When Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state won a reelection in February 2023 for a second term of four years,he set a record by becoming the second civilian governor to break the jinx of only one term for past and contemporary governor of the state to win election back to back in its decades old history of democracy.
Oyo state,as an offshoot of the former Western Region capital which prided itself as the political capital of the region since the First republic days.
Not even the late Are Ona kakanfo of Yorubaland,Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola was able to win a second term in 1964 as the dis o used claim set in motion chain of events which abruptly terminated his second term in office with the military putsch in January 15,1966.
Again, the Cicero of Esa Oke and former governor of old Oyo state,erudite late Chief Bola Ige failed in 1983 to get a second term in office.
But all that changed as the late Senator Isiaka Ajumobi who ruled between 2011 to 2019 was the first governor to break the jinx of getting the trophy of seating in the same space where the last sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo ruled in 7 years and changed the course of Yoruba in Nigeria through his laudable people oriented programmes.
Today,in spite of his laudable performance in his first term in office between 2019-2023,Governor Makinde is about to ignite the decades old opposition politics in the region which divided the Yoruva rank as Ibadan became the theatre where the seeds of instability was planted in Nigeria.
Not that everybody in them Western Region embrace same political thought but the bitter opposition to the then Action Group party which had ruled the region and propelled it above other regions in Nigeria,had the root of opposition plotted,cemented and implanted with its dire consequences for the stability of the region and by extension Nigeria.
The ‘Operation Wetie’which engulfed the region had uts roots in bitter political rivalry which is being surreptitiously brought back by introduction of reactionary thoughts and actions of the APM of today of which Makinde is leader.
The genesis of the division in the politics of South West which portends danger at a time President Bola Tinubu,a Nigerian of Yoruba extraction and others are gearing towards securing a second term for Tinubu.
Though Makinde belong ab nitio to the main opposition,the PDP-a party divided down the line by internal conflicts which has dogged it since the period before last year when it failed to have one house to defeat the Muhammadu Buhari government .
Though Makinde was one of the five ‘rebel’ governors led by Nyesome Wike of Rivers state who broke ranks with the PDP to deliver victory to Tinubu.
But then,the turning point in Makindes parting of ways got to a head last year December when he alongside other leaders in the PDP stage an illegal annual convention in Ibadan led by the Saminu Turaki faction to wrestle control of PDP from the Wike faction.
As the only sitting governor left in the PDP,Makinde by the Ibadan meet surreptitiously unknown to many was plotting to build another platform to take control of politics as the main opposition in the South West.
Before the Ibadan meeting through which the seed of Allied Peoples Movement ,APM was sowed,Makinde had in different fora expressed his disagreement with Tinubu on the vexed issue of local government autonomy preferring instead the current system which placed the local governments at the mercy of the states which sat on their monthly allocation from the Federation Account .
Read Also:Obi, Makinde and Hurdles Against Opposition Coalition
Unveiled! SWDC agenda for South West development
Gombe, Kano, Bauchi, Delta by-elections offer vital lessons for 2027 polls – Amupitan
2027 ELECTIONS: ECONOMY, SECURITY AND NIGERIA’S FUTURE
As for Makinde,Nigeria should be content with strictly two tiers of government.
Again,in spite of the opposition parties meeting in Ibadan in April this year and also hosted by Makinde which came out with a pledge to present a single candidate to defeat the ruling APC,the parties parted ways even before their communique hit the airwaves.
Is it a sheer coincidence that barely 24 hours after the launch of his Presidential bid,human struck Oriire and other communities carting away 46 pupils and teachers in an operation which shook the South West to its foundation.
Oriire Local government which has suffered neglect in infrastructure ut will be recalled was allocated N645.4 million from the Federation account only in April this year with nothing to show for itin terms of government presence.
Is this development model Makinde preferred for opposing local government autonomy.
The Oriire and other communities kidnap saga revealed in its name form the abject neglect Makinde and other governors who sat on their local governments funds in spite of the Supreme Court ruling.
Not to be caught unawares,Makinde with funfare launched his Presidential campaign on the platform of APM .
Makinde had also expressed his disdain for newly formed Iru Ekun security network when he expressed his support for Miyetti Allah Fulani cattle dealers.
Is this an sign to decimate the South West security concerns at a time insecurity is tearing the region apart.
