Challenges before Makinde

This year may be challenging for Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde, going by the number of issues requiring his attention. For a governor that is noted for his populist approach to governance, he must up the ante to remain relevant. Southwest Bureau Chief BISI OLADELE reports

 

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde rose to power on the strength of enormous goodwill. His gentle mien and reserved nature are contrary to those of his witty, glamorous and outspoken predecessor Abiola Ajimobi who entered the bad books of voters in the last two years of his administration.

Makinde promised to succeed where Ajimobi was perceived to have failed. He promised to take over the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), bring simplicity to governance and directly place people’s interest above the building of infrastructures. In simple terms, he promised to end what he termed “executive arrogance” and rebuild Oyo State along a new path. He got the votes. And months after months, his fame soared.

But, the goodwill seems to be stagnating and may have started plummeting, as the administration inch closer to its second anniversary. Insecurity is worsening. Governance looks too slow to meet people’s yearnings due to perceived over-centralization. His government’s scorecard on infrastructural development seems poor, while his party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) is not swelling in ranks as would be typically expected of a party in power. Management of COVID-19 in the state is attracting criticism. There is more! For the above and some more, some Oyo State residents are beginning to ask questions. Later in the year, the governor will be forced to attend to some urgent issues to retain and increase the goodwill he enjoys.

 

Insecurity

Insecurity is growing in Oyo State by the week. Security breaches are becoming commonplace in virtually all parts of the state. Kidnapping, violent attacks, and sometimes killing of farmers, business people and ordinary citizens are increasing, particularly in Oke-Ogun and Ibarapa land. The criminal activities seem to be eroding the goodwill generated by the special attention the governor had paid to Oke-Ogun area of the state.

Makinde himself had raised the alarm in the last week of 2020 that terrorists were entering the state through borders in Oke-Ogun. It was a confirmation of the many criminal activities and alarms that have turned the area to a dangerous zone for farmers, traders and other residents. A young man, Sunday Shodipe gained notoriety mid-2020 for allegedly killing hapless people serially in Akinyele area of Ibadan. He escaped from police detention before he was recaptured. It also took the joint operation of all security agencies to dislodge some suspected bandits from the large forest in Kishi area in September, after the sleepy community witnessed a surge in the cases of kidnapping and armed robbery.

In the last quarter of 2020, the state witnessed another surge in the incidence of kidnapping and armed robbery, particularly in Ibadan, the state capital. A prominent farmer in Ibarapa, Fatai Aborode was gruesomely murdered on his farm by unknown gunmen, while many farms in the area were alleged to have been massively destroyed.

Some people were abducted in different parts of Ibadan, including foreign businessmen. While the #EndSARS protest was fading away, two policemen were burnt to death by angry youths in Iwo Road interchange of the city. Some others were gruesomely murdered at Ojoo Police Station.

In some parts of the capital city, hoodlums are having a field day robbing shops in the evening. The hoodlums will start a clash which forces shop owners to hurriedly shut their doors and run for dear lives. Then the hoodlums will descend on the shops and loot them to their satisfaction. All these disturbances, which are largely unreported in the media, have made residents recede into fear.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) recently made a statement condemning this development and calling on Governor Makinde to borrow a leaf from how his predecessor tackled violence and criminality during his eight-year tenure. It called on the governor to apply a brake in politicking and secure the lives and properties of the people. But, in its reaction, the PDP urged the opposition party to blame President Muhammadu Buhari for worsening insecurity in the country at large. It pointed out that Makinde was supporting security agencies massively based on his conviction that all parts of the state must be safe for residents and visitors.

Decrying the situation, an APC governorship aspirant who hails from Idere in Ibarapa, Dr Sola Ayandele, said Ibarapa land was practically under siege. He said residents of Oyo State now live in fear due to the incessant attacks of innocent citizens.

Ayandele called on Governor Makinde and heads of all security agencies to live up to the peoples’ expectations by providing security for their lives and properties across the state.

As security breaches increase, Governor Makinde needs to urgently come up with initiatives that will bring solution and enable him to earn the trust of the people that they are safe under his leadership. No further delay can be accommodated.

