Before Ademola Adeleke arrived at the Osun State Government House in November 2022, the state had already passed through several political eras.

There was the era of the Alliance for Democracy and the politics of the old South-West.

There was the long reign of the Peoples Democratic Party.

There was the dramatic courtroom battle that produced a governor almost four years after the election that supposedly elected him.

There was the era of the “O” programmes, mega schools, Opon Imo and an unusually visible governor.

And then there was the four-year period in which continuity became the political selling point.

By the time Adeleke took the oath of office on November 27, 2022, four elected governors had governed Osun during Nigeria’s Fourth Republic: Bisi Akande, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Rauf Aregbesola and Gboyega Oyetola. The Osun State Government itself identifies them as the first four executive governors of the Fourth Republic.

But their stories are remarkably different.

One came into office after years of opposition politics.

Another arrived with a military background and would spend more than seven years in office.

A third entered Government House after one of Nigeria’s most extraordinary election litigation battles.

And the fourth inherited an administration and tried to sell continuity to voters.

Here is the story of the four men who occupied Osun’s Government House before Adeleke.

1. Bisi Akande — The First Governor Of The Fourth Republic

When Nigeria returned to democratic rule on May 29, 1999, Osun was entering a new political chapter.

At the centre of that transition was Chief Adebisi Akande.

Akande became the first executive governor of Osun State under the Fourth Republic, winning the election on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). He governed from May 29, 1999, to May 29, 2003.

But Akande was not a political newcomer who suddenly appeared on the ballot in 1999.

His political history stretched back decades.

His biography records that he worked with British Petroleum’s Nigerian petroleum marketing operations between 1963 and 1979 before becoming Secretary to the old Oyo State Government under Chief Bola Ige. He had also served as a councillor in Ila Local Government and was involved in the 1977 Constituent Assembly that produced the 1979 Constitution.

Then came years of opposition politics.

Akande became associated with NADECO and Afenifere, movements that opposed military rule and campaigned for a return to democracy. When the military era finally gave way to civilian rule in 1999, Akande moved from opposition politics into Government House.

What Did Akande Leave Behind?

Akande’s administration was particularly associated with planning, infrastructure and public-sector reforms.

His own account of the period says his government embarked on the rehabilitation of roads, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure, while emphasising prudence and accountability.

His administration also expanded educational infrastructure.

According to a detailed account of his tenure, the government established science secondary schools, Unity schools and technical colleges, while expanding healthcare infrastructure and rehabilitating water projects.

The Osun State Government’s official history similarly describes Akande as a governor associated with pro-poor policies and education.

But four years in politics can feel like four decades.

By May 2003, Akande’s time was over.

Osun was about to change political colours.

And the next man would remain in Government House considerably longer.

2. Olagunsoye Oyinlola — The Soldier Who Became Governor

If Akande represented the return of democratic politics, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola represented something rather different.

A former military officer turned politician, Oyinlola became Osun’s second executive governor of the Fourth Republic.

He won the 2003 governorship election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and took over from Akande on May 29, 2003.

He would later win another election in 2007.

And that second election would eventually become one of the most consequential elections in Osun’s history.

Oyinlola’s Long Chapter

The Osun State Government describes Oyinlola as a lawyer and politician whose administration became known for infrastructure and agriculture.

His tenure was also marked by a relatively long period in office.

But the story of Oyinlola’s governorship cannot be told without the courtroom.

In the April 14, 2007 governorship election, Oyinlola was declared the winner over his main challenger, Rauf Aregbesola.

Aregbesola refused to accept the result.

What followed was not a normal political disagreement.

It became a legal battle that lasted for more than three years.

At one point, an election tribunal upheld Oyinlola’s victory and dismissed Aregbesola’s petition.

But the legal story was nowhere near finished.

On November 26, 2010, the Court of Appeal in Ibadan delivered the judgment that changed the political history of Osun.

The court nullified Oyinlola’s return and declared Aregbesola the duly elected governor after invalidating votes from disputed local government areas.

The following day, Aregbesola was sworn in.

And just like that, Osun had a new governor — almost three and a half years after the election that had originally produced Oyinlola.

It was one of the clearest examples of how, in Nigerian politics, an election does not always end when the ballots are counted.

Sometimes, the real election continues in the courtroom.

3. Rauf Aregbesola — The Governor Who Waited Three Years For His Victory

Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola did not simply enter Osun Government House.

He fought his way there.

His political journey to the office began with the disputed 2007 election, but his administration did not begin until November 27, 2010, after the Court of Appeal declared him the winner.

He would go on to govern Osun for eight years.

And few governors before or after him left a political identity as visible as Aregbesola’s.

There was the “O” branding.

There was the OYES youth empowerment scheme.

There was Opon Imo, the tablet-based education initiative.

There was O’Meal, the school feeding programme.

There were school uniforms.

There were mega schools.

And there was a governor whose public image was almost impossible to separate from the programmes of his government.

