For some reasons, I stayed up very late yesterday.
When I eventually decided to get to bed, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
Out of nowhere. I suddenly remembered something I ought never to have forgotten and in that instance, I remembered how much I had offended the Governor of Oyo state, Eng. Seyi Makinde.
I am not someone who could conveniently discover that I had offended someone and would walk away without making amends just because days have passed over the matter.
When a man is good enough to tell you his true character from the beginning, no matter how bad such a person eventually turns out to become, you have to be circumspect when you want to condemn him.
How on earth could I forget what Governor Makinde said during a live Debate program, just before the 2023 gubernatorial election?
I think I remember vividly now. Governor Makinde was responding to some statements made by the current Minister for Power, Bayo Adelabu, who was at the time the gubernatorial candidate of the Accord Party.
Let me quote the Governor, he said, ” Bayo, je ki npari second term mi, tori pe, eekan kii to Ole”.( Bayo, let me complete my second term because a thief is never satisfied with just one operation).
That is exactly what the Governor said on that occasion in front of Television Cameras and on live Radio!
He said those words. Almost everyone in the Hall clapped.
Even the moderators of the Debate laughed and a few days after that program, one of the moderators, an On Air Personality in Ibadan here, hosted the Governor on his program and after the program, he took a picture with the Governor inside the Studio and put the caption, ‘ Seyi Makinde is my Man’ and he posted same online.
In the end, the ‘ thief’ got an opportunity to go for another trip.
So, exactly what should we expect?
On the day, Governor Makinde’s words could be taken to be literal but they were also loaded with meanings and could be interpreted in many ways.
For example, the Governor could have said, a good term deserves another and he would have made almost, if not the same meaning.
Why would the Governor opt for the reference to a ‘ thief’ to drive his points?
Was it a matter of, ‘ from the fullness of the heart, the mouth speaketh’?
Sometimes, I used to admire Governor Makinde to the extent that I struggled to categorize him as either a Hero or a Villain.
It was also during the run up to the 2023 gubernatorial election and during a public Debate program.
Governor Makinde boldly declared that he doesn’t believe in Local Government Autonomy.
In fact, he said it, chest out that he would not sign in favor of Local Government Autonomy, even though the file was on his table at the time.
Now, when you look at it very carefully, Governor Makinde never pretended about what he would or would not do.
If a man said, he wanted a second term because, according to him, ” a thief is never satisfied with just one operation”, ( eekan kii to Ole) you can’t expect him to get the benefits of a successful second trip and start acting like a saint.
He made himself clear from the beginning.
When he also said that he didn’t believe in Local Government Autonomy and he came in and continued running the Local Governments like his private establishments, did he not make his intentions clear ab initio?
I think the biggest problem with us in Oyo state is the fact that we failed to identify the real enemies of the public.
A couple of weeks ago, I saw pictures and videos of some of the achievements of some Local Governments and Local Council Developments Areas, LCDAs in Lagos state and I felt terribly sorry for Oyo state.
I was amazed to see the pictures and videos of Schools, Health Centers, Fire Stations and other infrastructures built by these Local Governments and LCDAs in Lagos state.
I saw Governor Sanwolu having a chat with pupils inside one of the classrooms of the Schools and I remembered former Governor Ladoja’s 30 pupil per class Education initiative.
Inside that classroom, the pupils were not more than 20 or 25.
Beautiful Chairs and very cosy atmosphere.
I also saw another video of the Health Center built by another Local Government in the same Lagos state.
A social media influencer, ‘ Just Adetoun’ recorded the Video and posted online.
I am sure that no General Hospital in Oyo state can stand beside what the Local Government Chairman in Lagos state built as at now.
Now, juxtaposed with what we have in Oyo state, you will want to cover your face in shame.
Unfortunately, everyday, Governor Makinde’s town criers will fill the media spaces with celebration of mediocrity as if they are blind, deaf and dumb to this kind of information.
It is now common knowledge that the monthly statutory Allocations to States and Local Governments have increased tremendously.
We have been asking Governor Makinde to confirm or deny this fact and he has chosen to ignore the calls.
We have also been asking him to tell us how this significant increase in monthly Allocations have impacted on Governance in Oyo state and he wouldn’t answer.
We have equally been asking him, why, despite the significant increase in monthly Allocations to States and Local Governments, he has continued to borrow recklessly.
Still, no response.
We asked the Governor to tell us exactly, the figures of the debts he inherited and by how much he has increased the debts.
No answer.
