Makinde: Beyond the party, regional borders

Four States of the Nigerian Federation; Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Kwara surely have things in common. As we speak, one of those affinities, however, is not politics. There is geographical contiguity, there is linguistic affinity and to a large extent an ancestral community, 100% for Oyo, Ogun and Osun, but at some percentage for Kwara State.

But there is a political divide. While Oyo State is administered by Governor Seyi Makinde, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the other three are governed by his colleagues, who belong to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

As we have seen in this country, political divides can be as wide as you can imagine, especially when one group portrays itself as progressive, while the other is branded as conservative. Such divisions can be as strong and solid as the famous Berlin Wall. This means that government policies and practices would be diametrically opposed and the belief is that key players in these political structures can only exchange coy jokes at social functions.

But for a man like Governor Seyi Makinde, who is determined to redefine the widely held nuances and idiosyncratic paradigm of governance, there is always a convergence of minds when development is the focus. For him, political affiliations should not be an obstacle to growth. For the man affectionately called GSM by his admirers, poverty, lack and misery know no political, ethnic or religious barriers. Development and its avowed mantra of poverty to prosperity in Oyo State has universal appeal. And in just over three years of governance in the Pacesetter State, he has demonstrated his loyalty to such ideals in voluminous measure.

Resolving the LAUTECH debacle

Take up the challenge of jointly running Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso with Osun State, for example. Beginning around 2007, it had become apparent to both state owners that the marriage that produced LAUTECH had developed "K-legs" that could no longer be straightened. But while both governments were convinced of the need to divorce the union, neither was clear on the path to peace. States were stuck on how to initiate a win-win solution and the University was the worst for it.

The government of Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala (Oyo) and Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola (Osun), both of the PDP, failed to find a way out. So did the APC governments led by Governor Abiola Ajimobi and Rauf Aregbesola in both states. When the PDP government led by Makinde and the APC government led by Gboyega Oyetola began negotiations over the ownership of LAUTECH in late 2019, only a few held the belief that something concrete would materialize.

But exactly one year after the inauguration of the Joint Negotiating Committees, success was registered when the National Universities Commission (NUC) announced the sole ownership of LAUTECH by Oyo State in November 2020.< /p>

The safety angle

By the second half of 2021, reports of kidnappings and security incidents of all kinds around the borders of Oyo and Ogun states had become common. Governor Makinde, through the Oyo State Security Trust Fund headed by CP Fatai Owoseni (Retired), immediately took action to stem the tide. A security watch post equipped with high caliber cameras was erected at the Oyo/Ogun border on the Ibadan/Abeokuta road and within weeks a check was put on nefarious activities around this axis.

That was not all, the Governor, in consultation with his Ogun State counterpart, Prince Dapo Abiodun, launched the Oyo/Ogun Security Summit held in Abeokuta on 2 February 2022.

A statement released after the summit said the two states have resolved to address insecurity issues, including crimes such as kidnapping, banditry, fraud and ritual killings, between others, frontally by setting up high-level joint security. committee to oversee security issues along the border communities. The meeting also agreed to establish a Joint Border Security Working Group comprised of members drawn from various security agencies in each state.

Makinde said of the summit, "I'm glad it's not about partisan politics. My brother is from the APC and I'm from the PDP. We have security issues along our common borders. We had two PDP governors in those states and I didn't see anywhere where they had that kind of collaboration. Again, two APC governors were in both states and didn't have anything been able to accomplish. Today, we have APC and PDP Governors and we are here to collaborate, and at the end of this technical session, what we hope to achieve is a lasting solution that will benefit the good people of both states.

"My brother (Dapo Abiodun) and I have an absolute commitment to the safety of lives and property in both st...