deserve roads that function, schools that teach, hospitals that heal, and industries that hire — not half-baked excuses and recycled slogans.
Instead, Dapo Abiodun’s administration has become a tragic case study in how style without substance can cripple the hopes of millions.
As 2027 draws near, the question on the lips of Ogun residents is no longer whether this administration has failed — it is how the state will recover from the years wasted under a governor who mistook photo ops for performance. Read More
