Opinion
OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR MAKINDE
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OPEN LETTER TO GOVERNOR MAKINDE
Dear Governor Seyi Makinde; When Alliances Were Broken, Performance Speaks, The People Are Waiting For Omituntun 2.0 ~ ‘Kayode Ajani.
Your Excellency, I congratulate you on your landmark victory of the March 18th Gubernatorial election, it was a win for the people of Oyo State.
Since the inception of your administration in 2019, if you kindly recall Sir, this will be my fourth pen route addressed to your esteemed office. In previous editions, I addressed students and youth welfare; bursary and scholarship, as well as governance. Today, as Governor and the Governor Re-elect of our beloved pacesetter state, much has been done in the above-stated area of concern and there is more to be done.
There are new milestones laid before you and the milestones may seem more challenging than your first term of service to the good people of Oyo State. With the Rubicon being scaled, there are more expectations and faith in your governance especially now that the 2027 journey is around the corner.
Your Excellency, I’d like to set forth a significant question that played out in the concluded election, does performance guarantee electoral success if alliances are broken? Your guess is as good as mine, Your Excellency!
The sojourn as the Governor of Oyo state was birthed in 2019 as a result of alliances. I was a student of Obafemi Awolowo University at the time, and in good faith, students supported your aspiration despite our non-partisanship as students. We saw in you a young man with visions to address contemporary issues as far as governance and welfarism are concerned in Oyo State, even when others left, we stood solidly behind you.
Depending on individual perspectives and interests, your first term which is gradually coming to an end has recorded a huge success relative to the purse of our dear state. While landmark success was recorded in Health, Secondary Education, Economy, Agriculture, and Intercity road networks, little has been done on local roads, primary education, and indigenous student bodies.
Your Excellency, Salvation Army School, Odo Alagbafo and Methodist Primary School, NTA are less than 5 minutes’ drive to the State SUBEB headquarters, and in almost four years the infrastructural facilities in these schools are decaying day by day. The present situation has gotten worse to the extent that the younger ones now wash their faeces every morning before they could settle down in class for their daily academic study, including sitting on broken chairs for almost four years.
I cited these two schools as examples because of their proximity to Government House, Ibadan North Secretariat and Oyo SUBEB.
The best and kindest gesture from the new dawn of Omituntun 2.0 should wholeheartedly be a reform of the situation in these schools and other schools with similar untold hardships.
Your Excellency, with the recent constitutional amendment bills signed by President Muhammadu Buhari which moved Railways from the Exclusive legislative list to the Concurrent list, likewise allowing each of the states in the federation the power to generate, transmit and distribute electricity, has made governance more serious for State and many keen onlookers and patriotic Oyo state citizens are now expecting not short from the new dawn. It is with this hope that I appeal to the kind hearings of Your Excellency to have an intra-city railway system under Omituntun 2.0 dispensation. We also hope for the Oyo State Power Generating Plants, good and motorable access roads and furnished and well-equipped primary schools.
Your Excellency, it’s only an ingrate that won’t acknowledge your effort in Education, most especially the recent employment of 5000 teachers. While this has been appreciated, there’s more to do, especially in the primary school system, which has been bedevilled with a shortage of teachers, unavailability of instructional materials and abandoned buildings.
I am aware that you stated during one of your gubernatorial debates that more attention will be given to public primary schools, under Omituntun 2.0, we want to see this materialize, and I pray that you succeed in this endeavour.
Mr Governor, as a former student indigenous leader in the State, the place of the indigenous students and youth groups is not well represented in your first term. We have more of our own, competent and well-read that can be considered for political appointment as far as this aforesaid area is concerned. We have always been with you, and we hope that your kind turn of favour in governance will be extended to the aforesaid groups.
The Circular Road is the giant of all the Infrastructure work that your administration is known for. The project was conceived by Governor Rasheed Ladoja and abandoned for over 15 years.
We appreciate your concerted effort for breathing life back into this project, this being done without erasing the bearer of the vision.
My Governor, our Governor, the state workers are happy, the pensioners are happy, and the people are happy, if being a populist governor is what makes the people happy, please, continue, we pray for your success.
I’d like to drop my pen for now with the trending accolades ascribed to Who’s your guy? Seyi Makinde is my guy.
