Governor Makinde has chosen a perfect time to go on recess. The pressures of the past few weeks are massive and I’m sure the Governor needs some break to take shelter from the hot wind.
Throughout his first term in office, things were falling in proper places for him. It was smooth sail for the new champion on the chess board.
He stepped on serpents and marched on scorpions.
He navigated through rough waters that hitherto swept away many before him.
The events before and during his first term must have been the reason he forgot the fact that for everything, there is a time.
Though, a Christian, it doesn’t appear like Governor Makinde averted his mind to the teachings in Ecclesiastes chapter 3.
It doesn’t also look like the Governor understands that, even for Goodluck, luck eventually ran out.
No matter how hard the Governor and his “Olentelafas” might try to pretend, all is certainly not well with Governor Makinde and his Government in recent times.
For the first time as Governor, Makinde is facing massive condemnations from the masses as a result of certain policies of his Government and some of his utterances about issues of National interest.
For me, I believe that Governor Makinde is a victim of his own character.
He came into Government with the motives to use the weakness of the public against the public, forgetting that there is a limit even to the foolishness of men.
A careful examination of most of the policies, programs and projects of Governor Seyi Makinde will show a deep thinker the depths of the Governor’s love for cosmetic ideas.
I will first discuss his policy of ” free Education in public primary and secondary schools” and how it has damaged our Education sector in the state.
Governor Seyi Makinde is an Engineer by profession.
During the campaign for the gubernatorial election of 2019, he made a promise that education in both our public primary and secondary schools will be free if he were to be elected Governor.
At that time, he never gave a blue print and the electorates who majorly decided to embrace the frenzy of anything but an Ajimobi successor never cared to ask questions.
After Governor Makinde got elected, one would have expected him to take his time to study the state of the Education sector handed over to him with a view to determining whether he could continue with the policy as it were or perhaps make adjustments where and when necessary.
One of the two blunders committed by Governor Makinde on his first day in office was the cancellation of the three thousand Naira per pupil per session which Ajimobi introduced.
Ajimobi arrived at that policy after series of consultations and engagements with stakeholders in the Education sector and the parents.
The system successfully took care of shortages of required materials like chalks, printing of examination papers, organisation of coaching classes for students in public secondary schools, day to day running of the schools and other needs.
It was a perfect solution to the problems that has bedeviled the public Education sector in the state.
I must also say that Ajimobi didn’t force the payments of the paltry sums on parents.
It was a result of a collective decision by relevant stakeholders including the parents.
The said payments were not going to state Government coffers. They were directly going to the schools and well monitored by the Parents Teachers Associations.
Things were going perfectly and no one was complaining.
Unfortunately, without consultations and without any blueprint, Governor Makinde announced the cancellation of the three thousand Naira per pupil per session and introduced a disjointed ” free Education policy” which has adversely affected the sector.
The Governor is fond of tampering with systems that are otherwise perfect.
He has done the same with the Olubadan Chieftaincy Declaration Laws.
Immediately Governor Makinde introduced his policy of free Education, the former system collapsed.
Public schools began to have issues running the schools because the monthly subventions promised by him are not paid promptly.
Public schools started having issues with simple materials like chalks and it got to a point that school heads and principals have to raise funds to buy this things.
Public schools could no longer print exam papers and have to resort to writing exam questions on Boards!
There were no arrangements for coaching classes again.
Results of WAEC and NECO in Oyo state began to decline rapidly and presently, the state is behind some Northern states like Kaduna and even Boko Haram ravaged Borno in the WAEC index.
Unfortunately, Governor Makinde sees nothing wrong in the quality decline but will rather celebrate how he has taken some unverified thousands of out of school children from the streets without valid statistics to back the outrageous number.
If they’re not in a frenzy with that, they’re celebrating the number of Teachers employed.
Employment of Teachers is a very good step and it is commendable.
However, how does the school environments where these Teachers are deployed to look like?
What is the quality of Education we have been churning out?
You can not remove the impact of the environment from Education.
If you employ all the Professors in Nigeria to teach in Oyo state public schools under the present environment, the results will be the same failures we have in our hands.
Education is a very important factor in our lives.
To revamp the sector, total commitment, consultations and seriousness of purpose, not cosmetic approach are required.
Former Governor Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja demonstrated that when he dealt seriously with the issue of overcrowding in our Public Education system.
A conducive environment is needed for quality Education.
We do not have that presently and that is why we are where we are.
I will also like to discuss Governor Makinde’s populist approach to the maintenance of the Environment.
In fact, these days, the person of the Commissioner for Environment is relatively unknown due to lack of activities in the face of daunting challenges.
Our streets are littered with beggars, street urchins and ugly sights of riotous okadar parks here and there.
In the days of Ajimobi, Mokola Roundabout, Molete junction, Apata junction and ofcourse, all junctions and Parks were effectively cleared of street nuisances.
The madness in our Roads, junctions and Parks these days are no beautiful sights to behold.
Okadar, Maruwa and street hawkers have taken over half of the motor ways.
The Agency that is supposed to be in charge are redundant, unlike in the days of Ajimobi.
