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<b>Oselu/Ojelu</b> Relations in Yoruba Politics: Insights into the Untapped Capital of <b>“Ga’nu Si” </b>

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DOI: 10.18535/sshj.v9i05.1817· Pages: 7913-7929· Vol. 9, No. 05, (2025)· Published: May 9, 2025
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Abstract

The absence of good governance in Yoruba communities now has manifest effects. This article examines how “ga’nu si” predisposes oselu/ojelu relations to good governance advocacy in Yoruba communities. It uses a qualitative method to collect cleaned and sorted secondary data into themes consistent with its objective before content and thematic analysis. Findings indicate that while “ga’nu si” was a repulsive expression that scuttled cooperative partnership among oselu/ojelu politicians, it remolds predominant stereotype and stigmatization into a powerful resource with a heuristic value that drives mass embrace of good governance and objection to systemic rot in Yoruba political landscape. The article concludes that when the supporters of good governance no longer suffer stereotypes for advocating the cause of oselu politicians or stigmatization for discrediting their greedy ojelu counterparts, rational good-governance fixing choices will railroad all advocates of “ga ’nu si” into active political movement for stable and prosperous polity in Yoruba communities. It suggests a policy disavowal of the negative political use of “ga’nu si” to transform it into a patriotic tool of good governance. Therefore, as “the norm of ga’nu si” resonates with local realities, it advocates for good governance in the Yoruba political space.

Keywords

"ga 'nu si"oseluojelugood governance advocacystereotypesYoruba Communities

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Author details
Johnson Oluwole Ayodele
Unicaf University, Larnaca, Cyprus.
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Jane Roli Adebusuyi
Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
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