 

COVID-19 management

As the world still grapples with Coronavirus crisis, Governor Makinde has been accused of poor management of the pandemic. For instance, Oyo was the only state in Southwest that did not impose a lockdown at the thick of the pandemic last year. He was the first to reopen schools and was adjudged to be reluctant in imposing other restrictions to contain the spread of the virus. Though he has been commended for equipping the Infectious Disease Centre located in Olodo area of Ibadan, the establishment of test centres at the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan and for the building of isolation centres in some other parts of the state, government enforcement of COVID-19 protocols and restrictions has been adjudged to be almost nil. While other states also banned or restricted the so-called “crossover service” at worship centres, Makinde gave the churches a free hand to hold the service, though with a call on residents to observe the protocols. All these may have accounted for why the opposition party accused him of playing politics with such sensitive issues. As at January 6, the state was ranked fifth in the country’s COVID-19 prevalence scale, because of its number of infections, hospitalized patients and number of deaths. As at the above date, Oyo had over 600 patients hospitalized for COVID-19, 52 deaths, 4,086 positive cases and 3,416 patients had been discharged. He needs to urgently prove that his administration is willing to contain the spread of the virus through imposing of restrictions and other protocols stipulated by the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19.

 

Education

Riding on the promise to secure sole ownership of LAUTECH, Ogbomoso and scrap the N1,000 per term development levy introduced by the Ajimobi administration in secondary schools, Makinde has won many more hearts by succeeding on the former. He succeeded in doing “what Napoleon could not do” according to a notable lawyer and APC chieftain, Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN).

Though he scrapped the development levy in secondary schools, his administration has not been efficient in the timely release of running grants to the schools. Running grants are meant to replace the sums generated from the levies. The delay has many negative effects on the smooth running of the schools and leaves many wondering if the scrapping was the best solution.

The governor should also be commended for recruiting qualified teachers. He insisted on recruiting only trained teachers; only those who scored 50 per cent and above in the written test were recruited. He also accommodated non-indigenes in the exercise. The process will no doubt throw up the very best as teachers in the state’s public schools. However, Makinde should ensure that the procedure remains thorough till the end because the candidates are yet to receive their letters, four weeks after the promise was given.

With schools set to resume, the governor will need an urgent overhaul of the procedure for releasing running grants and supervision of tertiary institutions by consultants.

Three other issues which require Makinde’s urgent attention are roadside trading, traffic management and excesses of commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders. Though the government just issued a seven-day ultimatum to roadside traders who are increasing by the day, observers have little confidence in the government’s seriousness or sincerity on enforcement.

The late Ajimobi constructed modern markets and motor parks, particularly in Ibadan. But, they have been abandoned by traders due to poor law enforcement. So is traffic management. The preponderance of okada riders and their recklessness has reached an intolerable level as motorists struggle to maintain sanity while using the roads. Worse still, the motorcyclists have constituted themselves to a government by swooping on motorists that are engaged in accidents with any one of them, irrespective of who is guilty. They burn down vehicles instantly and even kill the driver where possible without asking questions. The state government must assert its presence by regulating the group before the public rises against them and create a state of anarchy.

Commenting on the issues, the senator representing Oyo South Senatorial District, Dr Kola Balogun, said Makinde is doing his best to secure the state. He pointed out that the rising security breaches are only a spill-over from the national scene because insecurity has risen to a level never seen before in Nigeria. He accused those blaming Makinde for rising insecurity of playing politics with the lives and property of the people. He also pointed out that the establishment of Amotekun by Makinde’s administration has enhanced security in the state, stressing that the governor has been supporting security agencies to be effective.

On the allegation of using a populist approach to governance, Sen. Balogun brushed it aside, saying Makinde is delivering on his mandate to improve the welfare of the people.

He said: “If a governor is providing the social ladder for the majority of the people and children of the poor to rise in the social hierarchy, and you call that populism, so be it. If improving infrastructures, paying salaries and providing work tools and enabling environment for workers is called populism, so be it. Governor Makinde’s efforts are aimed at improving the lives of the people. If you call that populism, there is no problem with that.”