All kinds of meanings have been read to why the Oyo State governor, Engr. ‘Seyi Makinde and a popular human rights activist, Sunday Adeyemo aka ‘Sunday Igboho’ are no longer in good terms.
While some believe firmly in Sunday Igboho’s struggle to liberate Yorubas from those terrorizing them, others see the whole thing as political and a way of achieving political gains.
It is a known fact that both Makinde and Igboho used to be very close before now. As a matter of fact, Makinde is said to be the one who commissioned Igboho’s recently burnt house at Soka area of Ibadan in 2013. He didn’t only commission the house, he went a bit further by supplying a 500KVA Transformer to the street where the house is located.
Sunday Igboho’s roles, before, during and after the 2019 governorship election in Oyo State in which Makinde emerged the winner are still fresh in people’s minds. He, Igboho was very visible in Makinde’s campaigns. People can’t also forget in a hurry how Igboho stormed Kogi State alongside Governor Seyi Makinde for governorship election rerun. Unfortunately, their friendship has gone sour. The recent happenings in the case of the clash between Fulani herdsmen and farmers at Ayete in Ibarapa land are good proof of that.
Not even Governor Seyi Makinde’s stern warning could stop Igboho from carrying out his threat of evicting the Seriki Fulani in the aforementioned town. Igboho didn’t only storm Ayete but also made sure the Seriki was chased away from the area at the expiration of the seven days ultimatum. Governor Makinde’s position on the issue was very clear, as he insisted that Sunday Igboho has no right whatsoever to serve an eviction notice on anybody irrespective of their tribe. That, perhaps, explained why he gave an order for anybody fomenting trouble to be arrested.
While Igboho claimed Governor Makinde was working against his good gesture to liberate his people from the Fulani herdsmen, some see his actions as an affront to Makinde’s office as governor of the State. For many days, the issue was a hot topic on both social and traditional media. Even till now, the dust raised by the issue has refused to go away. So bad was the situation that Igboho was seen openly attacking Governor Makinde, as well as other Yoruba leaders in several videos. While some are with Sunday Igboho on this matter, however, others believe there is more to it. They see it as more political being a genuine course.
This school of thought want to believe that Sunday Igboho is only bitter for not being included in the scheme of things.
There was even this claim that he wanted to be made the Amotekun Commander in the State. Some also said Sunday Igboho was eyeing Oyo State Park Managers’ job which was eventually given to Mukaila Auxiliary. This they claimed was responsible for the recent confrontation between Igboho and Auxiliary boys around Soka. If not that it was quickly checked the situation would have generated into a bigger crisis.
Though all these claims have been totally denied by Igboho. He has been telling whoever cares to listen that he is not interested in Amotekun managers’ job. That his struggle has no political undertone and not money induced but a genuine course to liberate the Yoruba Nation.
However, another school of thought wants to believe that Sunday Igboho’s strained relationship with Governor Seyi Makinde may be unconnected with the former governor Rashidi Ladoja. They believe there are still political misunderstandings between Ladoja and Makinde despite the several denials, which, according to them, may have taken a ripple effect on Makinde and Igboho relationship.
Of course, it is a well-known fact that Ladoja remains Igboho’s leader and mentor. In fact, Igboho, in an interview, was quoted to have said that it was Chief Adewolu Ladoja who convinced him to work for Makinde in the 2019 election.
It is also public knowledge that the accord between Governor Makinde and some other political parties, including Ladoja’s ZLP has broken down. Some of the parties involved have accused Governor Makinde of not fulfilling the agreement reached by the coalition shortly before the 2019 governorship election.
The recent crisis that erupted within the Oyo Zenith Labour Party is a great testament to the fact that all may not be well between Ladoja and Makinde. As some members of ZLP pledged their support for Makinde and officially decamped to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
But surprisingly, the camp loyal to Ladoja claimed that they were not aware of such development. The party’s Chairman that led the other camp to PDP has since been sacked and replaced by the Ladoja group.
A few days back, Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said that he will not allow himself to be dragged in the mud by some reactionary elements within the Southwest Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP adding that PDP has moved from the era of allowing reactionary elements within its fold to have great authority or influence over the party’s activities.
The Governor said this earlier today while briefing the press on the happenings within the PDP National Working Committee as it relates to the upcoming Southwest zonal Congress of the party.
The Governor revealed that the Southwest caucus of the party held its meeting in Ibadan on Tuesday and reaffirmed the zoning arrangement for the positions of the Southwest zonal executives with each state expected to come up with a unity list to take to the Congress.
Gov Makinde, however, said that, on Wednesday, he heard of disturbing news that the national working committee is planning to postpone the Southwest zonal Congress because some people went to court to complain about the venue of the congress.
Speaking on the court case, Makinde said, “Maybe in the past, it’s possible for elements within PDP to collude with the national working committee to file cases where they are the plaintiff, the defendant and they also try to corrupt the judicial system in Nigeria.
That will never be allowed again because this is a PDP that is getting ready to take the mantle of leadership in this country and we want to provide leadership that is above board for the country and we cannot be seen within PDP to do something that will compromise any aspect of governance in Nigeria.
“I specifically put a notice that the national legal adviser of PDP has not done well.
“How can you file a case and then you instruct legal representation for the plaintiff and also for the defendant? I don’t think that is acceptable.
“And we expect the national working committee of the party to deal with that decisively.”
And finally, we are ready in the Southwest PDP to have a Congress that will produce the zonal executives that are acceptable to the majority of the people of Southwest Nigeria.”
Commenting on the dispute between him and the Former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose, the Oyo state governor said, “I do not really have anything to say about people because small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, we want to talk about issues.
So if there are issues, we will address them and when individuals decide to go low, we won’t follow them to that depth. So if there are issues, yes alternative dispute resolution mechanisms exist within the PDP and that is being explored right now.
When quizzed about the efforts being made to reconcile all aggrieved members of the People’s Democratic Party under the same umbrella, Gov Makinde said that alternative dispute resolution measures are being deployed to make sure that alignment is sought in order to ensure growth and development.
He however debunked rumours of Former Governor Ladoja convening a reconciliatory meeting between him and Fayose. He said, “In terms of any reconciliation meeting there has been nothing like that. I haven’t had any meeting with Baba Ladoja. I think it is just rumours flying about, there is nothing like that.”
He however reiterated that the party will fight reactionary elements within its fold bent on taking the party back to an era that should have been forgotten about.
“ Politics is about conflict and conflict resolution but within those conflicting ideas and positions, you seek alignment and try to push in a positive direction, that is what brings growth and development and that is exactly what we will continue to do for our party and for our state and country and if the NWC decided to postpone the zonal Congress for a reason that is acceptable to everybody, we will work with them but if they are toeing the path of “arrange”, I think Nigeria has moved beyond that, that will mean they are taking back to an era that we should have forgotten about in this country.
Even if they do, there are some of us in that party that we are bent on taking the party to take its rightful position to get the party ready for the leadership of the country and we will fight those reactionary elements until they are defeated within the party”, he concluded.
–Dare Adeniran
