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Commodore Olawunmi and the maladies this time 

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5 years ago

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An early morning inferno broke out in Circus Maximus, Rome on June 19, 64 A.D. It spread like bushfire through the ancient city. Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar’s reaction was immediate: he scapegoated Roman Christians of the time and inflicted a persecution scarcely heard of in Roman history on them. Highly chagrined by the nauseating no-holds-barred interview granted by Retired Commodore Kunle Olawunmi on Channels television last week which exposed its security underbelly, the current Nigerian government found the template of this Roman emperor, renowned for debaucheries and political murders, fascinating. It thereby went on a route similar to Nero’s, unleashing the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission, (NBC) its broadcasting regulatory Rottweilers, on the journalists who conducted the interview.

The Roman fire had wrecked a colossal havoc. In nine days, of the 14 districts in Rome, it totally destroyed three, severely destroying additional seven later. While this fire was raging, classical sources among Roman elite claimed to have sighted Nero, the most infamous among Roman emperors, who had recently acquired an obsession for music and the arts, sitting on his palace rooftop, attired in theatre apparel similar to a performer about to enter the stage. He was said to be reciting by rote a line from the Greek epic, The Sack of Ilium. This new passion of Nero’s for music must have given birth to the typecast that he fiddled as Rome burned. The emperor then ordered the brutal persecution of these scapegoats. While he decreed some of his victims to be attired in animal skins, preparatory to getting dogs to tear them into shreds and eat their flesh, for some others, he ordered that they be burnt alive at nighttime pyres.

Last Tuesday, the Nigerian fire got so very intense too. Unprecedented in the history of Nigeria, terrorists caught the self chest-thumping Nigerian security apparatchik literally in flagrante. In the early hours of that day, these murderous elements, unconscionably named bandits, matched their infidel feet on the country’s military university, the Nigerian Defence Academy, (NDA) Kaduna. By the time they were done, they had murdered two officers as if they were snuffing life out of gnats and abducted another big-epaulette soldier. A few other soldiers sustained serious gunshot injuries. Like itinerant Mullahs, the terrorists walked out of this highly prized, foremost military training institution, unscathed, into the dusk. This came at a time when the whole world, except this government and its palace courtiers, knows and is aghast that, regarding security and governance of the space called Nigeria, Aso Rock lacks a rudder.

Now, entered Commodore Kunle Olawunmi. Clinical, bold and unconventional, the retired military top-brass dissected the malady of governance and leadership afflicting Nigeria to its basest form in that interview. Very seldom saying anything that Nigerians didn’t know already, as a top officer-participant in the Nigerian security equation, his revelation prised the bottom off government’s can of cant and hypocrisy. If you had a modicum of respect and regards for government hitherto, that no-holds-barred interview defrosted them all. It seemed to solve a long-time jigsaw puzzle on the epidemic of violence, banditry and Boko Haram insurgency that has held on tight to Nigeria’s jugular. With the recent take-over of Kabul without a shot being fired by the Talibans and the suspected compromise of Afghan leaders in this roulette, permutations are rife that there is a mathematical permutation to get insurgents to take over Nigeria.

Many analysts have demonised Olawunmi. Typically, they even alleged that his anger at that interview was as a result of the systemic frustrations he encountered in the twilight of his stay in the military. He was unprofessional, they alleged and his revelations were similar to prattles of a chatter-box, unbecoming of a highly placed military officer of his hue. Having been entrusted with sensitive information, he shouldn’t have exposed those information in the glare of the public, they pursued further.

To me, these criticisms are unmindful of the precipice that Nigeria has been pushed to. It is gross irresponsibility to be conventional at a critical moment like this when it is obvious that those who hold the Nigerian steering wheel are bent on crashing the ship of state. Except for the Islamization agenda alleged by Olawunmi which may seem a bit off-tangent, there was nothing the retired Commodore volunteered in that interview that was not in the public domain about this government. Were we hearing for the first time that this is the most divisive government in the history of Nigeria? Was it new on us that we are trapped with an unrepentant nepotist leadership?

