By Moses Alao
When the Yoruba people want to express their joy at not being disappointed by someone they vouch for or hold in high esteem, they borrow the wisdom from Egungun masquerade circles by saying that “ti eegun eni ba mo o jo, ori a maa ya atokun.”
Simply, the chaperon (atokun) of an Egungun and those who follow the masquerade derive a lot of pleasure and joys from the acrobatics and antics of the Ara Orun. They receive the adulations of the crowd on behalf of whoever is masked by the ‘eku.’ So, when the one inside the ‘eku’ dances well, the atokun feels on top of the world.
This is the situation with those around the seat of power in Oyo State, where the state governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, continues to spring surprises with different people-centred policies and programmes that gladden hearts and give new definition to governance. I am equally convinced that even the Oyo State electorate, who voted to elect Governor Makinde as their governor and took the same decision to give him a second term, are also happy ‘Atokuns’ delighted with the governor’s performance across different sectors.
From his first term in office, when the opposition elements rightly dubbed him as a populist governor, forgetting that populism itself is about people-centred leadership and meeting the needs of the majority, Governor Makinde has been hitting the mark in implementing policies that bring real joy to the masses and hope to the state. Beginning with the cancellation of education levies to the decision to pay workers and pensioners on/or before the 25th of every month as well as the commitment to clear gratuity arrears of about seven years when he took office in 2019, the governor’s masquerade has continued to dance well to the admiration of all.
Across the four pillars on which the governor hinged his vision to reposition Oyo State and take its people from poverty to prosperity, the dance has been particularly sweetening, attracting huge applause from the people, who are the beneficiaries of the good works ongoing in the state.
In the economic sector, the state’s economy has taken a giant leap, nestling on the improved Internally Generated Revenue and increased foreign direct investments brought about by the governor’s sound economic decisions.
In the infrastructure development sector, Oyo State has become renewed by the governor’s deliberate commitment to rebuilding the state with more than 500 kilometres of roads completed while many others are ongoing.
In the education sector, Oyo State has become a centre of excellence again with the massive rebuilding of education infrastructure, mass recruitment of teachers and other sound policies that have transformed the sector, while the implementation of sound policies in the health and security have also been paying off to the admiration of the people of the state. Truly, Makinde’s Egungun dances well.
But that dance has always been particularly good in the arena of workers’ welfare. The governor started out in 2019 with improvements in the car and housing loans to civil servants and when the time came for the national minimum wage to be increased, his big masquerade put up one of the best dances in the country. In February 2020, Governor Makinde approved the payment of N30,000 minimum wage to workers in the state. That decision meant that Oyo State paid the standard recommended by the Federal Government. It was one decision that made workers and thousands of Oyo State residents give a thumbs up to their masquerade.
Having recognised that the economy of the state thrives on agriculture and is largely impacted by the number of the workforce at the state and local government levels, Governor Makinde took a deliberate decision to ensure that workers in the state are paid as and when due. And, according to the records, the economy of the state has been energised on a monthly basis with the salaries of workers amounting to billions.
Again, Makinde’s big masquerade stepped onto the arena in 2023, when the Federal Government decided to introduce the wage award as part of measures to cushion the effect of economic hardship on Nigerians. Prior to the governor’s return from his 2023 annual leave, when he announced the payment of N25,000 wage award to workers and N15,000 wage award to all pensioners, many workers in the state had expressed anxiety regarding what Governor Makinde would do. Many of them had even begun to cite examples of neighbouring states and others who had begun to pay pittances to workers.
But Governor Makinde, who has proved time and again that he is a man for long term plans and solutions rather than momentary efforts and cosmetic approaches otherwise known as palliatives, chose to effect an approach that will stand the test of time. Apart from the introduction of the Sustainable Action for Economic Recovery (SAfER), which the governor implemented across the agriculture, transportation, health and economic sectors, the governor’s masquerade upped the dance with the payment of the wage award. It’s been one year and one month since the wage award was introduced, yet the dance has not stopped.
Sadly, the Federal Government and other states, which some of the workers cited as examples, have since faltered in the palliatives of paying wage award and other pittances, but Governor Makinde has sustained that payment to workers and pensioners, in an act that has further endeared him to workers.
The latest dance steps awing the ‘Atokuns’ of the Pacesetter State’s is the approval of N80,000 as minimum wage to the least paid workers in Oyo State. Ever since the Federal Government approved the payment of N70,000 minimum wage and some states of the federation began to announce the amount they would pay to workers, those who love and loathe Makinde have waited with baited breath to know what the governor would do.
Indeed, some workers who spoke with this writer had even voiced their fears on the minimum wage. In one of the encounters, I told a worker point-blank that ‘you know Oga, he won’t carry last’ and the individual, a teacher in one of the schools in Ibadan, had retorted by saying ‘of course, we trust our governor.’
At a recent function, the governor informed members of the public that his administration would pay the minimum wage but that the issue of consequential adjustment must be worked upon by a committee of government functionaries and representatives of the trade unions. Barely a month after the governor gave that indication, he has pulled a rabbit out of the hat with the approval of N80,000 minimum wage. Now, that is a beautiful dance from our tested and trusted masquerade and the ‘Atokuns’ have been on cloud nine!
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Muslim Community of Oyo State, the Muslim Ummah of South-West Nigeria and the Oyo State House of Assembly have all lauded the governor.
The NLC and the House of Assembly both commended the governor for the approval, expressing delight at the adept dance of the big masquerade. NLC chairman in the state, Comrade Kayode Martins, hailed the governor for showing that he is “a listening person and a true trailblazer.” But the Speaker of the House of Assembly, however, put things in better perspective when he commended the governor for approving N80,000, stating that the decision made Oyo State the third in the ranking of the highest paying states after Lagos and Rivers states. Now, that is one monumental leap!
Knowing how rich Lagos and Rivers are as commercial nerve centres of the country with wealth from ports and other businesses that are domiciled in the states, no one would have thought that Governor Makinde could go that high in terms of how much the state would pay workers. Yes, residents of Oyo State know that the governor loves his people and would do anything for them, but N80,000 as minimum wage? That’s unexpected. Haba, this governor continues to beat expectations!
And, since our masquerade dances well, shan’t we serenade him with songs and accolades? I am sure that if the words of commendations from the House of Assembly, the workforce and especially from the chairman of the Oyo State Muslim Community, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, on this latest decision of the governor could be changed into a music format, the words for Makinde would have to be an adaptation of Yusuff Olatunji’s accolades for the Ashipa Egbe Irepodun in Abeokuta back then, Alhaji Muraina Ajadi, in his Volume 30 entitled ‘O d’owo Imole, O d’owo Oluwa.’
Baba L’Egba had, in that song, praised Muraina Ajadi to high heavens, saying: “…Muraina n se bebe, Ajadi Ade o ma ma se bebe o. Eni de’na fun ni k’eru, Okunrin ni…” Of a truth, Governor Makinde deserves all the accolades he has been getting and will still get for the decision on the minimum wage and many others, which have shown him as an exemplar in good governance. Governor Makinde may go into the annals of Oyo State as the most worker-friendly governor ever produced in the state, if not South-West Nigeria. But that will be left for time and posterity to decide.
For today, I am happy that my principal is doing well and the people of Oyo State are happy too.
Alao is the Special Assistant (Print Media) to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde