Connect with us

Opinion

Circumstantial evidence says it’s murder, sir!

Published

5 years ago

on

(A factionalized – fact and fiction – account of murder in a hotel)

Media frenzy over the death of Tim Goke, a 37-year old man whose remains were found in a hotel, had been very huge and unsettling. As Police Detective and Head of its Legal Division, Muhammadu Kura sat on the swivel chair in his office at Kam Salem Police Headquarters this Wednesday afternoon, he reflected on his encounter with the Inspector General of Police about 40 hours back. The media had literally dragged the IG off his fanny to begin to take drastic actions. 

The social media had already given its own judgment, hanging accused persons on the crucifix. It alleged a cover up in the offing by top echelon of the police, in cahoots with the accused, about seven of them. A section of the media even claimed that the owner of the hotel, one Chief Adetayo Ola, was a political godson of one of the bigwigs in Nigeria’s ruling party. In an apparent move to deflect the arrows being daily shot at the police, the IG had summoned Kura to his office and literally threw the huge file that contained all the investigated details of the death at him.

As Kura wondered what this whole drama was all about, the Inspector General had thundered in a baritone:  “The President of the Republic has been inundated with calls about this case. There are allegations that we wanted to cover up evil doers.

Pathologists have said that Tim Goke probably died of natural causes and we won’t have a case against the accused in court. Kura, you are a wizard in criminal law, apart from being one of the best detectives police in Nigeria today. I am interested in charging the accused to court. Go through the file and give me your recommendation in 48 hours. Thank you and have a good day.”

Muhammadu Kura was indeed police’s best investigator and lawyer. With a Master’s degree in Criminology from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, the 42-year old Kanuri-born Superintendent of Police was also a lawyer, his turf being Criminal Law. He had spent the last 40 hours literally fasting but smoking like a chimney. He pored through the huge file of documents, acquainting himself with the facts of the case and making notes. As he sat on the swivel chair, beads of sweat stubbornly glided from his bushy head, making a puddle on his table, even as the air conditioner whooshed like a silent accomplice. At a point, Kura stood up, headed for his pack of Marlboro cigarettes, selected one and with an unruly hand, gummed one on his flabby lips and lit it up. He took an urgent drag, puffed a huge pall of smoke out which hit the ceiling as if in a rebellious slap.

From his jukebox sang Jamaican reggae music idol, Bob Marley’s Small Axe track. Kura intensified his smoking as he listened to the song which seemed to instigate him to want to get to the bottom of the investigation. Marley’s voice, as if specifically ministering to him, wafted into his ears: “Why boasteth thyself, Oh, evil men//Playing smart And not being clever?//Oh no, I said, you’re working iniquity//To achieve vanity//But the goodness of Jah, Jah I-dureth forever//If you are the big tree//We are the small axe//Sharpened to cut you down…Ready to cut you down//These are the words//Of my master, keep on tellin’ me//No weak heart//Shall prosper…//And whosoever diggeth a pit, Lord//Shall fall in it, shall fall in it//Whosoever diggeth a pit//Shall bury in it, shall bury in it…”

The facts of Tim’s death were already in the public domain. A postgraduate student of a university in the town where he was allegedly killed, he had lodged in the hotel named Valley. In a very curious twist, the hotel management had made all attempts to hide the fact of his lodgment with it. It was only when police investigations found this out that the receptionist, the first suspect in the case, and other accomplices, led police officers to a bush where Tim was buried. This led to the arrest of the alleged accomplices and owner of the hotel, Chief Adetayo with huge allegations made that Tim might have been used for rituals. The alibi of the receptionist suspect and other alleged accomplices was that, they had found Tim dead early in the morning of the second day of his lodgment and had spirited his corpse to the outskirts of the city to hide linkage of his death to the hotel.

