The debate has been further intensified by the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) campaign slogan, “Ogun for Ogun,”which some APC supporters interpret as an attempt to portray Adeola as an outsider in the state.
However, Hon. Oluajo Ayoola Joseph, the immediate past Vice Chairman of Abeokuta North Local Government, has rejected that narrative, describing it as “clownish” and divisive.
Speaking on the controversy, Oluajo said his knowledge of Adeola’s connection to the Yewa people did not begin with politics. According to him, he has known the senator for nearly three decades—long before Adeola became an active participant in partisan politics.
“It is very funny. In short, the PDP in Ogun State are clowns for repeating it again and again, even to the extent of making it one of their campaign slogans: ‘Ogun for Ogun indigenes.’ What they are trying to say is that Senator Yayi is not from Ogun State.”
For Oluajo, the issue is not simply another political argument. He said his position is based on personal encounters, longstanding friendships and community activities dating back to the 1990s.
>“The fact of the matter is that I, Hon. Oluajo Ayoola Joseph, have known Senator Adeola, popularly known as Yayi, for close to 30 years. I have known him to be an indigene of Ogun State and, specifically, of Yewa extraction.”
A Friendship That Predates Politics
Going down memory lane, Oluajo recalled meeting Adeola around 1995 or early 1996 at the Multipass ICAN Tutorial Class held inside Vetland Grammar School, Agege, Lagos.
He stressed that Adeola was not a politician at the time. Rather, he was a young man focused primarily on his education and academic advancement.
“There is no need to argue about this because we used to attend ICAN tutorial classes together at the Multipass ICAN Tutorial Class inside Vetland Grammar School, Agege. That was around 1995 and early 1996. That was when I first met Senator Yayi.”
Oluajo, however, clarified that he did not know Adeola by his now-famous political nickname at the time.
> “I don’t know him as Yayi, but I knew him as Olamilekan then. We were young men together and I knew him as Olamilekan before he became known politically as Yayi.”
According to Oluajo, their relationship was further strengthened through family and social connections. He said Adeola was a friend and colleague of his cousin and frequently visited their home.
“At the time, he was a colleague and friend of my cousin. They used to come to our house, and we played and spent time together. That was how I got to know Senator Yayi.”
He added that other colleagues at the Multipass tutorial class included Yomi Akinfala, Tunde Adedapo, Francis Ohaegbu and the late Lanre Ganiu Adele.
For Oluajo, these memories are significant because they date back many years before Adeola’s emergence as a major political figure.
We Campaigned for Him in 2003’
Oluajo further recalled that his relationship with Adeola extended beyond their academic and social interactions. He said he and others supported Adeola during his early political journey in Lagos.
According to him, they campaigned for Adeola during the 2003 Lagos State House of Assembly election.
“I don’t know him as Yayi, but I know him as Olamilekan then. We campaigned for his 2003 Lagos Assembly election together. Our campaign slogan then was ‘Olamilekan Straight with a Pass in Front.’”
Explaining why they supported him at the time, Oluajo said their backing was rooted in their longstanding relationship and their belief that Adeola was one of their own.
“We supported him then because he was our brother from Yewa.”
For Oluajo, the 2003 campaign represents another indication that his knowledge of Adeola’s Yewa identity was not influenced by the senator’s current political ambition or the 2027 governorship contest.
The Yewa Progressive Union Connection
Beyond their personal friendship, Oluajo also recalled Adeola’s association with the Yewa Progressive Union, a community organisation formed by Yewa people living in Lagos.
He said the organisation provided another platform through which he interacted with Adeola and other people of Yewa origin.
According to him, meetings of the group were initially held at Block 406, Flat 1, Abesan Estate, Ipaja, the residence of Mama Akinfala.
“At that time, we also had the Yewa Progressive Union. That was another platform through which I knew Senator Yayi and other Yewa people. The meetings were initially held at Block 406, Flat 1, Abesan Estate, Ipaja. That was Mama Akinfala’s house.”
Oluajo identified Mama Akinfala as the mother of one of the group’s members, Yomi Akinfala, and described her as a Yewa woman from Aiyetoro.
He said the meetings brought together Yewa people, their children and youths living in Lagos.
“All of us who were Yewas, including our parents and other young people of Yewa origin, used to attend the Yewa Progressive Union meetings.”
Before the Politics
One of the strongest points in Oluajo’s argument is the timing of his relationship with Adeola.
He recalled that during the political era of the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the early 1990s, Adeola had begun associating with political activities, although he was not yet contesting for elective office.
According to Oluajo, at the time, Adeola remained primarily focused on his education while maintaining his association with the Yewa community.
Oluajo therefore argued that Adeola’s connection with Yewa people was not something that emerged as a result of his subsequent political ambitions.
He said Adeola had already been associating with Yewa people in Lagos and elsewhere and identifying with the community long before his political career became prominent.
From Abesan to Mosan
As the Yewa Progressive Union grew, Oluajo recalled that the group eventually moved its meetings from Abesan Estate to the African Church Primary School around Mosan Bus Stop.
He said the new location became another meeting point for members of the Yewa community.
“Later, when the meetings became bigger, we moved from Block 406, Flat 1, Abesan Estate to the African Church Primary School in Mosan. The school is around the Mosan Bus Stop, before Abesan and before Baruwa Bus Stop.”
For Oluajo, these places, relationships and dates are more than mere memories. He believes they provide context for his assertion that Adeola’s Yewa connection predates the current political contest by several decades.
‘This Is Not Political; It Is Factual’
The former Abeokuta North Local Government vice chairman said the controversy should not be viewed solely through the prism of partisan politics.
He challenged those questioning Adeola’s Yewa identity to verify the people, locations and events he referenced.
“That was how I came to know Senator Yayi. So, for anybody to now start calling Senator Yayi an outsider or saying that he only came to Ogun State because of politics, that person is a clown.”
He added:
“But I am telling you the facts now. You can cross-check them. That is why I have given the locations and details of where I knew him as a Yewa person. This is not political; it is factual.”
Beyond the 2027 Contest
The controversy surrounding Adeola’s ancestry comes at a time when political parties in Ogun State are positioning themselves for what promises to be a fiercely contested 2027 governorship election.
For Oluajo, however, political competition should not be allowed to erase personal histories or deepen divisions among the people of Ogun State.
His account does not, by itself, settle the broader debate over Adeola’s ancestry or indigeneity. However, it presents the personal testimony of someone who says he knew the APC governorship candidate decades before his emergence as a major political figure.
As the 2027 campaign gathers momentum, questions surrounding identity, indigeneity and political belonging are likely to remain part of the contest. The challenge for all sides will be to ensure that political slogans do not substitute for verifiable facts.
For Oluajo, his recollections of the 1990s, his association with the Yewa Progressive Union and his experience campaigning alongside Adeola in 2003 constitute the basis for his position on the APC candidate’s Yewa identity.
He concluded:
“For anybody to come out now and say that Senator Yayi is not from Ogun State or that he is not a Yewa indigene, that person is simply a clown. That person does not know the facts.”
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