I enjoyed reading a piece by Governor Seyi Makinde’s Special Adviser on Media, ( Pastor) Dr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju. The piece is entitled: Makinde: Rebuilding Oyo Beyond Tar And Mortar.
After reading the piece, I discovered that Dr. Olanrewaju’s job delivery has taken a new turn. His Principal, Seyi Makinde is no longer in the Driver’s seat. He is no longer in firm control of events that might shape his political future.
He is an outgoing Governor with a lot of baggages on his trail and is mindful of the disaster that awaits if things go awry in 2027, so, they are applying caution and restraint. They are trying to narrow down on who to blame and which Administration to go after.
I saw a Dr. Olanrewaju who is cautious, civil and persuasive.
How time flies!
The same Dr. Olanrewaju who could easily identify a Belzebub is not bold enough to mention the head of an Administration about whom he wrote: “…in the not-so-distant past”!
Which distant past? IÂ saw that Dr. Olanrewaju must single out one, just one Administration for condemnation but he is even lacking in the will to mention the particular Administration.
Oh! I pity the ( Pastor) Dr. Olanrewaju!
Let me give you an example of Dr. Olanrewaju’s dilemma.
If the opening paragraphs, he wrote and I quote: ” Oyo state is the culmination of the mental rigor of those privileged to steer the ship of the state at one time or the other as well as the sweat of the people….”.
He went further, ” Oyo state, being a scion of the of the peerless Western Region and the imitable Western state had a head start…it hit the the ground running… but there was a slide….. “This is where the problem began.
When did the slide occur? Under which Government and Governor?
I am surprised that Governor Makinde, through his Special Adviser on Media now agrees that those who were privileged to govern Oyo state before him actually contributed anything positive to the development of Oyo state.
Have they not been castigating every Administration before now?
Their favorite statement in the past were, ” successive Administrations did this, successive Administrations did that” and each time they made such remarks in the past, it was always about negativity.
I am also surprised that Olanrewaju relied so much on the statement credited to the Governor of Kwara state to back his claims that Governor Seyi Makinde have been doing wonders as Governor of Oyo state. The Governor of Kwara state was a guest of the Oyo state Government during the 50 years celebration of Oyo state.
Was he expected to be castigating his Host during his speech?
The Governor of Kwara state said in the past few years, he has passed through Oyo state more than 20 times. He had earlier said that he used to pass through Oyo state on his way to Lagos state.
You can therefore definitely assume that in the 20 times he passed through Oyo state within the past few years, he did so while going to Lagos.
The question is, how much of Oyo state can you see that will give you a fair assessment of the state if you passed through Oyo state on your way to Lagos from Kwara state? Only a lazy mind would see that statement by the Kwara state Governor, in the context it was made, as something worthy of celebrating.
If Governor Seyi Makinde was a guest of the Kwara state Governor, the following day Bandits attacked a local Government in the state, is he not going to sing the praises of the Kwara state Governor to the heavens despite that disaster?
Now, what did Olanrewaju said happened in the ” not-so-distant past”?
According to him, “… the people of the state counted for little in the estimation of their Leaders. Citizens and residents were treated as statistical figures, only useful for winning elections and pushing for higher allocations from Abuja”, ” in the not-so-distant past”.
These people think they are clever. Since they do not have the courage to mention the specific Administration they are talking about in this context, I won’t assist them.
However, I want them to answer these questions.
Which of the past Administrations indulged a Mukaila aka Auxiliary who is now being accused of multiple murder cases? Mukaila aka Auxiliary was sent to prison by the Administration of late Governor Abiola Ajimobi. When he left prison, he was hibernating somewhere and was no longer capable of being a menace to the public.
In an interview with an Ibadan based OAP, Auxiliary spilled the beans and one of the allegations he raised was that he was recruited by Governor Seyi Makinde through Seye Famojuro and was asked to head their ‘ security ‘ for the 2019 gubernatorial campaign. ( I don’t know that Auxiliary had a training as a security expert until he granted that interview).
He made further damaging allegations against the Governor and Seye. For example, he alleged that he used the resources of the Parks Management System, PMS, to campaign for Governor Seyi Makinde.