Kura then brought out a copy of the autopsy report conducted on Tim’s body and began to examine it. Three pathologists and four other medical experts participated in the four-hour autopsy that took place in the Department of Morbid Anatomy of the University Teaching Hospital of the state where the death took place. The report claimed that Tim died of ‘severe trauma’ but that medicine could not ascertain the cause of death because his remains were at advanced stage of decomposition. However, Tim’s internal and external organs were said to be untouched. The reports however said that the femur of the deceased was found to have had a “sub-capital fracture.”

For almost an hour, the top police officer ruminated on the autopsy report. While medicine doubted the cause of Tim’s death, Kura wondered if law could doubt why he died. The first point of attraction for him was the broken femur of Tim’s body. What could have led to the fracture? Granted that pathologists claimed that the internal and external organs of the deceased were untouched, were they aware that in the occultic world, the blood of the victim was as germane to rituals more than any other part? He remembered he had read about rituals involving blood which have been in existence for many centuries which still lingered into the 21st century. 

Five hundred years ago, the Aztecs, a Mesoamerican people who flourished in central Mexico during the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521.were involved in blood rituals between 1376 and 1521 AD. They sacrificed blood as offering to the Sun God. To them, death was part of life, just like birth. By spilling blood meant for rituals, they believed that the gods would compensate them by giving them bountiful crop yields, healthy and long lives. In India, it is believed that the individuals receiving shed blood are given more time to live by the gods. Thus, in Africa too, many engage in rituals so that they could have long life, prosperity and wellbeing. With these in mind, Kura wondered why the pathologists failed to see a probable nexus between the broken femur where blood could have been drained and the cause of the killing of Tim.

He instantly remembered a murder case that the police handled in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State in August, 2017. A 73-year-old pensioner, Mrs. Adetutu Ajayi, was killed at her residence, No 10, Moferere, Ajilosun area by unknown assailants. Upon killing her, while they made away with her fingers, her blood was drained and taken away in her own bucket. Ajayi was daughter of a former Accountant General of the Old Western Region, Mr. Samuel Sotoowa.

Still puffing crazily at his cigarette, Kura walked to the bookshelf in his office and brought out one of his text books on Criminal Law. He flipped the pages to a section called Circumstantial Evidence and began to read like one readying for an examination. The case that came to his attention was Adepetu v The State which lawyers always cite in justifying circumstantial evidence. It was the case of one Olusola Adepetu, a renowned herbal traditional practitioner in Oyo State in the 1990s whose herbal enterprise went by the name, Olusola Naturalist Hospital. He was a major precursor of the trade, with high public awareness on the radio arm of the  Oyo State Broadcasting  Corporation.

Adepetu had been befriending one Miss Ranti Moradeyo and on the night of November 20, 1990, had gone to the lady’s house, picked her to  God-knows-where.  She was never seen alive thereafter. The next day, her corpse was found in the Sanyo area on the Lagos-Ibadan highway. Whoever placed it there wanted vehicles to have mutilated the body in pieces, so that the fact of severance of her body parts for rituals would be hidden for life. Adepetu was subsequently charged to the Oyo State High Court and the trial judge, piecing together circumstantial evidence, including the doctrine of “the last seen,” had convicted Adepetu according to Section 319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 30 Laws of Oyo State 1978. He was sentenced to life imprisonment. Prosecution had called 19 witnesses. Following an overruling of the defence’s no-case submission, Adepetu gave evidence and called a single witness. The Appellate Court and the Supreme Court affirmed the judgment, leading to Adepetu spending about 25 years in the Kirikiri Prison.

Circumstantial evidence, from what Kura read, is observed where “no direct evidence of an eyewitness to the commission of an offence is available.” The court then “may infer from the facts proved, the existence of other facts which logically and conclusively establish the guilt of the accused person beyond reasonable doubt. Accordingly, when strong circumstantial evidence is led against an accused in a criminal trial and this gives rise to an inference irresistibly warranted by such evidence, the criminal court will not hesitate to make such inference as long as it is so cogent and compelling as to convince the jury that on no rational hypothesis other than the inference can the facts be accounted for.” Reading further, Kura learnt that the criminal liability of an appellant “was based on the natural consequence of his act or omission. Intent may also be proved positively by proof of the declaration of the accused as to his intent or inferentially.”

