When Engr. Seyi Makinde decided to empower commercial drivers with Nissan Micra vehicles shortly after losing the 2015 gubernatorial election, many saw the move as a wink in the dark; something that would be of very little consequence.
That is however the way Engr. Makinde does his things; never in half measures. Though perceived as cool, calm and collected, his entry into politics has revealed a hitherto unknown side of him. As cool as he seems, Governor Seyi Makinde is obstinately rugged and he never gives up, especially when it is a cause he believes in.
The stubbornness and his ability to persevere eventually paid off in the 2019 election. Not only did he win hands down, between when his opponents assumed he was massaging his loss with public service and philanthropic activities, the tide had turned in his favour.
Findings have, however, revealed that Governor Makinde did not just become strong-willed. He has always been! From St. Michael’s Catholic School, Yemetu in the 1970s to Bishop Phillips Academy, Iwo Road in the early 1980s, he had been known to demonstrate leadership qualities that stood him out.
During his primary school days, the Games Teachers knew him as one of those consistent in sports; that, however, did not have any negative effect on his academic brilliance. He was the head boy in his set in secondary school and most of those who taught him then were unanimous in describing him as “stubborn but brilliant”.
Even political leaders, some of who had hitherto ruled by decree and not by debate, agree that Governor Makinde is not the type of man that can be cowed into submission. “I know Seyi can be stubborn at times but he is someone I can talk to”, former Governor Rashidi Ladoja said in a radio interview shortly after he led some politicians and gubernatorial candidates from other parties to form an alliance with Seyi Makinde and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Of course, Senator Ladoja understands the mental gymnastics of politics. He and Engr. Makinde had once been locked in a tussle over the control of the PDP. They had both returned to the PDP then, Ladoja from Accord Party and Makinde from the Social Democratic Party where both of them had contested for the 2015 gubernatorial poll.
Close family sources have also revealed that efforts to persuade him to change his mind proved futile. He ran for a senate seat in 2007 and aspired again in 2011, after which he opted for the gubernatorial position.
Though members of his nuclear and extended family see him as a model of decorum, they agree that Seyi Makinde does his things his own way. And since he is the only family member in politics, all they can do is offer advice and pray for him. Those who know the governor’s mother at very close quarters revealed that though she didn’t support the idea of politics in the first place, she eventually let him be and she started praying for him and advising him where possible.
Some of his friends faced a great test of loyalty when they advised him after the 2015 loss to decamp to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in order to position him for the gubernatorial position.
Those who mooted the idea had opined that he should leverage on his relationship with the then Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, with whom he had a chummy relationship when they were candidates of the All Nigeria Peoples Party in 2007.
“I tried to persuade him to join APC so he could have a brighter chance of getting the gubernatorial ticket. He declined and while I kept wondering why he was that obstinate, he emerged the PDP candidate. Today, I am forced to agree that if he had joined the APC, he would not have emerged as their candidate and that would have been the end of that gubernatorial dream, at least for another four years”, one of his friends disclosed.
And as it turned out, many of those who had thought they would be considered as the candidate of the APC ended up being disappointed with many of them reverting to other platforms; a stage Governor Makinde found himself in 2015. If he had not held on albeit obstinately in the PDP, he wouldn’t have entered the 2019 election like a gladiator as he would have been fighting from a position of disadvantage.
Not many people knew he had a reason for sticking to his guns. He was sure he would be Governor and the only way to achieve it was to keep working towards it. A letter he wrote to the citizens of Oyo State shortly after the 2015 election had divine timing and perseverance as key elements. “Even though I am still waiting for my own divine time that God and you good people of Oyo State will make me your governor, I am still going to keep to my promise of doing everything possible to banish unemployment and poverty from our state. I will continue to do whatever I can do along this line as usual while I await my date with destiny”, he wrote.
The consistency and perseverance paid off four years after and the old order has eventually given way to “Omi Tuntun”.
Packaged by Wole Adejumo
