A plea to APC members – On my Knees by Adekemi Opatunde (PhD) State Woman Leader, APC Oyo State.

Fellow APC members, I’m appealing to you emotionally consumed, on my knees.

*The Lesson of King Lear*

In Shakespeare’s _King Lear_, an old king divides his kingdom to satisfy his ego and secure loyalty through flattery. He thinks power can be parcelled out without consequence. But the moment he sets children against each other, the house he built begins to collapse.

Goneril and Regan, hungry for more than what was given, turn on their father and on each other. Their tongues are sharp, their ambition unrestrained. In the end, the very weapons they used to destroy Lear and one another consume them. Lear himself only sees clearly when he is stripped of title, stripped of comfort, and forced to look at the suffering of others.

The lesson is simple and brutal: when enough is not enough, we destroy others, but indirectly we destroy ourselves. A house divided by words and malice cannot stand.

*Put the Sword Back in the Sheath*

My brothers and sisters in the APC, we are in that moment now.

Across our platforms, I see members who support different gubernatorial aspirants turning on each other with tongue lashing and unprintable words. We forget that the man or woman you insult today is the same person you will need to campaign with tomorrow. We forget that every word thrown in anger widens the crack in our own foundation.

I beg you, put the sword back into the sheath. Let us move on with reflections on the insecurity challenges facing our people. While we fight among ourselves over words, bandits do not pause. While we trade insults, communities in places like Orire live in fear.

Have you ever paused to think: what if your wife, your husband, your daughter, or your son is one of the abductees in Orire? If that thought sobers you, then you know where our energy belongs. The opposition we face is too confused and divided to arrest this situation. The danger is that we will become just as confused if we do not stop.

*Eulogy to Our Patriots*

Let us also remember who we are dealing with. These are not strangers. These are men and women who have built our party, stood for it in difficult seasons, and stepped forward when it would have been easier to stay silent.

Let us honor the 11 gubernatorial aspirants who got the forms, mobilized, and consulted with sleepless nights. I feel their pain and sleepless nights deeply. We all should.

1. *Senator Abdulfatai Buhari*

2. Senator Sharafadeen Alli

3. Oloye Adebayo Adelabu

4. Dr. Adewale Kareem

5. Barrister Akeem Agbaje

6. Engineer Akeem Alao

7. Dr. Ayobami Lam-Adesina

8. Prince Asanke Asatola

9. Mr. Ololade Usman

10. Dr. Muyiwa Gbadegesin and

11. Engineer Rauf Olaniyan

And let us honor *Ambassador Ayinde*, who declared her intention with courage even though she did not purchase the form. She is a heroine of this process.

I also celebrate all our *senatorial, House of Representatives, and House of Assembly aspirants*. They stepped forward, invested their time and resources, and they are all worthy. The party is built on the courage of every single one of them.

The few who emerge from the process are only one among several equals. None of them fell from the sky. These are men and women who have built our party and given it sleepless nights. They deserve respect, not ridicule.

*The Way Forward*

Let our platforms be places of ideas from henceforth,not insults. Let our disagreements be about policy, security, and the future of our state, not about personalities. Let us speak in a way that we would want said about our own families.

The APC’s strength has never been in tearing down its own. It has been in uniting diverse voices under one roof to deliver governance when others cannot. That is the task before us now. Insecurity will not wait for us to finish our quarrel. The people will not forgive us if we choose internal war over their safety.

Let Lear’s tragedy be our warning, not our script. The kingdom survives only when the family remembers it is one. Let us honor these patriots by conducting ourselves as a party worthy of their sacrifice.

Please, for Oyo and for our people, let’s move forward together. Do the unthinkable, give a phone call or unscheduled visit to your strongest opponent!

Adekemi Opatunde (PhD)

State Woman Leader, APC Oyo State.