Did you know that the executive governor of Oyo State Engr. Seyi Makinde has an elder brother who is a lawyer? Did you also know that this his brother is in Olubadan line? In case you don’t know, we can tell you authoritatively that Barr. Olumuyiwa Makinde is Engr. Seyi Makinde’s immediate elder brother and a renowned legal practitioner.
The easy-going, gentle but highly disciplined Muyiwa has not only been able to carve a niche for himself in the legal practice, but has also earned the respect of his people, as the head and representative (Mogaji) of Aigbofa Compound, Oja’ba, Ibadan.
Little wonder the Popoyemoja Palace of Olubadan of Ibadan land Oba Saliu Adetunji Aje Ogungunniso 1, was besieged by family, friends and well wishers two weeks ago, as Barr. Muyiwa Makinde was promoted to the position of Jagun Olubadan of Ibadan land, in Otun line. Which is the first step and positions him to becoming Olubadan in future. Barr. Makinde, no doubt, is a hard-working and a successful lawyer. He is the Principal Partner at Olumuyiwa Makind & Co.
The Makindes are all well brought up, hard-working and successful. They come from a very humble, Christian background. The five of them; 4 boys and a girl are all doing wonderfully well in their various chosen careers. Engr. Seyi Makinde, the current governor of Oyo State is seasoned engineer with a distinct records; his immediate elder brother Muyiwa is a lawyer; their younger brother Omololu Makinde is also an engineer and a pastor. While the only girl of the family is a businesswoman.
Apart from being humble, Makinde brothers have another thing in common, football. They all love and played football through their primary and secondary school days. Especially Engr. Seyi Makinde, he is said to be a great footballer back in the days. In fact, he almost took it as a career. Another interesting thing about the Makindes is that, doggedness, humility, simplicity and being hardworking run in the family. They were trained to be focused and self-reliance.
This could be clearly seen in their story; their father, Late Pa Olatunbosun Makinde was meant to be a meat seller at their village, Ajia but refused to be hindered by his condition then. He went on to become a chartered banker and later a businessman. So also is their mother, Madam Abigail Makinde. She once worked at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan as an interpreter. She later joined the service of Oyo State Government and worked at the State’s Schools Board as a phone operator. Where she meritoriously served and retired. While their parents’ stories are interesting, Governor Seyi Makinde’s own story, however, is more fasinating. For a guy from such a humble beginnings to have made it to the top of his career and become a billionaire and now a governor speaks volume about his upbringing.
After his education at St Paul Primary School and St Michael Primary School, Yemetu, Ibadan. His secondary education was at Bishop Phillips Academy, Monatan, Ibadan. In 1985, he gained admission to the University of Lagos (UNILAG), where he bagges his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
In 1998, Seyi Makinde trained at Industrial Control Services in Houston, Texas on Safety Shutdown System; and Development of Analytical Competence for Managing Operations at Lagos Business School (now Pan-Atlantic University) in 1999.
In 2000, he had training in Automation. In 2002, he studied Fundamentals of Crude Sampling at Jiskoot Auto Control Training Centre, Kent, England. Also, in 2005, he studied Understanding and Solving Complex Business Problems at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA.
He established his first oil and gas private business called Makon Engineering and Technical Services, (METS) at the age of 29 in the year 1997, after earning years of work experience with some international oil and gas companies. And today, Makon Group has grown to become a multi-billion naira business venture, with branches across South Africa, United Kingdom and US.
Before becoming governor of Oyo State, Makinde has also paid his dues in politics. He contested twice for Senate, first in 2007 on the platform of the All Nigeria People’s Party and in 2011 when he vied for the ticket of PDP.
In 2015, he emerged the guber candidate of the Social Democratic Party but lost the election. He however picked his pieces together and come back in 2019, when he eventually won the guber race. But even before then, Seyi Makinde has won the hearts of many in the state. Because without holding an elective post, he had been creating jobs through various youth empowerment programmes. He has always been there for the widows and the downtrodden in the society. He built blocks of classrooms for his alma mater, Bishop Philips Academy and equipped it with ICT and also donated a 5KVA generating set to power them.
He has sunk boreholes at various communities across the state and sponsors pilgrims to both Mecca and Jerusalem on a yearly basis. In 2011, Makinde constructed a gas powered turbine to generate independent powey for his village, Ajia. In fact, his philanthropic gesture and contributions towards society and human development are just too numerous to mention.
– DARE ADENIRAN
