Omi Tuntun 3.0: A Disaster That Must Not Happen
During an argument, I told an admirer of Governor Seyi Makinde recently that Oyo state can not survive another two years under the Leadership model of the Governor.
When I discovered that he was proving difficult to convince, I asked him a few questions which he couldn’t provide answers to.
He was only saying that Governor Makinde is doing well in the areas of the prompt payments of salaries and pension of Civil Servants and Pensioners and that in the area of road infrastructures, the Governor has tarred so and so kilometers of road while the late Ajimobi could not complete up to a ridiculous stretch of kilometers.
I laughed and asked him to identify all the roads done by Ajimobi and also to provide me with the complete information about those roads.
For example, I asked him to mention the location of each road projects done by Ajimobi and the number of kilometers of each of the projects and how he arrived at the ridiculous number of kilometers of roads ascribed to Ajimobi.
Not only that, I asked him to provide me with accurate information about the roads done by Governor Seyi Makinde, the location, number of kilometers per location, the ones completed, the ones ongoing and the ones financed with Local Government funds, and the ones financed with state funds.
He could not provide me with those vital information, but he believes that Ajimobi did far less number of kilometers of roads, while Governor Seyi Makinde did far more, just because Governor Makinde said so.
It was the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo who once said that in our society, people just say things, knowing fully well that no one would ask them to prove it.
Our society is guilty of not asking for accurate data when politicians come out to deceive them with bogus claims. For example, Governor Makinde kept saying that his Government has linked all the zones of Oyo state with the state Capital through the construction and rehabilitation of beautiful road network. Whereas, the 48 kilometers Ido-Eruwa Road is yet to be done, few months to the expiration of his eight years tenure!
The Ido-Eruwa Road is the only road that directly links Ibarapa zone with the state Capital. Not only that, I am not aware of which new roads Governor Makinde constructed or rehabilitated to link Oyo zone with Ibadan.
The Moniya-Iseyin road was already awarded by the Government of the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Contractors were on site when Governor Seyi Makinde took over.
Governor Makinde merely cancelled the existing contract and rewarded by adding about 2 billion Naira to the initial contract. So, where is this noise about linking the zones of Oyo state with the state Capital coming from?
During the argument, I told my friend pointedly that Omi Tuntun 3.0 is a disaster of huge magnitudes and that, God Almighty will not allow such disaster to befall us in Oyo state because the state can not survive under such an affliction.
I drew his attention to the Traditional Institution in Oyo state. I told him that while Governor Seyi Makinde goes about, beating his chest that he has installed more number of Kings during his tenure and honestly, I don’t know why anyone should be celebrating such as an achievement, the truth Governor Makinde failed to tell the public is the fact that he installed those Monarchs under very controversial circumstances and that the installation provided his Government further opportunities to siphone public funds.
I said now that I do not know why Governor Makinde considers the installation of Kings as an achievement because for a King to be installed, one must have died.
That is not even the problem. The real issue is the litigations that has been following the Monarchs installed by Governor Seyi Makinde.
In Ibarapa East for example, Governor Makinde had ensured that even after he leaves office, the Communities will continue to remember him for the crisis he has brought upon them through the Traditional Institutions.
In Eruwa, Samuel Adebayo Adegbola was removed as the Eleruwa of Eruwa by all the layers of the Nigerian Courts, but the same Samuel Adebayo Adegbola is still the Eleruwa of Eruwa today, courtesy of Governor Makinde’s disobedience of the Courts.
The Parties are back in Court to re-litigate on a matter which the Supreme Court had laid to rest, just because someone got drunk and intoxicated with too much power.
In the same vein, Governor Makinde removed the Onilala of Lanlate from the throne through a judgment of the Oyo state High Court but the same Governor Seyi Makinde has refused to obey the judgment of the Court of Appeal which ordered the state Government to reinstate the removed King.
The judgment of the Court of Appeal was delivered almost two years ago but Governor Makinde has continued to recognize the Onilala which the Court of Appeal ordered his removal from the throne.
Like the Eleruwa matter, the Onilala of Lanlate case is now at the Supreme Court.
Some days ago, Governor Seyi Makinde installed a Prince of Itabo who got just one vote from the Kingmakers against another Prince who got three votes despite protests from the Community and the Kingmakers.
I am sure that the issue of the Onitabo will also get to the Court, if it has not.
We were all witnesses to how Governor Seyi Makinde got himself dangerously involved in the installation of the Alaafin of Oyo Town.
The matter, as I write this piece is before the Court. The interesting part is the fact that the same Governor Makinde who installed the Alaafin against the recommendation of the Oyomesi is now at loggerheads with the Alaafin.
Ogbomoso is not left out. The case of the Soun of Ogbomoso is in Court.
We know how he intended to tamper with the age-long selection process of the Olubadan of Ibadan Land and how he is still trying to use a Gazette to scuttle the gubernatorial ambition of Senator Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli.
Kings are supposed to partner with Governments to foster peace and harmony in their domains, but if a Governor goes about appointing them in controversial circumstances, is the purpose not defeated already?
