Real Reason Governor Makinde Stays on the Fence Between Wike and Fubara 

Diplomacy is the gentleman’s favouorite gadget. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has shown remarkable mastery of this gadget. Even when his good friend, Nyesom Wike, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, had issues with Rivers State Governor Siminialayi Fubara, Makinde kept his cool and managed to remain unstained.

Two weeks ago, the main gist on social media was the collision of interests between Wike and his godson and governor-successor, Fubara. It looked like a powerplay at first until Wike’s loyalists took drastic steps to get rid of Fubara through an impeachment. However, President Bola Tinubu got involved and the dust settled with the combatants shaking hands and reinforcing loyalties.

But Makinde, who was expected to step in minded his business through it all. He did not only hide away from the drama but also continued to run Oyo without blinking an eye. Some commentators think that there is nothing odd about this as Makinde has his own state to govern. But others have revealed an understanding of the goings-on in Makinde’s mind.

The main thing the latter group put forward about Makinde’s silence is that the collision of heads between Wike and Fubara reminded Makinde of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s intervention a few weeks ago. The former head of state had directed Oyo traditional leaders to get up in recognition of Makinde’s appearance.

Although Makinde was the person defended in that situation, he had to face some of the fire. He had to say something about it later, although he did not, seeing as anything he said would offend either party. Some people think that Wike and Fubara’s wahala was cut according to the same cloth and Makinde wisely repeated what he did back then—nothing.

There is a lesson here. Sometimes, the best thing to do when others are quarrelling is nothing. Unless your interests are at stake and doing nothing gets you out of job.