Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
For the first time since he took over the reins of government in the past two months, Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday opened up on how the golden advice given to him on how to win elections by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, culminated into his electoral victory in the March 9, 2019 governorship poll in the state.
He made the disclosure when he paid a working visit to the palace of Alaafin in Oyo town, on his way to inspect the abandoned 10,000 metric tonnes silo, a project embarked on by the immediate past administration in the state, as well as the Ajila Value Adding Ventures Limited, Awe.
According to Makinde, Oba Adeyemi gave him the advice in 2015 when he was the governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party(SDP), saying electioneering took him to the palace of Alaafin then, and the first-class monarch said it was not his turn to be governor in 2015, and advised him on how to win the poll in the subsequent governorship election.
But Oba Adeyemi did not make any official comment during the visit. However, both the governor and the monarch had one-on-one chat in the palace before the governor was called upon to talk on why he visited the palace. The chat took place in the open where journalists and other personalities were present, but the duo were on the podium where it was impossible for the audience to hear what they discussed briefly.
Makinde, who contested the 2019 governorship poll on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said: “We are actually on our way to Awe for inspection, but there is no way I will come around here without first visiting the palace. I have told Kabiyesi that in two weeks time, I will come and visit him properly because we are actually at work now.
“What many people do not know is the closeness between Alaafin and I. Some people have told me that they wanted to bring me to Alaafin but I just kept it to myself, not telling them that, if they had known the kind of relationship between Alaafin and I, they would have been the ones to ask me to take them to him.
“During my campaign in 2015, it was only the Alaafin that told me the truth on how we have been doing and how we were not doing things right. All he told us were put to use in the 2019 elections that gave us victory.
“We are here to inspect projects on how our economy can improve and I am sure that when we finish the project, Oyo town will also know it for good. The facility will help our farmers have good storage facility for the farm produce, which will moderate practices, especially prices when the need arises.
“We all know the truth about security but we have been able to manage the situation well and the only reason is for the cooperation between the government and the people and we look forward for more of such cooperation.”