Gov Makinde Lied | By Maroof Olatunde Asudemade

Governor Seyi Makinde’s remarks in Bauchi on Friday have opened a fresh debate about truth, leadership and political responsibility. While addressing Governor Bala Mohammed and leaders of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), Governor Makinde declared that Oyo State had not experienced kidnapping throughout his seven years in office until the tragic abduction of pupils and teachers in Oriire Local Government on May 15, 2026. He further pointed out that he had declared his presidential ambition at 4:00 p.m. and that by 9:00 a.m. the following morning, the schoolchildren had been abducted.

That statement may have generated applause in Bauchi but it does not survive scrutiny in Oyo State. It is simply untrue. More disturbing is that it unintentionally wipes away the painful memories of scores of victims and their families who have lived through the nightmare of kidnapping in Oyo State over the last seven years.

History deserves better. So do the victims. The available records render Governor Makinde’s statements insensitive and false. Between 2019 and 2026, Oyo State experienced numerous kidnapping incidents. Kidnappings occurred in Akinyele. They occurred in Ibarapa. They occurred in Oke-Ogun. They occurred on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. They occurred on Ibadan-Ijebu Ode Expressway. They occurred on the Ibadan-Iseyin Road. They occurred on the Oyo-Ogbomoso Road.

Kidnappings occurred in Lanlate, Igangan, Saki, Otu, Moniya, Olodo, Iseyin and several farming settlements where residents abandoned their homes out of fear.

Security agencies repeatedly announced the rescue of kidnapped victims and the arrest or elimination of suspected kidnappers. Those operations would not have taken place in a state where kidnapping never existed.

For years, newspapers carried reports of commuters kidnapped on highways, farmers abducted on their farms, traders seized on lonely roads, and communities forced to negotiate with criminals demanding ransom. Were those Nigerians invisible? Were their experiences imaginary?

Then there’s the Igangan reality. Before Oriire shocked the nation, the Ibarapa axis had already become synonymous with insecurity. The Igangan crisis exposed the activities of armed criminal gangs terrorising communities. Farmers could no longer cultivate their lands freely. Several people were abducted at different times. Traditional rulers repeatedly raised alarm. Community leaders cried to government for help. The insecurity in that axis became a national conversation.

To now suggest that Oyo had not experienced kidnapping until May 2026 is to ignore one of the most painful chapters in the state’s recent history.

Akinyele became a flashpoint. Residents of Akinyele Local Government know better than anyone. The Moniya axis witnessed repeated attacks. Travellers became fearful. Families postponed journeys. Commercial drivers altered their routes. Kidnappers operated with alarming frequency until intensified security operations reduced their activities. Those incidents were reported. Victims existed. Families suffered.

Oke-Ogun was not spared. From Saki to Irepo, Atisbo, Otu and neighbouring communities, farmers and travellers repeatedly fell victim to kidnappers. Only weeks before the successful rescue of the Oriire schoolchildren, security operatives announced another operation in Oke-Ogun that led to the rescue of kidnapped victims and the arrest or neutralisation of suspected kidnappers. How then can anyone honestly claim there had been no kidnapping?

Then came Oriire. What happened in Oriire was unprecedented in scale. Dozens of pupils and teachers were abducted. Families endured fifty-six agonising days. One teacher paid the supreme price. The entire nation prayed.

Eventually, through a coordinated security operation involving the military, DSS and the police, the victims regained their freedom. Eight suspects were arrested while others were neutralised. Every Nigerian celebrated. But celebrating the rescue should not require rewriting the history of insecurity in Oyo State.

Facts are not political enemies. Governor Makinde also drew attention to the timing of the Oriire abduction, noting that it occurred hours after he declared his presidential ambition. He is entitled to point out that sequence of events. What nobody is entitled to do is present coincidence as proof of causation. As of today, no security agency has publicly concluded that the Oriire kidnapping was orchestrated because Governor Makinde declared for the presidency. Unknown to Governor Makinde, while he was in Bauchi, playing politics with the lives of the abductees still stuck in the hands of the bandits inside the Old Oyo National Park, our federal security operatives, in a coordinated operations, were closing in on the bandits and the rescue eventually happened and succeeded without a single collateral damage.

Security is too serious to be reduced to political symbolism. Leadership demands accuracy.

Every administration faces security challenges. No governor can honestly claim total control over the police, DSS or the military. Governor Makinde himself made that point in Bauchi, and he is correct. But acknowledging constitutional limitations is different from denying historical facts. One can defend one’s security efforts without erasing the suffering of victims. One can aspire to lead Nigeria without suggesting that kidnapping suddenly appeared in Oyo State only after declaring for the presidency. Truth does not become false because it is politically inconvenient.

And the victims matter. Behind every kidnapping statistic is a human story. A father who sold property to pay ransom. A mother who spent sleepless nights praying. A child traumatised for life. A farmer who never returned home. A commuter who disappeared on the highway. A teacher who died in captivity. These Nigerians deserve remembrance. They deserve honesty. Their pain should never become collateral damage in the construction of a political narrative.

History cannot be edited. Governor Makinde may have spoken emotionally. He may have intended to emphasise the unprecedented nature of the Oriire school abduction. But words matter. Facts matter. History matters. The historical record is clear. Kidnapping did not begin in Oyo State on May 15, 2026. The Oriire tragedy was the largest school abduction in the state’s history, but it was not the first kidnapping incident under Governor Makinde’s administration.

Leadership is measured not only by achievements but also by the willingness to confront uncomfortable truths. For the sake of every victim of kidnapping in Oyo State, the record must remain straight. History will remember what happened. It will also remember who tried to rewrite it.