Equity, Fairness And Justice: Mere Words Makinde Never Followed | Alao Adeola

There are politicians who speak beautifully, and there are politicians who govern justly. Governor Seyi Makinde belongs firmly to the first category.

From the day he mounted the podium to seek the mandate of the people of Oyo State, his favourite words have been equity, fairness and justice. He repeated them in every town hall, in every interview, in every broadcast. He made them sound like a covenant. He made the people believe that a new era had come, an era where no zone would be cheated, no local government would be starved, and no promise would be abandoned.

Today, after years in office, those words stand exposed for what they truly were: mere slogans, cleverly chosen to win votes, never meant to be followed.

True equity begins at the grassroots. It begins with strong, functional and autonomous local governments that can bring development to the doorstep of the ordinary man.

Under Makinde, local government in Oyo State was systematically crippled. Elected councils were rendered powerless. Allocations meant for the grassroots were held tightly at the centre. Chairmen became errand boys, waiting for crumbs from Ibadan instead of serving their people with dignity and independence.

How can a man preach fairness and justice while he starves the third tier of government? How can he claim to love equity while he concentrates power, funds and decisions in the hands of a few at the state capital?

Local governments are supposed to fix rural roads, equip primary health centres, maintain markets, support farmers, and employ young people in their communities. Under Makinde, they could do none of these effectively, because they were deliberately weakened. That is not equity. That is centralised oppression dressed in fine agbada.

Go to Ibadan today and you will see reconstructed roads, beautification projects, and new infrastructure. Go to Ogbomoso, Oyo, Ibarapa, and Oke-Ogun, and the story changes. The same governor who promised to spread development evenly has concentrated it in one city.

Ibadan is the capital, and no one argues that it deserves development. But equity demands balance. Fairness demands that children in Igboho, Igbeti, Okeho, Eruwa, Ayete and the likes should feel the presence of government just as a child in Bodija does. Justice demands that a farmers in these neglected areas should not have to travel to Ibadan to enjoy good roads and basic amenities.

Makinde’s Oyo is an Oyo of one city and many forgotten towns. The rural areas were used for votes and abandoned after elections. That is not leadership. That is political cunning.

What did he not promise? He promised to fix education holistically. Schools in the hinterlands still lack standard classrooms, furniture, and basic facilities.

He promised to empower farmers and make Oyo the food basket of the Southwest. Farmers still cry over bad roads, lack of support, and insecurity.

He promised transparent governance. What the people got was a government run like a private enterprise, where decisions are taken behind closed doors and accountability is a stranger.

Promise after promise, he broke them with a smile. He is a master of public relations, always appearing gentle, always sounding reasonable, while the reality on ground tells a different story.

Many people criticised the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi. He had his faults, and no one denies that. But even his harshest critics will admit that Ajimobi had a vision for infrastructure and did not pretend to be what he was not.

Makinde, by contrast, presented himself as the humble, listening, equitable leader, the messiah from the private sector. In practice, he has done worse. He weaponised the language of equity to disarm the people, then governed with even greater centralisation and neglect.

Ajimobi was blunt. Makinde is cunning. And cunning is more dangerous, because it deceives the people while it robs them.

Now, the same man wants to be President of Nigeria. Let it be said clearly: his presidential ambition is dead on arrival.

How can a man who could not deliver equity in one state promise equity to a nation of over 200 million people? How can a man who crippled 33 local governments claim he will strengthen Nigeria’s federalism? How can a man who concentrated development in one city claim he will develop all 36 states fairly?

Nigerians are watching. The Southwest is watching. Oyo State is watching. The people who were deceived once will not be deceived twice.

The presidency is not a reward for fine speeches and carefully managed media appearances. It is a trust for those who have proven that fairness is not just in their mouth, but in their actions.

Equity, fairness and justice are not campaign slogans. They are sacred principles of governance. When a leader uses them as mere words to climb to power and then abandons them in office, he betrays the people.

Makinde has betrayed that trust. He crippled the local governments. He concentrated development in Ibadan. He broke his promises. History will remember him not as the governor of equity, but as the cunning politician who used equity as a ladder and kicked it away after climbing.

Oyo State deserves better. Nigeria deserves better.