Even Olawunmi’s allegation of Islamization agenda may sound logical when viewed from the background of his revelation that security breach was committed every Friday at the NDA. Even a dimwit will know that, by the opening of doors weekly to Jumat prayers and the ease of penetration of the Officers’ Mess, that breach could not but happen. In this kind of equation, it is trite knowledge that spying on this key military institution as a precursor to planning the NDA-type attack was a fait accompli.

The NDA attack may have awoken Nigerians from their slumbers. Allegations that some governors, ministers and Senators sponsor both the Boko Haram insurgency and the banditry of the northwest are ten a dime on Nigerian streets. Ditto, information that the Nigerian intelligence community and the defense headquarters were aware that Bureau De Change operators were covert sponsors of the Nigerian daily blood spillage. It is in the public domain that, recently, the government of Dubai sent lists of these sponsors to the federal government. The veracity of Olawunmi’s claim that the DMI, DSS and Police intelligence know the sponsors too can be easily interrogated, as well as claim that the DSS possesses files of the sponsors.

Shouldn’t it be logical, judging by Isa Pantami’s romance with Islamic extremism, details of which are in the public domain, that “our brothers” in the forest have his sympathy? Olawunmi merely ignited Nigerians’ sense of disgust at a government that chose hesitancy in bringing these sponsors to judgment, at the expense of taking action. When you now imagine the cheetah speed with which this government is mowing down “dots in a circle” who have scarcely spilled a pint of blood and those who are merely calling for self-determination, Olawunmi’s frustration with the escalating Nigerian riddle will come into focus.

The NDA compromise just won’t jell. Under whose purview was such colossal disaster that befell the Nigerian military? Government’s reaction to it too was very tepid, too simplistic and petty. Or a combination of all. Its claim that the attack might have been a ploy by a God-knows-who to embarrass it is sickening and weak.

Presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, had said that government was looking at so many scenarios. “Could this be truly a criminal attempt to violate the sanctity of that military institution? Was this an opportunistic crime? Is it political? Does somebody want to embarrass the government by doing this?” He then went on a needless voyage to recount what he called the string of victories achieved by the government: “Look at how Boko Haram is unravelling in the north; they surrendered. All of the victories that have been recorded even in the north-west — these bandits are being taken out in large numbers. So, in a climate — political climate — in which people seek to make political capital out of this unfortunate incident, you don’t rule in anything, you don’t rule out anything.”

What makes the above claim worthless is that sensible governments all over the world don’t talk like a sissy as this; they act. While it is in the province of malefactors to embarrass governments, the government’s job is to make life miserable for them. Did you hear President Joe Biden after last week’s Kabul blasts where 13 American soldiers were killed? Biden had said, not through any proxy going by the name, “presidency” as we have in Nigeria: “To those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay. I will defend our interests and our people with every measure at my command.”

Terrorists killed soldiers fighting your war and all the president did was to convey his disgust through a voluble character. Nigeria has an infamous policy of granting amnesty to insurgents who kill its people at will, without regard for the philosophy behind forgiveness. In this regard, we shouldn’t be surprised at the bedlam Nigeria has become.

The global concept of amnesty is very ancient. Its principle was taken from the ancient Greek literature, Odyssey written by the great philosopher, Homer. Homer, author of the Iliad as well, had written, “Let them swear to a solemn covenant, while we cause the others to forgive and forget the massacre of their sons and brothers. Let them then all become friends as heretofore, and let peace and plenty reign.” The concept of amnesty was reinforced by Carl Schmitt, a German lawyer, who argued that a war against everyone was a civil war and “even the cold war turns to civil war” without amnesty. Without amnesty, he said, non-forgiveness becomes a vicious circle of self-righteousness and revenge. Still on the foundation of amnesty, Algerian philosopher, Jacques Derida, said it can only be measured against the fact that “forgiveness, if there is such a thing, measures itself.”

Predicated on the ethics of forgetting and what is called “the politics of a rejected memory,” amnesty is reconciliation and imposes “silence on the memory of the unforgettable.” In other words, the one granting amnesty and the amnestied, though the infraction of the latter is normally unforgivable, must take an oath to make a clean break from their memory of the past.

