Whatever Makinde Gives You With The Right Hand, He Will Immediately Take Back With The Left Hand: (O Nse Mi O Ngba Mi)

Governor Seyi Makinde and his army of supporters not only hate it when you analyse the Governor’s policies and began to dig beyond the surfaces, in fact, any time you delve too deep, they become livid and jittery.

I have come to understand why they always press the panic buttons, when their not so hidden secrets are being exhumed.

For someone who is diligent enough to venture deeper, you will quickly see that in the few areas of governance where the Governor appears to smell like roses, the surfaces might be bright and shining but deep down, everywhere smells fishy.

Let us take Education for example.

Governor Seyi Makinde, no doubts, has never defaulted in paying the salaries of the Teachers and ofcourse, Civil servants of Oyo state in general as and at when due.

He will always make sure that the salaries are credited on or before the 25th of every months and would even give them a 13th month during the Christians and New Year festivities.

Someone, out of ecstasy once told me that Governor Makinde was the one who started the idea of the 13th month salary in Oyo state.

I corrected the misconceptions by letting him know that former Governor Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja had a welfare package similar to that and that, even Ajimobi paid the 13th month salary to Civil servants in Oyo state.

I told him that an issue like payment of salaries became prominent prior to the 2019 gubernatorial election in Oyo state.

Before then, no Governor counted payment of salaries as an achievement because there is no rocket science attached to it beyond the fact that they are deducted, first line, immediately monthly Allocations are received from Abuja.

Moreso, as a Governor, you are not doing this Workers a favor by paying their salaries and allowances which they duly worked for and are entitled to.

Unfortunately, we have come to accept the payments of salaries to Civil servants as a standard of measuring good governance in Oyo state while overlooking the many other areas relating to the welfare of the Civil servants.

I remember quite well that during the regime of the late Governor Alao Akala, civil servants enjoyed the privilege of attending trainings home and abroad.

He, as a Governor, also approved the upward review of pensions and I think, he was about the only Governor who did that.

I remember that he also approved for an arrangement where civil servants in certain cadres were provided with vehicles purchased by Government and which were paid back through monthly deductions from the salaries of the Civil servants in a manner that would not jeopardize the financial commitments of the Civil servants.

I recollect that he also approved the upward review of the Car Loan to Civil servants.

I equally remember a certain PDP guy who went on Radio to say that the Park Management System, PMS is novel and was introduced by Governor Makinde.

That is a lie from the pit of hell.

Late Governor Alao Akala introduced the PMS after he proscribed the activities of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW in 2010.

The only reason there was no noise about it is because, such was not considered something worthy of chest beating and most especially, because, unlike Governor Seyi Makinde, who usurped the roles of the Local Government Chairmen as the owners of the Parks and Garages, Akala left the management of his PMS to the Local Governments.

I am sure there a lot of people in the present Government who also served in Akala’s Government and they will bear witnesses to that fact.

Now, let me go back to the issue of Education.

Apart from the payments of salaries, Governor Makinde, to his credit also appointed more Teachers.

The question is, why is it that despite the facts that Governor Makinde is paying salaries regularly and he has appointed more Teachers, Oyo state is not improving in the performance index of states for WAEC and NECO?

Why is it that despite the efforts to recruit more Teachers, Oyo state is having issues where schools were banned by WAEC and NECO because of examination malpractices?

After all, the focus should be on the overall output. Shouldn’t it?

From the last performance index released, Oyo was behind states like Kaduna and even Bornu states.

What is responsible for that?

The answer is simple and you need no fortune teller to know that there is no deliberate and comprehensive plan to provide holistic solutions to the problems bedeviling the Education sector in the state.

Governor Makinde’s activities in the Education sector is targeted at populism pure and simple.

He had studied our society very well and he is capitalizing on the weakness in the mindsets of the public.

As at the time he took over in 2019, non payment of salaries was no longer an issue.

Whatever problems Ajimobi had with that, he already took care of it.

Recruitments of Teachers is desirable at every points and it will be desirable, long after Governor Makinde leaves office, because, even himself, will not employ enough. There would always be need for more.

I think the biggest problem in our Education sector is infrastructure deficits and the need for a system to balance between the welfare of the Teachers and attendance to the infrastructural deficits.

As it is today, even if everyone in Oyo state is employed as Teachers and the infrastructure in our public schools remain as they are, nothing will change. In actual facts, things would continue to get worse.

For me, this is where I have a big problem with Governor Makinde.

Ajimobi’s Education policies, which he cancelled without examining them is a grave mistake on his part.

The policy in itself was an outcome of series of consultations between relevant stakeholders in the Education sector.

It was not a product of the late Governor’s fantasies.

The payment of a paltry one thousand Naira per term per pupil was arrived at by all stakeholders including the parents.

A perfectly working system has been put in place and I am sure that parents would have been willing to even pay more to support Governor Makinde if he had been humble enough to look at the policy, rejig it if necessary and continue with it.

During Ajimobi’s tenure, even though as parents, we were paying three thousand Naira per pupil per session, Ajimobi was gracious enough to be assisting parents with the payments of WAEC fees. That is in thousands of Naira.

Late Alao Akala paid for both WAEC and NECO and I think it was the same with former Governor Ladoja.

Governor Makinde is not helping parents to pay for either of NECO or WAEC.

Similarly, Governors Ladoja, Akala and Ajimobi were very prompt in giving pupils free exercise books and Text books during their tenures.

