“An accomplished, cerebral, charismatic, and popular party man, (Odidi Omo) is already being touted as Governor Makinde’s safest bet because he ticks all the boxes of a veritable, reliable, and trustworthy successor.”

By Tayo Williams

The Nigerian political field is a graveyard of godfathers clobbered to untimely political death by the godsons they helped into power. Nigerians are still watching in open-mouthed bewilderment the messy soap opera unfolding in Rivers State, involving former Governor Nyesom Wike and his political godson, the incumbent Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Wike, the current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, anointed, piggybacked, and bankrolled Fubara to the governorship seat.

By every standard, Fubara was a neophyte and a Lilliputian in Rivers State politics, but he had Wike, who was blinded by the former’s tame outlook and went all out to install him as governor in 2023. Less than six months into his stewardship, Fubara turned against Wike and would have run him aground but for providence and political sagacity. The drama is still unfolding.

Similarly, Sullivan Chime was the unassuming childhood friend of former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani of Enugu State (1999 – 2007). From serving as Special Adviser, Nnamani elevated his apolitical, moderately successful friend to the position of Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice.

For friendship, not logical political consideration, Chime was favoured by his boss as successor in 2007. Within months of becoming governor, Chime turned on his godfather and made him a persona non grata in the same state where the latter had governed for eight years. The same situation repeated itself in Cross River State, where then-Governor Donald Duke supported his friend, Liyel Imoke, in his bid to succeed him in 2007. Many years after they had both left office, they remain sworn enemies.

We have not forgotten so soon that, without any political structure or understanding of the political terrain, Godwin Obaseki, then an aide of former Governor Adams Oshiomhole, was also piggy-backed to the government house by his principal, who swore by everything he held sacred that Obaseki would take the state beyond where he had. If only he knew; Obaseki and Oshiomhole’s acrimonious fallout is one for the books.

The list of such godfather-godson/incumbent-anointed successor relationships gone awry is endless. And the reason may not be far-fetched. Many godfathers find it easy to tempt fate because public office is a bubble that makes them feel immune to disaster or failure. They gleefully succumb to hubris, convinced that they’re smarter, more powerful, and more knowledgeable than everyone else and therefore make ill-informed decisions about their successor. Sadly, many governors are terrible students of history and tend to repeat the same mistakes of those before them.

At the moment, Governor Seyi Makinde is at that intersection of feverish brainstorming and vast consultation that incumbents reach in trying to anoint a successor. He knows that backing the wrong horse will spell doom for him, his legacy, and his political future. Thus, ending up like his estranged friend, Wike. However, Governor Makinde is a brilliant, methodical, and measured politician who is also gifted with native intelligence and great acuity.

This is the time to put those gifts into use as 2027 is around the corner, and the ruling All Progressives Congress is waiting eagerly on the wings with its rampaging federal might and machinery.
The People’s Democratic Party in Oyo State is not short of credible, competent, and qualified candidates for the governorship seat in 2027. They all come with robust bona fides and are earnestly seeking the good graces of the governor, which makes it all the more difficult to anoint one person.

However, by pandering to the choice of an obsequious and potentially treacherous party man who will not help to sustain or safeguard his political future, Governor Makinde will be repeating unsavoury history. May he not come to such a sorry pass, where his successful eight-year governorship will be defined by supporting a wrong and unpopular candidate.

What Governor Makinde needs is a loyal, trusted, progressive, humane, and God-fearing person who will be a centripetal force for party members and will continue and consolidate his achievements and policies in Oyo State for the good of all. Across the length and breadth of the state, one name that is being echoed loudly is Hon. Adedeji Dhikrullah Stanley Olajide, the member representing Ibadan North West/South West in the House of Representatives since 2019.

Popularly known as ‘Odidi Omo’ (some have even changed it to Odidi Oyo), Hon. Olajide is the Chairman of the House Committee on Digital, Information, and Communication Technology. An accomplished, cerebral, charismatic, and popular party man, he is already being touted as Governor Makinde’s safest bet because he ticks all the boxes of a veritable, reliable, and trustworthy successor.

Deeply intelligent and deliberate, accessible and affable, Hon. Olajide is variously described as a dependable friend who would sail all day and night in search of a friend who got lost at sea. A devout Muslim, he offers Governor Makinde a successor who is tech-savvy, has a wealth of legislative experience, invaluable global exposure, and broad grassroots appeal; an accretion of qualities that positions him as a capable steward for Oyo State’s future and a reliable pathway to legacy preservation.

Without any scintilla of doubt, the thoroughbred American-trained ICT professional, philanthropist, and irrepressible grassroots mobiliser is the man who will build on his successor’s Roadmap for Accelerated Development, ensuring initiatives in education, agriculture, and infrastructure continue without disruption. Any wilful deviation from the honourable path that the candidacy of Odidi Omo presents for Governor Makinde will be a recipe for disaster that will echo through the ages.

May God help Governor Makinde get it right.

Tayo Williams is a Lagos-based media executive.