A lion does not earn the respect of the jungle by abandoning its territory; its authority begins where its footprints are deepest, so it is in politics, before a man can command the confidence of a wider people, his own people must first recognise him, embrace him and stand with him. That is the political lesson unfolding around Hon. Mathew Oye Oyerinmade, popularly known as MATO, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senatorial Candidate for Ondo South.
His growing grassroots visibility in Oke-Igbo tells the story of a politician whose ambition for the wider senatorial district remains firmly connected to the soil from which he emerged.
The message from the grassroots has been coming in different forms. Members of the Oke-Igbo Okada Riders, led by their Chairman, Mr. Adeniran, popularly known as Bodms, from Oke Onibode Garage, paid a solidarity visit to the PDP Senatorial Candidate for Ondo South at his Oke-Igbo residence, expressing their support for his political movement.
Not long after, the Oke-Igbo branch of the NURTW, under Rafiu Adesiyan, popularly known as Jesus Power, also declared support for MATO and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of 2027.
Two important grassroots constituencies have thus publicly identified with the MATO political project. The garage has spoken; the motor park has spoken.
There is wisdom in the Yoruba expression Da ti e mo — know your own. The elephant does not need a stranger to announce its presence in the forest; its footprints speak before its trumpet sounds. Likewise, the respected village chief does not first seek recognition in a distant kingdom; his own people honour him before others begin to take notice.
MATO’s reported reception in Oke-Igbo, where his return home was met with cheers, fits into this larger picture of a PDP Senatorial Candidate whose political identity remains deeply tied to his roots. In politics, a home that recognises its own can become the strongest foundation for a journey across an entire senatorial district.
MATO’s connection with his people is not limited to political gatherings. His attendance at the naming ceremony of the twins of Mr. and Mrs. Olasupo in Ondo, where he joined family members and well-wishers to celebrate the newborns, reflects another side of grassroots politics.
Leadership is not always found behind a podium. Sometimes it is found in the family compound, at a naming ceremony, at the garage, in the marketplace or among ordinary people sharing ordinary moments.
A leader who remembers his people in their moments of joy gives them a reason to remember him when the political drums begin to beat. That is how political relationships grow from acquaintance into loyalty and from loyalty into enduring grassroots connection.
As the road to 2027 gathers momentum, MATO, the PDP Senatorial Candidate for Ondo South, is carrying a political story that begins at home and reaches towards the wider six Local local Government Areas senatorial district.
The Okada riders have made their voices heard. The NURTW has made its position known. His homecoming has generated visible enthusiasm. Whether these expressions of support ultimately translate into electoral votes remains a matter for voters and the ballot box but one lesson stands tall: a man who values his own people gives the wider world a reason to take his leadership seriously.
A tree cannot boast of its branches if it has no roots; a lion cannot command the jungle by first abandoning its territory. For MATO, the journey to Ondo South begins where every enduring political legacy begins — at home.
©️MATO Strategic Media Team