Akere Okikiola Bashir.

A pregnant woman who came to buy baby essentials inside Gbagi market in Ibadan yesterday evening went into labour and safely delivered her baby with the help of market women. ♥️♥️♥️

The Limping Dog and Nigerian Politics: A Lesson Beyond the Video

A viral video circulating on social media shows what appears to be a white stray dog dragging its hind legs across the road, looking helpless and unable to walk. Anyone watching would naturally feel pity and perhaps even stop to help.

Then, moments later, the same dog suddenly gets up, walks normally, and disappears as though nothing was ever wrong.

Whether the video is genuine, staged, or digitally manipulated is not even the main issue. What caught my attention was the lesson many Nigerians including me immediately drew from it.

It resembles what we sometimes witness in politics.

As elections approach, many politicians suddenly become "ordinary people." They are seen trekking through neighborhoods, eating roasted corn by the roadside, drinking sachet water with residents, sitting in local restaurants, visiting markets, attending funerals, carrying babies, and speaking the language of the common man. They tell us they understand our suffering because they, too, are "one of us."

Some of these gestures are sincere. Others may simply be part of political strategy.

Then, after elections are won, reality often changes.

The politician who once walked freely among the people is now surrounded by convoys, security personnel, and layers of protocol. Access becomes difficult. Campaign promises gradually fade from public discussion, and citizens begin asking themselves whether the humility they witnessed during the campaign reflected genuine character or merely the pursuit of votes.

That is why the "limping dog" analogy resonates with many people.

The lesson is not that every politician is pretending. There are leaders who remain accessible before and after elections, and they deserve recognition.

Rather, the lesson is that citizens should judge leaders by their record of service, consistency, integrity, and accountability not merely by emotional campaign moments or carefully managed public appearances.

Democracy works best when voters evaluate performance instead of performance acting.

As another election cycle approaches, Nigerians should listen carefully, ask difficult questions, verify promises, and remember that leadership is tested after victory, not during campaigns.

Whether the dog in the viral video was acting or not, one thing is certain: the video reminds us that appearances can be deceptive.

In politics, actions will always speak louder than campaign performances.

Akere Okikiola Babatunde Son Of Ismaila Okunola Sanusi Bamgbegbin Beyioku Akere Oritamerin Ibadan

Bode market inferno: Oriyomi Hamzat revisits market, donates truckloads of planks, bundles of roofing sheets, bags of nails to victims.

*Why Understanding People's Needs Matters More Than Grand Gestures*

There is a difference between giving and giving rightly. Many people are generous, but few take the time to ask: what does this person actually need, right now, in this moment?

A trader whose shop has burnt down does not need sympathy alone. He does not need a crowd of visitors taking pictures beside the ashes of his life's work. He needs roofing sheets. He needs nails. He needs planks. He needs the tools to stand back on his feet before the next market day comes and goes without him.

This distinction was not theoretical at Bode Market it played out in real time. When Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli and Hon. Bimbo Adekambi visited, they responded the way most well-meaning leaders typically do: with pledges and financial support. It is a familiar, honourable pattern, and no less appreciated for being familiar.

But when Alhaji Oriyomi Hamzat visited, something different happened. He asked. And the market leadership gave him a direct answer: they did not want anyone to rebuild the market on their behalf; what they needed was materials, so they could rebuild it themselves. That single exchange is the heart of the matter. It was not that one leader cared more than another it is that one leader asked, listened, and acted precisely on what he was told, while the others responded in the conventional way, without first asking the question.

This is the wisdom our elders captured when they said, "Bí a bá fẹ́ràn ẹnìkan, a máa wo ohun tó ṣe pàtàkì fún un" if we truly care for someone, we pay attention to what matters to them, not merely to what makes us look caring.

Needs are not abstract. They are specific, urgent, and time-bound. A hungry child does not need advice about nutrition; he needs food. A student without school fees does not need a motivational speech; she needs the fees paid. A trader who has lost his shop to fire does not need another round of condolence visits; he needs materials to rebuild, and he needs them before the rainy season meets him roofless.

This is why leadership rooted in genuine listening will always outlast leadership rooted in performance. Anyone can show up. Anyone can speak kind words. But it takes deliberate attentiveness asking the right questions, hearing the answers, and responding with precision to give people exactly what restores their dignity and their livelihood.

Government and public service, at their best, function the same way. Policies fail not because leaders lack good intentions, but because those intentions are rarely translated into an accurate reading of what the people on the ground actually require. A road project means little to a trader who needs security for his goods. A grand ceremony means little to a family that needs shelter. Relevance, not size, is what makes an intervention meaningful.

This is the standard by which true service should be judged: not "how much was given," but "how closely did it match what was asked for, and how quickly did it arrive." When help fits the need like a key fits a lock, recovery begins almost immediately. When it does not, even well-meaning gestures can be quietly wasted.

Ọyọ ẹ ronú.

Akere Okikiola Babatunde Omo Ismaila Okunola Sanusi Bamgbegbin Beyioku Akere Oritamerin Ibadan 🖊️🖊️🖊️

Arrival of the Oyo State Deputy Governor, His Excellency Barr. Abdulraheem Adebayo Lawal, at Bode Market, Ibadan, as he joins government officials and stakeholders for an on-the-spot assessment and engagement following the recent fire incident at the market.