More than any Governor that I have seen, Seyi Makinde has gifted all manner of expensive gifts to On Air Personalities, ( OAPs) within the state.
Now, go and look at the Broadcasting Corporations of Oyo state, BCOS. That state Institution is already gasping for breath under a Governor who has chosen to prioritize the well being of privately owned broadcast stations and its Staffs over and above the survival of State Institutions.
Only God knows how much Governor Seyi Makinde has wasted on purchasing SUVs and other gift items for Media owners and Practitioners in privately owned Media organizations.
The same Governor Seyi Makinde who kept pontificating about strong Institutions is the same Governor overseeing the slow death of a State Institution like the BCOS!
When he established the Oyo state Anti-corruption Agency, OYACA. I questioned the rationale behind the establishment of such an Institution.
I was of the view that such an Agency was needless considering the fact that we already have Federal Anti-corruption Agencies like the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, ICPC and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, NFIU.
I was of the opinion that these Federal Institutions are capable of dealing with any acts of financial crimes across board and that the establishment of OYACA was a needless duplication.
About a year and a half ago, I had the opportunity to debate this issue with a member of the OYACA on a Radio program.
The engagement almost resulted in an altercation between us when I told him that the Agency can not investigate Governor Seyi Makinde if a petition is submitted against him.
He alleged that people like me would only raise allegations on Radio and would not be bold enough to follow up with a written Petition and also promised that if a Petition is submitted to the Agency against Governor Seyi Makinde, the Agency would act upon such a Petition.
I promised on Radio that day, that I would put the Agency to the test and a few days later, while I was still preparing the Petition, I got a call from the anchor of the program who said that our friend had called him, asking him to tell me that I must submit the petition. Perhaps, he must have threatened that failure on my part to do so, would attract penalties.
I made good my promise and on January, 2025, I submitted the petition and gave a copy to the Radio presenter as evidence.
Unknown to our friend, the member of OYACA, I submitted separate copies of the Petition to the EFCC same day.
Up till today, I heard nothing from the OYACA while the Federal Anti-corruption Agencies responded within weeks.
You now ask yourself, is OYACA the kind of strong Institutions Governor Makinde is building while BCOS is collapsing?
I am so surprised that the issue of Oyo state indebtedness is not in the front burner of public discourse despite the fact that the Oyo state House of Assembly kept approving loans upon loans for Governor Makinde and in spite of the very serious allegations by Hon. Shittu Ibrahim.
I also raised questions about the very suspicious approval of funds for several projects by the Oyo state Government immediately after Hon. Shittu raised his allegations against the Oyo state House of Assembly.
Some of the areas of concern, for me, is the approval of about a hundred billion Naira for the Light Up Oyo and the approval of funds for the purchase of surveillance Aircrafts and construction of an airstrip at Igbeti.
The Light Up Oyo is perhaps, the most controversial project executed by the Government of Seyi Makinde.
This is a project initially awarded for a cost of 28 billion Naira. The contract was later varied up to around 50 billion Naira and in less than two years after it was delivered, Governor Makinde, through his Commissioner for information admitted publicly that it was a failed contract.
It is the same failed contract that has also attracted the approval of further funds up to over a hundred billion Naira.
What exactly is happening here? Curiously, since the approval of funds was announced, nothing new has happened around that project and no one is asking questions.
Governor Makinde has been dilly dallying around the delivery date for the surveillance Aircrafts he took almost 8 billion Naira of public funds to purchase. In fact, he has turned the whole thing to an incantation in a Yoruba Nollywood drama. ( To ba di ola, a ku ola).
I don’t even know the site of the proposed Airstrip at Igbeti and monies have been approved for these projects running into billions of Naira!
What exactly is happening in Oyo state? I will keep asking. I am sure that Governor Seyi Makinde would not come and tell us tomorrow that he is having problems in taking deliveries of the surveillance Aircrafts because Tinubu is witch hunting him as a result of his intention to run for the presidency.
We have been asking Governor Makinde all these while to tell us how much he has received on behalf of the 33 Local Governments as monthly allocation and what happened to the funds but the Governor would not tell us. It is as if we are asking him for a favor.
We asked him to provide the public with information about the activities of the Park Management System, PMS, because we see state officers of the System turning to overnight billionaires but the Governor would not offer us explanations.
Unfortunately, most of those who should be asking him these questions have sold their conscience to him.
I saw a video of a young man on Facebook this morning. I think his name is Ishola.
I have been following the gentleman on Facebook these days. He was talking about how markets in Oyo state, most especially, in Ibadan, are suddenly and mysteriously catching fire and after those mysterious fire incidents, Government would take over those markets.
I am surprised that each time Governor Seyi Makinde is counting his achievements, he forgets to count the number of markets that caught fire and were eventually taken over by Government under his Administration, as part of his achievements.
If his Government could be proud of burying more Kings than any of his predecessors, those markets that caught fire under his Administration should also be counted worthy as achievements now. Shouldn’t they?
Omi Tuntun 3.0 is a disaster and I am totally confident that such afflictions shall never be our portion in 2027.
Sola Abegunde.