I saw a clip of Michael Ogunsina’s interview on TV Africana, a YouTube channel of Dr. Bayo Faleke, ace Broadcaster, during the last Christmas and New year festivities.
I saw the short clip on Facebook and I had the intention to search for the full video but I have not been able to do so until this morning. I just finished watching the 1 hour, 29 minutes interview and two things caught my attention.
First, Michael Ogunsina hasn’t changed a bit. When I said he hasn’t changed, I am not talking about his physical appearance. In that regard, he has changed considerably.
He and other members of Governor Seyi Makinde’s Executive committee of the PDP are having a beautiful time, feeding fat on our common resources. In fact, he told Bayo Faleke that Governor Makinde just compensated them with gifts of beautiful cars.
However, Michael has refused to grow on the job. That is where he is stuck. Unfortunately, he sees his display of naivety and inconsistencies as demonstration of expertise.
I do not blame him. You can only be as good as the one who gave you an assignment. Since Governor Makinde is comfortable with his constant display of maturity, so be it.
Governor Makinde always want to appear like someone who values the contributions of the Youths population in governance but he does appear to overlook the fact that certain assignments are meant for matured and experienced minds.
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My second observation is the display of professionalism by Dr. Bayo Faleke. I am not surprised at all. He has always demonstrated uncommon professionalism and deep understanding of journalistic principles as a Radio personality.
While I was impressed by Bayo Faleke’s performance as the anchor of the podcast, Michael Ogunsina on the other hand provided me with great fun and amusement as usual. In fact, there was a point where burst into laughter in the course of the interaction.
The build up was casual and easy with very simple questions thrown by the anchor but as the interaction gathered momentum, Dr. Faleke fired a question that apparently threw Ogunsina off balance and I laughed until tears were rolling down my cheeks when he started asking for water.
I want to begin my x-ray of that interview from that moment. Michael was asked to comment about the Agbowo Shopping Complex, the Light Up Oyo project and the terrible state of the access and service roads in Oyo state and he started gasping for breath! You need to see him.
Let us now consider his response to that question. On Agbowo Shopping Complex, Ogunsina said that the Complex had been in a terrible state since the late Ajimobi was Governor of Oyo state. He said Governor Makinde didn’t plan for the mess up that eventually happened because according to him, someone was brought by Government to upgrade the place but the person failed to deliver.
Now, let me ask the gentleman to provide us with some clarification. I am sure that the PDP and Governor Seyi Makinde knows that the fellow they brought to upgrade the Agbowo Shopping Complex was accused of duping innocent citizens of Oyo state before he disappeared.
What has Governor Makinde done to recover the deposits of those who were duped by the man they brought or, is it that they don’t have his address?
What were the terms of the contract between the Government and the fellow before he was granted the lease of the Agbowo Shopping Complex for almost 50 years in the first place?
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I thought Governor Makinde also claimed that he was going to propose a way out to the Oyo state House of Assembly in 2025?
What has happened to that proposal?
Agbowo Shopping Complex is a reflection of Governor Seyi Makinde and his policies as Governor of Oyo state and nothing will change that perception.
I was surprised when I also heard Michael said that the Light Up Oyo is not a failed project.
Governor Seyi Makinde himself admitted that the project failed and that he would investigate the circumstances that led to the failure but up till today, nothing was heard about the promised investigation.
So, where did Michael Ogunsina get the information that the project didn’t fail?
Is he telling us that the Governor was lying when he said that the project failed?
Well, they know each other very well. He must know something that we don’t know.
For the records, the Light Up Oyo is perhaps the most controversial projects executed by Governor Seyi Makinde.
The project was initially approved and awarded for the sum of 28 billion Naira but Government kept varying the contract to over 40 billion Naira.
Infact, only Governor Seyi Makinde knows how much the project has gulped until he declared through Wasiu Olatunbosun who was his Commissioner for Information at the time that the Contractor who handled the project failed to deliver to specifications.
Towards the end of last year, Governor Seyi Makinde announced that billions of Naira were approved for the same project which he admitted has failed since about four or five years ago!
So, what information exactly does a mere party spokesperson think he could possess to defend such an ugly scenario?
That is why I said Michael Ogunsina is naive.
He is not a member of the Executive Council of Oyo state which has been approving funds and varying the contract sums for the Light Up Oyo.
The wisest choice opened to him should have been to say that he didn’t have specific information about the project but he wanted to impress Governor Makinde and he ended up exposing both himself and the Government of Oyo state.
There is one thing I don’t seem to understand about the PDP and it is their obsession with the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
I noticed that throughout the program, Michael Ogunsina kept mentioning Ajimobi’s name and I started wondering if they have information that the late Governor is coming back to life to contest an election in 2027.
It was always, ‘ Ajimobi ‘ this. ‘ Ajimobi ‘ that.
When he couldn’t find any reasonable point to defend Governor Seyi Makinde’s failures to rehabilitate access roads, most especially, at the grassroots levels, he said Ajimobi didn’t do up to a hundred kilometers of road during his eight years tenure.
For the past almost seven years, Governor Makinde has abandoned access and service roads throughout Oyo state. Not only that, he has continued to deprive the 33 Local Governments the resources to rehabilitate access roads within the Local Governments.
While Michael Ogunsina would want us to believe that Governor Makinde is spectacular in terms of the number of kilometers of road which he claimed he has done, he was mischievous about the facts that unlike Governor Seyi Makinde, who has admitted to spending Local Governments funds to build roads in Ibadan, Ajimobi allowed the Local Governments to function and when you take cognizance of the roads done by the 33 Local Governments during Ajimobi’s tenure, Oyo state fared better under Ajimobi in terms of good roads network.
