By now, Governor Seyi Makinde’s words have ricocheted through the political corridors of Abuja and Lagos alike: “Leaders must not make lives better for only a gang in Lagos.” A poetic jab? A policy critique? Or just prelude to a larger ambition?
This isn’t the first time Makinde has subtly – or not so subtly – distanced himself from the federal government’s narrative. Recall his swift rebuttal last year when President Bola Tinubu claimed states received N570billion in hardship funds? Makinde, armed with ledgers and principle, pointed out that the funds were World Bank reimbursements, not presidential generosity. The message? He doesn’t owe allegiance to spin.
Now, during a nationally televised interview, he doubles down, not just on the failures of elite-centric governance, but on his own capacity. “I don’t have any doubt that I have the capacity to occupy the highest office in this land.” That’s less a hint, more a declaration in waiting. Yet, like a man cautious of his echo, he adds: “Is this what Nigerians are asking for?”
And there seems to lie the Makinde paradox. Is he laying the groundwork for a 2027 run? Some critics answer, “Almost certainly!” Is he doing it under the cloak of anti-establishment populism? Some analysts respond, “Undoubtedly!” But is his criticism of “a gang in Lagos” a swipe at Tinubu, Lagos’s most famous political son? The answer is more elliptical.
Makinde’s choice of words channels the frustration of those outside the urban, connected elite. But they also artfully leave room for interpretation. It’s not personal, it’s structural – or so it seems.
Still, there’s a scent of a campaign in the air. His tone, calibrated but evocative. His critique, pointed but plausible. Nigeria’s political theatre rarely rewards subtlety. But Makinde’s blend of it – part governor, part statesman-in-waiting – makes his ambitions difficult to ignore.
Whether he’s a genuine reformer or an opportunist cloaked in concern depends on what he does next. Either way, the Lagos gang heard him. So did everyone else.
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