After five hours of heartbreakingly sweaty and the ‘last of its kind’ meeting between the Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde and his cabinet members on the 30th of June, 2021, the decision to axe seventeen commissioners had already being made. And when the news hit the airwave, it send shockwaves. Of truth, nothing best explains the transient nature of power than that dissolution. Today, you are in the corridor of power, tomorrow you are kicked out via the window — and now all eyes are after those who will make it for the record second time. While news of cabinet dissolution expectedly got tongues rolling as it confirms the insider report of this newspaper three weeks ago, the sacking of the Governor’s Chief of Staff, Chief Lukman Oyebisi Ilaka however caught people off guard.
Given the ways and manner Chief Ilaka ( a London trained Lawyer and an OAU groomed accountant) handled his official duties with dexterity, relieving him was the least expected and now it has stirred some kind of political thunderbolt in the party! The aftermath may better be witnessed than imagined. Incidentally, as the quest to understand what underpins the abrupt termination of Chief Ilaka’s appointment reached its crescendo. Another news confirms that the Governor, barely a week after asking the Oyo born politician to go home announced the appointment of Hon. Segun Ogunwuyi, DG Alternative Project Funding Approach (APFA) as his replacement, laying to rest the second coming of Chief Ilaka into the Government he sweated to bring to Agodi.
Chief Bisi Ilaka is a lucky man. He was the first appointed official of this administration. His appointment on the 29th of May, 2021 served as a pacification and unification gesture to the coalition which powered the fragile People’s Democratic Party in the state to power. Sensing that a lone battle against the ruling though fractured APC is likely to end in an embarrassing defeat, the Governor, then the only formidable opposition candidate with financial war-chest entered and relied heavily on the inputs, acumen and shrewdness of opposition figures in the state. That coalition worked. And the Governor won! So, Chief Ilaka’s appointment marked the first olive branch of the new administration as it boosted the needed trust and confidence and conviviality required to smoothly run an intra-politically rancor free administration.
Other appointments such as commissioners, SAs, PAs amongst others were made in similar vein to sooth and calm the nerves of prominent opposition figures. Even the appointment of caretaker committee chairmen, though now declared null and void by the Supreme Court of Nigeria was done to assuage the feelings of the discontented politicians and shared spoils of their electoral fortune. Now those considerations are over with the axing of the commissioners and the chief of staff.
There are many reasons GSM asked majority of his cabinet members to go home. Two will suffice. One is the political evolution that has made the coalition hard and difficult to manage. The other is the performances of those cabinet members. The present PDP in Oyo state, finding shows, is as thin and vulnerable as it was pre-2019. What account for this is simply and squarely leadership failure which has failed to run an inclusive Government where all and sundry will have a fair share of the cake.
Although, inclusive governance is still a utopia in Nigeria politics especially when you are inescapably going to ruffle feathers – yet still remain the standard various political establishments across the country continue to strive towards; the inability of Oyo PDP for instance to maintain a united front after coasting home victory in the last Gubernatorial election made it susceptible to whims and caprices of the moles within the party. Which implies that the Governor’s failure to bring order and others to the table of electoral booty has marked the numerous squabble likely to mar the party chances of sailing the hurdles of next election.
In politics, there are power brokers, and in Nigeria lingo, Godfather. But the more you take their influences and exertions with pinches of salt, the more havoc they are likely to wreak in the long run. This idea of being artful and deft in managing and messaging the egos of politicians in a state like Oyo becomes even more pretty difficult when combined with the political astuteness of the populace. Past Governors who underestimated Oyo masses and the power brokers are better placed to narrate their ordeals to the Governor.
Furthermore, Oyo PDP came to power with disjointed loyalty. And various appointees of the Governor still had their political relevance tied to the apron string of their various leaders. With this, the mini loyalty crisis which should seamlessly have been nipped in the bud through persuasion and politicking started to fester. To add salt to the injury, the Governor, banking on the advice of his cabal (what’s the meaning of Governor Advisory council?) started to fire his appointees. Because now, he has the power to hire and fire at will. But forcing members of the coalition to dumped what they labored for will surely backfired. It has in the past, except the Governor takes time to lure those in the system working against the system back, the outcome is better imagined.
Quite surprisingly, loyalty may be one side of this political coin. The other seemingly subtle side is strength. Chief Ilaka, a serial Senatorial hopeful hails from Oyo, with four local government and minimal political clout. His successor, Segun Ogunwuyi is a former House of Representative member, from Ogbomosho, with five local governments and a considerable political buffet. So, take loyalty and electoral strength stares you in the face. This point becomes even more plausible with various projects planted across major towns and cities in the state by the Governor. You don’t take re-election bid serious except you have stuffs on ground to convince people that matters in places that matter.
In other words, cabinet dissolution provides ample opportunity for the Governor to take some steps back and reflect on the mistakes and gains of the past. And the appointment of new cabinet members is expected to reflect inclusiveness both politically and religiously, failure of which may clog the Governor’s wheel of re-election bid. Time surely will tell.
OYO101, Muftau Gbadegesin’s opinion on issues affecting Oyo State, is published on Saturdays. He can be reached via muftaugbadegesin@gmail.com and 09065176850.