I can confidently say it and I challenge Governor Makinde to deny it, that, all together, if you remove the projects executed by Governor Makinde with Local Governments funds from the list of achievements he is laying claims to, there would be almost nothing left for him to brag about.
Not only that, Governor Makinde himself admitted that the previous Administrations before him left a debt burden of about 150 billion Naira.
How much is Oyo state owing today? Michael didn’t talk about that. I was shocked when I heard Michael said that Governor Makinde had approved the grading of 30 KLM of road per Local Government.
Grading of roads?
I was a Supervisory councilor for Works in Ibarapa East Local Government during the tenure of the late former Governor Adebayo Alao Akala.
With the resources of the Local Government and the approval of the then Governor Alao Akala, we were tarring roads all over the Local Governments. Grading of roads was not considered anything special at the time. Infact, I, as the Supervisor for Works together with the Director of Works were in charge of road grading.
It wasn’t something considered important enough to brag about but Michael Ogunsina wants us to dance just because Governor Makinde has approved the grading of 30 KLM of road per Local Government!
Well, it must be a great thing, most especially, when you consider the cost that must have been attached to such inconsequential project.
When we were in charge of the Local Governments, the 33 Local Governments had their personally owned Graders.
We met Graders on ground and Akala also bought a Grader each per Local Government. Ask Governor Makinde, where are the Graders bought by previous Administrations today? Where are the refuse gathering trucks bought by his predecessors?
Where are the Tractors bought by Ajimobi? Most of these items have been sold out under the watch of Governor Seyi Makinde and he didn’t bother to buy replacements and Michael Ogunsina thinks we are fools?
I challenge Governor Seyi Makinde to make public the cost of the grading of the 30 KLM roads per Local Government and let us compare between his reckless approach and that of his predecessors who ensured that each Local Government had at least, two Graders of their own for grading of roads.
I also want to talk about his submissions on the Circular road and the claim that Bayo Adelabu was the one supporting those he called ‘ political protesters ‘.
I am surprised that in his ignorance, the PDP spokesperson had the spine to profile people whose peace were taken away by Governor Seyi Makinde. What wrong did Bayo Adelabu do? Governor Makinde rendered thousands of residents homeless and they turned to the public for help.
Bayo Adelabu, as a citizen of Oyo state gave his window’s might for the homeless people to at least find somewhere to rest their heads.
Would Michael Ogunsina, the PDP and Governor Makinde have been happy if no one had assisted the distressed and homeless residents of the Circular Road?
Did Governor Seyi Makinde not show support and sympathy for people in such situations in 2018? Did he not show similar support recently to a businesses owner in Ibadan whose business office caught fire?
I saw that he also tried to bring Ajimobi’s name to that discussion as if those hapless people do not know the one trying to grab their Land and deprive them of their properties.
I will round up by saying a few things about his comments on the misfortunes befalling the PDP, Governor Makinde’s Media chat, the 30 billion Naira revelation, plus the Governor’s altercations with Fayose and Wike.
When I heard Michael Ogunsina said that Governor Makinde is not flippant and that he doesn’t lie, I asked myself, which Governor Makinde was he talking about?
Is it the same Governor Makinde of Oyo state? Where was Michael Ogunsina when Governor Seyi Makinde, during a Media chat said, there was a particular individual who used to abuse him all about and that the particular person got a contract with SUBEB which he didn’t execute, only for the Governor to turn round some minutes after making the statement to say that he was informed that the individual had actually executed the project?
What is the definition of flippancy? Where was he when Governor Makinde started saying that he would bring the full weight of his Government on those who are challenging his appointment of the Soun of Ogbomosho in the Law Court?
Was he sleeping when Governor Makinde said anyone who challenges his illegal appointment of Samuel Adebayo Adegbola as the Eleruwa of Eruwa would be wasting their resources?
Is Governor Makinde the Chief Judge of Nigeria? Even the CJN won’t make such reckless and flippant comments. He also said Governor Makinde is not a liar. With due respect to the Governor, Michael is being mischievous when he said so.
Governor Makinde went to Eruwa shortly before the 2023 general election and he promised that the 48klm Ido/Eruwa road which he flagged off at New Eruwa at the time would be completed by December of 2023.
The following year, after the election, he admitted that while he was making the promise that the road would be completed by December of 2023, only 12 out of the 48klm of the road was actually awarded.
How do you complete a road project that has not been fully awarded?
What would Michael Ogunsina call that? Honest lie? His explanations about the 30 billion Naira controversy is a direct indictment on the Government of Oyo state.
He said after Governor Makinde gave out about 4.5 billion Naira directly to the victims of the Bodija explosion, Government has spent the rest of the money on some roads around Bodija.
I thought Governor Makinde said the 30 billion Naira is intact in a dedicated Bank account? Which one do we now believe? Michael Ogunsina’s version that the money has been spent on the rehabilitation of some roads around Bodija or Government position that the money is intact? I am not going to dissipate energy on the fate of the PDP and Governor Makinde’s altercations with his former friends.
What Michael doesn’t know is that it takes nothing for Governor Makinde to turn around and embrace those individuals once again if his political survival depends on it and if he does, people like Michael will have no choice but to come out and eat their vomit by defending his actions.
As for the PDP, why would I continue to flog a dead horse? The Party doesn’t have a candidate for the Governorship election in Ekiti state. They won’t have in Osun and I bet, they won’t have anywhere.
May Governor Makinde and his followers continue to enjoy clinging to the carcass of a once upon a time largest party in Africa.
Sola Abegunde.
