Why the Campaign of Castigation and Denigration Should Not Be Allowed to Define a Man Known for Service
By Olapade Thomas Leo
There are moments in a political journey when the emergence of certain individuals generates intense public interest, scrutiny and, inevitably, competing narratives. The emergence of Engineer Muftau Open Salau as the Deputy Governorship Candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Oyo State is one such development.
But this article is not written because Hon. Bimbo Adekambi or the leadership and stakeholders of the APM have suddenly developed doubts about Engineer Salau’s integrity, acceptability or political strength. There is no basis in the public record reviewed for such a conclusion. Indeed, available reports have presented Adekambi and Salau together in APM activities following the emergence of the ticket.
Rather, this article is necessitated by another development: the persistent attempts by some individuals who apparently dislike Engineer Salau to cast him in an unflattering light through castigation, denigration, character assassination and sweeping negative impressions.
Such a campaign deserves to be challenged—not with another campaign of abuse, but with facts, perspective and a willingness to examine the man beyond the labels being attached to him.
The Man Beyond the Political Noise
Engineer Muftau Open Salau is a professional engineer, businessman, entrepreneur and political figure whose public identity has developed through professional engagements, community relationships and political activities.
Like every public figure, he is entitled to scrutiny.
But scrutiny is different from character assassination.
Criticism is legitimate when it is supported by facts. Disagreement is legitimate when it is based on identifiable issues. Political opposition is part of democracy.
What should not become acceptable, however, is the deliberate attempt to paint an individual with a tar brush simply because certain people dislike him or disagree with his emergence.
That is the distinction this article seeks to make.
The APM does not need anyone to manufacture either a saint or a villain out of Engineer Salau. The party and its stakeholders are capable of assessing their own political associates. What they deserve is accurate information upon which to make their own judgments.
His Quiet Disposition Should Not Be Mistaken for Weakness
One of the most noticeable aspects of Engineer Salau’s public personality is his relatively quiet disposition.
He is not necessarily the kind of person who seeks publicity for every intervention, relationship or act of generosity.
In contemporary politics, where visibility is sometimes mistaken for influence, quietness can easily be misunderstood.
But influence does not always announce itself with loud declarations.
Some relationships are built gradually. Some community interventions take place without cameras. Some acts of assistance never become newspaper stories.
That does not automatically make every claim about a public figure true, but neither should the absence of publicity be interpreted as the absence of contribution.
The appropriate approach is to examine the evidence.
Philanthropy Without Noise
Engineer Salau has also been associated with acts of generosity and assistance to members of his community, including support for education and indigent but brilliant students.
The significance of such interventions should not be exaggerated, but neither should they be dismissed simply because they may not have been accompanied by publicity.
A person’s philanthropic record is best understood through the people and communities who have directly experienced his interventions.
That is why those who wish to understand Engineer Salau beyond political gossip should speak to people who have known him personally and professionally over the years.
His Ogbomoso Connection and Wider Reach
Engineer Salau’s name has also been associated with traditional and community recognition, including the titles Babalájé of Ogbomosoland, Jagaban Jari Nupe of Bida and Giwa Adini of Oyo State, among others.
Such honours, by themselves, should not be presented as automatic proof of electoral popularity. But they form part of the broader story of his relationships and interactions with different segments of society.
His reported connections extend beyond one social group.
Traditional rulers, religious communities, market women, artisans, professionals, youths, elders and ordinary residents are among the categories of people with whom he has reportedly maintained relationships.
His supporters and associates also describe his influence as extending across Ogbomoso North, Ogbomoso South, Oriire, Surulere and Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Areas.
These are matters that can and should be independently examined by anyone interested in understanding his political standing.
The point is not to demand that anybody accept every positive description of Engineer Salau.
The point is that negative descriptions should equally not be accepted merely because they are repeated loudly.
Do Not Paint a Man With a Tar Brush
There is a dangerous tendency in political environments to reduce complex human beings to one-sided narratives.
Once someone is disliked, everything about the person is interpreted negatively.
His silence becomes arrogance.
His confidence becomes pride.
His generosity becomes political calculation.
His relationships become political manipulation.
His ambition becomes desperation.
His supporters become sycophants.
And eventually, the repetition of these interpretations creates the impression that they are established facts.
This is precisely where responsible journalism and responsible political engagement must draw the line.
An allegation is not automatically a fact because it has been repeated.
An opinion is not evidence.
A rumour does not become truth through repetition.
And personal dislike should never be confused with objective assessment.
APM Stakeholders Can Speak for Themselves
It is therefore important not to create a false impression that Hon. Bimbo Adekambi or APM stakeholders are sitting helplessly in doubt about their deputy.
