I read Sola Abegunde’s lengthy epistle on Oyo State’s 2027 governorship election, and I was quite amused. When politicians have little or nothing to campaign with, they resort to writing lengthy essays, hoping that rhetoric can compensate for a lack of ideas. Unfortunately for Abegunde and his APC allies, the people of Oyo State are not judging their leaders by the length of their speeches. They are judging them by the quality of governance and its impact on their daily lives.
Abegunde sounded like a hunter whose gun had gone rustic and the bullets wet and damp, dispensing nothing but stinky black smoke – lousy rubbish from an APC goon.
Did Governor Seyi Makinde start the 2027 political battle early? No. Makinde started governing Oyo State in 2019, and he has not stopped delivering on that responsibility. What Abegunde describes as an early political battle, we see as the consistent pursuit of development.
While the APC is still grappling with internal disagreements and the challenge of settling on a candidate, Makinde’s administration has delivered roads, invested in education and healthcare, and pursued policies aimed at transforming the state. If preparing early for an election is a crime, what should we call a party that cannot put its house in order? The APC must first resolve its leadership crisis in Oyo State before lecturing others on political strategy.
Is this what political discourse in Oyo State has been reduced to? Instead of discussing policies, development plans, employment, infrastructure and economic opportunities, Abegunde has dragged rain, charms and palm kernel into the conversation.
A party without a convincing message on governance will always struggle to explain what it intends to offer the electorate. Oyo people do not need rainmakers; they need road builders, job creators and leaders who can improve their standard of living. Makinde’s record on infrastructure speaks for itself.
If there is any political charm Nigerians have experienced in recent years, it is the devastating combination of hardship, rising living costs and economic uncertainty that has become a source of concern across the country under the APC-led Federal Government. Abegunde should abandon the theatrics and tell the people what his party intends to do differently. Politics should be about solutions, not superstition.
Abegunde’s claim that Makinde is fighting everybody raises an obvious question; everybody who? Is it the traditional institution that Makinde has sought to strengthen? Is it the workers and pensioners whose welfare has featured prominently in his administration? Or is it the contractors and other stakeholders whose outstanding obligations became a burden inherited from previous administrations?
Makinde’s relationship with traditional rulers deserves a more honest assessment. His administration has pursued measures aimed at strengthening the institution, improving the status of traditional rulers and restoring dignity to the office of the Olubadan. The renovation of the Olubadan’s palace and other interventions involving the traditional institution are part of that record.
If standing up for development, institutional respect and the welfare of the people amounts to fighting everybody, then Abegunde should explain what kind of leadership he expects.
His attempt to portray Makinde as a serial betrayer is particularly ironic coming from an APC chieftain. The people of Oyo State remember the difficulties surrounding workers’ welfare, pension obligations, gratuities and other outstanding liabilities under previous administrations. They also remember controversies over market demolitions and other decisions that generated widespread public criticism.
Makinde’s administration has made efforts to address inherited obligations while pursuing its own development agenda. The question is simple – who has done more to restore confidence in government and improve the relationship between the state and its workforce?
Rather than throwing around the word betrayal, Abegunde should present a credible account of what the APC delivered to Oyo State when it held power and explain how its proposed return would produce a better outcome.
Makinde, in my assessment and by all indices, has demonstrated that leadership means confronting inherited problems and working to improve people’s lives. That is the record the electorate will consider in 2027.
However, Abegunde’s criticism of Bimbo Adekambi, whom Makinde has reportedly chosen to support as his preferred successor, appears to reveal the real source of his anxiety. Why is he more concerned about Makinde’s choice than about the candidate his own party intends to present to the people?
Is it Abegunde’s responsibility to decide whom Makinde should support? Did President Bola Tinubu seek the permission of every APC chieftain before consolidating his political influence and making his choices?
Makinde’s decision to support Adekambi should be assessed on the basis of competence, experience, administrative ability and capacity to sustain development, rather than the religious identity of the individual.
Adekambi brings professional and administrative experience, including experience in the private and public sectors. His record should be examined on its merits.
