Circular Road Corridor Residents: A People Let Down By Govt, The Elites and A Corrupt Society | Sola Abegunde

I’m inclined to begin this piece on a lighter note even though, it does seems like there is nothing light about the topic I am about to discuss, but what can we really do? It is what it is and life must go on.

I saw a video of some distressed residents of the Ibadan Circular road corridor yesterday and something caught my attention.

The affected residents marched in protests to the main entrance of the Oyo state Governor’s office at Agodi and at the Governor’s office entrance Gates, just beside the protesters, I caught a massive Bill boards bearing an imposing picture of Governor Seyi Makinde and the inscriptions carried by the Bill board is interestingly a message condemning Land grabbing in Oyo state!

What an irony! There you were. Thousands of residents of Oyo state, complaining against a Government that just grabbed their Land and the Governor who sanctioned the act is campaigning against Land grabbing by individuals within the same state.

The situation made me remember a very funny joke made by the late ace Broadcaster, Gbenga Adeboye.

He once joked that if a rich man and an occultic man were fighting over a Chieftaincy title, the rich man would be victorious but the occultic man would eventually kill him. ( Olowo ni o joye, oloogun o waa paa).

There was a time I told a radio presenter that Governor Seyi Makinde’s establishment of a Commission saddled with the responsibilities of fighting against Land grabbing is pointless and cosmetic.

I told the presenter that whatever successes recorded by the Commission would be wasted by Governor Seyi Makinde himself because by certain actions of his Government, the Governor is the real threat, the Chief Land grabber and I asked the presenter if the Commission has the power to sanction Governor Makinde for Land grabbing.

Sometimes last year, some residents of the Circular road corridor were with me on a Radio station in Ibadan.

It was some weeks after Governor Makinde promised them that there won’t be further demolitions of buildings at the Circular road corridor beyond 75mtrs.

They were at the radio station to complain about the perceived insincerity of Governor Makinde to his pledge of stopping further demolitions.

I remember telling them that they missed a particular statement by Governor Seyi Makinde when he addressed them at the time they protested by sleeping at the Secretariat for several days.

I told them that though, Governor Makinde promised that the set back would not extend beyond 75mtrs on either sides of the road but he put a caveat which ought to be a warning for them but which they obviously missed.

The Governor added a caveat that those who were yet to start the construction of their buildings as at the day he addressed the protesters, should not start building their houses thereafter.

That statement was loaded. It was akin to giving something to someone with the right hand and immediately retrieving same with the left hand.

Presently, the residents are complaining that demolition of buildings and structures are ongoing within 150mtrs and they are alleging that the Governor is awarding 350mtrs to Estate Agents.

I am not surprised. It might even get worse. Only God Almighty can save any property owner within a 500mtrs distance on either sides of the Circular road.

Governor Seyi Makinde is a very stubborn man. He himself admitted to this fact on live Radio.

He has set his eyes on a 500mtrs on either sides of the Circular road and like I said, it will take divine intervention for those within that range to survive the Governor’s fixated interests.

Honestly, my heart goes out to the residents who have found themselves in this very unfortunate circumstances.

Only God Almighty will see them through like I said.

However, I am seriously disturbed because, as a society, more than Governor Seyi Makinde, we have failed those hapless residents.

Sometimes last year,  about eight residents of Egbeda Local Government who complained about Governor Makinde’s intentions to grab their Land spent the Christmas and New Year at Agodi prisons because they purportedly insulted Governor Makinde and his ‘ Deputy’ Seye Famojuro, or what shall we call him?

Those fellows went overboard, no doubts.

No matter how pained you were, it is very wrong to record yourselves,  raining curses on anyone for that matter and you went ahead to upload such reckless videos online.

However  the actions of the Governor and the police who slammed the kind of charges preferred against them are more condemnable.

Did they have a reason to be angry? Of course yes. Who would not be? They were at the verge of losing their properties without any plans for compensation.

Should the Governor also be angry? Yes. He should but he is not Governor only to enjoy the benefits of the office alone.

The office he occupies comes with liabilities also and it would have done him some good if he had demonstrated magnanimity by ignoring them.

Could you slap a baby and expect him not to cry?

Like I said earlier, the society is the problem.

At the time, no one took up that matter. I wrote about it but what did the Press do?

How did our Public Affairs analysts respond to the matter?

What of the Civil societies?

Just this year, a reckless Police officer shot and killed a poor young boy in broad daylight.

The father of the poor dead boy was extremely stupid no doubts but how did society reacted to it?