From the first recorded amnesty in history which happened in Athens in 403 BC, to the pardon of war criminals of the World War II, people who worked as spies, soldiers, politicians, guards etc, amnesty is the banning of recalling of a certain misfortune. As said above, a major essential of amnesty is that both parties freeze the memory of the crime but with a proviso of non-occurrence of the act.

No doubt due to the confusion of the acts of the two criminal groups that have attacked the Nigerian state – Boko Haram and Niger Delta militants – this government has sought to follow the Umaru Yar’Adua route by granting amnesty to insurgents. In 2016, through the Defence Headquarters, government inaugurated what it called Operation Safe Corridor, (OSC) a counter-insurgency approach to rehabilitate what is called “low-risk repentant Boko Haram fighters” so as to reintegrate them into society. It comes with vocational training, de-radicalization and civic programmes. Two years ago, government claimed to have rehabilitated 893 ex-Boko Haram members with the Nigerian Identity Management Commission registering about 900 of them as citizens of Nigeria.

The truth however is that, Amnesty should not be a government-militants, two way without a third wave of victims’ involvement. In Nigeria, insurgents’ atrocity is still fresh in the minds of the victims. This freshness elicits stiff opposition to granting amnesty to those who killed their children, parents and consigned them to IDP camps. More instructively, the forgetting that this government forcefully midwives is apparently linear; on government’s side alone, without reckoning with the forgetting of the amnestied. Have the killers of yesterday renounced their atrocities? Have they taken the oath to forget? Have they forgotten their deeds indeed?

Apart from the tragedy of the NDA attack, last week also brought the tragic quality of government’s interface with the public by Aso Rock to the fore. No matter his personal imperfections, Samuel Ortom of Benue State represents the undisguised antagonism of the people of Benue to this government’s eerie silence to the spate of killings in Benue, alleged to be handiwork of armed Fulani herders. In response to the Benue people’s umbrage, Nigeria’s presidency willingly took a shuttle to the sewage.

Alleging that Ortom was engaged in “promotion of ethno-religious politics and divisive utterances,” and “sectarianism and ethnicity,” government walked on a predictable route that has become a convenient path to tread by ethnic warlords masquerading as governments. These are people whose governmental style does not represent what they verbalize. This is “the Rwandan genocide.” In the release, shamelessly, the presidency tacitly underscored its Acheulean grazing route while excoriating what it labeled “so-called” Benue’s own Ranches Establishment Law. It abused Ortom for this law which it said was “intended to withhold rights and freedoms from one ethnic group alone, whilst inciting race hatred against them, amongst all others.’’ Purely self-serving and nonsensical!

It is a dramatic irony that this government would label anyone an ethnic canvasser and their defence of their people “a copy of the language of Hutu Power.” What is the difference between the president’s labeling of Igbo people “dot in a circle” and Hutu’s profiling of Tutsi as “cockroaches,” preparatory to their genocidal rout? Just after that dot labeling, Imo and the east in general have witnessed killings the figure of which seeks to shake hands with the Rwandan genocide casualty. Aso Rock’s obsessive impunity has activated that narrative of some felon dipping the Quran in the sea. It is what is burning Nigeria. The killings of the last 6 years are about rivaling the figure of the Nigerian civil war and they can be linked to promotion of the narrative of a Fulani ethnic ascendancy, just like in Rwanda.

As much as we can blame Retired Commodore Olawunmi for violating the oath of secrecy he swore to as an officer, we must realize that this is a season of anomie and not a time to acquiesce to or be rigid to observance of any ancient norms of engagement. The man dies in him who keeps silent in the face of the brand of tyranny that confronts us in Nigeria today. We needed an Olawunmi kind of engagement to ensure our sanity and to be sure we are all on the same page about these locusts among us. I agree with him that this is the worst government in the history of Nigeria but Nigeria is greater than the runners of this government. We should endure this insanity. As interminable as the remaining two years look, before we wake up, the years will soon evaporate into nothingness. What we have endured is not up to what is left. Nigerians are the ones who must be resolved not to allow this affliction to rise a second time.

 

 

Dr. Adedayo writes from Ibadan

 

 

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Opinion

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

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1 day ago

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November 4, 2026

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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.

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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

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November 4, 2026

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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.

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

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4 days ago

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November 2, 2026

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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.

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