Governor Makinde’s Journey To Political Oblivion || By Sola Abegunde
Governor Makinde’s Journey To Political Oblivion.
On Thursday, 14th of May, 2026, the outgoing Governor of Oyo state, Seyi Makinde began a final journey to political oblivion.
At the ancient Mapo Hall, located at the heart of Ibadan, Governor Makinde organized yet, another jamboree where he declared his intention to contest for the presidency of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the Allied People’s Movement, APM.
In fact, Governor Makinde is a very cunning man. I did not say clever.
I deliberately and carefully chose the adjective ” cunning” and I will tell you why I am of that opinion.
He was engaged in a very long, stressful, tiring, time-consuming, egoistic battle with his former friend and confidant, Nyesom Wike, over the control of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
It was a very tense battle which became a kind of a survival battle between the duo.
Everything, most especially, ego was at stake and like I used to say, Governor Makinde values his ego so much.
Infact, if he had a small disagreement with anyone, once his ego became an issue, he would fight like he wanted to bring down the whole world to defend his ego.
At some point during the scuffle, it became apparent that the Oyo state Governor would not survive the battle.
He was cornered and Wike was unleashing blows upon blows on him but Governor Makinde would not throw in the towel.
At the end, he got knocked out completely with a vicious blow delivered through the judgment of the Supreme Court.
Still, after the judgment of the Supreme Court, which indeed should have been the end to all controversies surrounding the control of the PDP, Governor Makinde still found a way to stir needles controversies.
His Group decidedly spread a very funny narrative, saying that both factions lost at the Supreme Court because, according to them, Samuel Anyawu’s purported suspension was affirmed by the Supreme Court.
They hinged their funny narrative on the fact that the Supreme Court dismissed a Cross Appeal filed by Anyanwu and described it as an academic exercise.
I deliberately decided not to say anything while Governor Seyi Makinde and his followers were spreading those fake narratives.
I knew it was part of a bigger scheme to save Governor Makinde’s ego which was battered and bruised at the time.
It is instructive to note that the Governor of Bauchi state, Bala Mohammed left the Supreme Court that day and he immediately announced his exit from the PDP and defection to the APM.
On the part of Governor Makinde, he organized some members of the PDP Board of Trustees and they said they have taken over the affairs of the PDP.
A couple of days later, they said they are setting up a National Caretaker Committee, headed by Taminu Turaki and Arapaja as Chairman and Secretary respectively and even went ahead to organize a swearing in ceremony for them.
In the midst of that comedy, Governor Makinde declared himself the Chairman of a non existing PDP Governors Forum.
Now, let us ask Governor Makinde, when he is convinced that there is a National Caretaker of the PDP, legally set up and headed by his own people, why jump from the PDP to seek to contest the 2027 presidential election under the APM?
Why did he ask his preferred gubernatorial candidate and other followers to abandon the PDP and join the APM?
The jamboree of Thursday was organized to distract people from asking the right questions.
It was organized to cover up Governor Makinde’s shame of losing out to Nyesom Wike in the needless but prolonged battle for the soul of the PDP.
So, instead of a narrative around his defection from the PDP to the APM, he has managed to create a narrative around a coalition between the PDP and the APM and a presidential ambition which is dead on arrival.
I saw him yesterday. He was wearing a customized shirt bearing the logo of the APM and not that of the PDP.
The jamboree of Thursday was a carefully written script meant to save the ego of Governor Seyi Makinde but some of us still saw through it and that is why we will be asking the Governor, how market?
Before I continue with the jamboree and my opinion about the event, I want to respond to the comments made by Governor Makinde during an official function on Wednesday, regarding his anointed gubernatorial candidate.
The Governor said some people have been criticizing him for supporting Bimbo Adekambi to be his successor.
He went further to say that he was also alleged of not being able to mentor anyone who could eventually take over from him.
He said, for him, he doesn’t believe in political coloration.
According to him, what matters most is whether the person he is supporting is from Oyo state and whether he is competent.
Let me say this, first, I am the person, or, let me say, one of those persons who described the nomination of Adekambi by Governor Seyi Makinde as an Indictment, both of the Governor and those who worked with him for seven years and regardless of Governor Makinde’s flimsy excuses, I still maintain my stand on that point.
Governor Makinde is someone who feels he has control of words and he could therefore twist words to cover his deficiencies.
When he said he doesn’t believe in political coloration, but rather, he believes in competence, what exactly is he trying to tell us?
Can someone become the Governor of a state without being a politician?
If what Governor Makinde is saying were to be correct, he ought not to bother himself to look for a political platform where Adekambi would contest as Governor.
He should just take Adekambi to the Chief Judge of Oyo state on May 29, 2027 and say, CJ, this is my successor, swear him in as the next Governor of Oyo state.
He is from Oyo state and he is competent, just swear him in.
He made so much fuss about the fact that within his Cabinet, there are competent people and he gave the example of his Chief of Staffs and one other Professor.
There is something Yorubas call ( o soro so boto) .
I really couldn’t find the appropriate English expression for that adjectival phrase but Yorubas always use the adjective to qualify someone who told a lie and because he spoke too much, he ended up exposing the lies he told by himself.
If Governor Seyi Makinde is convinced that his Chief of Staffs and others who served with him for seven years are competent, why didn’t he choose one of them to succeed him?
