By Sulaimon Olanrewaju
When Mr. Mayowa Adekunle left his abode for his duty post that sunny morning of September 30, 2025, he had no inkling of what fate had in store for him. Adekunle, a security guard seconded to Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso, by a private company, was broke but not broken. He was broke due to paucity of funds sequel to the miserly income his job fetched him, but he was not broken because he kept hope alive. Despite the haplessness of his situation, he refused to give in to despondency; instead, he kept trudging on, continuing to show up at his duty post regularly, hoping that somehow, someday, his change would come.
His change came penultimate Tuesday.
The LAUTECH Teaching Hospital branch of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) had embarked on an industrial action for a few weeks to call the attention of management and the state government to their needs. Oyo State governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, who had been on his annual vacation, returned to work earlier than expected, and penultimate Tuesday, he headed to the teaching hospital with the sole purpose of finding a lasting solution to the institution’s perennial crises. To make his intervention as successful and impactful as possible, the governor decided to engage with management and representatives of unions at the teaching hospital.
Each of the unions in the institution — NARD, the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), student representatives, as well as the management — took turns to present their demands to the governor, who listened attentively and took notes. After everyone had spoken, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Oluwaserimi Ajetunmobi, mounted the podium to invite the governor to address the audience.
As he was about to start speaking, Governor Makinde noticed that there was someone in the crowd angling to speak, though people were trying to hinder him because he was not listed to speak, and allowing him to do so would be a breach of protocol. But on seeing him, Makinde invited him to the front and asked that he be given the microphone to bare his mind.
That was the opportunity Mr Mayowa Adekunle had been waiting for and he seized it with both hands. He narrated the story of how about 67 of them, including himself, who were security guards, had been working at the teaching hospital even before the formal inauguration of the complex. He, however, stated that they were not on the hospital’s staff list and were paid N18,880 monthly despite having invested their youthful years in the job. He then pleaded with the governor to take them on as permanent staff.
The governor asked the Acting Chief Medical Director, Professor Olawale Olakulehin, for confirmation. The hospital chief corroborated the guard’s submission, adding that the teaching hospital had outsourced its security services to a company that dealt directly with the security personnel.
In his response, the governor said, “I can solve that problem immediately,” and he did.
After explaining to Mr Adekunle and his colleagues that getting recruited as permanent staff could not be immediate – since applicants would have to take Computer-Based Test as well as oral tests – he directed the management to absorb all affected security guards as ad-hoc staff and place them on the state’s minimum wage, which is N80,000, with effect from October 1, 2025.
To ensure the sustainability of the move, the governor announced an increase in the hospital’s monthly subvention by N35 million to cover the guards’ emoluments and other operational costs.
Governor Makinde also announced the approval of the payment of accumulated promotion arrears totaling ₦219 million, which would be disbursed in three equal installments in October, November, and December 2025, and a promise to offset the arrears of the new minimum wage, covering the period from January to August 2025, in three tranches, also payable from October to December 2025.
The governor equally highlighted steps that the government would take to bring about long-term resolutions of the crises with a view to finding lasting solutions to the institution’s challenges, adding that the LAUTECH Teaching Hospital Annex in Oyo would be completed before the end of his administration in 2027.
As the governor announced each of the measures, the hall erupted in rapturous shouts and celebratory songs with people dancing uncontrollably. But the dance of Mr Adekunle and his colleagues, who were clothed like him, was different. Their joy was palpable.
As one of them later said, “not only are we happy that the governor has solved our long-standing problem, we are happy that the governor was observant enough to see that Adekunle wanted to speak and he was gracious enough to allow him speak on our behalf. If the governor had not allowed Adekunle to speak, he might have addressed other people’s problems and left ours hanging. He might have approved payment for the doctors and the nurses without knowing about our plight. So, we are really grateful to Governor ‘Seyi Makinde. We thank God for his humility; we thank God for his kindness. We thank God for giving us a governor who does not only care about the high and the mighty but also has a heart for the poor and the lowly as well.”