That would be an unfair characterisation of the party’s internal judgment.
The APM leadership and stakeholders made their political calculations and selected their ticket. Public reports have subsequently shown Adekambi and Salau participating together in party activities, including statewide engagements with party members.
The real issue is different.
Those outside the political structure should not be allowed to manufacture an artificial crisis where none has been established.
If there are legitimate concerns about Engineer Salau, they should be presented clearly.
If there are allegations, they should be supported with evidence.
If there are disagreements about his political methods, they can be discussed openly.
But where the objective is simply to diminish a man’s reputation because of personal dislike, jealousy, rivalry or political disagreement, society should be able to recognise the difference.
Let Facts Defeat the Narrative
Engineer Muftau Open Salau does not need to be presented as infallible.
No politician is.
Neither does he need to be defended against every criticism.
Public figures must be open to scrutiny.
But fairness requires that criticism should be based on facts and that allegations should be distinguishable from established information.
The most constructive response to the negative narratives surrounding him is therefore not retaliation.
It is verification.
Talk to the people who have known him.
Examine his professional antecedents.
Investigate his community relationships.
Ask beneficiaries of his interventions.
Speak with traditional institutions, religious leaders, market women, artisans, youths, elders and professionals.
Then allow the evidence to speak.
Politics Should Not Become a License for Character Assassination
Political competition is inevitable.
Different individuals will have different interests, ambitions and loyalties.
But political competition should not become a license to destroy reputations.
Engineer Salau’s professional background, business experience, community relationships, philanthropic activities and political associations should all be examined as components of a broader profile.
Nobody should be compelled to admire him.
Nobody should be prohibited from criticising him.
But nobody should also be allowed to define him entirely through unverified allegations.
That is unfair to the individual and unhealthy for democratic discourse.
A Man Should Be Judged by the Totality of His Record
My position as a writer is straightforward.
Engineer Muftau Open Salau should be discussed on the basis of his character, antecedents, professional accomplishments, community relationships, public activities and record of service.
Where he deserves criticism, let it be specific.
Where he has made mistakes, let them be identified.
Where allegations exist, let them be investigated.
Where misconceptions have been created, let them be corrected.
And where people have attempted to diminish him simply because they dislike him, let their narratives be subjected to the same scrutiny they demand of the man they criticise.
That is the essence of fairness.
Beyond Ogbomoso
Engineer Salau’s political relevance should also not be discussed exclusively through the prism of Ogbomoso.
His emergence as APM’s deputy governorship candidate places him within a broader Oyo State political conversation. The party’s public activities have increasingly involved statewide mobilisation and engagement across different parts of the state.
Consequently, the question is not merely whether Engineer Salau is known in his immediate environment.
The more useful question is how his relationships, experience, networks and political attributes fit into the broader political structure of Oyo State.
That assessment belongs to the party, its stakeholders, its supporters and ultimately the electorate.
Let Nobody Manufacture a Crisis
The APM does not need a manufactured crisis around its deputy.
Neither does Engineer Salau need an artificial image of perfection.
What is required is something much simpler: fairness.
Let Hon. Bimbo Adekambi and the APM leadership continue to make their political judgments.
Let party stakeholders investigate whatever concerns they consider relevant.
Let Engineer Salau respond to legitimate questions.
And let journalists, commentators and members of the public resist the temptation to turn personal dislike into supposed fact.
The 2027 political journey will undoubtedly produce competing narratives.
Some will be favourable.
Some will be critical.
Some may be deliberately misleading.
The responsibility of responsible political journalism is to separate them.
Conclusion: Let the Man Speak Through His Record
Engineer Muftau Open Salau’s emergence on the APM ticket has placed him under a brighter political spotlight.
That spotlight should illuminate his record—not distort it.
The objective of this article is therefore not to instruct Hon. Bimbo Adekambi or the APM stakeholders on what to think about their deputy. They are perfectly capable of making their own assessment.
It is instead a reminder that no individual should be painted with a tar brush merely because some people dislike him.
If there are facts against Engineer Salau, let those facts be presented.
If there are legitimate concerns, let them be examined.
If there are misconceptions, let them be corrected.
If there are positive aspects of his record, let them also be acknowledged.
Above all, let the assessment be based on evidence rather than whispers, personal animosity or political gossip.
Engineer Muftau Open Salau deserves scrutiny like every other public figure.
But scrutiny must not become persecution, and criticism must not become character assassination.
In the final analysis, political narratives may come and go.
**Facts remain.
Records remain.
Character remains.
And history ultimately remembers what a man actually did—not merely what his detractors said about him.
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