Oyo State has a long history of religious tolerance. Its people are capable of looking beyond religious labels to assess the character, competence and programmes of those seeking public office. The APC should therefore be careful not to introduce religious division into a political contest that ought to focus on governance.
If Abegunde believes that Adekambi is unsuitable, he should tell the people precisely why, rather than attempting to turn the succession debate into a religious argument. If he is suggesting that academic qualifications or professional experience are irrelevant to leadership, he should explain that position to an electorate that expects competence from those entrusted with public resources.
Adekambi’s professional background, including his experience in economic management during the administration of the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi, is a legitimate part of the discussion. It should be examined through evidence, not dismissed through political name-calling.
Abegunde also suggests that Makinde is afraid of Senator Sarafadeen Alli. That’s pure bunkum. Makinde’s political relationship with Alli, including the respect shown to him as a traditional ruler, should not be reduced to a simplistic contest of personalities. Political disagreements and electoral ambitions do not erase the need for civility.
Abegunde appears determined to turn every issue into evidence of fear, but he has offered little to establish that claim.
He also raises questions about the description of Alli as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. That is a straightforward matter that can be settled by establishing his actual professional status. There is no need to manufacture a political storm around a question that can be answered with facts.
More importantly, Makinde is not the candidate in the 2027 governorship election. The election will be contested by the candidates presented by their respective political parties. Any suggestion that the governor is personally afraid of Alli is therefore a distraction from the real issues before the electorate.
As someone who has known Alli for 35 years, I believe political discussions should not be allowed to erase longstanding relationships or the importance of factual argument.
Makinde’s record on the traditional institution also deserves recognition. His administration has taken steps to accord the Olubadan and other traditional rulers dignity and respect. Attempts to portray every disagreement as a personal vendetta do little to advance a serious political conversation.
The APC should stop trying to exploit political differences to divide the Yoruba people. Our cultural heritage and traditional institutions are too important to become instruments of partisan manipulation.
Sola Abegunde has devoted considerable energy to criticising Adekambi, but where is the corresponding explanation of what the APC intends to offer Oyo State? Where is the party’s roadmap for infrastructure, education, healthcare, employment, agriculture, security and economic development? What concrete policies will distinguish an APC administration from the one it is seeking to replace?
These are the questions that matter to the people.
Oyo State’s 2027 election should not be reduced to a contest of lengthy political essays, historical analogies or theatrical exchanges. It should be about measurable results, credible plans and the future of the state.
The people want to know who has paid salaries consistently, who has invested in infrastructure, who has expanded opportunities in education, who has employed teachers and who has created an environment in which businesses can operate and grow.
Makinde’s administration has pursued an extensive infrastructure programme, including road construction, alongside interventions in education, healthcare and public-sector administration. These achievements and their measurable impact should be the subject of public scrutiny.
Where the government has performed well, it deserves recognition. Where it has fallen short, it should be held accountable. That is how democracy works.
But the APC cannot expect to win public confidence simply by attacking the governor and questioning his preferred successor. It must present its own record, explain its shortcomings and demonstrate why the people should trust it again.
Abegunde should find a podium and present his party’s programme to the people instead of relying on personal attacks and political rhetoric.
The people of Oyo State are capable of making informed decisions. They understand the difference between propaganda and performance, between promises and delivery, and between political noise and genuine leadership.
The APC has every right to contest the 2027 election. But the party must recognise that elections are not won by insults, religious insinuations or endless accusations against political opponents. They are won by convincing the electorate that a party has the competence, character and policies to govern effectively.
My position is clear; Oyo State must not be dragged backwards by a politics of bitterness and division. The achievements of the present administration should be assessed fairly, and any proposed successor should be judged on competence and the ability to sustain progress.
As for Abegunde, he should spend less time writing lengthy attacks on Makinde and Adekambi and more time explaining what the APC has learnt from its past experience in Oyo State.
The APC must offer direction, not distractions. Oyo people have the final say, and in 2027, they will decide who deserves their mandate.
Dare Adeleke writes from Ibadan.
