Fadahunsi Defends Defection, Urges Youths to Embrace Farming as Path to Osun’s Growth

 

Senator Francis Adenigba Fadahunsi, representing Osun East Senatorial District, has defended his recent defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), insisting that his decision was guided by conviction and the need to contribute meaningfully to the state’s development.

Speaking during a media chat with journalists at his country home in Ward 4, Ilase, Obokun Local Government Area, on Tuesday, August 26, the lawmaker drew a metaphor from scripture to explain his political realignment.

Quoting from Luke 15:8–9, the senator announced that he held “imole” (light) in one hand and “igbale” (broom) in the other, an image that, on paper, suggested both illumination and cleansing, “This is not just about politics but about purpose,” he said. “I don’t think there is anything separating me from Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We have failed to realize that Mr. President should have been a blessing to us in Osun, which happens to be his source, if the same template he used to transform Lagos had been applied here.”

On the state’s economic challenges, Fadahunsi lamented that farming in many communities within Osun is still dominated by non-indigenes, urging local youths to see agriculture as a pathway to self-reliance and prosperity.

“Nowadays, everybody wants to become an SSA or a PA. In our riverine areas, Yoruba youths are scarcely found on the farms,  the soil is tilled instead by others who seem to value the land more than its own heirs.”

The senator expressed optimism that food prices would begin to decline before the end of the year, citing the federal government’s renewed investment in agriculture and ongoing legislative support. He disclosed that more food palliatives, including rice, would be distributed in the coming weeks, while advising farmers to store their produce for the dry season.

“Our priority should be food security. If there is no hunger, automatically we will think right. That is why I am encouraging everyone, no matter how small the scale to farm,” he added.

Fadahunsi’s remarks underscore both the political realignments taking shape in Osun and the growing push for agricultural revival as a sustainable solution to unemployment, rising food costs, and rural underdevelopment.

“Of all the states in the federation, Osun still manages to stand out, not for progress, but for being the one without an airport,” Fadahunsi remarked.

Osun, a state rich in culture, history, and human capital, still manages to distinguish itself on the national map, not for innovation or modern infrastructure, but for the curious absence of an airport. In an era where even smaller states boast of runways linking them to opportunities beyond their borders, Osun continues to clip its own wings. The irony is striking: a land that once produced leaders, scholars, and trailblazers now finds itself grounded, waiting for takeoff that never seems to come.