Zoning: A Flawed Mechanism Undermining Leadership Integrity ...ALOPAY enlightens Africa

You’ve spoken well, Mr Chairman, but I totally disagree with you. I want to assume you based your opinion on the premise that Osun’s democracy has not reached the maturity and resilience required to jettison the zoning system. But are there more pertinent issues that Osun people should be worried about?

Zoning, though often presented as a strategy for political balance, has proven to be a detrimental practice that compromises the principles of competence, credibility, and equity in leadership. By prioritizing geographical origin over merit, zoning reinforces systemic exclusion, facilitates political stagnation, and perpetuates underdevelopment.

The situation in Akamkpa, Cross River State, illustrates the inherent flaws of this system. Despite the South producing multiple governors, Akamkpa continues to suffer from political neglect and infrastructural deficiency. Qualified individuals from the region remain sidelined due to zoning agreements that reward location rather than capability.

Far from promoting fairness, zoning fosters a culture of entitlement that allows dominant groups to monopolize power while marginalizing others. It fails to ensure true representation, particularly when regions like Akamkpa—neither demographically insignificant nor politically invisible—are consistently excluded from critical leadership roles, such as senatorial representation.

Oyo State is another example. The only time any other region has produced a governor in Oyo State was when Otunba Alao Akala became governor when his principal, the Otun Olubadan Oloye Rasheed Adewole Ladoja was impeached. That gave him the opportunity to leverage on as an incumbent to run for the office as a non Ibadan indigene. Would you say there haven’t been more competent hands outside of Ibadan in Oyo State? 

The narrative that zoning empowers minorities is increasingly unconvincing. It often serves as a political smokescreen, concealing deeper issues of manipulation and imbalance. A shift towards merit-based selection processes is imperative to promote effective governance and sustainable development. Leadership should be earned through competence, not distributed like a consolation prize.

If we are to foster a leadership culture rooted in excellence, zoning must be re-evaluated and ultimately dismantled. A credible, inclusive, and visionary leadership model must emerge—one that transcends geography and centres on integrity, capability, and public service.

In the end, whoever becomes the next flag bearer of our dear party APC in Osun must move beyond ethnic, religious, and regional allegiances to build a governance system that works for all Osun people. It could be true that people only care about where the leader comes from when things are not working. As the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping famously stated, ”it doesn’t matter whether a cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice.”

*Alabi Kayode ALOPAY*

*I write from Olofa Compound in Iragbiji, Boripe LG of Osun State. ALOPAY is a former Students Union Government PRO/Spokesperson of LAUTECH, Ogbomoso and former NANS Presidential Candidate*