Like Makinde, Like ” Paadi Minkailu”( Padre Michael).
” Idaamu Paadi Minkailu” is the title of a Yoruba literature written by Alagba Adebayo Faleti.
The book detailed the many challenges and dilemma faced by a Catholic Padre in the course of discharging his spiritual duties.
Pronounced as (pha-dray) in Italian, Portuguese and Spanish, a Padre is what we call the ” Father” in the Catholic Churches.
For Governor Seyi Makinde and his followers, the search for a political platform is far from being over.
The Governor was supposed to receive the reports of the committee he set up to work on consensus candidates for elective positions yesterday.
It was also widely expected that an announcement on the adopted political platform would be made yesterday but Governor Makinde was not in Ibadan.
He was in far away Abuja on what he called ‘ a solidarity visit ‘ to the Leaders of the Action Democratic Congress, ADC.
A photograph of him and a former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Mulikat Adeola also surfaced online.
According to Media reports, Governor Seyi Makinde visited the former Majority Leader of the House of Representatives at her residence in Abuja.
I have seen and read a lot of interesting comments about Governor Makinde’s visit to Mulikat Adeola and I will also make a few comments about the visit in the course of this write up.
However, let us deal with Governor Makinde’s solidarity visit to the Leadership of the ADC first.
I was amused when I listened to Governor Seyi Makinde in his short address to the Leaders of ADC.
I was surprised that Governor Makinde felt obliged to show solidarity to a set of people who ignored him and his followers when they were receiving killer blows from Nyesom Wike.
I saw Taminu Turaki, Arapaja and other displaced politicians from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, at the solidarity visit.
Except Governor Seyi Makinde is being economical with the truth about the reason for the visit, it is safe to say that some people have become idle.
Did Governor Makinde and his followers, who have been effectively displaced from the PDP receive similar solidarity visit from David Mark, Aregbesola and others during their trying times in the PDP?
Did they not ignore them, facing their own business?
So, why should Governor Makinde cry more than the bereaved in the predicaments befalling the ADC?
I agree that the ADC and the Makinde Group are now in the same boat of uncertainty.
I agree that it is also normal for them to try to see if and how they can work together, moving forward.
That is exactly what Governor Makinde should have said instead of saying that he was on a solidarity visit.
Solidarity? Against what?
Honestly, I have said this time without number, Governor Makinde needs to arrange his thoughts and words very well.
He made a very short speech, at least, from the videos I have seen online.
Apart from the area where he said they went to show solidarity, the other part of his speech conveyed no meaning and majority of those who have been making comments online share the same view.
Let me reproduce part of his speech for emphasis sake.
He said, “.. we’ve seen what has been happening within the political space,.. the court,.. and the protest today…so, we have come to show solidarity… and to commit to a clean Democratic space in our country”.
If you analyze the above statement, you will see that it is laced with incomplete lines and sentences.
Governor Makinde talked about the courts, what about the courts?
He talked about the protest, what about it and he talked about a clean Democratic space, what is dirtying the Democratic space?
A conflict of interests between some powerful individuals, Governor Makinde inclusive, is the reason Governor Makinde and his followers have found themselves out of the PDP today.
Who should be held responsible for that?
If Governor Makinde is saying that the Democratic space in Nigeria have become dirty today, was it clean in 2023 when he and other members of the G-5 made headlines for being responsible for the calamities that befell Atiku Abubakar and the PDP at the time?
Was he not proud of the inglorious part he played at the time?
Political parties begin to crumble when some members become so powerful to the extent that they admitted to working against its interest and they got away with it.
The foundation for the destruction of the PDP didn’t start yesterday.
It started even before 2023 but the last straw that broke the PDP’s Carmel’s back was pulled in 2023 and Governor Makinde would be remembered for the roles he played.
I don’t know how Governor Makinde is this comfortable, playing around with the emotions of his followers.
There is a race against time and yet, he is not prioritizing the interests of his followers.
What is so difficult in concentrating efforts on finding a platform amongst the numerous platforms, for his followers in Oyo state to contest?
Rather than doing that, Governor Makinde is channelling his efforts on how he would remain relevant at the National space!
About a month ago, he asked aspirants under his followership to be mounting Billboards with the PDP logo, knowing fully well as at the time, that there was no hope in the PDP.
Now, instead of prioritizing the interests of his followers in Oyo state, he is showing unsolicited solidarity all over the place.
I said I would make a few comments about Governor Makinde’s reported visit to Hon. Mulikat Adeola.
I was surprised that Governor Makinde would waste his time to visit someone he once described as politically worthless and irrelevant.
Hon. Mulikat Adeola is believed to be one of those who assisted Governor Makinde to become Governor in 2019.
It was reported that Governor Makinde reneged on the promises made to her and others like her, who assisted him in 2019.
I would never forget the day Governor Makinde went for the jugular of that same woman on a live Radio interview.
He mocked the woman and made all manner of derogatory remarks against her.
There is a quote from that interview which I will never forget.
Governor Makinde, while reacting to the claim that Hon. Adeola contributed to his electoral successes in Oyo North Senatorial District, said, he won in all the Local Governments where Hon. Mulikat Adeola lost, as a Senatorial candidate, during the Federal elections, so, how could a loser have helped him to win?
He emphasized this point by saying a Youruba proverb, ” eni to ba ma daso fun ni, torun e la ko nwo”. ( If someone says he wants to clothe you, you have to examine the clothes that person is putting on).
If you’re not a Youruba man, you might not understand how derogatory the above remarks are.
That day, on Radio, Governor Makinde exhibited a particular degree of annoying arrogance when making those comments.
I thought he would never have anything to do with the former Leader of the House of Representatives again.
However, I am not surprised that Governor Makinde has seen the reason to get down from the imaginary high horse he has been riding on, for some years now.
The truth however, is that, simply saying, ‘ I am sorry ‘ will not just be enough to mend some broken bridges.
I hope Governor Makinde knows that he has a lot of other places to go and beg for forgiveness?
As Yorubas would say, ” Igbeyin lo ndun oloku ada si”. ( The man carrying a blunt cutlass doesn’t always understand his folly until it is too late).
Sola Abegunde.
