When the Oyo state House of Assembly purportedly ” suspended” Sola Oluokun, Chairman of Oyo East Local Government Council last week, I was certain that the action was not only face saving, it was deceitful and only meant to divert public attention.
I deliberately refrained from making my feelings public at the time, because, these days, when you go up against Governor Makinde, you must anticipate and prepare for both his official and diehard unofficial mouthpieces.
I thought about how to expose the treachery of both the Governor and the House of Assembly and came up with a counter attacking strategy.
I praised the Governor and the House of Assembly and demanded that they should follow up on ” the good job” by commencing investigations on certain failed, abandoned and controversial contract awards.
I remember listing three different projects which were awarded to the younger brother of the Speaker, a young man named Toyese Ogundoyin.
The three projects have been abandoned for years.
I called on the Speaker to investigate his younger brother for various reasons which were listed in the piece.
I equally called on the House of Assembly, through the Speaker, to investigate the contract for the #28 billion Light Up Oyo, which the Governor himself admitted had failed in just less than a year after the contract was delivered.
I reminded the Speaker that the Governor had earlier promised to investigate the contractor and since it is taking till eternity for Governor Makinde to tell the public what the results of his investigations revealed, it would not be out of place for the House to step in and do Its oversight duties.
I also listed the contract for the procurement of exercise books which was given to a particular voiceferous Broadcaster in Ibadan who goes about telling anyone who cares that he is a ” stakeholder” in Governor Makinde’s Government, whatever that means.
I reminded the Speaker also that Governor Makinde promised to investigate the allegations bothering on the breach of Oyo state procurements Law and the outrageous cost of the contract as was raised by a non governmental organization. I reminded the Speaker that the Governor as usual, hasn’t fulfilled the promises to look into the allegations.
I remember that the Governor characteristically, promised to resign as Governor if the allegations were true.
When I raised those issues, I never expected both the Governor and Debo Ogundoyin to be bold or reckless enough to act on the request.
At best, I thought they would just look at the write up, or perhaps, just the headline, hiss and wrinkle their noses.
Unfortunately, by ignoring such a request, they have just exposed their double standards against Oluokun.
What is good for the Goose must be sweet for the Gander.
When I wrote the piece about Oluokun, I raised some issues which Governor Makinde must have thought would be swept away immediately the hapless fellow was suspended.
Oluokun claimed in the video that got him into trouble that he was abroad.
With whose resources did he go abroad to eat rice and beans or whatever he was seen eating in the video?
Or, someone wants to tell me that ” Iya l’Aduke”, it was, who was so generous to have provided the funds for Oluokun to travel with.
Exactly what was the purpose of the travel? Personal or official, because no one should tell me it was related to health issues? Sick people don’t sing like that.
Who gave approval for the Chairman to travel and on what grounds because, if I’m not wrong, a Local Government Chairman can not travel outside the Country without the approval of the Governor.
I think they know some of us would know that the man couldn’t have traveled without approval, that is why they hinged his suspension on the ground that he was filming himself half naked.
Let us now leave Oluokun for now. The poor fellow has been sacrificed for bigger characters to save their faces.
However, I must say that the Governor has not done himself any good by just suspending the Oyo East Local Government Chairman when he would not submit himself to the same process that saw to the suspension of the fellow.
I know that the decision to even do what he did to the suspended Chairman must have been extremely difficult for him considering the rumored influence of Iya l’Aduke over him.
However, both himself and Debo Ogundoyin just committed another unforced error by that action.
The ” aja mo omo tie fun lomu, o mo todu oya ki mole” strategy will not avail both the Governor and the Speaker.
In fact, the culpability of Oluokun is child’s play compared to the issues around the failed contracts awarded to Toyese Ogundoyin and the unpleasant circumstances surrounding the contracts for the Light Up Oyo and the exercise books by the Governor.
I have said it repeatedly. Governor Makinde’s ” said” and ” done” are always at variance.
Just recently, he declared that Media practitioners ought to be holding those in public offices accountable.
Does he genuinely believe in such statements? Ofcourse, no.
The totality of his actions doesn’t say so.
We have kept asking for the debts profile of the state from the Governor and he has refused to tell the public.
He publicly declared that the contract he personally awarded at the cost of #28 billion failed within a year that the job was delivered.
He also went further to say that he would conduct an investigation to determine why the contract failed.
Sadly, up till today, Governor Makinde has not given the citizens of Oyo state, whose resources he committed to the ” failed project” any report of his* investigation “.
This was an investigation he promised about four years ago.
Similarly, serious allegations were raised concerning the award of contract for the procurement of exercise books to a self acclaimed ” stakeholder” of his Government.
There were allegations concerning the breach of the Oyo state procurement Laws and the incredibly high cost of the exercise books.
Despite the promises made by the Governor to investigate the matter, nothing has been heard by the public concerning this unfortunate incident.
Now, when it was the turn of Oluokun, the action was swift and fast.
If it was good for Oluokun, why is it not good for Toyese Ogundoyin and the Governor?
As for the Speaker, I use to feel so sad any time I have to write about him.
I thought when he was asked to suspend Oluokun for face saving measures, his conscience should have pricked him to wonder whether himself and his younger brother have not done something worse.
I have no pity for Oluokun. Oun to je lo yo. ( He is suffering from the consequences of his indiscretions).
However, as a young man, I thought Debo should have taken a pause all this while.
The major roads within the Eruwa Community have been awarded to your younger brother and same have been abandoned for years, thus, causing untold hardships to the people.
I am sure that the young man has deleberately cut himself off from every means of getting honest feedback from the community.
From what I know, he has removed himself from every WhatsApp Groups linked to Eruwa and the Ibarapa Communities because he could not stand the audacity of his Constituents to tell him the truth.
So, what do you expect? ” Omo to so Ile nu, o so apo iya ko. ( A child who deliberately abandoned his kinsmen is curting future disaster).
To his credit, I think no one can doubt the fact that he would go down on record as the Speaker who helped a Governor to plunge a state into monumental debts.
That in itself is a record on its own.
Except Governor Makinde and Debo Ogundoyin act on the issues raised, they must cover their faces in shame.
I wonder how many people they will sacrifice to cover their own dirty tracks.
One thing is certain, if not now, but definitely later, some people will frantically scale the fences of their homes when the men in red come knocking.
It’s just a matter of time.
SOLA ABEGUNDE.
