Human societies progress not merely by the courage to imagine alternatives, but by the wisdom to weigh consequences. From time immemorial, history records a recurring lesson: *stability, once achieved, is not lightly discarded*. This is the philosophical root of the timeless maxim, “better the known than the unknown”; a statement not of fear, but of prudence.
Politics, properly understood, is not a theatre of endless experimentation, rather, it is a moral enterprise in which choices carry lasting consequences for institutions, livelihoods, and social harmony. The philosopher’s task is therefore not to romanticise change, but to interrogate its costs. Change that is unmoored from experience often exacts a heavy price, especially in developing political systems where governance is still a delicate ecosystem.
Within this frame, the question of continuity assumes a deeper meaning. The “known” in leadership is not simply familiarity with a face or a name; it is the accumulated knowledge of governing; understanding the bureaucracy, managing competing interests, navigating economic constraints, and sustaining social trust.
*The known leader has already paid the price of learning. His mistakes are visible, his strengths established, his limitations understood*. *Not only that, the society already know where to demand improvement and how to enforce accountability.
* It is in this philosophical context that Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji becomes emblematic of political realism in Ekiti State. *His leadership represents governance that has crossed the threshold of uncertainty into familiarity*.
As I will put it, *Governor Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji has crossed the Rubicon*. *The anxiety of the first term, where intentions are tested and capacities revealed, has given way to a phase where direction is clearer and institutional rhythm more settled*.
A second term, therefore, is not stagnation; it is continuity with memory. The unknown and the untested, by contrast, is often seductive. It arrives clothed in grand promises and dramatic rhetoric, yet philosophy warns us that what is not yet tested cannot be fully trusted.
*The unknown leader must learn on the job, negotiate old problems with new hands, and often dismantle existing frameworks simply to assert novelty*. In the process, society pays the hidden cost of transition; lost time, policy reversals, and administrative dislocation.
Political wisdom lies in recognising that governance is cumulative. Roads, institutions, reforms, and social trust are not built in a single season, they require patience, consistency, and a steady hand. The known leader offers continuity of vision, coherence of policy, and the rare advantage of experience already gained. What remains is refinement, not reinvention.
Philosophically, the preference for the “Known and tested”, is an ethical choice. It reflects a commitment to collective welfare over personal sentiment, to long-term stability over short-term excitement. It acknowledges that while perfection is elusive, predictability is valuable.
*A society that understands its leader also understands how to engage him; how to praise, how to criticise, and how to demand better outcomes.
* Thus, the call for continuity is not an argument against progress; it is an argument for sustainable progress. It is the belief that development matures through consolidation, not constant upheaval. In moments of political decision, wisdom often whispers rather than shouts, urging restraint where recklessness tempts.
In choosing the tested over the untested, Ekiti affirms a philosophy older than politics itself: *that prudence is the guardian of progress* . A second-term mandate for BAO, seen through this lens, is not a leap of faith but an act of reasoned judgment, a decision to deepen what has been started, to perfect what is working, and to protect the fragile gains of governance from the risks of needless experimentation.In the end, philosophy sides with wisdom, and wisdom reminds us:
*the future is best secured not by abandoning the road already charted, but by walking it more deliberately toward its full promise.*So, for me, BAO remains the man in the saddle, to take Ekiti to yet another realm of growth and development.
Let’s all support the APC, and BAO, for a second term.
Ekiti a gbe wa!
*SeniorKosija*,
For *The Sentinel*
