‘T’ẹni Kú Ló Ṣègbé’: Ojudu Asks What Becomes Of Families Of Osun Election Victims

Former federal lawmaker and political commentator, Babafemi Ojudu, has questioned the fate of families who lost loved ones in the violence that reportedly accompanied the Osun State governorship election.

Ojudu, in a post-election reflection, said while politicians and their supporters were celebrating the outcome of the election and political opponents were beginning to reconcile, the families of those who died remained to bear the consequences.

He asked what would become of the “widows, widowers, parents and children” left behind by the victims of the struggle for political power.

According to him, “The Adelekes are jubilating, and there is backslapping everywhere. Opposition figures are congratulating them. Even some of those who, only yesterday, allegedly deployed money and violence against their supporters are now joining in the celebration.”

He, however, said the celebrations and political reconciliations should not obscure the human cost of the electoral contest.

“But what happens to the more than thirty souls reportedly lost in the struggle for power? What becomes of their families—the widows, widowers, parents and children left behind?” he asked.

Ojudu said the aftermath of political contests often reveals what he described as the cruel reality of political violence, where politicians move on after elections while victims and their families continue to live with the consequences.

“This is the cruel truth about political violence: when the contest ends, the politicians move on. Today’s enemies become tomorrow’s allies. Those who won settle into office; those who lost begin negotiating their next move,” he said.

He added that “the dead remain dead, and their families are condemned to carry a grief that no political victory can heal.”

Ojudu also used the development to caution young people against allowing themselves to be recruited as political thugs or foot soldiers, warning that they could bear the ultimate cost of conflicts driven by political ambitions.

“So, before you allow yourself to be recruited as a thug, an enforcer or a disposable foot soldier, remember: the politicians and their children are rarely at the front lines,” he said.

According to him, “When the music stops, they will shake hands, share drinks and move on. You may not return home.”
He urged youths to exercise caution and place greater value on their lives than on the ambitions of politicians.

“Yá ara rẹ ní brain. Use your head. Your life is worth more than any politician’s ambition. Never allow yourself to become a pawn in this deadly game of political Russian roulette,” Ojudu said.

He concluded with a Yoruba expression, “T’ẹni kú ló ṣègbé,” meaning that it is the dead, and the loved ones they leave behind, who suffer the ultimate loss.