With all that Kura had gathered in the last 47 hours, he stood up like a drunk tottering on his drunken feet. He had literally known no sleep within the last two days or so. He momentarily peered into his strapless wrist watch and discovered he had less than an hour to address the Inspector General. In a sprint-like dash, he hopped into the elevator of the Police headquarters and with a fidgety hand, pressed the last floor button that would take him to the zenith of the high rise building.

The IG was expecting him. He sat cupped in a chair by his conference table, his cap removed, showing an acute baldness with shards of grey hairs that looked like icing on a black cake surrounding his head.

Waffling initially but quickly picking himself up, SP Kura began: “Circumstantial evidence says it’s murder, sir and we can sustain the charge. The circumstances are indubitable and they all point at conspiracy to murder and murder. The chain of circumstances is this, sir: Immediately Tim Goke entered Valley Hotel and paid N37,000 to the receptionist, the plot began. Oblivious of the power of technology and fate that made him call his wife as he was entering the hotel, the conspirators assumed that the fact of where he lodged would be concealed from investigators. Unfortunately, his account details revealed the payment. When detectives came to the hotel, the receptionist denied that Tim ever lodged there. It was upon interrogation that she spilled the beans and revealed other suspects.

“While the suspects’ alibi was that they found his dead body the next morning and shoveled it into the bush to disconnect the hotel from his death, it doesn’t add up and feeds into the line of a perfectly orchestrated conspiracy. If the fear of the dis-advertisement or bad publicity that a dead lodger would give the hotel were to be the major reason for their abstruse action, they should have known that in this modern age, since they purportedly didn’t have a hand in the death, an autopsy would have exonerated the hotel. Going to the length and the risk of taking Tim’s body to the bush is suspiciously incriminating enough and the circumstance pointing at murder and conspiracy. Again, as James Hadley Chase says that criminals always leave traces, no matter how small, these ones buried their victim with the bed sheet of the hotel and like the Ranti Moradeyo lady’s corpse in Adepetu v The State, they apparently believed Tim’s body would never be found.”

Kura picked a bottle of water on the Inspector General’s table and without prompting, poured it into his dry throat.

“I interviewed a pathologist who told me that the “severe trauma” in the pathologists’ report is ambivalent and could as well mean that the deceased was hit with an object leading to his death. According to him, the decomposition of the internal organ could be as a result of a corrosive acid intentionally poured into the deceased’s mouth at death. The mark found by pathologists on his neck cannot be accidental as well. It could mean that he was strangled. If we had the carbon dating technology in Nigeria, it would have been easier to determine whether the wound on the remains’ neck was pre or after death. Tim was healthy, from evidence we gathered and not suffering from any illness. He was said to have attended a meeting in Akure, hale and hearty.

“The disappearance of a major suspect in the alleged crime, said to be Chief Adetayo, the hotel owner’s son and one who allegedly participated in the process of taking Tim’s body into the forest, is a circumstantial thread that may link his father to the committal of the crime. We must ensure we bring him to book. We must get mobile phone service providers to give us Chief Adetayo’s call logs and all Chief’s call and discussions between the time Tim arrived the hotel and the time of the disposal of his corpse. How frequently did he speak with his son or any of the accused? What did they discuss? It is arrant nonsense to say that just because somebody was a typical Nigerian big man who established universities and big hotels, he cannot be steeped in occultic practices. Indeed, more than half of Nigerian big men are ritualists – from politicians, to judges, to you-name-them,” Kura said.

