When Praises Go Up, Battles Come Down: The Osun Story

When Praises Go Up, Battles Come Down: The Osun Story

By Olaseeni Oyesusi

The just concluded Osun State Governorship Election will be studied for years to come. Not just because of the politics, but because of the testimony behind it.

About 15 Governors and over 50 Senators converged in Osun. Billions of naira were deployed. The political structures of former Governor Gboyega Oyetola, former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola, former Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and even a factional National Chairman of the Accord Party all came together with one goal: to stop Ademola Adeleke from returning. Days to the election, the EFCC froze Osun State accounts in what many saw as a last attempt to cripple the government. It took the President’s direct order to unfreeze the accounts before governance could continue.

With all that pressure, by every political calculation, Adeleke should have lost. But Osun people chose him again. Why?

Because what prayers could not finish, praises completed.

The Power of Praises

We pray when we are in trouble. We fast when we need answers. But the Bible shows us that praise is a different kind of weapon entirely. Prayer talks to God. Praise invites God to fight for you.

When the children of Israel were surrounded by three armies in 2 Chronicles 20, Jehoshaphat did not first send soldiers. He sent praisers. As they began to sing and give thanks, the Lord set ambushes against their enemies and they destroyed themselves.

When Paul and Silas were locked in prison, they prayed, yes. But it was when they began to sing praises at midnight that the prison doors flew open and their chains fell off.

Praise shifts atmosphere. Praise confuses the enemy. Praise announces to heaven that you trust God even before you see the result. And God inhabits the praises of His people.

Adeleke and the Dance of Victory

That is the story of Governor Ademola Adeleke.

Across Osun, people saw the work: abandoned roads completed, health centers upgraded, salaries and pensions paid, schools rehabilitated, youth and women programs rolled out in every local government. He worked. But beyond the work, Osun watched a man who never stopped dancing before God.

On campaign grounds, in government meetings, and in thanksgiving services, Adeleke lifted his hands and danced. Not quietly. Not in secret. Openly. Like David.

King David danced before the Lord with all his might, even when his wife despised him for it. And because of that praise, God gave him victory over Goliath, delivered him from Saul, and established his kingdom forever.

The same spirit followed Adeleke. While opposition leaders were holding strategy meetings, he was holding praise. While billions were being spent to pull him down, he was lifting his voice to lift God up.

And God answered .

The coalition of Governors, Senators, former Governors, and party leaders failed woefully. The freezing of state funds failed. The intimidation failed. Because when praises go up, battles come down.

Osun has taught us again: you can fight with money, with power, with federal might. But you cannot fight a man whom God has chosen to defend because of praise.

This victory belongs to the people of Osun. It belongs to a Governor who served them. And it belongs to a God who honors those who honor Him in dance and in thanksgiving.

Congratulations to Governor Ademola Adeleke. Congratulations to Osun State.

Let the dancing continue, because when we praise, God takes over.

Olaseeni Oyesusi is the CEO of D Chronicle Media Ventures