The statement by Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state, while addressing students, and youths in Ibadan sometime ago, that he became poor after his ascendance to the revered political stool is laughable and unbelievable. Like honey attracts ants, the assertion has generated the attention of political pundits in the state.
Unapologetically, I refer to the statement as a comic and unbelievable because being a governor is an enviable achievement that many people are desperately aspiring to attain. Are those aspiring to be governor poor or rich?
Ideally political power at the local, state, or federal tier of government shouldn’t be for the accumulation of wealth or adding feathers to one’s nest but to foster development for the good of the people.
However, the reverse is the case in the politics of a country like Nigeria where corruption, injustice among other illicit practices hold sway.
Truly, the administration of Makinde has ostensibly engendered developments in Oyo state in terms of education, roads and other infrastructure. As a god-fearing governor, he pays the salary of workers promptly.
Nonetheless, no one is without his Achilles heel. Some people tag him as ‘Ibadan governor’ because many construction and rehabilitation of roads and other social amenities are mostly done in Ibadan, the state capital.
The governor’s puzzling and comic utterance which many pundits have interpreted and misinterpreted calls for proper analysis. His excellency might want to stress that his expenditure is higher when he gained power in 2019 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, than before. Of course, as a governor, many people will look up to him for financial aid but not to the extent of him becoming poor.
If the governor is serious with the statement, I would not be incorrect to say it’s a political gimmick to lure people to re-vote him to power come the 2023 gubernatorial election which is fast approaching.
On this basis, I will admonish the governor to desist from being ridiculous and allow his achievements as a governor to speak in support or against him rather than trying to bamboozle citizens.
Olayode Inaolaji,
Ogbomoso, Oyo state
[email protected]