We asked Governor Makinde to tell the public how much he has collected on behalf of the 33 Local Governments and what has happened to the funds.
Governor Makinde would not talk.
Now, we are seeing pictures and videos of the infrastructures built by Local Governments and even LCDAs in Lagos state and I want to ask the Governor if he saw those infrastructures and if he did, whether he should be ashamed of himself or not?
I have been working seriously to compile the records of achievements of a particular Local Government in Lagos state.
I want to compare them with the achievements of Governor Makinde.
Perhaps, this will move him to action.
While Local Governments and LCDAs are building correct infrastructures to assist the Governor of Lagos state to achieve meaningful developments, Local Governments in Oyo state are doing begging begging to fix their Secretariat!
Just yesterday, I was reading the news that the Chairman of Egbeda Local Government of Oyo state donated a Campaign vehicle to the candidate of the PDP in Ibadan North.
The other time, Governor Makinde said he was collaborating with Local Governments and how is he doing that?
He is illegally diverting the resources of the 33 Local Governments to Ibadan North and from there, he would clear out through illegally awarded contracts.
Like I said earlier, at this point, I no longer blame Governor Makinde.
I would rather blame those who ought to be exposing his misdeeds, those who should be putting him on his toes, those who ought to be the watchdog for the society but who have become caged dogs, been fed with crumbs to keep quiet.
I will blame those who are being hired to create fake narratives on media platforms to suit Governor Makinde’s purposes.
I will blame the rather lanky On Air Personalities who have suddenly become heavily pregnant with ( ijekuje) bribes, accepted, to work against the society by churning out half-truths outright lies and propaganda in favor of Governor Makinde and his Government.
The ones who have collected questionable gifts of SUVs to maintain their silence when the Governor is wrong and become vocal when his opponents falter.
There is nothing the sycophants and mediocre around Governor Makinde would not celebrate.
Not long ago, they were celebrating the fact that Governor Makinde has crowned eleven Monarchs!
Haa! Are we not in soup?
How does crowning of Kings amount to an achievement?
Is Governor Makinde the one determining the time a Monarch will pass away and another would succeed him?
Currently, they are celebrating the fact that the PDP National Convention will be holding in Ibadan by November.
They say ” it’s a big one”.
The question is, ‘ big one ‘ for who? For Oyo state or the Governor?
You will think that Oyo state just got the Hosting rights for the Olympics by the way these jesters have been jumping up and down.
I noticed that when Governor Sauwolu was going for the commissioning of those projects in Lagos state, there were no fun fare.
It was very simple and low-key. No drums. No musician and no crowds.
In Oyo state, even for a simple flag off of projects, there must be drums and fun fare.
The Governor’s regular Fuji Musician must be on ground and there must be a crowd of Party men clothed in all manner of cheap Ankara fabric.
It doesn’t matter whether the project will be executed or not.
It was done in Eruwa in 2023. The Governor flagged off the 48 kilometers Ido/Eruwa road from New Eruwa with fun fare and up till today, the road has not been completed.
I told a friend recently that we are gradually moving towards the time when Oyo state will be organizing a Party just because the Governor wants to trim his finger nails.
I have been working on my Compendium on Governor Makinde.
I had no problems finding a suitable title for the work.
I discovered that Governor Makinde is not as guilty as the gluttonous privileged few who chose to exchange their responsibilities for plates of porridge.
The microphone in a Radio station is extremely powerful.
So also is the pen in the hands of a Journalist. They are said to be mightier than the sword.
Sadly, most of the people who have access to those microphones and those holding the pens are lacking in principles and integrity.
When a supposed owner of a Radio station got so close to the Governor of a state to the extent that he declared that he is a stakeholder in his Governmen, what objectivity are you expecting from such a Radio station?
When the owner of a Radio station began to get controversial contracts from a sitting Governor, where will he or anyone within his establishment get the mouth to criticize the Governor?
When a Radio program anchor began to maintain an unhealthy romance with the Governor of a state and the romance became so beneficial to the extent that a rather lanky man suddenly becomes heavily pregnant, his belly protruding, where will such person get the mouth to criticize the Governor?
When a Radio program anchor took his birthday cake to the Government House and returned with a SUV car, gifted to him by the Governor, how will such an OAP remain the same?
The ones, who, though, claimed to be men of God, but who will jump to call you all manner of evil names just because you are holding their Principal to account, those are the public enemies.
You can not blame Governor Makinde in isolation.
It does look like the Governor’s intent was made known from the beginning.
” Eekan kii to Ole”.
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