By the way, based on what standards did Governor Makinde examined and evaluated Adekambi to the extent that he is convinced that the gentleman is more competent than those who have worked closely with him for seven years?
Is it not based on his performance as a former Commissioner and Deputy Chief of Staffs to the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi?
No matter how Governor Makinde tries to justify his choice of Bimbo Adekambi, the truth will always remain that the choice of the gentleman is a direct Indictment of those who worked with him for seven years.
Not only that, it is equally an Indictment of Governor Seyi Makinde himself.
You can not be Governor for seven years and when it is time for you to choose a successor, you picked your preferred successor from the Cabinet of the Governor you took over from and you will expect that right thinking persons would not query your Leadership credentials.
Let us now go back to the jamboree at Mapo.
When Governor Seyi Makinde opened his speech at the occasion, he sang a song. ( Seyi, ibi o ba nlo la nlo, a o ma nii pada).
The Governor said the song he was hearing from the crowd was the reassurance that wherever he is going, the crowd will go with him.
I remember that I wrote something about the narrative of the Yorubas concerning ” Baba mo gba” sometimes ago when I tried to warn Governor Makinde on a particular issue.
I pity Governor Makinde. The Oyo man lay flat on the ground in obeisance but in actual fact, inside of him, he was squatting. ( Oyo dobale, inu e loso).
As I watched Governor Makinde on the podium, gallivanting and gesticulating, the lyrics of the song that came to my memory was the one about the elephant which was deceived with the crown. ( A o merin joba…).
You have to give it to the organizers of the jamboree, it was a very colorful event and their favorite Fuji Musician who loves to sing about ‘ madness ‘ also did a good job.
I pity us in Oyo state.
Just last year November, Governor Makinde spent billions of Naira of tax payers money to organize a National Convention of the PDP.
The most painful part is that the Convention eventually ended up as a nullity.
Only God Almighty and Governor Seyi Makinde knows how much of public resources that was committed to the jamboree at Mapo.
I won’t be surprised if the latest jamboree eventually goes the way of the Amala Convention.
What happened today at Mapo is, for me, another of Governor Makinde’s wasteful exercise.
Simply put, Governor Makinde decamped to the Allied People’s Movement, APM, having lost out in the power game of the PDP and having been expelled from the Party.
Tagging the program ‘ a coalition ‘ between the APM and the PDP is ignorance taken too far.
For some time now, Governor Makinde and his followers have been stranded politically.
The former Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike had taken full control of the PDP.
So, which PDP did Governor Makinde took into a coalition with the APM?
If they will be able to present candidates for election, will Governor Makinde and his co travelers communicate the names of their candidates on a letter headed paper bearing both the PDP and the APM logos?
Like I said before, I pity us in Oyo state.
I was told that some people who have been following our Governor around, those from other states, who have refused to leave him, have turned our Governor to ‘ paki”. ( Cassava).
I heard a lot of them are feeding fat from the different chaotic situations our Governor have been creating all over the place.
Perhaps, that is why he embraced the APM which logo is the cassava.
May the Deity not allow the foolish man to realize his folly so that we can continue to feed on him, that is what Yorubas used to say in circumstances like this. ( Oosa oke ma je ki eni to go o gbon, ka le maa ri eni tuje bii isu).
I know that there are some species of cassava which you could actually boil and eat, so, I wish the politically spent forces following Governor Makinde around a happy eating in the Cassava party.
I listened to the Governor’s speech at the occasion.
It was filled with tautology.
Same old song. Tinubu is trying to turn Nigeria to a one Party state.
I want to ask Governor Makinde a rather funny question, how could he realistically accuse President Tinubu of trying to foster a one Party state on Nigeria, when, in actual fact, he was shouting PDP and APM at the same time during the program?
Shouting the slogans of both political party means that those political parties still exist.
So, where is the one Party state he was talking about when in actual facts, there are scores of registered political parties apart from Tinubu’s APC?
He also talked about the fact that Nigerians are the opposition to the APC in 2027.
If you heard Governor Makinde talking like that, you would think Awolowo just reincarnated and is teaching us lessons on good governance.
When Governor Seyi Makinde was talking to the crowd about good governance, he didn’t tell them that his Government is under series of investigations by relevant anti-graft Agencies.
I am saying this now before someone would come out tomorrow to say that they are witch-hunting the Governor because he declared interest in contesting as president.
Governor Makinde’s Government had been under serious investigation for some time now.
It is also important to remind the public that Governor Seyi Makinde’s new party under which he declared his presidential ambition is also factionalized.
In fact, there are two separate factions within the Party and their case is still in court as of today.
It is good as Governor Seyi Makinde has decided to declare his presidential ambition.
It will be interesting to see him address us on how he would have done better in Tinubu’s shoes.
I will be engaging both himself and his preferred successor in the coming days.
We would want to know what he has been doing with Local Government funds all this while.
We would want to know if he still believes that Local Governments should be appendages of the state Governments.
We would want to ask him questions around a Jet, inside of which he flew to watch Nigeria’s final match against Ivory Coast during his first term, the Jet, inside of which one of his in and out supporters was seen, dancing to the music of Pasuma Wonder while the people of Oyo state were struggling on the ground.