In many parts of Nigeria, governance has become synonymous with routine but in Oyo State, it is now synonymous with reform. Makinde’s Four Pillars are not mere policy declarations, they are deliverables. Tangible, visible, and verifiable.
The test of leadership in the he political space of statecraft now lies not in lofty rhetoric or brags about academic excellence, but in measurable capacity to transform positively, make meaningful impact, and an enduring legacy.
From the 65km Moniya-Iseyin Road to intra-city roads, agro-industrial hubs, bus terminals, and the re-engineered Ibadan Circular Road project, Oyo’s economy has been gradually rewired through logistics, agribusiness, and industrial development.
For years, successive administrations came and went, some leaving behind legacies of contention, others a mixture of ambition and abandonment, but Makinde came in 2019 with a vision both bold and refreshingly structured devoid of trial and error as a warrior adequately prepared for battle. He introduced what has now become Oyo State’s proverbial compass like a map to navigate through a deadly jungle: the four transformation pillars; Education, Health, Security, and Economic Expansion through Infrastructure.
This framework, more than just campaign rhetoric, has guided a pragmatic governance model that has reshaped public expectations and raised the performance bar. These four pillars now looms so large that it has created a new governance standard, one that future leaders may ignore at their detriments.
The more Governor Makinde builds, the higher the expectation from his successor. His blueprint has become so embedded in public consciousness that any future governor who deviates from the trajectory risks more than disapproval, he risks rejection.
But here’s the twist, Oyo people are not unreasonable. They are not looking for magicians; they are looking for continuity. If Makinde’s successor maintains the pillars, strengthens the structures, and avoids the corruption of mediocrity, then he or she may not suffer political “stoning” in the streets of Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Oyo, Ibarapa, or the plains of Oke-Ogun.
Governor Seyi Makinde’s ascension in 2019 has no doubt triggered a paradigmatic shift in Oyo State’s governance, not merely a change of guards, but a redefinition of purpose in the life cycle of a people.
Makinde’s tenure has also presented a dilemma for his successor with his unprecedented achievements particularly the unprepared, and that is gradually becoming a topical issue in different quarters, which is, will he or she meet the people’s new consciousness or falter beneath it with well structured excuses?
In political theory, this is the burden of precedent. When excellence becomes a tradition, regression becomes rebellion. And then, it is going to be the people vs the government.
Bearing this in one’s consciousness, it is safe to say that once the mind expands through vision, it cannot contract to ignorance, and for this, any form of excuse from a prospective successor targeting the Agodi Government House by 2027 will come with serious political consequences from the people. At least, any reasonable and forward thinking aspirant for the number one office in the state must know this.
Makinde has effectively removed the usual excuse of “ I was handed empty treasury” or “rot inherited” from the political dictionary of Oyo State. With steadily improving IGR, fiscal transparency, and institutionalized policies, the state has become more governable than it was in 2019.
What remains is leadership with political will, not political drama. A governor who embraces evidence-based planning, community engagement, and prudent resource management will not need to reinvent the wheel. He will only need to keep it rolling.
Makinde’s true legacy may not lie in the infrastructures and edifices he has built, but in the citizens he consciously awakened and a well structured economic system that has continued to grow stronger in terms of revenue generation without pushing back the burden on the people.
His transparency, data-backed policies, and visible progress have recalibrated public expectation. Therefore, the people of Oyo are no longer passive observers, they are now more engaged participants in their own governance after realizing that mediocrity has now become a self imposed exile in their own land.
The governor’s infrastructure revolution is not mere development for its own sake, it has so far proven to be a deliberate economic philosophy where roads connect commerce; agribusiness hubs catalyze rural economies; and public-private partnerships dissolve the dichotomy between state and market and growth becomes sustainable as a result of inclusivity.
Let’s face it, since taking the reins of leadership in 2019, Governor Makinde has redefined governance in Oyo State through a purposeful economic development blueprint anchored on these four transformation pillars: Education, Health, Security, and Expansion of the Economy through Infrastructure Development.
These pillars have served as the backbone of his administration’s reform agenda, driving an unprecedented socio-economic uplift across the state thereby, improving on the standard of living and quality of life.
Now in his second term, Makinde’s strategic and measurable approach to governance has set a benchmark so high that the people of Oyo State may not tolerate a lesser standard from any successor.
The “Omituntun” philosophy which translated as “fresh water” has become a reality, deeply rooted in pragmatic leadership, fiscal discipline, and people-centered policies.
Over the years, governor Makinde has not only raised the bar of governance, he has changed the expectations of the people.
His achievements are visible, measurable, and impact-driven, cutting across every socio-economic stratum particularly in the unprecedented and uninterrupted manner he has committed himself to payments of workers salary, clearing off of backlog of pension and gratuity amid global pandemic that disrupted socio-economic life, payment of wage award to workers as a result of fuel subsidy removal and floating of exchange rate which jerked up cost of living by almost one thousand percent, and the full implementation of national new minimum wage.
Amid all of these ‘unenvisaged’ challenges that rocked the boat of governance to its foundation, Makinde proved again that with fiscal discipline, commitment to implementation of economic blueprints, and eagle-eyed focus on delivery, goal can not be derailed by ‘stormy wind’ and excuses will now translate to failure hence, anyone who emerges as successor is already condemned to deliver or be reminded not to bother to aspire for the coveted executive governor’s seat.
Publishing of state budgets for public reviews and assessments, timely completion of projects, and citizen inclusion have also re-established trust in government.
Any future governor who deviates from this evidence based performance-driven governance style may quickly lose the trust and patience of Oyo people especially workers, pensioners, and labor unions, who are now more politically aware and less tolerant of failure or mediocrity.
It would therefore, be unwise or more succinctly put, a political folly, for any politician to feel or cultivate the entitlement mentality towards such public office like it was a souvenir for those on the high-table for pick up turn by turn.
As 2027 approaches, Oyo residents are unlikely to be swayed by sweet campaign promises devoid of the capacity to match or surpass the Makinde standard. His legacy has become the new minimum benchmark.
In the end, the people of Oyo are not unforgiving. They just simply want their children in schools, their farms connected to markets, their clinics functional, and their streets safe.
Makinde’s Four Pillars have shown them that these are not utopian dreams but achievable realities. So, when he eventually exits office in 2027, Makinde’s shadow will not haunt his successor, it will guide him or her but if that successor betrays the pact of progress? Then the metaphorical stones of public outrage may not be far behind.