By Femi Adeoti — The Sun
He’s unmindful of the maximum implications of his actions and inactions. He cares less either. It’s his deliberate intention. And he is up in arms to walk his talk. If only for posterity’s sake.
He refuses to walk the truth on its head. Governor Seyi Abiodun Makinde of Oyo State has chosen his choice. It’s tough and rough. That’s the harsh, hard path he elects to tread. His option is daring. And guess what! It is strictly voluntary.
Who else among our trending politicians can take such risk? With President Bola Tinubu in Aso Villa? It’s straight political suicide. That’s definite and obviously given.
It’s hard to believe. But Makinde did it and still has his head held high. He stood to be counted when it mattered most. He damned the consequences. He’s dining with the devil with the longest spoon.
You need to come clean to scale this hurdle. Makinde was quite aware of this. And he went spiritual. It’s biblical: “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart…” So says Psalm 24:3 – 4 (NIV).
That’s what Makinde represents and displays. He’s not shying away. He adheres to the letter. He’s still showcasing it with uncanny audacity and dexterity.
His foes are stunned by his stings. They ought to know. Lest they are quick to forget. The teeth a dog uses to nurture its children, the same teeth it uses to bite others’ children.
While his governor-colleagues are scrambling to be let into the ruling All Progressives Congress’ (APC) den. Makinde utterly detests this irritation. And he’s assiduously working to the contrary. He chooses bravery over cowardice, spinelessness and outright timidity.
He ignores to be weaponised. He chooses otherwise. He rises. And takes the APC to the cleaners. Fear APC no more. Makinde has derobed it.
He knows what he wants. And how to get it. Certainly. APC’s enclave is not it. Not even at this trying moment when the centre can no longer hold. He stood to be fearlessly counted with valour.
So? He resolved to be blunt and unrepentantly unyielding. He tapped on his best elements. And made adequate use of them. Not one was left ill-utilised. The crux of the matter:
“The real issue was that I was in a meeting with the President. Nysome Wike, (Minister, Federal Capital Territory, FCT), the President’s Chief of Staff and two others were also at that meeting. And Wike said to the President, ‘I will hold the PDP for you against 2027’.”
Without prompting! What came over Wike? There was no need for such an expensive outburst. It was out of place. Makinde felt terribly hurt, betrayed. And he reacted accordingly. No pretence. He swore to high heavens:
“I will not support the President for 2027. Wike can support him, but it is also within my right to decide within the political space who I will support or what I will do in 2027.”
He went several extra miles, kilometres, in fact: “I regret supporting Tinubu in the 2023 election. I am not above mistakes.”
After all, to err is instinctively human. It’s richly inherent. Only God does not.
Wike shot back with vigour. Nobody expected him to go mute. This time is critical and crucial for his survival. He needed to shout loud and clear. His was outright denial:
“Seyi said I told Tinubu that I would hold PDP for him. Nothing like that happened. Everyone knows my position on Tinubu. I don’t need a meeting to tell him that.”
Then, what happened? “We went to see the President after elections were over, to discuss certain things. While we were there, the Chief of Staff – you should know that the Chief of Staff is always around the President.
“I was the one who said, look, Chief of Staff, come and sit down, so we can remind the President of what we have discussed. So, it is completely out of place for anybody to say that in that meeting I told Mr. President that I would hold PDP down for him.”
There and then they parted ways. And with immediate effect and precision. They disagreed, never to agree again. The strong relationship they built over time just collapsed like a pack of loose cards.
Right before their very eyes. A mutual friendship of some years demolished, wrecked. The bond was broken. Hurriedly sacrificed to dirty politics. No second thought! It’s not particularly wise enough.
Arguably, Makinde gave real life back to Nigeria’s politics. He did it with his no-holds-barred declaration. Hot and burning. He made politics living and lively again. He grabbed what others wouldn’t touch, even with the longest pole.
He fears no All Progressives Congress den. He cares not about its coven. And damns its enclave. They make no meaning to him. It was least expected of him. But he did it.