Looking out for the underserved and the vulnerable is a way of life for Governor Makinde.
On October 2, 2024, during the official commissioning of the Local Government House and Local Government Staff Training School, at the Secretariat in Ibadan, Governor Makinde directed that ad-hoc staff in the service of the 33 local government councils in the state be converted to permanent staff. This was an answer to the prayer of the leadership of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) that had pleaded with the governor for the absorption of this category of workers into the local government service.
With that directive, 1,591 persons, who had hitherto toiled in the local government service with little or nothing to show for it, had their lives transformed by the action of a governor who loves his people so much that he pulls out all the stops to make them comfortable. Now, not only are the affected people able to earn a living wage and have their dignity restored because they are no longer underemployed, they also have opportunities for career progression, and the hope of a blissful retirement — all because a compassionate governor chose to right a long-standing wrong.
In September 2024, some residents whose properties had been marked for demolition due to encroachment on land acquired for Senator Rashidi Ladoja Circular Road staged a protest at the Oyo State Government Secretariat.
Addressing the crowd, Governor Makinde clarified that his administration had not acquired any land along the corridor. He explained that while former Governors Lam Adesina and Rashidi Ladoja set the 150-meter mark, the administration of former Governor Abiola Ajimobi acquired and gazetted additional 350 meters. He then ordered a halt to the demolition of properties along the corridor.
He told the people, “For now, there will not be any demolition and I have asked them to put a stop to whatever demolition they are doing. You are saying you want the Circular Road but you don’t want a corridor. This is your government. Wherever the corridor is densely populated, we will integrate it.”
He added, “I promise you, out of the 500 metres, none of the houses that are standing right there will be demolished but there must be no further development on that corridor.
“Don’t think it is my intention to cause harm to you after putting me in this office. I will always look out for the welfare and well-being of the people of Oyo State.”
After the governor’s assurance, the people, who had worn long faces on their way to the Secretariat, returned home with toothy smiles and hearty laughter.
True to his word, developed properties along the corridor have been spared, while owners of those that could not be spared have been compensated.
In Governor Makinde is a rare combination of courage and compassion. Courageous leaders stand head and shoulders above their peers because of the bold steps they take and the tough decisions they make that redefine and reposition the society. It takes courage to chart a new path, and it takes courage to stay the course when others are making a detour. Courage is the major ingredient for exciting leadership; without it leadership is reduced to humdrum. Until a leader is courageous, he cannot be effective. That is why Aristotle posited that courage is the mother of all virtues because whatever good thing a person might want to do can only get done when courage is factored into it.
Governor Makinde has a huge dose of courage, hence he has taken steps that are transforming Oyo State and positioning it for a prosperous future. It takes a lot of courage to embark on the construction of the Circular Road, a project that other administrations had avoided for over 20 years. It takes a lot of courage to take up the challenge of upgrading to international standards in 2025 the Samuel Ladoke Akintola Airport, which was built in 1982. It takes a lot of courage for a state to own and properly fund three universities when some are still struggling with one. It takes courage to reconstruct the over 70-year-old Government House consisting of 21 buildings when previous administrations had stealthily avoided same.
Yet, courage sans compassion turns leaders to monsters. Leaders turn against the people they lead and unleash hardship on them when compassion is crowded out of leadership. That is where Governor Makinde is different. For him, leadership is for the people, about the people and with the people. Though blessed with giant size courage, the governor tempers his courage with compassion. Thus, he never prioritizes projects above persons. For Makinde, policies and projects are meant to serve the people and not the other way round. Consequently, whenever there is a clash between the people’s wellbeing and projects, he sidelines the projects and takes sides with the people. Makinde does not only serve the people’s interest, he does so with empathy and humility.
His actions reflect a leader who is truly committed to the well-being of his people. This disposition has earned him the people’s heartfelt admiration and the sobriquet: the God-sent man.
•Dr Olanrewaju is the Chief Press Secretary to Oyo State Governor.
