I read the meandering and tiring epistle written by one Maroof Asudemade on Seyi Makinde’s G-Wagon gift to the President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII) with an exhausted, long yawn.
I am still trying to understand the rationale behind that post and why Asudemade wasted so much time writing like an inebriated alcoholic without making a valid point, but only exhibiting clear partisanship and trying to plant trouble in the minds of his readers. I regret to inform him that his epistle was so boring and repetitive that I doubt anyone had the time to read it to the end.
Now, let’s set the records straight. Yes, His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, gifted a brand-new Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon 500 to the President-General of the CCII, Barrister Sulaimon Ajeniyi Ajewole, as a special birthday gift. Yes, Seyi Makinde presented the gift in recognition of his leadership, commitment to the development of Ibadanland, and consistent advocacy for good governance. That is a fact. It is totally in sync with the governor’s nature of gifting people he respects, friends, and family. He has been known for such gestures.
The question now is, since when did giving out birthday gifts become contentious political debates? Asudemade, like a drunken sailor on a shaky ship, rambled on about vehicles for the Olubadan, Oba Rashidi Oba Adewolu Ladoja, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, and even mumbled about other matters that truly made no sense.
The writer sounded so desperate, like someone paid to do the hatchet job of spreading a bitter virus in town that one must ask when he was appointed spokesperson for the respected royal fathers he mentioned in his jumbled-up piece.
Why did Asudemade not mention that the same governor he seeks to vilify spent one billion naira (N1bn) on the Olubadan’s palace, or is he so lowly in status that he was not informed of that grand gesture?
We may also ask what the governor got in return as appreciation besides backlashing, betrayal, and lies.
Maroof Asudemade, whoever you are and whoever sent you; know this today and buy yourself some peace of mind: Seyi Makinde has the right to give vehicles and even aeroplanes to whomever he wishes.
What gives you, a lowly writer of that divisive piece, the right to decide who gets what and from whom?
For the purposes of clarification, however, let me make this explicitly clear; the G-Wagon is a personal gift to Barrister Ajewole, our President-General. The governor had promised to celebrate him in a remarkable way, and as a man of utmost integrity, he fulfilled that promise with the presentation of the brand-new Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon 500.
Now, I expected the faceless critic from Ibadan to buy a G-Wagon for our revered Kabiyesi. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Dare Adeleke writes from Oja ‘ba Ibadan.
