A few days ago, a certain individual by the name of Sola Abegunde, helped by his ilk, circulated an inane piece of write-up in which falsehood, banal and baseless allegations against the Oyo State governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, were packaged as facts.
This son of Belial [Hebrews regard this term as son of worthlessness and my readers will soon see how worthless a liar Sola Abegunde or the individual using the pseudonym is] went to town with hurtful and venomous claims that could only have come from the pit of hell or perhaps from the depraved minds of sore losers, who have chosen not to recover from the electoral losses suffered by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the hands of Engr. Seyi Makinde in 2019 and 2023.
Expectedly, the lying Son of Worthlessness had chosen to latch on to the ongoing discourse on local government autonomy and the standpoint of Governor Makinde that the Supreme Court judgment on the matter was against the dictates of the Constitution.
Abegunde, the slimy snake had used the opportunity of the burning issue to venerate the god of mendacity, which opposition elements in Oyo State worship and have pledged their souls to till eternity, by advertising his ignorance, committing all sorts of philosophical fallacies simply because he is faceless and cannot be sued for libel.
Abegunde began with the Oyo State health workers’ strike, but he failed to tell the world how the ineptitude and highhandedness of the immediate past APC government are some of the reasons for the workers’ anger.
The Liar should have told the unsuspecting public that some of the demands of the health workers include the payment of withheld 2011 salary arrears and the correction of the wrong notional date on the promotion letters of members who were due in 2017/2018. These two issues predated the Makinde government and showed the ineptitude of the APC government that preceded him.
Abegunde, probably for want of what to write as part of the imaginary winds in Oyo State, had also rehashed a story published by some APC bloggers, chief among whom is Oyo Insight, owned by Sikiru Akinola.
Abegunde accused Makinde of stirring the hornet’s nest “during the coronation of the Olubadan, Oba Owolabi Olakulehin when he decided to enclose a controversial gazette in the pamphlets of the program of events for the coronation.” But that was just a repetition of Oyo Insight’s banal line of thought.
For the avoidance of doubt, the Oyo Insight publisher, who claims to be a journalist but now works as aide to an APC chieftain in Abuja and Abegunde might be one and the same person or perhaps companions on a voyage doomed to fail. What is clear is they are part of the unscrupulous elements trying to start a controversy over the Olubadan Chieftaincy System and set Governor Makinde against former Governor Rashidi Ladoja. But lies will never take the place of truth.
No, darkness will not overcome light. The Ibadan Chieftaincy Law was amended by following the right processes, Senator Ladoja had his day in court and chose to withdraw the matter for Oba Owolabi Olakulehin’s smooth ascension and I am sure that he cannot be behind the ludicrous attempt to start a succession war when an Olubadan has just assumed the throne.
The plot is another effort by opposition elements to set fire to a settled and serene Oyo State. They will not succeed!
Also on his journey to ignominy, Abegunde got to where exactly he aimed to be, parading himself as an aficionado on constitutionalism and legalism regarding local government administration.
The hatchet writer railed against the governor over his stance on local government autonomy, which to all intent and purpose, is constitutionally justified and has been espoused by individuals knowledgeable in federalism as being the correct position.
Abegunde claimed that Governor Makinde set up committees to review the judgment of the apex court, showing that he lacks proper understanding of English Language and clearly does not know that a review does not necessarily aim to reject, condemn or chastise.
The ‘review’ as used by the governor while setting up the committee was to consider and assess the judgment, see the challenges it would throw up in Oyo State with regards to statutory payments and obligations of councils and how the state would handle such challenges so that the people of the state would not suffer.
Like a deranged individual loving the sound of his own voice, Abegunde had ranted about the governor declaring that he did not believe in local government autonomy during a governorship debate. Well, no one expected faceless Abegunde to display knowledge about any subject matter, let alone constitutionalism.
But I would like to refer him and his sponsors to Section 162 of the 1999 Constitution as amended. That is where Makinde derives justification for his position on local government autonomy.
Finally, Abegunde’s voyage to disgrace berthed at an inauspicious haven, when he drew out the inference and import of his puerile and obviously sponsored write-up—that Makinde loves and thrives on mischief, making unconnected references to how the governor emerged governor in 2019 and the impeachment of Engr. Rauf Olaniyan as deputy governor, among others.
Abegunde tried to beguile his readers with history, forgetting that history can never be kind to liars. If, indeed, the people he claimed worked for Makinde’s emergence regretted their decision, how come they didn’t team up to defeat him in 2023? If a coalition worked in favour of Makinde in 2019, it certainly could have worked against him in 2023, couldn’t it? What Abegunde does not know is that the power of the people is stronger than the coalition of political forces and that power is what Makinde has behind him, it is the same power that will always make him beholden to the people while it will consign Abegunde’s sponsors to the abyss of political rejection.
Sadly, Abegunde also showed his hands as a fool that should have been given the silent treatment, when he smuggled the impeachment of former Deputy Governor, Engr. Olaniyan, who he claimed “was vilified for no reason and eventually removed through an impeachment on trump up charges” into his piece. But I will not suffer a fool gladly by giving him silence in response to his foolhardiness. I will refer him to the Court of Appeal judgment of July 17, 2024, which upheld the impeachment of the former deputy governor. If Makinde was a mischief maker, who vilified Olaniyan, is he in control of the Court of Appeal too?