The resources of the PMS is supposed to form part of the Internally generated revenues, IGR of Local Governments in Oyo state but here, Auxiliary alleged that he spent same to campaign for the reelection of Governor Seyi Makinde in 2023.
Up till today, neither of Governor Seyi Makinde nor Seye Famojuro denied the allegations by Auxiliary. ( If they did, I am not aware). Not only that, the same Auxiliary have been alleged to be complicit in murder cases in Ibarapa East, Ibarapa North, Ogbomosho, Iwo Road and other places. When he was engaging in the above listed alleged criminalities, did he not enjoy the support of Governor Seyi Makinde?
I still remember vividly well, how Governor Makinde snapped at the former Senate Leader and gubernatorial candidate of the APC in 2023, Teslim Folarin just because the latter referred to Auxillary as an ex convict.
Honestly, up till today, I am yet to understand Governor Makinde’s grouse against Folarin. The former Senate Leader was right. Auxiliary, having served a jail term and having not being pardoned by appropriate authorities, is an ex convict.
Interestingly, today, the same Government Makinde has turned against Auxiliary and is trying him in court for multiple offences, including murder! I think Makinde owes Folarin an apology. For over four years, Governor would do anything to protect Mukaila Auxiliary.
So, when Sulaimon Olanrewaju talked about the ” not-so-distant past” did he forget about those criminal acts by Auxiliary? Did he not see the video of the interview by Auxiliary and the allegations made by him?
So, between someone who is accused of perceived verbal insults and one accused of aiding and abetting criminalities which involved the taking of innocent lives, who is better? Who should the people be wary of?
When Olanrewaju was casting the stone at the unnamed Administration in the ” not-so-distant past”, did he remember the hapless people whose land was forcefully taken over by Governor Seyi Makinde at Egbeda and who had to spend a December in detention because they reacted against Governor Makinde’s decision to forcefully take over their Land?
Did he remember to observe a minute silence in honor of those who are allegedly dead as a result of Governor Makinde’s policy of 500 meters corridor at the Circular Road?
At least, as a Pastor, to satisfy his conscience, he could perhaps observe a minute silence for those hapless people.
The late Governor Abiola Ajimobi suspended his plan to dualize some roads within Ibadan because of the outcries of the people. I can remember that of Eleyele-Ologuneru-Ido Road. That road is supposed to be a dual carriage but the people protested and Ajimobi listened to the people.
In Ajimobi’s shoes, what did Makinde do about the protests of the residents of the Circular Road?
Did he not go to Ologuneru to mock them by frying Akara?
I have further questions for Dr. Olanrewaju and his Principal. When exactly are they going to respond to the very grave allegations made against them by Hon. Shittu Ibrahim?
The gentleman raised very serious allegations to the effect that Governor Makinde and a cabal within the Oyo state House of Assembly have been borrowing billions of Naira and millions of Naira in dollars in our names, in the name of Oyo state, without following due process.
If those allegations are true, they constitute impeachable offences. No one has talked about that and even the Press who should follow up on the matter have been largely compromised.
These are the kind of questions we will be throwing at Governor Makinde moving forward. He has been saying that the 2027 election is going to be between the people and the APC. No. Governor Seyi Makinde. You are totally wrong. That narrative is mischievous and we are too clever to allow you to lead us on that route.
The 2027 election in Oyo state is going to be a brutal honest assessment, ( to borrow a leaf from one of Governor Makinde’s Media friend) of your eight years misrule as Governor of Oyo state. We are not docile. We are not fools. As Governor of Oyo state for 8 years, Governor Makinde has received monthly Allocations in trillions of Naira, on behalf of the state and the 33 Local Governments.( I am sure that all of his predecessors rolled into one didn’t receive a tenth of that sum as monthly Allocations).
Governor Makinde would be made to account for how such a homongus amount of money was spent. Just as he demanded details from Ajimobi, we will demand for details from him. Again, under Governor Makinde, we are lost as to how much exactly we are owing as a state. We will not only expose the Governor, we will demand for details of every loans and how they were spent.
These and many more are the topics that will shape 2027 in Oyo state. I urge Governor Makinde to gather himself together and find a political platform to settle down. We need to get down to business as soon as possible. Oyo 2027 is not going to be bread and butter.
Before they say that I’m talking about wars, let me stop here for now.
By Sola Abegunde.
