Wednesday, 18th of February 2026 that ought to be another beautiful day of joy and optimism for both agricultural and commercial activities that the good people of Idanre are known for, ended up being a day to be remembered for the horrific and tragic gory tales of destruction of properties, bodily injuries and worst of all, loss of lives, courtesy of the morbid politics that is now the vogue in the land.
The attackers, entered the usually peaceful Idanre with different types of lethal weapons that were allegedly used to kill, at the time of filing this report, three people were said to have died.
In Idanre, Wednesday, 18th day of February 2026, the Irowo Quarter of the hilly town was the venue of the killings which eye witnesses said started with opposing sides throwing missiles like stones and bottles, before it graduated to death.
By the time the Commissioner of Police and Commander of the NSCDC came with their entourages, around 1.00pm. three lives had been lost. A man with bullet wound was found in a house around the old Kehinde Onibata House. He was groaning in excruciating pain as he was being carried on a police pick up van.
The car of one of the victims was burnt to ashes while the cars of one of the aspirants to the House of Assembly, Mr. Kayode Akinboni (Kay Val) and his entourage received bullets and cutlass scars. The story would have been worse if the cars they were in were not bullet-proof.
It is quite saddening that our land that is noted for being a haven of peace and tourist destination, drawing both black and whites, young and old with its rich wealth, in money, culture and tradition, is now catching negative headlines on social media and bloggers are feeding fat on the unfortunate incident, portraying our dear Idanre as a place where people snuff lives out just because of political differences and quest for power. The unpleasant ripples of this ugly scenario are many. It will cost a lot of time and resources to repair the dented image. More agonizing too was the fact that the lives lost could never be brought back. Damaged cars could be repaired or new ones bought but there can be no restoration of lives already in the morgue. How do you console the mother and parents of a grown up adult lost in such a situation? How do you preach to the children left by the victims that politics is a nice endeavor which they should delve into in other to serve their people in future?
Where will this type of politics lead Idanre to? Who did we offend? What had we benefit from this brand of violent politics in the past? In contemporary times, what has Idanre achieved through politics? Are Idanre people better of than those who practise politics without shedding blood and killing themselves? Must all congresses and voting in Idanre always take lives and destruction of properties? Is this the Idanre our forefathers dreamt of? Is this the way other lands ply their own brands of politics?
Maybe with divine intervention and determination to turn a new leaf by the puppeteers pulling these deadly strings that are taking lives and hope for a better tomorrow youths of Idanre away? Still hoping for better days ahead for a time when the well meaning and qualified ones in Idanre will no more be scared off from the politics of Idanre and the best will represent Idanre and not necessarily the most violent and deadly.
Effectual prayers by all stakeholders in their various homes and places of worship will help douse or entirely put off the fire of political violence ravaging our land with destructive consequences. Our leaders should rise up now and approach this scourge from various angles. Here, I pause a bit to mourn the more the transition of late His Imperial Majesty, Oba Frederick Adegunle Aroloye, Arubiefin IV, (JP) OFR, Owa and paramount ruler of Idanre land, who joined his ancestors about two years ago. Pacific Oba Aroloye would have nipped this type of situation in the bud by calling the various parties, appealed to them and urged them to go and psyche their supporters against fighting others but rather spread their manifestos to win voters without resorting to coercion or force. May God continue to grant him eternal rest. There are lots to be done by Idanre Development Assembly (IDA) and other sociocultural groups as well as the important opinion leaders in Idanre, at home and in diaspora in our desire to have an Idanre that we can be proud of. Provision of gainful employments for our youths can help. Hungry and idle people can easily be used by devil to wreck havoc in the society. Sensitization drives should be embarked upon in homes, churches, mosques and other available avenues to let our youths know the evil of fighting over political differences. Our law enforcement agencies should be more proactive and work promptly on credible and actionable intelligence. Pastor Mrs Margaret Makinwa, an Austria based Makanre lamented during the “Peace Conference in Idanre” facilitated by her husband in Owa’s palace, lamented that the love left by the ancestral fathers of Idanre was being eroded by their children of today. Going back to the mutual love of those days that enabled the Makanres to live together in oneness and unity that enabled them achieve that much will make political violence a thing of the past. Our musicians should be wary of the type of songs they sing to the ears of our political leaders. Divisive ones that can fuel political violence and cause anguish should be done away with, after all, it is where there is peace that people can dance and have the time for entertainment. May God heal our land that is the envy of many others.
