Whenever I am out especially in public spaces, say public transport, buka, the hairdresser’s, market places, my workplace, basically everywhere I can strike up a conversation with people that I’m not familiar with, I love to sample opinion about politics and random national issues. So this election period, I have made it my personal assignment to sample the opinion of residents of Oyo State as regards who they want their next governor to be.
When I was working on my thesis as an undergraduate and even as a graduate student at the University of Ibadan, I found interviews very interesting. As researchers, we were trained not to manipulate questions. Researchers are taught that when your questions are biased or are not being objective, the answers you will elicit may not reflect the actual thoughts of your respondent(s).
There are times when your thesis questions are proven wrong and that is fine, in fact that is the beauty of research. A researcher must always maintain an open mind in order to get accurate data about the topic under investigation.
I had always suspected that the people of Oyo State love their governor but research has also taught me that assumptions can be very misleading. That is why I went all out to get first-hand information from the people directly affected by the people who the governor has been leading for almost 4 years. Although my sample may be small but my questions have been largely guided by my knowledge of research which were articulated in the above paragraphs.
What I have found out so far is that the people of Oyo State love their governor. I am not sure that there is any governor in the history of the state who has enjoyed so much love and support from the people. Someone would even jokingly comment that the love is such that one can say that the herbalist or pastor that did the ‘àwúre’ soap for the governor did a good job.
The truth is that the love that the people of Oyo State has for the governor is not unfounded, it can actually be traced back to the love and interest that the Governor has also demonstrated in the welfare of the people.
I watched a video from Òyó town few days ago where Alhaja Bakare, the Iyaloja of Oyo town was making a case for the governor on why he should be returned for a second term. She particularly dwelled on how the Seyi-Makinde led administration rebuilt the burnt Akesan market within months and ensured that the stalls were allocated to original shop owners in the market. She begged her fellow market women from all the 4 local governments in the town to reciprocate the kind gesture of the governor by returning him to office.
The chairman of Oyo East Local Government, Mr Saheed Arowosaye while speaking at the event also recalled how politicians wanted slots out of the newly built ultra modern Akesan market but the governor refused, insisting that stalls should only be returned to original owners. The chairman who made it known that the governor mandated the Oyo East Local Government administration led by him to rebuild the Akesan Market monitored the project and ensured that the process of reallocation of stalls in the newly built market was not politicized.
I also sampled the opinion of the traders who hawk goods in my office. These people hawk around different offices in Ibadan which gives them access to varying information from conversations held in offices they visit. The woman who sells dried fish for us is one of these traders. She told me about much love the pensioners who buy fish from her has for the governor. She told me how the pensioners always pray for the governor whenever she is with them. These old women, according to her, are always eager to talk about how their pensions have been regular since Seyi Makinde became the governor. This singular act they say has enhanced their standard of living. She was the first person that told me about the Christmas bonus the pensioners received in December.
While I was in Oyo town for my vacation, I also spoke to my former tailor whose daughter had to stay at home for almost one and half session because of the Lautech problem. She is especially happy with Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration for putting an end to the incessant strikes and allowing her daughter to go back to school. For years, previous administrations in the state had found it difficult to solve the problem of ownership, administration and resources management between Oyo State and Osun State that jointly owned Lauteh. Even when both states were ruled by governors from the same party, the problem remain unsolved. The Seyi-Makinde led administration engaged the Oyetola-led administration in a negotiation that led to Oyo State government becoming the new owner of the school. Ever since then, the issue of incessant strikes in Lautech has become a thing of the past.
During the Governor’s interview on Fresh FM yesterday, Thursday, 16th March 2023, he repeated his stance not to jeopardize the interests of Oyo State people in order to please some minority leaders. He told Mayor Isaac Brown and his crew how he had worked with people such as Dr. Nurein Adeniran, Dr. Wasiu Olatunbosun among others who were recommended by the coalition parties, part of which was former Governor Ladoja. Governor Seyi Makinde maintained that he has done what is right by these influential people who are now bent on removing him from office as against the rumours that he did not honour the coalition agreement.
Recall that the legendary circular road has been named after Former Governor Ladoja and Seyi Makinde has always acknowledged him as the one who conceived the road project and saw into the future. When asked how the Governor feels when he heard that the former Governor is alleged to be at the forefront of the campaign to ensure that the APC candidate replace the him, Seyi Makinde said his trust and hope is in the poeple of Oyo State whose interests he has always protected and whom he has served diligently.