While rounding off his submission, he said: “Inspector General sir, facts of circumstantial evidence tell me that we have a good case if we charge the hotel owner and the other accused to court for conspiracy and murder. We should not allow the image of the Police Force to be further dented by pussy-footing in walking to the justice chambers.”

As he did this, in a queer manner that suggested his belief in his submission, Kura stood up from his seat, made the traditional police salute in obeisance to the Inspector General, headed for the door and slammed it shut behind him.

 

Dr. Festus Adedayo, journalist, lawyer and public affairs analyst, writes from Ibadan

Related Topics:
Comments

Opinion

OYO 2027: MAKINDE EATS SOUR GRAPES, ADEKANMBI’S TEETH MUST BE SET ON EDGE

Published

1 day ago

on

November 4, 2026

By

The confusion within the ranks of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) is becoming increasingly difficult to describe.

The political empire built by Governor Seyi Makinde on what critics describe as lies, betrayals, broken promises and greed appears to be crumbling by the day.

Indeed, Makinde and his APM loyalists are providing an endless source of amusement these days.

Virtually everyone who leaves the Makinde administration is suddenly dismissed as a “paperweight” by the party’s social media attack dogs.

I have often wondered whether these fellows are unaware of the wisdom behind the Yoruba belief that even cotton wool, when gathered in sufficient quantities, can become a load too heavy for one person to carry.

As the Yoruba proverb puts it: Eni ní òwú ò t’ẹrù; ìwọ̀nba tó fẹ́ fi tan iná ló mú.

You keep losing prominent politicians and influential party stakeholders, yet you dismiss them as political nonentities. But which heavyweight has the power to cast more than one vote for a preferred candidate?

I am certain that even Bimbo Adekanmbi must be wondering how things deteriorated so badly for the APM.

Before his emergence as Governor Makinde’s anointed governorship candidate was made public, I granted an interview on a television station during which I openly predicted that Adekanmbi would get the governor’s endorsement and that his choice as successor would spell trouble for both men.

To one another, both men have become potential political albatrosses. Unfortunately, Governor Makinde’s ego appears to have blinded him to realities beyond his immediate political calculations.

I am particularly surprised that Adekanmbi failed to recognise that he was walking into a political trap by accepting Makinde’s endorsement.

Greed, indeed, can be a dangerous disease. In Adekanmbi’s position, no discerning politician would have ignored the number of political enemies Governor Makinde had accumulated during his seven years in office.

It follows, therefore, that Adekanmbi would inevitably inherit many of those political liabilities. Sadly, he either failed to appreciate the implications or simply chose to overlook the consequences.

By the time Governor Makinde, or perhaps Seye Famojuro, settled for Adekanmbi, the governor was already embroiled in disagreements with prominent political figures, including former Deputy National Chairman of the PDP, Ambassador Taofeek Oladejo Arapaja, Alhaji Bisi Olopoeyan and several first-class traditional rulers in Oyo State.

He had also fallen out with several influential political figures, including Senator Hosea Agboola, Alhaji Razak Gbadegesin, former Deputy Governor Barrister Gbolarunmi Hazeem, Chief Mrs Jumoke Akinjide, Hon. Mulikat Adeola Akande, former Deputy Governor Engr. Rauf Aderemi Olaniyan, Prince Diran Odeyemi, former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose, former Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Beyond these strained relationships, several stakeholders within the Makinde political camp were already uncomfortable with the process that produced Adekanmbi as the APM governorship candidate.

There were also contentious discussions about whether Governor Makinde should be succeeded by a Christian. Equally troubling to some stakeholders was the question of whether it made political sense for Makinde to present Adekanmbi as his preferred successor when both men hail from Ona-Ara Local Government Area.

At the time, agitations were mounting over Governor Makinde’s alleged failure to comply with the Supreme Court judgment granting financial autonomy to local governments.

Other contentious issues included the controversial Circular Road project, the sale of government assets and the proposed transfer of Oyo State farm settlements to estate developers.

