Seyi Makinde: This Road Leads To Golgotha | Minkail Olaitan

There is such a thing as compound interest, and my first encounter with the term must have been in one of Mrs Ajayi’s classes. Mrs Ajayi was my mathematics teacher, a tall, light skinned, and soft-spoken woman. Her demeanour at the time was the direct opposite of the typical stern and unsparing attributes of Nigerian mathematics teachers. It was in her class that I first learned the term, and later in Mr Adesoye’s fascinating Further Mathematics class. Ever since, the concept of compound interest has manifested in all aspects of life with increasing force—especially in politics, society, and systems of reward.

In politics, the term could mean two things: the hour of reckoning or a glorious reward. Regardless of the direction it takes, it does not come like a thief in the night. It comes at daybreak, with either a cudgel or a largesse of good tidings. The increasing bluffs of Governor Seyi Makinde in recent days are the apparent signatures of impending days of judgement on his administration. Except this time, the harbingers appear in quick succession and in a style the Yoruba call “Sise Sise” (self-injurious actions).

Psychoanalysts’ experiments have shown that people who speak so little and often connive with silence may be wise and strategic, but it can also mean deep-seated arrogance—a marked sign of manipulators. In the case of the Oyo State Governor, the latter seems to be his true identity rather than a calm, collected outlook—a fallacy that has been peddled about him for years. Meanwhile, the compounding force does not respect a fabricated identity. It reaches to the core of the persona beyond where political branding can cover.

For over seven years, Governor Seyi Makinde refused to properly empower the local governments because, according to him, he does not believe in the idea of local government. Hence the enslavement of the local-government executives and their debasement into a status of “stipend-receiving appendages.” Had his insistence translated into the progressive development of the local government areas across the state, one would easily have imagined that Mr Governor indeed had no trust in the system and had decided to embark on a more pragmatic strategy to reach the grassroots. However, it appears Makinde’s intention has always been to employ the local chairmen and tighten his clutch on their scrotums while demanding that they must not shout for help.

It comes across as rather shocking news when the “Oyo Don,” who is known for his vehement opposition to local-government autonomy, earmarked a whopping ₦4.1 billion on a local-government election. The move is not only absurd; the timing is fundamentally wrong (that is, if he later comes out to renounce his disbelief in the local system) and, most interestingly, it conflicts with the identity he has spent years building on the plane of silent arrogance. Arrogance, because it is a height of pride to remove the closest arm of government to the masses, believing that Agodi’s decisions will reach every nook and cranny.

The perfect picture for this situation is the River Nile. While no one can reduce the significance of the great river to a soundbite, one must also understand that, as sufficient as the River Nile is, without constructing secondary waterways directed to the inner cities, many will die of drought. Truly pragmatic leaders, such as the former Governor of Oyo State, Otunba Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, understood the importance, which is why he introduced a tertiary organ of government called “Super”. This is similar to what President Bola Ahmed Tinubu implemented as Lagos State Governor when he divided the local governments into LCDAs — to ensure that the dividends of governance are spread widely and comprehensively to the grassroots.

When one interrogates the conscience of Governor Seyi Makinde through the obvious patterns, it is clear that the original agenda is not only to siphon public funds, but, much more likely, to weave his way out of the treacherous acts and decisions he has spent his administrative years making. Yet the more his so-called value system falls apart, the more his political rainbow gown fades in the sun of scrutiny, and integrity collapses into shambles. It is written somewhere: “Makinde would rather sell the state to sponsor an APM candidacy than empower the councils.” The truth is that he made a fundamental error earlier on — confusing the ethos of statehood with his personal affairs. His pursuit of personal glory is leading him down the slaughterhouse.

On APM campaign grounds recently, Governor Makinde grabbed the microphone. But rather than dazzling his supporters and Nigerians with his agenda, he bluffed again. First, he accepted that the state’s allocation from the federal government had increased; then he slammed himself against the ashen ground of logic by insisting that poverty has still not reduced in the state. This is the man whose most befitting identity is “Ibadan Governor” — the same man who cuts and channels every public fund to one source. Mr Governor must have needed Mr Adesoye, my Further Mathematics teacher, to remind him of the truth about compound interest.

Best guess: he would tell Mr Governor that nothing happens in a vacuum. The obliteration of local government, the exclusive focus on Ibadan, the hoarding of the increased state allocation and other intervention funds are contributing factors to the compounding poverty. While these capital flaws are still unravelling, the Don came with a puppet to further his heinous, self-centred, manipulative and hedonistic political affairs. The best thing Oyo citizens can say at this moment is, “Satan, be gone.”

It is possible to attempt to shrug off this truth by blithely assuming something rosy for Governor Seyi Makinde on his way to Golgotha. However, in Jesus’s case it was a lamb taken to the slaughter; in Makinde’s pathetic case, it is a scapegoat slouching headlong towards the guillotine.

Minkail Olaitan is a graduate of History and International Studies, an author and creative writer. Contact him via Gmail: olaitanminkail@gmail.com