The only time Governor Makinde distributed free exercise books to pupils in public schools, the process was engulfed in allegations of monumental fraud.

A Broadcaster friend of the Governor was alleged to have been awarded the contracts for the procurements of the exercise books which were allegedly procured at an outrageous rate of #2,100 per exercise book.

The Governor is yet to tell the public the outcome of his investigations into the terrible allegations till today.

During the regime of former Governor Ladoja. He was emphatic about his policy of 30 pupils per class and he followed words with action.

How many students are we having in the average per classroom today?

Hundreds I am sure. How can we have quality Education in such an environment?

Whatever it is that Governor Makinde gave to the Education sector with his right hand by employing Teachers and paying their salaries as and at when due, has he not taken it back with the left hand when the Infrastructures in those public schools where those Teachers would be deployed to work are an eyesore? When he has not been prompt in releasing monthly grants to run the schools? When he hasn’t been forthcoming in providing free exercise and Text books like his predecessors? When he has never intervened by assisting parents in paying for WAEC and NECO fees? When classrooms are overcrowded and rowdy?

The Education sector in Oyo state requires holistic attention not a cosmetic intervention aimed at currying public applause.

I am not seeing that in Governor Makinde.

A Governor who is dedicated to a complete turn around of the Education sector will not leave schools Principals to sit under trees and watch while pupils take classes under debris while wasting #28 billion to mount street lights and #15 billion to build Garages.

Such a Governor would have taken such money to attend to the infrastructural deficits in our public schools.

Let me ask Governor Makinde if he had ever taken time to visit the public schools at random.

How many of the School Principals, Vice Principals and Headmasters have befitting offices?

I am sure that the offices of the PA and staffs of the Chairman of the Oyo state PMS is by far better than the offices of the Principals, Vice Principals and the Headmasters of our public primary and secondary schools.

That is for those whose offices are not under some Cashew or Dongoyaro trees!

Today, how many of our public secondary schools have functional Libraries and Laboratories?

How many of them have functional first Aid kits?

How many of them still have their fences standing? What of their Football Pitches?

Yet, the Governor claimed to be spending money on invisible Mini Stadia and Training Pitches.

Like I said, the problems facing our Education sector require holistic approach not a lip service approach as we currently have.

Let us also examine Governor Makinde’s policies on Agriculture.

He claimed to have linked the zones in Oyo state with the Capital, Ibadan, through good roads network.

That is partially true.

I said partially because he has refused to do anything tangible about the road that links Ibadan with Ibarapa.

I also do not know how to agree with him that he linked Oyo zone with Ibadan.

I am aware that he cancelled the contract for the award of the Moniya/Iseyin road by Ajimobi and reaward at a higher cost but I don’t know how that could be termed as linking Ibadan with Oke Ogun as the Governor has always been claiming all this while.

To his credit, he started the road from Iseyin to Ogbomoso and finished with it.

According to Governor Makinde, he has decided to ” link” the zones with Ibadan to foster Agriculture.

You will think that Oke Ogun consists of only Iseyin Local Government if you are a stranger.

If truly, Governor Makinde’s intention of ” linking” the zones of Oyo state with Ibadan is to foster Agriculture activities, how would you explain the facts that the same Governor who earnestly wishes for the development of Agriculture through good roads network between the zones and Ibadan is the same who is reputed to have neglected or refused to pay attention to the access roads within the rural communities and the access roads between the Farms, Villages, rural markets and the rural Towns?

Farm products are largely produced by the rural Farmers, ( those Governor Makinde have now labelled as ” small holder farmers”).

Governor Seyi Makinde has refused to pay attention to the roads that leads to the farms of this farmers since he became Governor in 2019.

He has also refused to release funds for the 33 Local Governments to attend to the rural roads.

I listened to the Chairman of Ibadan North Local Government on a Radio program on Saturday.

The fellow could not answer a very simple question about how much he received as monthly Allocations for the month of October, 2024.

He would dare not say it. They are in a ” Golden cage” so to speak.

Now, let’s assume that Governor Makinde linked the zones of Oyo state with Ibadan through the few Roads rehabilitation he embarked upon, if the access roads within the rural areas and the farms are neglected, what would be the results?

Failure. Because, Agricultural products are produced in rural areas where Governor Makinde has neglected to develop.

His interventions in the Agriculture sector is targeted mainly at providing an enabling environment for the foreign invaders he has brought to displace our rural and local farmers whom he has given the tag of ” small holder farmers”.

The Governor is not interested in the production of food for the citizens of Oyo state and neither is he concerned about the welfare of the ” small holder farmers”.

I have to say that I am still waiting for the Governor to justify his illegal ” partnership and collaborations” with the Local Government Chairmen.

I see that no one has been man enough to react to the document that listed some fake achievements by some Local Governments which I dissected about a week ago.

They have equally not denied that the document is genuine.

I am not done with that document but that would be later.

I will like to end this piece on perhaps a lighter note, though, for the Governor, it might not be amusing.

I read about what the Governor said in Osun state about how they will expose what transpired in both of Ondo and Edo state at the Election Petition Tribunal.

Hmmm… Good. Very good but when will Governor Makinde tell the citizens of Oyo state and indeed the general public about exactly what transpired in Oyo state in 2023?

I mean, a detailed analysis of how he was awarded a second term as Governor of Oyo state?

” A ri teni moo wi, a fi apaadi bo tie mole”.

 

About The Author