The state’s debt profile, which has remained a subject of public concern and debate, was another issue that had yet to be satisfactorily addressed.

All these issues were already in the public domain before Adekanmbi accepted the offer to become Makinde’s anointed candidate.

One is therefore compelled to ask: what could have persuaded Adekanmbi to accept such a politically dangerous offer?

I can only think of one reason: greed.

When Governor Makinde claimed that he had advised Adekanmbi not to inherit his enemies, he was being economical with the truth.

The reality is that those political liabilities became Adekanmbi’s the moment he accepted Makinde’s endorsement.

The governor knows that he is carrying a political baggage that could weigh heavily on his preferred successor. Yet, he appears unwilling to be held accountable for the political consequences of his own administration.

Unfortunately for both men, even Adekanmbi’s campaign slogan tells a story of its own: “Omi Tuntun 3.0”.

How, then, does he intend to separate himself from the “Omi Tuntun” administration and the controversies surrounding it?

Governor Makinde has never hidden his discomfort with genuine local government autonomy. Adekanmbi, by his posture, appears prepared to sustain the same political template, which critics blame for weakening the 33 local government councils in the state.

On virtually every issue over which the people of Oyo State have expressed concern, Adekanmbi appears to be offering continuity rather than a departure from the policies of the present administration.

He has failed to condemn the controversy surrounding the proposed transfer of the Ogbomoso Farm Settlement to estate developers, despite protests by residents of the ancient town.

He has equally remained silent over the controversy surrounding the administration’s reported moves involving the Saki Farm Settlement.

He also appears untroubled by the reported transfer of the 4,000-hectare Eruwa Farm Settlement to investors, whose whereabouts and activities have, according to critics, remained unclear two years after the arrangement.

Indeed, Adekanmbi appears not to appreciate the extent of the challenges facing the state. For instance, Oyo State is said to be short of six general hospitals if the benchmark of one general hospital per local government area is adopted.

Yet, when Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli promised in his manifesto to address this deficit, APM spokespersons reportedly went on the offensive, describing the manifesto as “lacking in originality”.

Governor Makinde has been in office for more than seven years. During this period, his administration has received ecological funds on several occasions.

The question, therefore, is simple: what has happened to those funds?

There are concerns over the utilisation and accountability of the ecological funds received by the state. The governor owes the people a clear explanation of how these resources have been deployed.

There are also questions surrounding the proposed upgrade of the Alakia Airport, a project for which Adekanmbi himself was appointed by Governor Makinde to head a committee.

I have been reliably informed that the contract sum for the airport upgrade was reportedly reviewed upwards from its original figure of over N50 billion to well above N150 billion.

I have raised this question before, but I am yet to hear Adekanmbi offer a convincing explanation or response to the allegation.

Similarly, Governor Makinde reportedly approved more than N60 billion for the renovation of the Government House, an expenditure that attracted public criticism.

As of today, the visible works include the construction of a hall, the painting of the Government House mosque and church, and the replacement of tiles in both places of worship.

I challenge Governor Makinde to tell the people of Oyo State how much of the more than N60 billion reportedly approved for the renovation has actually been released and expended.

Beyond that, the governor should invite members of the press to conduct an independent assessment of the work carried out so far. The people deserve transparency and accountability, not unanswered questions.

The state government’s performance in education is another area that demands urgent attention.

Oyo State’s performance in WAEC and NECO examinations has continued to attract concern, particularly when compared with the performance of other states, including neighbouring Osun, which has been celebrated for its fifth-place position in a recent examination ranking.

Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli has argued that the state must return to an educational system that makes teaching and learning more conducive. One of his proposals is a 30-pupils-per-classroom policy.

But rather than engage constructively with the proposal, APM voices have dismissed its feasibility.

Adekanmbi, as the party’s governorship candidate, has also failed to offer a clear departure from the present arrangement, under which many public primary and secondary school classrooms remain severely overcrowded and unconducive to effective learning.

