Governor Seyi Makinde and his publicists are in all manners alike.
The Governor of Oyo state definitely did his job very well when settling for the individuals that will run his propaganda establishment.
I read the piece entitled: ” Seyi Makinde Changing Oyo’s Narratives Through Strong Institutions by his Chief Press Secretary and I took a long time to ponder on whether I should react to it or just pass.
I was reluctant to react to the piece simply because I had done a piece the day before, touching on the same topic the CPS discussed in his write up and honestly, I could not determine whether the CPS’ write up was a reaction to my piece of the day before.
A better part of me initially felt like just allowing Mr. Sulaimon Olanrewaju’s piece to be left to discerning minds.
However, something inside of me warned me of the danger of a repeated lies which has the potential of being admitted as the truth and the fact that discerning minds have become a rarerity in our society.
I will not enter into a negative pregnant with the CPS concerning his postulations about his observations concerning strong Institutions and Infrastructures.
I do not want my readers to be lost on a voyage of semantics.
However, I will square up with him on the couple of examples of the ” strong Institutions” he perceived are being built by his Principal and I will start from the Oyo state Anti Corruption Agency, (OYACA).
According to the CPS, OYACA amongst other responsibilities, will help Government to block leakages in revenues.
May I tell Mr. Sulaimon that Governor Seyi Makinde himself have defeated this purpose through his policies of appointing Consultants who have taken control of almost all facets of Government in Oyo state?
As we speak, all the Governing Councils of tertiary Institutions in Oyo state have been rendered horse de combat.
Their functions haven been been taken over by Consultants appointed by the Governor.
This Consultants, apart from the fact that their existence side by side with the Governing Councils constitutes illegalities, they have been severally accused by the Unions of the Instructions of collecting all manner of monies from the students and also starving the Governing Councils of funds.
Now, how does OYACA monitor and control the activities of this Consultants?
The activities of the Consultants are not limited to the Higher Institutions.
There have been complaints about the Consultants appointed to supervise OYRTMA.
There have been reported cases of how this Consultants have asked people to pay fines into all manner of accounts.
Like I said, the OYACA is a needles duplication and it can not stand the test of time.
If the genuine intention of the Governor was to block leakages in revenues, the simplest way to get it done would have been to domesticate the Treasury Single Account Bill.
This does not require the establishment of an Agency at some heavy costs.
It is just a question of policy.
How do you justify a Governor who authorized a number of Consultants to collect revenues into all manner of accounts as being genuine with the blocking of revenue leakages?
That action have defeated the essence of the establishment of the OYACA in the first place.
It is also important to note that the operations of the OYACA is not different from that of the EFCC and the ICPC apart from the fact that OYACA is even limited in scope.
So, what reasonable justifications does Governor Makinde have to the duplication of a less effective Anti corruption Agency?
Put side by side with the anticipated gains, is the establishment of the Agency justified when a simple policy position would have been more effective in blocking leakages?
The Chief Press Secretary also talked about how Governor Makinde met 1and a half University on ground and turned them to 3. Whatever he meant by that.
Let me remind Mr. Sulaimon that whatever his Principal though about LAUTECH, because I guess that is where the “half” comes from, Governor Makinde, at best, would have only a shared history with his predecessors regarding LAUTECH.
If those who established the Instruction did not conceive the idea and those predecessors of his have not built LAUTECH to the level it was, so as to be accepted by relevant authorities as an edifice that could stand on Its own, what will Governor Makinde be bragging about?
It is not even as if the process to take ownership of the Institution was commenced by him.
No matter how much Governor Seyi Makinde would love to distort facts, his case with LAUTECH is not beyond the proverbial ” a fi akara jeko to loun gbatami..”
Late former Governor Alao Akala built the College of Agriculture, Igboora from scratch.
Late Governor Ajimobi established the Technical University and today, Governor Makinde is visitor to the said Institution.
What Governor Makinde have added are the conversion of Emmanuel Alayande College of Education to a Degree awarding Institution and the relocation of some Departments in LAUTECH to Iseyin.
Emmanuel Alayande College of Education is an Institution that have been established since ages.
I do not know how Governor Makinde thinks that by merely converting the Institution to a Degree awarding Institution, then, the History of the Institution will record him as a super human being.
Governor Seyi Makinde has a penchant for edifying cosmetic things.
I am surprised his CPS left out the Light Up Oyo state Project as one of the Legacies of his Principal.
He equally forgot the world class Agbowo shopping complex.
Oh! Neither did he mention the Botswana maize that we have been exporting for the past five years.
He forgot to tell us about the young men who went on a voyage of discovery to Nassarawa state in search of Agricultural wizardry.
How those ones have flooded our markets with farm produce to the extent that Oyo is now the food basket of the Nation.
I do not know how Mr. Sulaimon would forget to tell us that Governor Makinde, as a result of his pool of wisdom which surpasses even that of Awolowo have decided to be the Chief supervisor of the Local Government Chairmen, determining how the Chairmen should spend their monthly Allocations, in fact, helping them to spend and as a result, our Local Governments now rival the city of New York.
Please, help me remind the CPS that when next he wants to discuss his Principal’s legacies, he musn’t forget to add the huge debts incurred by him, such that none of his predecessors or should I borrow Mr. Sulaimon’ s phrase, ” his predecessors lumped into one” , never had the courage to borrow.
That’s one wonderful Legacy!
It’s a pity that Governor Makinde takes people for a fool.
Someone who sold off the part of the BCOS which had been earmarked for the building of a Films village is the one pontificating about strong Institutions?
Someone who have been on a spree of selling off our GRAs?
Someone who built garages for billions of Naira and handed it over to Auxiliary?
I wonder why his CPS jumped that when he was mentioning the strong Institutions Makinde will leave behind.
I have talked about the Project Monitoring Agency Bill signed by the Governor.
It is another of his cosmetic duplications and nothing more.
I must not end this piece without asking if the dilly dallying about the approval of the Olubadan designate is another strong Institutions the Governor is building.
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
