When a married man is unable to perform his duties on ” za oza room”, he’s deemed to be an Okobo, the impotent,in Yoruba Land.
There is an interesting analogy about the Okobo.
It goes like this, the Okobo, instead of doing the needful with his newly wedded bride, will choose to thread needles.
” Ohun a ni ki okobo bo, ko le boo, igba abere lo nbo lookun”.
I saw a piece which centred on Governor Seyi Makinde’s recent News Letter.
The title of the piece in itself aroused curiosities but I must admit that I didn’t have the urge to read through but on a second thought, I decided to see how the story goes and I’m happy that I did.
The piece is titled ” Fuel Price Hike: Our Decision Will Be People Oriented -Makinde”.
If you are a critical thinker, you will see where my initial reluctance came from.
Governor Seyi Makinde is not the Petroleum Minister and neither is he the Chairman of the NNPCL, so, where would he come from to take ” people oriented” decisions regarding Fuel Price Hike?
At best, he could take a few steps to see to the welfare of the civil servants, something many of his colleagues have been doing without making any fuss about it.
Recently, Governor Babajide Sanwoolu of Lagos state announced some measures to assist civil servants during this hard times.
The Lagos state Governor is known for his prompt responses in such situations and he took steps without self aggrandizing.
Now, when I took my time to read through the story itself, I discovered that the message therein, as usual, are jabs, directed in the direction of Aso Rock Villa.
When you see statements like, ” may we never lose real hope”. You should know who is being referred to.
I am also curious about a particular book that Governor Makinde claimed he is reading.
The said book is titled ” The situation room- The inside stories of presidents in crisis”.
Governor Seyi Makinde is a very very clever individual.
I hope the reader knows that some individuals are dangerously clever.
When he talked about ” loss of real hope”, from the background of the hike in the price of petrol, it is clear that the Governor has found his voice once again.
The current hardships brought about by the unjustified hike in the price of petrol has provided another opportunity for Governor Makinde to push aside his failures and ineptitudes and attack the president as he often do.
I do not blame him. How do you blame someone, who, having finished a bowl of Amala and egusi soup, which he never labored to prepare and after the delicious meal, slept off, forgetting to wash his hands? The one you blame is the one who prepared the sumptuous meal.
” Ko si lowo eni to je Amala ti o sanwo, eni to fi egusi se nama ni o kare”.
I will not blame Governor Makinde for two reasons.
First, if the Federal Government had not created the avenues for Governor Makinde to keep going after it, there wouldn’t be nothing for him to use as an excuse for his incenssant attacks.
Secondly, if president Bola Ahmed Tinubu had not thrown away his own men to embrace a stranger, where would the stranger get the mouth to call him names?
As if we were not here when the same Governor Seyi Makinde and his colleagues of the G-5 fame shot down the presidential candidate of their own party, the PDP in favor of the same Bola Ahmed Tinubu he is now vilifying.
Were we not here when Governor Makinde abandoned his duties here in Oyo state and turned the Aso Rock Villa to his second home immediately Tinubu was sworn in as president?
Did Governor Makinde not said that he would keep going to Aso Rock until he ” collects everything that belongs to Oyo state as of rights”?
Has he finished collecting the rights of Oyo state and decided to treat Aso Rock as he did with those who brought him to power in 2019?
Or is it that, in demanding for those ” rights”, he overstepped his bounds and was properly put in his place by Aso Rock?
Whatever is responsible for the sour relationship between Makinde and Aso Rock is not my headache.
After all, no matter what is between two concubines is sure to end in a disaster. ” Ija lo ngbeyin ale”.
My only problem is that Governor Makinde should not come around here and pull some wools over our faces and present himself as a champion of the masses just because those in Abuja has consistently been playing into his hands.
He has his own questions to answer and we will make sure that he stays on his lane to answer those questions.
His presidential ambition is no longer a secret.
He will have ample time to expose Tinubu but now, he must remove the logs in his own eyes and allow Nigerians to deal with Tinubu.
About the book he has been reading, I hope he is doing so with a view to borrowing a leaf on how to deal with the plethora of failures characterizing his Educational, Agricultural and environmental policies.
I hope he is reading the book to fashion out a way to stop committing the state into further debts and gathering knowledge on how to allow Local Governments to run without illegal and undue interference from him?
I believe he must have gathered enough information on how to deal with the Agbowo shopping complex, the failed Light Up Oyo project and the debts he incurred for the Local Governments?
I believe he must have read about how to improve the security situation in town.
I thought he would have comforting words for the family of his ally who was reported kidnapped in Ibadan? If he did, it wasn’t captured in the piece I read.
Although, Governor Makinde doesn’t usually talk about such situations.
When kidnappers ran rampage in Maya market some months ago and about ten people were killed, I did not hear anything from the Governor.
Similarly, when his former Chairman of the Parks Management System led thugs to Eruwa in 2021 during the Local Government Election and four people died as a result of the violence caused and perpetuated by Auxiliary and his thugs, Governor Makinde was mum about the ugly situation till today.
We will definitely ensure that the Governor stays on line and explain to the people of Oyo state about what has happened to the palliatives he has collected from the same president he is vilifying.
We will demand for explanations on how much Oyo state got as Loan from the over N500B facilitated by the Federal Government.
We thank Governor Makinde for his diligence to expose the fact that the said fund is not a grant but a Loan.
However, that is not the end of the matter. How much did he receive on behalf of the state and what has happened to the money?
While Governor Makinde was enjoying himself abroad, some of his colleagues have resolved the issue of the new National minimum wage.
In fact, Adamawa state has commenced payment.
This is a matter Governor Makinde should have left the Acting Governor to resolve while playing Pickleball games and enjoying himself abroad..
I hope Governor Makinde knows that the citizens do not have the patience for his game of if I can’t catch him, I will enchant his foot prints he is playing with Abuja.
If his effigy is bent on taking a bath at the stream, he should throw his hats in the ring for the presidential contest, but this is definitely not the appropriate time.
It is only those who have a full belly that engages in the ” bekun bekun” game.
There is hunger in Oyo state and not only Tinubu is to blame.
SOLA ABEGUNDE