Oyo State cannot afford another administration that merely promises continuity without addressing the shortcomings of the present one.

The people deserve better, and they now have an alternative in Senator Sharafadeen Abiodun Alli.

Governor Makinde has eaten sour grapes. Unfortunately, Bimbo Adekanmbi appears destined to bear the consequences.

His teeth, indeed, must be set on edge.

Continue Reading

Opinion

Makinde’s G-Wagon Gift to CCII PG A Disrespect to Olubadan, Alaafin and A Total Disregard for Yoruba Traditional Institutions

Published

2 days ago

on

November 4, 2026

By

The reported presentation of a brand-new Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon 500 by Governor Seyi Makinde to the President-General of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Barrister Sulaimon Ajeniyi Ajewole, as a birthday gift has exposed a disturbing development in the governor’s attitude towards Yoruba traditional institutions. Beyond the extravagance of the gesture, it raises fundamental questions about his priorities, sense of responsibility and regard for the revered royal institutions of Ibadan and Oyo.

What is Governor Makinde trying to achieve? A division and deep-seated animosity between Olubadan and the head of a socio-cultural organisation who is supposed to be at the forefront of protecting Olubadan stool from ridicule and disrespect?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Governor Makinde appreciating an individual for his contributions to society. Barrister Ajewole may be entitled to personal goodwill and recognition from Makinde. However, the governor’s insensitive generosity becomes difficult to defend when juxtaposed with allegations that the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Akeem Owoade, have been deprived of their official vehicles and statutory salaries since ascending their respective thrones.

More than a year after Oba Ladoja became the Olubadan and approaching two years since Oba Owoade ascended the Alaafin throne, the alleged failure of the Makinde administration to fulfil these obligations is an indictment of its priorities and its understanding of the dignity attached to traditional authority.

How does a governor find the resources, enthusiasm and political will to present a luxury G-Wagon 500 to the head of a socio-cultural organisation as a birthday gift, yet allegedly fail to discharge the statutory and institutional responsibilities owed to two of the most revered traditional rulers in Yorubaland? What is the justification for celebrating an individual with an expensive automobile while the occupants of ancient royal stools are reportedly left without official vehicles and their statutory entitlements?

This is not an argument against Barrister Ajewole receiving a gift. It is an indictment of a government whose generosity appears selective and whose priorities are increasingly difficult to reconcile with its public responsibilities.The Olubadan is not just another traditional ruler. He presides over Ibadanland, one of the most historically significant cities in Yorubaland and a cultural centre whose influence extends far beyond Oyo State. The Alaafin, on the other hand, occupies a throne whose historical significance is inseparable from the evolution of Yoruba civilisation. The Alaafin institution is not an ordinary palace establishment; it is a historic symbol of Yoruba political authority, heritage and identity.

These are institutions that existed long before Makinde became governor and will continue to exist long after he leaves office. Their dignity should not depend on the personal disposition, political calculations or convenience of whoever occupies Agodi Government House. Makinde must be reminded that statutory salaries are not birthday presents, and official vehicles provided under government policy are not acts of personal generosity. They are institutional obligations. A governor does not deserve applause for fulfilling obligations that the law or established government policy imposes on his administration.

Conversely, withholding or neglecting such obligations without important justification is a serious failure of responsibility. The troubling question is whether Makinde has reduced the relationship between government and traditional institutions to a transactional arrangement in which personal relationships and political convenience determine who receives recognition and who is left unattended. Does the governor believe that the President-General of CCII deserves a brand-new G-Wagon while the Olubadan and Alaafin can be left to contend with the indignity of allegedly outstanding official entitlements?

