Twenty-four hours ago, Prof. Daud Sangodoyin didn’t know he was going to be redeployed. He is a friend of Seyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State. He coordinated Omi Titun Initiative in Diaspora for Makinde. He was president of Oodua Descendants Association in Botswana. If you hear Makinde traveling to Botswana, Sangodoyin is on the entourage. OYOINSIGHT.COM understands that he was living and teaching in the country before Makinde won his election. Nobody raised eyebrow when the professor of statistics was drafted to education ministry.
Until yesterday, many had thought he was untouchable. Unknown to many, Makinde, before traveling out of the state yesterday, had instructed the Secretary to the State Government, Olubamiwo Adeosun, to swap Sangodoyin’s position with that of his establishment and training counterpart, Olasunkanmi Aremu Olaleye.
Nobody saw it coming. Sources close to Makinde said it came to them as a surprise, adding that some aides of the governor who are not doing well have started developing cold feet.
Though a release from the governor’s media team described it as a minor cabinet reshuffle, Sangodoyin and Olaleye would swap positions.
His redeployment, which many see as a demotion, could not be unconnected to the alleged collection of N3, 000 levy from students by the management of Queens School Apata, Ibadan. This was after Makinde had ordered stoppage of N3,000 imposed on students during the administration of former governor Abiola Ajimobi. This, OYOINSIGHT.COM learnt, angered Makinde as it is contrary to the free education policy of his administration. Though the leadership of the Parents Teachers Association, PTA, has said that they came up with the levy voluntarily to assist the school in recruiting more teachers.
Another source who did not want name mentioned told OYOINSIGHT.COM that Makinde has never been satisfied with the performance of Sangodoyin as education commissioner. “Imagine, the major achievements of this administration were through the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB. At a point, a former deputy governor of Ekiti State and governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2018, Prof. Abiodun Kolapo, had to come in as a consultant to the ministry. And you know education is one of the focal points of the Makinde administration.”
Sangodoyin, who was once lecturer at the University of Ibadan, UI, obtained his B.Sc.,M.Sc. and Ph.D degrees from the UI and was the first lecturer to be promoted to the rank of full professor of Statistics at the University of Botswana.