Till I write again, I’m ‘Kayode Ajani.
08104260476
ajanikayode2@gmail.com
10/04/2023
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The Awujale of Ijebu Land is not merely a crown; it is a sacred trust rooted in centuries of custom, lineage, and collective consent. It is deeply alarming that, right before the beginning of the nomination process for the open stool, a single name, Abimbola Onabanjo, has been relentlessly amplified across blogs, social media, and online news platforms as the “new Awujale,” raising serious questions not just about the individual involved, but about the motivations behind such premature narratives.
More disturbing is the scale and coordination of the publicity. Media observers and social media monitors estimate that no fewer than 70 bloggers and content promoters, operating across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter (X), including several obscure and anonymously run platforms, have circulated the same unverified reports presenting Abimbola Onabanjo as the Awujale-in-waiting, or worse, as the crowned monarch himself. The repetition of identical language, imagery, and celebratory framing suggests something more deliberate than coincidence.
True leadership demands accountability. It would have reflected integrity for Abimbola to own the spread of these unverified reports. To now distance himself by blaming supporters for what is plainly a coordinated false-news campaign is disingenuous and unworthy of the moral stature required of a contender for the revered stool. Approval of misinformation, whether active or passive, undermines the dignity of the throne being sought.
Why the rush? Why the insistence on public coronation before traditional endorsement? In some quarters, Abimbola has been referred to as the online Awujale!
When an aspirant appears more invested in controlling the media narrative than respecting the process, it inevitably creates the impression of desperation for power and undermines the integrity of the selection process before it even begins.
The implications for Ijebu unity cannot be ignored. A kingship contest involving over 60 contenders requires restraint at the highest level. An aspirant falsely elevating himself prematurely risks inflaming tensions within the Fusengbuwa family, delegitimising the eventual outcome, and dragging a revered institution into unnecessary controversy.
It must also be asked whether this aggressive narrative reflects a deeper anxiety about relevance and authority.
This is not a declaration of guilt, nor a denial of Abimbola Onabanjo’s lineage or possible eligibility—if such eligibility exists. Rather, it is a call for restraint, transparency, and respect for tradition. True royalty does not need to shout. It waits.
Until the rites are completed, the staff formally handed over, and the people of Ijebu Land collectively recognise their monarch, there is no Awujale. Any portrayal to the contrary, whether by 70 bloggers or a hundred more, is premature and misleading.
Power pursued too loudly often exposes its own insecurity. And in the matter of the Awujale’s throne, patience is not weakness; it is tradition.
Gbenga Odugbesan is a social commentator, an Ijebu indigene, and writes from the United States of America
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Nigeria’s democracy is not under threat because public officials are being investigated. It is under threat when political actors attempt to weaponise opposition status as immunity from the law.
Let it be stated plainly: opposition is not a licence to steal, and it is not a shield against accountability.
No One Is Above the Law
The Nigerian Constitution is clear. It mandates the State to abolish corruption and abuse of power. It does not create exemptions for opposition leaders, former office holders, or political coalitions. The only immunity recognised by law is limited, specific, and temporary and it ends when a public officer leaves office.
To suggest otherwise is to invent a privilege unknown to the Constitution.
Investigation Is Not Persecution
The EFCC and other anti-graft agencies are legally bound to investigate allegations of economic and financial crimes. Investigation, arrest, and prosecution when carried out within the law do not violate fundamental rights. This is settled by the Supreme Court, not by political press conferences.
Calling the investigation “victimisation” does not make it so. It only signals an attempt to pre-empt justice with propaganda.
Presumption of Innocence Is Not a Gag Order
The presumption of innocence means that no one is guilty until proven so by a court of law. It does not mean no one can be investigated, questioned, or charged. It does not compel silence from law-enforcement agencies.
If you are innocent, the courts will clear you. If you are not, the law will take its course. That is the essence of the rule of law.
Selective Outrage Is Not a Defence
The argument that “others are also corrupt” is not recognised in Nigerian law. Courts have consistently held that the alleged wrongdoing of others does not excuse or absolve an accused person.
Accountability is personal. Justice is individual. Guilt is not suspended because someone else has not yet been charged.
