Ordinarily, I do not want to talk about Governor Seyi Makinde’s presidential ambition, mainly because, even, the Governor of Oyo state himself knows that the ambition is an exercise in futility.
He knows that he lacks the clout and charisma to mount any serious challenge for the presidency of Nigeria.
His lickspittles may begin to hit their heads on the wall, falling over themselves to attack this honest opinion, but I don’t care about how they choose to receive my assessment of their principal’s chances of becoming the president of Nigeria in 2027.
However, since his name has been uploaded as the presidential candidate of the Allied People’s Movement, APM, at least for now, because we don’t even know what would be the outcome of the Leadership disputes they have placed before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and since he has kept disturbing our ear waves about his plans and programs, we will continue to talk about him in that context.
A couple of days ago, I read his latest newsletter where he said he was going to commence a tour of the six geo-political zones.
I thought he was going to hit the ground running but I was surprised to see a video of him dancing azonto with a popular hip-hop artist on Saturday night.
In his newsletter, he raised a lot of issues but, one or two of those issues caught my attention.
He talked about ” putting Nigerians first” and a central message which would be rested on the need to reset our country ” so that it works for all Nigerians not just a select few”.
Did I hear Governor Seyi Makinde very well?
Who is talking about a government system that works for all? Governor Seyi Makinde, right?
When he was making that statement, was he referencing how Oyo state has been working perfectly for both himself and Seye Famojuro in the past seven years plus, or what was he trying to say?
How could someone who had been the Governor of a state for seven years plus and within that period, he kept, beside him, an Ijesa man, Seye Famojuro, who holds no official position, but yet, his name kept popping up everywhere in his Government, be pontificating about a Nigeria that works for all of us?
Surely, Governor Seyi Makinde must be thinking that all of us are fools, or, perhaps, he is equating our thinking faculties to that of his lickspittles.
If wishes were horses, surely, Governor Seyi Makinde would have loved to be the president of Nigeria and if he succeeds in becoming the president, it would have been the first time that Nigeria would be having a co-president in Seye Famojuro.
The other time, I saw one funny fellow in a podcast, saying that if not for Seye Famojuro, the Government of Seyi Makinde would have had problems and I said, what is happening here?
The funny fellow thought he was praising Seye, but, in the process, he was also denigrating the personality of Seyi Makinde, unfortunately, he was blinded by the urge to sing the praises of the deity, Seye Famojuro!
That is the level of the tragic comedy going on in the present Government in Oyo state.
Interestingly, no matter what the Ijesa man does, even, to the point of denigrating the authority of the Governor, the latter is always comfortable with it, but he could not tolerate Bisi Olopoeyan and others!
You will always hear Seye’s name whenever key decisions of the Makinde Government are being discussed. Even, a Leader of their party alleged that Bimbo Adekambi is Seye Famojuro’s candidate and the Governor never denied it!
Interestingly, the same Governor Makinde would be going around, beating his chest that he doesn’t have a godfather.
So, what is Seye Famojuro? A godbrother?
I also saw the part where Governor Makinde talked about the incomes of the Nigerian workers, which he claimed, ” .. could no longer meet their basic needs..”.
Imagine that. This is the same Governor Makinde who resisted the minimum wage which was set at a hundred thousand Naira by the Federal Government not long ago!
So, Governor Makinde knows that the incomes could not meet their needs, yet, when the Federal Government proposed a minimum wage of a hundred thousand Naira, he was against it, but now, he wants to engage with the Nigerian workers to discuss their wages!
What manner of hypocrisy is this?
I am happy that Governor Seyi Makinde is prepared to take his hypocrisy to the National stage, but as he does, I will like to give him a few points which I want him to address.
It is no longer news that the Governor of Oyo state is against the recognition of the Local Governments as part of the Nigerian Federating units.
In clear terms, he doesn’t believe in the existence of the 774 Local Governments.
I will like him to talk about how he intends to deal with the Local Governments as president of Nigeria.
In the past seven years plus that he has been Governor of Oyo state, he has been treating the 33 Local Governments as an appendage of the Governor’s office.
Will he be asking the National Assembly to scrap the 774 Local Governments or he will convert them to appendages under the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and perhaps, appoint Seye Famojuro to supervise their activities?
I will also like him to tell Nigerians how he intends to treat the Nigerian justice system.
Is he going to scrap the justice system and become a dictator or what?
I have my reasons for raising this particular issue.
It is on record that Governor Seyi Makinde disobeyed the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in the case of the Local Government Chairmen he illegally sacked in 2019.
Not only that, he disobeyed the judgments of all the layers of the Nigerian Courts and installed an impostor, Samuel Adebayo Adegbola as the Eleruwa of Eruwa.
He has continued to disobey the judgment of the Court of Appeal in the case of the Onilala of Lanlate and the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW.
He was on record to have said that he would set up a Committee to review the judgment of the Supreme Court of Nigeria!
When he was in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, he and other stakeholders of the PDP conducted a National Convention of the PDP against several judgments of the Federal High Court.
So, as president of Nigeria, are we ever going to have a functional judiciary under Governor Seyi Makinde or, he will also scrap the judiciary?
I am also curious as to what Governor Seyi Makinde would be telling Nigerians about Federal Government assets and Landed properties.
Is it going to be the same pattern as it is in Oyo state? Sell everything sellable?
Let’s also ask, will Governor Makinde approach governance as the president of Nigeria with the same mindset of, “.. I could be very stubborn”?
What will be the fates of our Obas, Emirs, Sultans and Obis under a Makinde presidency?
Will a president Seyi Makinde continue to disrespect and dishonor the royal Fathers as he has been doing in Oyo state?
I will be glad to hear Governor Seyi Makinde tell Nigerians about the Bus Terminals he built with Local Government funds and which he handed over to the likes of Auxiliary and how he would replicate same as president of Nigeria.
In fact, it would be great to listen to him talk about the loans he took to build those Bus Terminals and how the PMS had paid back the loan and contributing fantastic Internally Generated Revenues to our Local Governments out of the proceeds from the Bus Terminals.
I will like Governor Seyi Makinde to tell Nigerians about the Light Up Oyo Project.
A very fantastic innovation of the Oyo state Government which was originally awarded for a cost of 28 billion Naira, but later varied up to over 50 billion Naira and just recently, another over a hundred billion Naira was further approved for the same project.
I will like the Governor to tell Nigerians that, though, his Government admitted that the project failed after less than two years after it was completed, but, yet, it is still a project worth celebrating.
I will like Governor Seyi Makinde to tell Nigerians about the remodeling of the Agbowo Shopping Complex to a world class edifice and the upgrading of Oyo state Farm Settlements and the massive food production in those Farm Settlements as we speak.
In fact, the Governor should not forget to tell Nigerians that Oyo state now supplies the rest of Nigeria with farm products and that we are not limited to local services but we are also exporting maize to Botswana.
Like I said earlier, I am so happy that Governor Seyi Makinde has chosen to advertise his hypocrisy at the National level.
I must however warn him that the Media at that level is unforgiving.
Except the Governor would try to do what he knows how to do best.
That is, order a fleet of SUVs and buy the conscience of as much as are willing to sell their conscience but, I can assure him that he could only try.
If it didn’t work in Oyo state, how would it work at the National level?
I am waiting and watching patiently for the time Governor Makinde would finish with the azonto dance steps and start the zonal tour.
One thing you can be sure of, is that, during those tour, Governor Seyi Makinde would offer us plenty of amusement.
Sola Abegunde.
