If you read this headline, you would wonder why I have the audacity to tell a state Governor, the Landlord and Chief Security officer for the state not to step into a relatively small Community like Eruwa.
I ordinarily shouldn’t have such audacity but our Elders used to say that when an adult ties corn around his waist and walks into the company of chicken, they become playmates. ( Eni ba so agbado modi, a di alawada adire).
I went to my hometown, Eruwa on Saturday, I just returned on Sunday and I was surprised to see that the Contractors handling the 48km of Ido-Eruwa Road are back on site, after months of absence, and resurface hours to APM thank you tour. Even, the return of the contractor to the road is not in full force, I must say.
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I knew Governor Makinde would commence action on the road once we move towards election period but I didn’t expect the movement to be earlier than August or perhaps, September, considering the timetable released by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, for the 2027 general elections.
At that time, it would be ripe to find something worthy to further deceive the electorate in Ibarapa zone who have waited for years for Infrastructural development as promised by Governor Makinde. So, my curiosity was aroused when I saw the scanty movements from the contractors. Thankfully, I got answers to my worries on Saturday night.
An elder brother of mine who is also from Ibarapa, specifically, Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government, sent a graphics containing the activities lined up by Governor Seyi Makinde’s new political party, the Allied People’s Movement, APM.
The graphics details is title ” OYO STATE ALLIED PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT THANK YOU TOUR” and according to the information contained therein, the supposed ” thank you tour” by the APM is scheduled to commence from Ibarapa zone on Tuesday , the 30th of June, 2026 and the host Local Government is Ibarapa Central, with headquarters at Igboora.
What a timely intervention!
I knew I was right. It ordinarily shouldn’t be the right time for the contractors to return to site but Governor Makinde needs to tell the people of Ibarapa something when he goes to Igboora to “deceive” them.
“Thank you tour” , you would wonder. What are you thanking the people for? Are you thanking them because you took a roll call and everyone in Oyo state are now members of the APM or what?
On Sunday, 28th June 2026, it was precisely 40 days that the Pupils and Teachers form Ahoro-Esiele and Yawota communities in Oriire Local Government Area were abducted.
Yet, Governor Makinde and the APM still thinks this is the right time to go about “thanking” people!
I discussed with a friend of mine that I am going to write about the ill conceived “thank you tour” and he said, what if they deny the document and cancel the program? I told him, so be it. At least, we must have succeeded in preventing them from insulting our sensibilities and they would count their losses in silence.
Now, why did I say that Governor Seyi Makinde should not step into Eruwa? Governor Makinde himself asked for it. He made a covenant which he betrayed. He made a promise he failed to fulfill.
Unfortunately for him, while making the promise, he attached stringent conditions and the conditions he willingly attached must automatically prevent him from stepping into Eruwa.
After series of failed promises, Governor Makinde, about a year ago, promised that if he failed to complete the 48km Ido-Eruwa Road by December of 2025, he must not be allowed to step into Eruwa again.
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Perhaps, I need to remind the Governor and doubters, this specific promise was made when he was in Eruwa for the illegal coronation of Samuel Adebayo Adegbola as the Eleruwa of Eruwa Land. A couple of days ago, the same Samuel Adebayo Adegbola celebrated a year on the throne he is illegally occupying.
Sadly, Governor Seyi Makinde has failed to complete the rehabilitation of the Ido-Eruwa Road till today.
Now, be the judge here.
Governor Makinde willingly said; “if I failed to do so and so within a particular time frame, don’t allow me to step into Eruwa.”
He has failed to deliver on the promise and he must be in Igboora on the 30th of June. So, should the Governor have the moral justification to enter Eruwa? I think not.
However, I have a solution for the Governor to consider. It is either he does the impossible by completing the rehabilitation of the road in question before Tuesday or, he cancels the thank you tour for now while he does the needful, or, better still, he might wish to get to Igboora by avoiding Eruwa and the only way he can do that is to go to Igboora through Abeokuta. I consider the Abeokuta route to be a better alternative to accessing Igboora through Oke-Ogun.
What failed promises will not do to people in power does not exist and I think I have to use this opportunity to invite the attention of the Governor and the general public to the quality of job done by the contractors on the few kilometres of the road already executed.
It is so shocking to see that the part of the road completed is already peeling and cracking to the extent that the contractors are already patching the road, most especially, from the Ido end!
How could it take almost eight years for a 48km road to be reconstructed and the quality will still be questionable? Perhaps, Governor Seyi Makinde thought we would have forgotten his failed promises of 2025.
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We have a belief in Eruwa. We used to warn ourselves away from evil acts because of our belief that the ground in Eruwa is not slippery during the raining season. The ground in Eruwa becomes slippery when you least expect it to be – during the dry season. ( Ile Eruwa kii yo eeyan nigba ojo).
The only thing that would pain me, if Governor Makinde could not step into Eruwa during his “thank you tour” is that, I will lose the opportunity to ask him to visit the Eruwa Farm Settlement to inspect and assess the wonderful job going on there.
At least, gazelles and antelopes would have given our Dear Governor a rousing welcome.
” Seyi e daa”!
Sola Abegunde.
