Governor Seyi Makinde presented Instruments of office to the Soun of Ogbomosho, Oba Ghandi Olaoye on Tuesday, 29th of December, 2023.
Such activities are usually common routine for state Governors and ordinarily should not make much of a news, except that Governor Makinde chose the occasion to pour scorn and venom on some aggrieved princes and the Judiciary.
In the course of delivering his speech, Governor Makinde chose to use the opportunity to issue threats against some individuals who are aggrieved with the process that led to the choice of then Prince Ghandi Olaoye as Soun elect.
One Prince Kabir Olaoye had approached an Oyo state High court sitting in Ogbomosho and had secured an order directing the maintenance of status quo ante against Governor Makinde and others.
The order of court was given long before the presentation of the Instruments of office to Oba Ghandi Olaoye.
Instead of Governor Makinde, who himself is a Party to the said suit to intervene at that point to see if he could broker peace between the parties and if he could not, allow the court process to run Its course, he went ahead, in flagrant disobedience to the order of court and installed Oba Ghandi Olaoye as Soun of Ogbomosho.
After completing the act of contempt on Tuesday, Governor Makinde then resorted to naked threats against those who are simply exercising their rights enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. A constitution Makinde swore an oath to defend and protect!
I will quote directly from his speech “… If the litigants fail to heed my call to withdraw the cases in court before the end of next week, I will not hesitate to use the instruments of office to fight back…”!
We are currently living in strange times where those in executive positions are daily becoming dangerous with power but this brazen display of rascality by Governor Makinde is unmatched.
For someone who, save for the immunity he enjoys under the constitution, ought to be in jail for being in contempt of court to have such efforntery to threaten litigants and indirectly the courts obviously leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
O have carefully analyzed the statements credited to Governor Makinde and I can not fathom whatever he meant by “…. using the instruments of office to fight back…”.
Why would Makinde fight litigants who are legally ventilating their displeasure to a process they have issues with?
How does he intend to fight back?
What exactly is Makinde’s interest in this matter?
What instrument of office is he planning to deploy to fight the litigants if they chose to ignore his reckless threats?
The last time I checked, Governor Makinde has no roots or links to Ogbomosho that will warrant him to have any special interest in whoever becomes the Soun of Ogbomosho.
I am not aware that the litigants have engaged in any acts of violence and neither did the Governor told us that he had information to the effect that they are planning any.
The statements made by Governor Makinde in respect of the litigations around the stool of the Soun of Ogbomosho is not only sad and reckless, it is also irresponsible.
Governor Makinde, by nature is not only a frivolous person, he is also cosmetic.
He must have been trying to display support for Oba Ghandi Olaoye but in the process, he made terrible slip.
His actions are not only incapable of annoying the litigants, it is equally a further demonstration of a contempt for the Judiciary.
My candid advice to Oba Ghandi Olaoye, if he, himself desire peace, is to ignore Governor Makinde’s empty threats and exuberance.
It behoves of him to reach out to the litigants with an olive branch to seek genuine peace.
Governor Makinde has less than four years to sit on the seat of the Governor of Oyo state that is presently intoxicating him to make recklessness and irrational statements.
Chieftaincy litigations last for years and by the time it is finally resolved one way or the other, Governor Makinde certainly will never be Governor of Oyo state.
He has made a statement that is capable of fuelling the ember of discord and he had moved on, perhaps cooking another crisis somewhere else.
I urge Oba Ghandi to put his mind to Governor Makinde’s goofs in the manner he handled the illegal dissolution of Local Government officials and the consequences that came with it.
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
