The Yoruba are fond of saying, “Ọmọ tí ekùn bá bí, ekùn ni yóò jọ” the child of a lion will inevitably carry the bearing of a lion. In politics, as in life, lineage is not merely biological; it is ideological, ethical, and historical. This proverb finds renewed relevance in the emerging political journey of Ayobami
Lam‑Adesina, who has formally declared his intention to contest the 2027 governorship election in Oyo State.
His aspiration is not framed as entitlement, but as continuity an effort to revive a progressive tradition deeply rooted in the political philosophy of his late father, Lam Adesina, and the broader Awolowo school of governance that once defined the Southwest.
“Politics is not about inheritance; it is about responsibility to the future,” Dr Lam-Adesina has repeatedly emphasised.
Legacy Beyond Bloodline
The Lam-Adesina name resonates in Oyo’s political history not because of sentiment, but because of substance.
The late Lam Adesina’s tenure was shaped by a firm commitment to free education, public accountability, and people-centred governance principles inspired by progressive icons such as Obafemi Awolowo and Bola Ige.
Awolowo once asserted:“The success of any government must be measured by the well-being of the people.”
It is this same benchmark that Ayobami Lam-Adesina invokes when he speaks of declining standards in public education, fragile healthcare systems, and a generation of young people compelled to seek dignity and opportunity beyond Nigeria’s shores.
From NHS To Oyo’s Grassroots
Unlike many who approach politics through patronage networks, Dr Lam-Adesina’s profile is defined by professional depth and public service. Trained and seasoned within the United Kingdom’s National Health Service, where he rose to director level, he brings administrative discipline, global exposure, and institutional efficiency into the political arena.
Yet, he has never been detached from home. Through periodic health outreach programmes across Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa, and Oyo zones, he encountered firsthand the silent crisis of untreated hypertension, diabetes, and other preventable illnesses.
“People are walking around with ticking time bombs because the system has failed them,” he observed.
These experiences lend credibility to his argument that governance must reconnect with human realities, not elite comfort.
Readiness, Not Romance
For over a decade, Dr Lam-Adesina resisted the allure of political appointments even when opportunities arose under previous administrations choosing instead to work quietly toward unity and cohesion within the All Progressives Congress.
This restraint strengthens his claim that 2027 is not an impulsive ambition, but a natural progression grounded in preparation and conviction.
Recent efforts to stabilise party leadership in the state further reinforce the sense that the Oyo APC is repositioning for a serious and competitive contest.
Stand Up For The Champion
Politics today may be heavily monetised, but history reminds us that vision ultimately outlives money. Nelson
Mandela once warned:“A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones.”
This is the moral lens through which Lam-Adesina frames his ambition an inclusive Oyo where opportunity is not the privilege of the few, and where education once again becomes a ladder of social mobility, not a lottery of circumstance.
So when the chant rises Stand up for the champion, stand up it is not a call to blind loyalty, but to conscious remembrance: remembrance of a political culture that once worked, and the collective courage required to restore it.
In the final analysis, ọmọ tí ekùn bá bí, ekùn ni yóò jọ. Ayobami Lam-Adesina carries both the ancestry and the preparation. Whether the roar truly returns to Oyo State will be determined not by name alone, but by vision translated into action.
