– Femi Salako

The chant of the first line of Ibadan anthem ‘Asiwaju ni wa ni ipinle Oyo’ by the Deputy-Governor of Oyo State, Bayo Lawal is said to be giving sleepless night to many as it interprets the direction in the coming 2023 elections in Oyo State.

The chants by the politician was made recently in Ondo State when the leadership of Afenifere met at the home of its leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti to endorse the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress. Lawal represented Governor Seyi Makinde in the meeting where he claimed ‘whenever there is a event, either organised by Afenifere or any other Yoruba group, Gov Makinde will always be supportive. Though we are not of the same political affiliation, but we are bound by ethnicity.

Lawal’s remarks at the meeting had a huge impact in Oyo State as many believed his message was a validation of what to come judging by the prediction that the Oyo State Governor would work with Tinubu to actualise his ambition to become the President instead of Atiku Abubakar who is the flagbearer of his party, PDP.

The indication also had a strong effect in the camp of Senator Teslim Folarin, the governorship candidate of the APC in Oyo State.

The permutation which many believed was one of the conditions given at the earlier meeting with Tinubu by Governor Nyesom Wike and Seyi Makinde had to do with the governorship elections in Oyo State in 2023.

Some pundits who observed that Governor Makinde is taking everything easy with the mind of a guaranteed success advised he should not be too comfortable citing surprises and historical political events in the past, also with regards that the presidential election precedes the governorship election.