Everyone was blaming the father of the deceased boy, leaving out the Police and the OYSROMA officials.

The Police and the OYSROMA officials said oh! We thought the man was a kidnapper and we shot to demobilize the vehicle and the Press latched on to that silly narratives to exonerate a killer!

If that incident were to happen in America or somewhere else where the society is normal, would the Policeman who fired the shot and the OYSROMA officials be left off the hook just because they claimed that they suspected that the driver was a kidnapper?

The issues around the Circular road corridor has been on for about a year now.

Who is advocating for the residents?

Late Governor Abiola Ajimobi was vilified, demonized and given all manner of names because his Government pulled down some buildings in the course of the extension of some roads.

Where are those who shouted to the rooftops at the time now?

Where is the musician who went about singing, ‘ e gbagbe ibo ni, igba te nwole wa, te nwoso wa, e gbagbe ibo ni ‘? ( You were demolishing our buildings and shops and you wanted us to vote for you?)

That musician is now part of the present Government and he is looking the other way now.

The beat has changed. So also has the lyrics. ( Were la fi nwo were) .

I have said it times without number.

When Governor Seyi Makinde goes down, he will be carrying a lot of people along with him.

You think I’m cursing him? Have you ever seen anything that goes up and doesn’t come down?

It is very unfortunate that Governor Seyi Makinde has been turned to a Monster through a conspiracy of silence by the Press and the Elites.

In this circumstance, the religious Leaders are not left out.

All of them have turned Governor Seyi Makinde to what Yorubas call ‘ atobi ma see bawi’. ( Someone who could not be corrected).

We all know the terrible state of Education in Oyo state but each time the Elites gets to the Media, they, in collaboration with the largely corrupt Media will continue shouting, ‘ they are employing teachers, they are employing teachers ‘.

How many of them are sending their children to the public schools where they claim teacher’s are being employed?

Can the employments of teachers alone solve the problems bedeviling our Education system?

It is so bad that even those teachers don’t register their children in public primary and secondary schools in Oyo state, yet, some corrupt minds would want us to believe that all is well with our Education system.

The Circular road corridor is not the first. What is making that place trend is because of the large number of people affected.

Have we not all been silent?

Sad as it may sound, I do not know how to tell the poor residents of the Circular road corridor that there is hope.

They are dealing with a Monster we all created.

When a man says, ‘ I can be very stubborn ‘, how do you appease such a man?

When a man thinks he has become a deity, how do you deal with him?

Unfortunately for the Governor, his actions at the Circular road are inimical to his Legacy.

I have said it once and let me repeat it for emphasis sake.

Governor Seyi Makinde is just like a weaver bird. ( Eye ega).

In the future, when the stories of the Circular road is being told, the echoes of the the pains, the cries, the blood and the agonies of the affected residents would swallow up the beautiful stretch of road.

In the end, just like the weaver bird, the efforts would come to nothing. ( Ega kole, ega fenu tuu).

Governor Makinde braggs about his stubbornness.

I pray he doesn’t change.

Sadly, his stubborn attributes are beginning to affect him, even within the polity.

I read his reactions to the number of Governors leaving the carcass of the PDP for him on a daily basis and I laughed.

He said he would only be worried when he heard that hunger has defected to the APC.

I definitely will do a comprehensive piece on the PDP and the fate that has befallen the Party but let me quickly say a few words here.

Only the gullible will take Governor Seyi Makinde serious.

It is no longer safe for Governor Makinde to play the Ostrich.

In the first instance, which PDP is Governor Makinde repositioning?

Only a fool will argue the fact that Governor Seyi Makinde and others had successfully killed the PDP in 2023 for selfish reasons and as they say, you can’t eat your cake and have it.

His colleagues who are wiser have done the needful but Governor Makinde’s ego won’t allow him to play an open card like his former colleagues.

I agree with former Governor Ayidele Fayose.

Governor Makinde is holding on to the carcass of the PDP because he sees the carcass as a veritable tool to negotiate his future after office.

I only pity those who still think they have ambitions to pursue on the platform of Oyo PDP in 2027.

They will most certainly end up  as mere bargaining chips.

However , I have some bad news for Governor Makinde.

The terrain is different now and there might be little or nothing for him to take out of his planned future negotiations.

We are no longer in 2023 . We ain’t stupid anymore.

Perhaps, the Governor would consider trying his luck elsewhere asides from the APC.

After all, didn’t they say he is some kind of a poster boy?

Sola Abegunde.