Interestingly, Abegunde in that treatise, had also sold himself out as a never-do-well, who hates everything good, including the regular payment of salaries and pensions to civil servants by Governor Makinde. While accepting in one breath that the governor ensures that he paid the salaries and allowances of civil servants promptly, he says in another that the action is deceitful.
And then, he capped the season of lies by attempting to turn facts on its head regarding contracts awarded by the immediate past government and loans secured by the government of Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
The Son of Worthlessness claimed that Makinde cancelled road contracts awarded by his predecessor and re-awarded the same at higher costs, but he could not provide a single example. However, I will help him by providing examples of how Makinde cancelled non-performing contracts he inherited and ensured that the state got value for its money. For instance, the Ajimobi government awarded a contract for the limited rehabilitation of the 65km Moniya-Ijaiye-Iseyin Road and two years after the contract was awarded and about N2 billion paid out, the contractor did not tar up to two kilometres. When Governor Makinde took office in 2019, he re-awarded the contract for the total reconstruction of the road and the project was completed in less than 18 months.
The Ajimobi government also awarded the contract for the Ibadan Circular Road, two years after the contract was stalled at bush clearing despite the state’s resources wasted on the venture. Makinde cancelled the failed contract, re-awarded the project and today, the Senator Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road has become a cynosure, with the 32km South-East Wing of the project being tarred after all bridges, culverts and pavements had been done. Bush-clearing on the Badeku-Moniya Wing of the project is also nearing completion.
Liar Abegunde, the golden ambassador of Oyo opposition hatchet writers had also claimed that Makinde diverted ‘loans taken in respect of road infrastructures by the previous administration to phony agricultural purposes.’
This is the biggest lie of the entire piece. The only loan secured by the Ajimobi government, which had not been siphoned before Makinde took office was the N7.6 billion CBN loan. The immediate past government claimed that the loan was secured to purchase agricultural equipment and it was bent on siphoning the facility, which was to materialise shortly after Ajimobi lost his senatorial election and the APC lost its hold on Oyo State. But Governor Makinde moved to block the past government from accessing the funds, knowing full well that the money would develop wings and fly away like part of the bailout funds did under the APC government.
Upon assuming office, the governor informed all residents of the state that the loan would be channeled to resuscitating and upgrading the Fasola Farm Estate and Eruwa Farm Estate. Today, Fasola Farm is back to life, bigger and better, bringing in revenue to the state and showing signs of being able to provide the needed support for Oyo’s agriculture boom in the coming years. The governor has also declared that the train of development will move to the moribund Eruwa Farm.
Understandably, Abegunde described these as phony agriculture purposes. The opposition had been hitting the iron on the same spot regarding Fasola Agribusiness Hub, spreading lies because they simply cannot fathom the innovations brought on board by the governor in reviving that facility. Abegunde and his co-travellers have formed the habit of rehashing old press statements from Wasiu Sadare, saying the same senseless things over and again; the same things they presented as campaign materials in 2023 but their party still recorded the biggest loss in the history of governorship elections in Oyo State.
The Son of Worthlessness, hungry, poor and ever looking for crumbs, had also tried to write himself into the good books of the Tinubu camp, probably thinking he could get a slot on the governing council of any institution as his leaders in Oyo State did. He lashed out at Governor Makinde for supporting the president’s ambition through G-5 and then becoming what he described as “Tinubu’s tormentor in chief when it appeared that Nigerians are disenchanted from the president due to the harsh Economic policies.” The depth of Abegunde’s folly is unfathomable. Did it just appear that Nigerians are disenchanted or they are actually disenchanted? Should Makinde keep silent and watch as an opposition governor when economic policies from the Federal Government are affecting his people?
Abegunde, in one breath is speaking for Olaniyan in order to secure a few Naira notes; in another breath, he is speaking for Tinubu to curry favour and then in yet another, he is speaking for Ibarapa citizens. Pray, who is Sola Abegunde and why can’t a supposed grown man use his thinking faculty? He claimed that citizens in Ibarapa are asking why a road of about 50km from Ido to New Eruwa junction is taking eternity to be completed; that road was re-awarded and launched in 2023. Since when has a year become an eternity?
In what appeared as his conclusion, Abegunde tried to paint Governor Makinde with a coal tar, referencing his allegation of mischief against the governor as a gospel truth and waxing lyrical about Karma. Well, it should be made clear to Abegunde and his sponsors that Makinde has tried to live above board in his dealings and has always been open and transparent to his people.
They can package lies as facts, imagine the worst for Oyo State as they always do, the government of Governor Makinde cannot be distracted and it will certainly not fail the people of Oyo State. And, when Karma comes, its victims will be the individuals huddling in dark places, wishing evil to Oyo State and its people in the name of playing opposition politics. Yes, when Karma comes knocking, it’s Abegunde and his cohorts that will be the victims.
Akanni lives in Ibadan.