By Sola Abegunde
Let me begin by quoting Amos 3:3 (KJV) ” can two walk together except they be agreed”?
I am not surprised that Governor Seyi Makinde missed the jamboree at Igboora on Wednesday. At the back of his mind, he knew he was cornered. He became a victim of his incessant failed promises to the people of Ibarapa, particularly, Ibarapa East LGA.
As Yorubas would say, the lazy man knows the rules of street fighting. When they abused his mother, he said may all mothers be blessed. ( Ole mo eewo ija, won ni yoo ba iya e, o ni nnkan ire ni o ba iya gbogbo wa).
I have to give credit to Governor Makinde for avoiding the landmines this time around. Unlike a year plus ago, when he walked into one and in the process, he was forced to make a very desperate pledge. One, that he is still struggling to keep.
Governor Seyi Makinde couldn’t have gone to Igboora through Oke-Ogun and neither couldn’t he had gone through Abeokuta. In all honesty, I thought he would go through the very terrible Ido-Eruwa Road but, perhaps, he was afraid that his convoy could be stuck on the bad portion of the road just as it did some years ago. That would have been terribly embarrassing for him.
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I have to say, however, that, though, Governor Seyi Makinde was not in Igboora on Wednesday, but his protégé, Bimbo Adekanmbi did fantastically well in his absence.
No wonder Governor Seyi Makinde chose him out of many available options. Bimbo Adekanmbi is a very fast learner and I have no doubts that Governor Makinde would be very proud of him today. Let me now react to the outing of Adekanmbi and the Allied People’s Movement, APM at Igboora.
In the first instance, I do not understand the rationale behind the “Thank You Tour” which the APM and its gubernatorial candidate have decided to embark upon. What are you thanking the people for? That you have been elected or what? The only rationale I can find for their restlessness is the fact that they are understandably desperate.
I must admit that the outing at Igboora further exposed the character of APM gubernatorial candidate and I welcome the opportunity it presents. I was so ashamed after reading Bimbo Adekanmbi’s comments about the Ido-Eruwa Road and that is why I referred to him as Governor Seyi Makinde’s replica.
According to reports, Bimbo Adekanmbi assured residents of Ibarapa that work had fully resumed on the Ido-Eruwa Road project. He explained that the temporary pause in construction was a deliberate decision by the State Government to ensure that the road is built to the highest standards.
He said the contractor handling the project has the capacity to deliver a quality road that will stand the test of time. When Bimbo Adekanmbi was making those comments, he must have thought he was addressing robots.
Let us ask ourselves, is Bimbo Adekanmbi a member of the Oyo state Executive Council presently? Was he a member of the Oyo State Executive Council when the contracts for the rehabilitation of the road in question was debated and approved?
The answer to the above is in the negative. So, you would wonder, Is Bimbo Adekanmbi competent to vouch for the competence or otherwise of the contractor? When he said the contractor handling the project has the capacity to deliver a good job, where did he get the authority to make such a decision?
It is also unfortunate that Mr. Adekanmbi chose to rub insults upon the injuries his mentor inflicted on the people of Ibarapa when he said that Government deliberately paused on the job temporarily so as to ensure that the road is built to the highest standards!
This is a road project that Governor Seyi Makinde awarded first in 2023 and after the first contract failed, he rewarded to another contractor in 2025.
Let me ask Bimbo Adekanmbi, is it also going to take him till eternity to rehabilitate a 48 klm road if he ever becomes a Governor? If you have no kind words to say to people, do not insult their sensibilities.
How could you just say, Government paused from carrying on work on the road to ensure that the job that will eventually be done will be quality job without explaining how? It does look like the Allied People’s Movement, APM gubernatorial candidate thinks that we are fools.
He delivered to a script handed to him by his mentor but the script is full of errors. Bimbo Adekanmbi lacks the locus standi to talk to us about the reasons why Governor Seyi Makinde has failed to complete a 48km road in seven years.
Whatever he said in Igboora will not hold water because he is not the Governor of Oyo state and he was never a member of the Oyo state Executive Council under Governor Seyi Makinde.
Whatever came out of his mouth were just mere hearsays and they are not believable. I laughed when I read the part where he talked about quality job and high standards. What quality is he talking about?
Didn’t he see that the little portion of the road that has been completed is already having issues to the extent that certain portion are being patched?
Could it be that Mr. Adekanmbi was catching a nap by the time his convoy passed on the road or, perhaps, he went to Igboora through Iseyin?
I am surprised that the script he delivered totally overlooked the abandoned Eruwa Farm Settlement or is it that the investors his mentor handed the place over to are also pausing till 2031 before quality work will commence?
Rakatia!
Sola Abegunde.