Intimidating Institutions Is the Real Democratic Threat
What truly threatens Nigeria’s multiparty democracy is not the EFCC doing its job, but the growing attempt to intimidate, delegitimise, or blackmail anti-corruption institutions whenever investigations touch politically exposed persons.
Democracy does not mean freedom from scrutiny. It means submission to the law especially by those who once held public trust.
On Calls for “Independent Review Bodies”
Transparency is welcome, but it must not be weaponised as a diversion. Nigeria already has constitutionally and statutorily empowered institutions to audit, investigate, and prosecute financial crimes. Creating parallel structures to undermine lawful investigations or discredit prosecutions is not reform it is evasion.
Face the Law
No one was forced to misappropriate public funds.
No one was compelled to abuse office.
No one was instructed to breach financial regulations.
Public office is a trust. When that trust is breached, consequences follow.
The appropriate response to an investigation is not alarmism, not international lobbying, and not political noise. It is a competent legal defence and respect for due process.
Final Word
Anti-corruption is not anti-opposition.
Investigation is not persecution.
Accountability is not authoritarianism.
Those with clean hands have nothing to fear.
Those with questions to answer should answer them before the law.
Enough is enough. Nigeria will not trade the rule of law for political convenience.
Otunba Segun Showunmi
The Alternative
Opinion
Insecurity: Governor Abiodun Takes Firmer Stance, Declares Documentation of Non-Indigenes, Demolition of FlashPoint Areas
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Following the incessant killings and kidnappings in Nigeria by bandits, Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has taken proactive measures to strengthen security and maintain peace in the state.
This follows a security meeting convened with security chiefs on Monday at his residence in Iperu, Ogun State, emphasising the need for proactive measures to prevent insecurity and promote economic development.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Governor Abiodun outlined mandatory documentation of foreign nationals and non-indigenes coming to the state, and the dismantling of the ZAGA settlement in Ijebu-Ode and other flashpoint areas across the state.
He also warned that any landlords harbouring miscreants would be sanctioned.
Abiodun disclosed plans to establish a Forward Operating Base (FOB) at ILARA (Yewa North) to tighten border security. He assured citizens of the government’s commitment to maintaining peace and stability, while calling on residents to provide timely information to support law enforcement efforts.
Abiodun commended the leadership of Mr President and security agencies for rescuing kidnap victims in Niger/Kwara, emphasising that security is a joint responsibility.
According to him, “We want to commend Mr President for providing leadership, particularly as the economy has turned the corner and stabilised despite different false narratives being promoted .
We congratulate Mr President and the security agencies for the progress made in the rescue efforts of the kidnap victims in Niger / Kwara”
“As the industrial capital of Nigeria and the gateway state that connects the financial capital to the rest of the country we have and must continue to be proactive in ensuring that we sustain our position as one of the more peaceful states in Nigeria,
“The best time to prepare for war is during peace”
“Our resolutions are:
Mandatory Documentation of Foreign Nationals: All foreign nationals within the State must be properly documented in accordance with security protocols and immigration regulations.
ZAGA Enclave: The ZAGA settlement is to be dismantled and taken over by the Government to prevent its continued use for unlawful activities.
Sanctions for Landlords Harbouring Miscreants: Landlords and individuals found to be accommodating miscreants or criminal elements will be decisively dealt with in line with the law.
Engagement with Non-Indigenes: A strategic meeting will be convened with the non-indigene communities to strengthen mutual understanding and enhance security cooperation.
FOB Establishment at ILARA (Yewa North):The establishment of a Forward Operating Base (FOB) around Ilara, a key border community in Yewa North, will be prioritised to tighten border security.
Control of Scavengers: Activities of scavengers across the State will be strictly regulated to curb criminal infiltration and illicit practices.
Forest and Government Reserve Operations: Security agencies will intensify operations to flush out criminal hideouts within forests and government reserves.
Illegal Mining: All illegal mining activities will be confronted decisively, with perpetrators apprehended and prosecuted.
Ajebo non-indigene Settlement: The settlement in Ajebo is currently under investigation, and necessary actions will be taken upon the conclusion of the interrogation.
Inter-Agency Collaboration: Enhanced collaboration and cooperation among all security agencies will further strengthen and modernise the State’s security architecture.
We encourage the provision of timely information to us to ensure the promotion of prompt response by law enforcement Security is a joint responsibility of all of us”
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