Prominent Ibadan chief, Mogaji Wole Arisekola, has said he did not warn Governor Seyi Makinde against contesting President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election, but rather offered him sincere advice.
Mogaji Arisekola was responding to Governor Makinde’s recent claim that a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress had warned him about his alleged presidential ambition.
The Ibadan chief clarified that his interaction with the governor was borne out of respect and concern for Oyo State, and not as a warning.
Arisekola’s statement reads:
I did not warn you, Your Excellency. I only offered you a sincere piece of advice.
Ti ara ilé ẹni bá ń jẹ́ kòkòrò búburú, tí a kò bá sọ fún un, kòrokòrò rẹ̀ kì í jẹ́ ká gbádùn.
(If our neighbours are eating the bad timites and no one speaks up, the consequences will not allow one to live in peace.)
You are not an ordinary person among our peers in the Yemetu-Oje area and in Nigeria at large today. You are the first person from our neighbourhood to become a sitting governor.
Forget about the psychopaths and those trying to pitch the government against Ibadan indigenes. Some of us who believe in you and in your achievements will never pray for your downfall.
Let us continue to do things the way we have always done them and remain on the same page, as we always have.
Both of us know that we can install any candidate we want, and nothing will happen. We know that. But we also know that the next election is APC’s turn.
(Ladoja/Akala PDP 8yrs) (Ajmobi 8yrs APC) (HE, Makinde 8yrs PDP) (now APC)
Whoever emerges as their candidate, we will support—except Bayo. If Bayo could deny Arisekola Alao’s son the APC ticket to contest the last House of Representatives election, then he should be prepared to face the same fate.
In politics, a million friends are not enough, but one enemy is too much.
That is my position.
That is exactly what I told you, and, as usual, you said, “Mogaji, don’t worry.”
My brother, you still have the opportunity to be the hero of our time by doing the right thing once again.
May God never put you to shame. May the Almighty continue to guide, protect, and bless you and your family.
I am very proud of you. You have made me happy that someone of your calibre came from the Yemetu-Oje neighbourhood.
You are the best-performing governor in the history of our state today. That is my opinion, and I am entitled to it.
You are a shining example to the younger generation.
Mogaji Wole Arisekola writes from Ibadan.
