By Abubakar D. Sani, Esq

Once upon a time
(Make that twice)
In far away
Ondo State

Two leading lawyers
Or, rather, Senior Advocates
‘Locked horns’
On a slightly less familiar turf:
The Governorship contest of the State

The stakes were high enough
As, apart from the two men
A former deputy to the incumbent
Dared to challenge his erstwhile boss

The two leading parties
The APC and the PDP
Threw their considerable weights
Behind their respective candidates
For there was much
Riding on its outcome
Given the results
Of a recent similar election

In Edo State, South-South Nigeria
Where, against all odds
The opposition PDP triumphed
To the chagrin of the party at the center

So, smarting from that routing
The ruling party was determined
To show that it was still
The party to beat

And so, it proved to be
Rotimi Akeredolu (or ‘Aketi’)
For the second time, was the nemesis
Of this fellow ‘silk’
As well as his former Deputy
The ‘upstart,’ Agboola Ajayi
And yet, given the attitude
Of election losers in Nigeria
Another battle - the real battle
May just be about to start

And, who best
To engage
In that duel
But the two leading candidates
Who just happen to be Senior Advocates

But, then again,
If history is any guide,
Jegede might decide
Just like the last time

That challenging his brother-silk
In court would simply
Be not worth his while

If that turns out to be the case
That would be
The height of sportsmanship
And an exemplar
To others that
Might run a similar race

Whatever the case, though
Congratulations are in order
For, Aketi, from his brethren in BOSAN
And others in the Outer Bar
For the triumph of one of their own

As for Jegede,
The learned Senior Advocate
Fought a good fight
And lives to fight another day
When, battle-hardened and battle-tested
His opponents will be nowhere in sight

Till then, good luck and Godspeed
May the best man (or woman) win
To the glory of the Lord
If not the law

Abubakar D. Sani, Esq, [email protected], 08034533892