What exactly is Makinde’s understanding of respect for Yoruba traditional institutions? A governor who routinely invokes Yoruba identity, cultural heritage and indigenous values should be the first to defend the dignity of the institutions that embody those values. Unfortunately, Makinde’s administration is creating an embarrassing impression that the prestige of traditional institutions is secondary to his personal relationships and political preferences. Oh, does Makinde think CCII PG can marshall his influence to direct members of clubs, associations and unions affiliated to CCII to vote for Makinde’s stooge guber candidate?

Traditional rulers are not political ornaments to be celebrated when convenient and neglected when inconvenient. They are custodians of history, culture, customs and ancestral authority. Their institutions deserve institutional respect irrespective of political affiliations, personal disagreements or their perceived disposition towards the government. The G-Wagon presentation has therefore become more than a birthday gesture. It has exposed a disturbing moral contradiction.

If Makinde could demonstrate such remarkable generosity towards the CCII President-General, why has his administration allegedly failed to demonstrate comparable commitment to the institutional dignity of the Olubadan and Alaafin? Is the governor suggesting, by his actions, that an individual occupying the leadership of a socio-cultural organisation deserves more official consideration than the foremost royal institutions in his state?

The governor owes the people of Oyo State an explanation. He must publicly clarify whether the statutory salaries of the two monarchs have been paid since their ascension, whether official vehicles are provided for their offices under existing government policy, and why these alleged entitlements remain outstanding. If there are administrative or legal impediments, he should explain them rather than allow the controversy to fester.

It is particularly disgraceful that the dignity of two internationally recognised Yoruba royal institutions should become a subject of public controversy under a government that ought to be protecting their prestige. By allowing the situation to persist without a satisfactory explanation, Makinde has dragged the image of Yoruba traditional institutions into unnecessary embarrassment and diminished the respect that should ordinarily accompany their exalted positions.

The governor must understand that he is a temporary occupant of political office, whereas the Olubadan and the Alaafin represent enduring institutions of Yoruba civilisation. He cannot elevate himself above the historical significance of these thrones, nor should he behave as though their dignity is subject to his personal discretion. If the G-Wagon was purchased with Makinde’s personal resources, he is entitled to give it to whomever he pleases.

But personal generosity cannot excuse governmental irresponsibility. A governor who can celebrate an individual with a luxury automobile should have no justification for allegedly neglecting the statutory institutional entitlements of the Olubadan and the Alaafin. Yoruba traditional institutions are not personal appendages of the governor, and their dignity must never be held hostage to his whims, preferences or political calculations.

The Olubadan and the Alaafin deserve honour, not humiliation; institutional respect, not selective generosity. Makinde may be governor today, but he is certainly not greater than the institutions whose dignity he has a duty to protect.

Continue Reading

Opinion

Winning Election Before the Ballot: How Oseni Is Silencing Opponents with 500KVA Transformers

Published

4 days ago

on

November 2, 2026

By

In an era when many politicians are remembered more for promises than for performance, Hon. Engr. Aderemi Oseni stands out as a rare exception — a lawmaker whose impact is visible, measurable, and felt in the daily lives of his people. The latest testament to this people-centred leadership is the ongoing delivery of 20 additional 500KVA transformers for distribution to communities across Oyo South Senatorial District.

This is not just about electricity. It is about powering dreams, businesses, and hope.

Oseni, who currently represents Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and chairs the strategic House Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), is contesting for the Oyo South Senatorial seat under the All Progressives Congress (APC). His candidacy is already being defined not by noise, but by concrete results.

The new consignment of transformers is part of a sustained intervention to address the chronic electricity challenges confronting communities in the district.

For months, residents of Oyo South — traders in Beere, artisans in Ibarapa, welders in Ido, cold-room operators in Ibadan South-West, and students burning the midnight candle in Ibadan North-East — have groaned under the weight of an epileptic power supply. Transformers that have served for over two decades are either overloaded, vandalised, or completely grounded. In many communities, darkness has become a way of life, and with it, economic activities grind to a halt.