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He has changed the political trajectory for good. Before Makinde happened to us, our politics dwindling into one-way traffic.
Every “known” politician was self-destructive. Speeding without control into self-murder, self-slaughter. Busy fighting for a space in APC’s den. It’s choking, yet they’re falling into the enclave with strange enthusiasm.
Wonders shall never end. Running like a lost dog, they weren’t hearing the warning whistles of their owners anymore. Wild and weird. Until Makinde put a huge spanner in their dirty, ugly works. Though not totally. He all the same challenged the shenanigan.
We knew they would react this dastard way. They erroneously thought vengeance was theirs. They strived frantically to play God. They longed restlessly to have an underserved pound out of Makinde’s flesh.
But the Heavens would not oblige them. Instead, they were appropriately denied what’s not theirs. They were rightly judged and roundly condemned. Almost at the same speed.
What they couldn’t inflict on Professor Wole Soyinka. They thought they found an easy prey in Makinde. The vengeance they feared to unleash on the Nobel laureate. They attempted it on Makinde.
Both ways they goofed, stumbled and wobbled. They were jolted by the stumbling block they met in Makinde. The accusations and counter-accusations these gone weeks? They were farthest away from being pleasant for the hawks. And the end is anything but near.
The wolves in, around and outside government can’t be sincere. They insist on accountability. And Makinde must be made to comply. Answerability. Yes. It’s the bedrock of good governance. And vitality for a vibrant democracy.
But must it come with enormous cost? And in the ugly tag of vengeance? When it’s stoked up that hideous, awful and vile manner. It’s no longer accountability or answerability. It’s pure reprisal, retaliation.
Shout it out immediately. If you spot a breach of accountability. Don’t wait to be railroaded. And used as an instrument of mischief. That’s the way of the on-going controversies surrounding the N50 billion Ibadan explosion grant.
And a former two-time Ekiti governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, volunteered to be the arrowhead.
We shouldn’t allow that to stand or prevail. It’s deceit. A bizarre detour. And it’s circuitous. Intended only to divert our attention. And set us many years back. Not in our best collective interest.
What sustains Makinde is strong. He survives what Chief MKO Abiola dreaded most: Jumping out of a fast-moving train. The result is not unpredictable. Despite his consistent warning and fear. MKO still allowed himself to be pushed out of a moving train.
Makinde might not have that in mind. Yet, he too plunged himself into the unexpected. He practically jumped out of a moving train when its speed was highest.
He didn’t heed MKO’s advice. Notwithstanding the obvious danger. He dared Tinubu in the public sphere. And the heavens refused to fall. Rubbishing their queer expectation.
Tragic! MKO never lived enough to witness the end result of his exploits. He was consumed at the tail end. When there appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel. Sad!
But here we are. Makinde is savouring with relish the stunts of his audacity. His feats, exploits paid off. Yielding good fruits. Such is life. Different strokes!
Makinde has his glaring faults. In the course of governance, he has run into troubled waters. Unarguably. He did fall into potholes. He did err and make some avoidable goofs.
But, he thought aloud to himself. This mess must be fixed. There’s an urgent need for a sincere clean-up. He abhors abnormality like a pandemic. It shouldn’t be our new normal.
He won’t allow the absurdity to remain unchecked, unchallenged. And he’s perfectly on the right path. Someone must bell the cat. Makinde’s valorous move fits the bill. He has his eyes focused on the ball. And the goal post is his ultimate! May he get there sooner than expected.
The likes of Makinde should come together fast and “Push Until Something Happens” (PUSH).They can. If they are genuinely willing. It’s doable and attainable. They can surmount the fear of APC.
Tinubu did it beautifully well in 2015. Who says the monopoly resides in him alone? Makinde’s spirited move is a convincing attempt. That’s his precious gift this 2026.
May the Lord make our crooked ways straight this year. And even beyond.
Happy New Year!