The Governor is decidedly helpless, because, according to him, he once hawked bread on the streets.
Governor Makinde is a man who, even before becoming Governor, is reputed to have Houses in some beautiful cities across the Globe.
I am sure he is not used to seeing the ugly sights that bedecked Ibadan in Cape Town, America and in other big cities he has his Houses.
The Governor also said he can not relocate street hawkers except he has a better place to take them.
When exactly will Governor Makinde come across the ” better place” he wants to take the street hawkers to?
The crises he is creating in Ibadan as a result of his inactions against street trading is becoming alarming.
If anyone is in doubts, he should just visit Apata junction any time of the day.
Whatever Ajimobi did to defeat the traffic congestion in that place has been defeated by Governor Makinde’s inactions.
” Orisa boo le gbe mi, se mi bo se ba mi”. If the deity will not better my lot, it should at least live me as I am.
There are some things you better pray Governor Makinde doesn’t touch.
The Agbowo shopping complex and the Eruwa Farm Settlement are good examples.
Governor Makinde has taken the sum of five billion Naira as lease for the Agbowo shopping complex.
The lease agreements is for an unbelievable fifty years!
Be that as it may, the situation with Agbowo has remained a tragedy.
It is like a case when you threw a stone to pluck an orange and you didn’t see both the stone and the orange. ” A so oko si osan, a o ri osan, a o ri oko”.
Only God and the Governor knows what he has done with the five billion Naira he collected to throw away Agbowo shopping complex for fifty years.
The Complex, unfortunately has become useless and dilapidating.
Same goes for the Eruwa Farm Settlement.
Established by Awolowo for the cultivating of food and cash crops like Cassava, Maize and Cashew.
The Eruwa Water Works is also cited on the large expanse of Land.
Over the years, successive Governments have been appointing Agric officers who oversees the leasing of the Land to native farmers.
Governor Makinde came and said he would upgrade the Settlement to an Agric hub.
Years passed. Loans taken. No job done. We suddenly woke up to hear that the Governor is processing the Eruwa Farm Settlement for sale to some Chinese Investors.
This issue is generating disquiet in the Community as I write this piece.
I have taken time to discuss the fact that Governor Makinde’s investments in Agri-business is a misplaced priority in the face of the acute hunger in the Country.
His decision to convert the Agric Settlements to Agric hubs also negates the vision of Awolowo.
Oyo state is lacking food not Agric terminologies that only deals with the business of Agriculture.
The only way the Governor could intervene to ensure that there is food sufficiency is to engage in planting and harvesting.
At least, he wasn’t expecting that the maize he had wanted to export to Botswana would come from Agri-business, was he?
Bringing foreign and domestic farmers to cultivate our Land could only yield more taxes not food.
Most, if not all of those investing in Fashola are exporting their products.
Awolowo was actively and massively engaged in practical Agriculture and also combined it with involving directly in Agric business.
He established a Cocoa Board that was not only regulating prices of the product but also buying and exporting the product.
One of the ways he helped Cocoa farmers was the policy to buy at agreed sums even if the prices of Cocoa fell during the season.
This policy of indirect subsidy caused a rift between him and his former Deputy when the latter, as Premier attempted to change the policy in a way that Government would no longer bore the loss in the fall of prices.
I wonder how politicians love to be seen and perceived as Awolowo when their actions negates the beliefs of the man.
Governor Makinde has been making a lot of efforts lately to advertise his misplaced Agricultural policy to the World.
He has employed a lot of writers to write opinions that will project him as some Awolowo reincarnate.
In fact, a Documentary is on its way to this effect.
It is apposite to tell Governor Makinde that oranges are not apples.
No amount of cosmetics added, reasonable people will still separate counterfeit from the originals.
I have encountered all manner of the “Governor’s friends” and army of ” defenders”.
It is not always difficult to puncture their reasoning because the policies of the Governor are mostly cosmetic. They’re not genuine.
In most cases, a poor replica of the original.
Awolowo was a populist because he earned the love and admirations of the people through programs and policies.
Awolowo would never allow a situation where he would be accused of flouting his own procurement Laws just because he wanted to give a contract to a friend not to talk of overbloating the cost of the contract as we saw in the case of the exercise books by Governor Makinde.
Awolowo would not mortgage the Agbowo shopping complex for whatever reasons and neither would he have contemplated selling of Trans Amusement parks, a section of the BCOS, Agodi Gardens, Eruwa Farm Settlement and the Eruwa Cashew plantation.
Awolowo would not leave the streets of Ibadan to become chaotic just because he once hawked bread on the streets.
Now that Governor Makinde has gone on a ” holiday”, I hope it is not a forced one because the events of the past few weeks are enough to burden even the strongest, whatever the reasons behind the recess, it should provide a good opportunity for the Governor to do some stock taking and reflections.
He needs to be original. At least for the remainder of his tenure.
Awolowo earned respect and admirations because he was plain and because he served the people with honesty of purpose and genuine dedication.
The house built with saliva doesn’t require a heavy rain before it crumbles. The dew drops are enough to bring it down.
” Ile ti a fi ito mo….”.
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