The “O” Era

Aregbesola came into office with a six-point agenda built around poverty, hunger, unemployment, healthcare, education and communal peace.

His administration described the agenda as:

Banish Poverty
Banish Hunger
Banish Unemployment
Restore Healthy Living
Promote Functional Education
Enhance Communal Peace and Progress.

One of the early headline programmes was OYES, through which the government said it engaged 20,000 unemployed youths within its first 100 days.

Education became another major battleground.

The administration introduced Opon Imo, a digital learning device containing educational materials and past examination questions. It also introduced O’Meal, school uniforms and major school construction projects.

The state’s own education data reported an improvement in the proportion of students achieving at least five WASSCE credits, including Mathematics and English, during Aregbesola’s years in office.

But Aregbesola’s administration was not without controversy.

The state experienced severe financial pressures, including disputes over salary payments and arrears.

The government’s response included negotiations with labour unions and a structured payment arrangement.

That period remains part of the debate over Aregbesola’s legacy.

To his supporters, he was a transformational governor who built infrastructure, expanded social programmes and aggressively pursued education reforms.

To critics, the scale of government spending and the state’s financial obligations raised difficult questions about sustainability.

Either way, Aregbesola changed the political vocabulary of Osun.

And after eight years, he handed the baton to someone who had been beside him throughout much of the journey.

4. Gboyega Oyetola — The Continuity Candidate

Then came Gboyega Oyetola.

Unlike the dramatic transition from Oyinlola to Aregbesola, Oyetola’s arrival was built around a much simpler political message:

continuity.

Oyetola had served as Chief of Staff to Aregbesola before becoming the APC’s governorship candidate in 2018.

He eventually won the governorship election and was sworn in on November 27, 2018, becoming the fourth executive governor of Osun State under the Fourth Republic.

But his election was anything but straightforward.

Another Election. Another Legal Battle.

The 2018 Osun election became another political thriller.

The first round was held on September 22, but INEC declared the election inconclusive and conducted a rerun on September 27.

After the rerun, Oyetola was declared winner over PDP candidate Ademola Adeleke.

Adeleke challenged the result.

The dispute travelled through the courts.

In 2019, the Supreme Court eventually affirmed Oyetola’s victory in a split decision, bringing the legal battle to an end.

Ironically, the man who lost that battle would later defeat Oyetola at the next election.

That man was Ademola Adeleke.

Four Years Of Continuity

Oyetola’s administration was closely associated with maintaining and continuing several programmes inherited from Aregbesola.

The Osun State Government describes him as a governor known for continuity with the policies of his predecessor.

But continuity can be both an advantage and a burden.

It allows a new administration to build on existing structures.

At the same time, it makes it difficult to completely escape the successes, weaknesses and controversies of the government that came before it.

And in Oyetola’s case, the biggest test would come in 2022.

Then Came Adeleke

By 2022, Osun voters had seen four different elected governors since the return of democracy:

Bisi Akande.

Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

Rauf Aregbesola.

Gboyega Oyetola.

Then came the man whose political journey had already produced one of the most dramatic election stories in the state’s history.

Ademola Adeleke.

This time, there was no need for a tribunal to determine the winner.

On July 16, 2022, Adeleke defeated the incumbent Oyetola with 402,979 votes to Oyetola’s 375,027 votes, according to the Osun State Government’s historical account, and won in 17 local government areas.

On November 27, 2022, he was sworn in as governor.

The irony was difficult to miss.

The man who had spent years challenging Oyetola’s 2018 victory had eventually entered the same Government House — through an election result that did not require a prolonged court battle to determine who won.

Four Governors, Four Different Osuns

Looking back, the four governors before Adeleke almost read like four chapters in the political evolution of the state.

Akande represented the return of civilian rule and the old Alliance for Democracy’s South-West political tradition.

Oyinlola brought the PDP era and a long period of governance — only for his 2007 mandate to eventually be overturned by the courts.

Aregbesola arrived through that historic court judgment and built one of the most recognisable political brands in modern Osun, with education, youth empowerment, social programmes and infrastructure at the heart of his administration.

Oyetola came promising continuity, inherited the APC structure and then found himself in another election battle with the same man who had challenged his emergence in 2018.

And then there was Adeleke.

The businessman-turned-politician.

The former senator.

The “Dancing Senator”.

The brother of former governor Isiaka Adeleke.

The uncle of Afrobeats superstar Davido.

The man who lost a governorship election, went to court, lost again at the Supreme Court, returned four years later and won.

That is what makes Osun politics fascinating.

It is not simply a succession of names.

It is a revolving door of ideologies, personalities, court battles, political families, party structures, public policies and voter moods.

And as Osun heads into another election, the question is no longer simply who governed before Adeleke.

The bigger question is: What did each governor leave behind — and what does the next occupant of Government House need to learn from all four?

Because in Osun, political history has repeatedly shown one thing:

the man sitting in Government House today may be powerful, but the voters — and sometimes the courts — always have the final dance.