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.