Hon. Oseni understands this pain. As an engineer by training and a grassroots politician by conviction, he knows that electricity is not a luxury; it is the oxygen of economic growth, community development, and improved living standards.

The 20 new 500KVA transformers are, therefore, a strategic economic intervention.

The greatest beneficiaries of this initiative are those in the informal sector — the backbone of Oyo South’s economy. For the woman frying akara in Oja Oba who needs power to grind beans early in the morning, for the barber in Apata who loses customers when there is no light to clip, for the fashion designer in Challenge whose electric sewing machine is idle, and for the young graduate running a computer business centre in Ibarapa — this intervention means everything.

When power returns, productivity returns. When productivity returns, poverty reduces.

It is instructive that one of the beneficiary communities is Ita Baale/Olugbode in Ibadan North-East Local Government — the home community of Governor Seyi Makinde. By extending his intervention even to areas traditionally seen as opposition strongholds, Hon. Oseni has demonstrated that good governance knows no political boundaries. Light has no party colour. Development should have no discrimination.

Many other communities across the nine local governments that make up Oyo South — Ibadan North, Ibadan North-East, Ibadan North-West, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan South-West, Ibarapa East, Ibarapa North, Ibarapa Central, and Ido — are already celebrating while waiting to take delivery of the transformers, with installation already ongoing in phases in some areas.

This transformer project is not an isolated act. It fits into a larger pattern of purposeful representation that has defined Hon. Oseni’s tenure in the Green Chamber.

As Chairman of the House Committee on FERMA, he has been pivotal in pushing for the rehabilitation of federal roads that crisscross Oyo South, easing the movement of farm produce from Ibarapa’s agrarian belt to Ibadan markets and reducing man-hours lost in traffic.

In Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency, his current constituency, his footprints are everywhere: boreholes sunk in water-scarce communities, classroom blocks renovated, financial support for market women, scholarships for indigent students, and the facilitation of federal employment opportunities for youths.

Colleagues in the House of Representatives describe him as “The Star Boy of the National Assembly.” He sits quietly but effectively, a man who prefers to let his work speak. Constituents describe him as accessible — a lawmaker whose phone number still goes through and whose gate remains open.

Oyo South is the economic heartbeat of Oyo State. It houses Ibadan, the political capital of the South-West. It needs a Senator who understands both urban renewal and rural development; a Senator who can navigate Abuja’s power corridors to attract federal presence, yet remain rooted in the palaces, markets, and streets of Ibadan and Ibarapa.

Hon. Oseni brings a rare blend: engineering expertise, legislative experience, and grassroots empathy. His years in the House have equipped him with the legislative savvy to sponsor and support bills that will address the peculiar needs of Oyo South — from urban electricity to rural roads, from youth unemployment to agricultural modernisation.

At a time when Nigeria’s energy sector is undergoing reform, Oyo South needs a Senator who will not just complain about darkness, but who has already shown he can deliver transformers, facilitate connections, and engage distribution companies to do more.

In Nigerian politics, many come with manifestos, but few come with evidence. Hon. Oseni’s campaign for Oyo South Senatorial District is not built on empty slogans; it is built on transformers delivered, roads fixed, boreholes working, and lives touched.

The 20 new transformers are not campaign props. They are installations that will outlive this election cycle. They will power homes long after the ballots are counted. That is the hallmark of genuine service — to do what is needed, not just what is popular.

As the 2027 general elections approach, the people of Oyo South are faced with a clear choice: to continue with politics as usual, or to elevate a proven performer to the Senate to do even more.

If a House of Representatives member can light up communities with 20 transformers, imagine what he can do with the greater influence of a Senator of the Federal Republic.

Indeed, Hon. Oseni is not just contesting to be Senator; he is contesting to bring more light — literally and figuratively — to Oyo South.

 

Joseph Okwuofu worked with The Nation newspapers and is the CEO/Publisher of Naija Examiner online newspaper.

Continue Reading

Trending