Osun 2026 Election: An Evidence of Hope Through Grace

August 15, 2026 was a defining moment in Nigeria’s democratic journey, one that witnessed a political paradigm defiant of party structures and the usual playbook of influence. In the Osun State governorship election, incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party was returned for a second term, polling 511,067 votes to defeat Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress (444,815 votes) and Najeem Salaam of the African Democratic Congress (17,180 votes), among fifteen candidates on the ballot.

All forms of might were deployed to manipulate the will of the people, yet the will of the people prevailed, carried in no small part by social media mobilization.

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Understanding of time and season is very important in all issues of life (1 Chronicles 12:32). While others spent resources and energy traveling several miles to Osun to canvass for their candidates, one wise young man who understood the season mobilized millions in support of his candidate from the comfort of his bedroom.

That contrast, physical mobilization on one hand and digital mobilization on the other, is itself a lesson in how influence now travels in Nigeria’s public life.

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Lessons Learned
Hope for the Future
The Osun 2026 election is a wake-up call for those who have grown discouraged about Nigeria’s electoral process. The will of the people can still be reflected at the ballot box when it is met with determination and resilience, as Osun has now shown. The result of the election made plain that the winner was returned because he is connected to the people’s welfare. Electoral victory should be earned through performance, not persecution and manipulation.

By Linkway’s assessment, the youths of Osun State are the true heroes of this election. They turned out en masse and defended their votes. With young people constituting the majority of Nigeria’s population, and with their growing visibility and organizing power on social media, there is real hope for a better Nigeria.

Grace for Service
The grace for service is also the grace for winning. This grace, the grace to win and to serve, belongs to those who choose to do what is right. I personally believe that the grace to do the right thing comes from God, at least for those of us who believe in His existence.

About two weeks before the Osun election, I, coordinating this outreach for Linkway Outreach Africa from abroad, asked a colleague who had just returned from Nigeria for his honest assessment of the Osun State governor. He said to me:

“I am from Osun State, and you can tell from what is on ground that he is doing pretty well. I am from a different party, but I want him to win.”

The voice of the people is the voice of God. When the voice of God is subverted to the voice of men, the result is a loss of peace (Psalm 9:17).

A Path Forward
What played out in the Osun election shows that Nigeria can work again, if Nigerians decide to do the right thing. Let us distribute the nation’s common wealth on the principles of equity, justice, and fairness, and we will be at peace, with God and with the people we serve.

Linkway Outreach Africa is a Linkway Diplomats Inc. initiative committed to mobilizing the African diaspora toward the rebuilding and restoration of the continent, with a focused commitment to Nigeria.

Linkway Outreach Africa | Commentary
August 2026

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