Most people do not understand the reasons behind Governor Seyi Makinde’s phobia for Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli. I am sure that the Oyo State Governor must have been praying fervently for Alli not to clinch the APC gubernatorial ticket for Oyo state.
I have to say this, Oyo APC is blessed with an array of very credible gubernatorial aspirants and most of them, if chosen, would have presented hope for the opposition party in Oyo state.
However, there is something different in Alli as Oyo APC gubernatorial candidate and Governor Seyi Makinde knows very well that the Oyo South Senatorial District Senator represents a unique challenge which he can not subdue.
Each time I listened to critics of Alli and supporters of Governor Seyi Makinde, most especially, a clownish fellow who lives abroad and who must have been paid by the governor to run Alli and the APC down, I just laughed at their naivety and sometimes, foolishness.
Many times, I used to wonder how someone who lives abroad would have so much time to be dedicated to the spewing of propaganda, half truths and outright lies about political events at home. The only reason I could find for his efforts at bringing down the APC and Sharafadeen Alli is that the fellow is doing a job he’s been paid to do.
Some of us who have known the Oyo APC gubernatorial candidate for decades are aware of his strength and the advantage he has over others from the progressive fold.
In politics, connections and networking are key to political success, most especially in a gubernatorial contest. Politicians, electorate, religious leaders and professionals are always more comfortable with a governor whose direct contacts are readily available.
Personally, I would rather be more comfortable with a governor who have my contact and treat our relationships as cordial than someone else. That’s image Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli represent.
You might think this is a small matter. But, it is not.
Today, in Oyo state, perhaps, after His Imperial Majesty, Oba Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, master of the game, when he was still playing, Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli is undoubtedly the frontline politician who has prior relationships and can identify with a greater number of politicians, grassroots persons, civil servants, artisans, market women, religious leaders and traditional leaders.
His relationship with the grassroots is not only organic, it’s been rooted in decades of interaction with people of diverse backgrounds. I am an Ibarapa man and apart from Oba Ladoja, I have not seen another politician who has the type of connection Senator Sharafadeen Alli has with people of diverse backgrounds in Ibarapa land.
I am aware that the situation is the same across other geo-political zones in Oyo state. Like him or hate him, the trajectory of his life points to the fact that God is interested in him and He has prepared him for greater things.
I had the opportunity of being appointed a Supervisory Councilor in Ibarapa East Local Government and that appointment affords me the opportunity to make a few friends with Local Government Career officers.
I am not going to spill the beans but I have to say this, Alli’s election as a Local Government Chairman at a very young age is going to give him a huge leverage.
His political progression is divinely programmed and as he ascended the ladder, he made new friends and expanded his tentacles.
I have been saying this and I will repeat it here, Governor Seyi Makinde is a very lucky politician. He won election as Governor of Oyo state twice, in very dramatic circumstances.
On both occasions, his palm kernels were cracked for him by benevolent spirits and now the spirits are angry at him.
On his own, he tried severally, Makinde never won a guber election. So, those who are referring to him as a political master Chess player, the double six, where is that coming from?
Certainly, from deceitful lips.
If he is what his praise singers want us to believe he is, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu should be worried about him by now but no one is even reckoning with him as a presidential candidate, whether as a serious one or not.
Governor Makinde knows that in Sharafadeen Alli, he has a herculean task. A mountain impossible for him to climb. That is why he has been throwing everything against him, even before his name was announced as Oyo APC gubernatorial candidate.
The hurried crowning of Alli as the Ekarun Balogun of Ibadan Land in his absence and the campaign of calumny mounted against him were part of the plans.
When someone told me that Makinde would orchestrate a court action against Sharafadeen Alli, using the Olubadan of Ibadan Chieftaincy Gazette, I told the person that the governor would be wasting his time if he does.
I explained to him that for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to consider whether Alli is fit to contest for the position of Governor, the Gazette can never be countenanced.
I also told him that, very unfortunately for the Governor, the State High Court doesn’t have jurisdiction over INEC and the Federal High Court can not interpret a Gazette made by the State.
That is why Governor Seyi Makinde would be in a dilemma and remain in a state of confusion over his plans to stop Sharafadeen Alli from contesting for the position of the Governor of Oyo state.
Governor Makinde can not avoid a political confrontation with Sharafadeen Alli in 2027 and when they meet on the political field, experience, antecedents, political networking and dexterity will determine the winner.
Hypocrisy will be laid to rest for good and we will separate boy from the man. Only one man would be left standing and it is definitely going to be Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli.
A man who has a date with history.
Sola Abegunde.
