Yinka Ladoja, who is the Maye Iyalode of Ibadanland and wife of former Oyo State Governor, Senator Rashidi Ladoja, makes the disclosure while speaking on Agidigbo 88.7 FM in Ibadan.
During the interview, she addresses several issues surrounding politics in Oyo State, including claims that Governor Makinde has an unfriendly disposition towards Islam.
Ladoja dismisses the allegation, saying her long association with Makinde gives her sufficient knowledge of his relationship with the Muslim community and his support for Islamic activities.
She recalls that Makinde has been involved in Ramadan lectures and supported people travelling for Hajj for several years, including before he became governor.
“How can a man who has been consistently organising Ramadan lectures at NTA in the last ten years be anti-Islam? He wasn’t even governor when he built Omituntun Mosque,” she says.
According to her, claims about Makinde being opposed to Islam are difficult to reconcile with what she says she knows about his family background.
“He has a Muslim background. His grandfather from Aigbofa Compound of Oja’ba was a Muslim. It was his own father, late Pa Olatunbosun Makinde, who converted to Christianity. In fact, his Muslim name is Saheed,” she adds.
‘Makinde Is Passionate, Humble And Kind’
Speaking about the governor’s popularity among residents of Oyo State, Ladoja describes Makinde as passionate, humble and generous.
She says his stated desire to use public office to improve the lives of residents is one of the qualities she admires about him.
“Governor Makinde, naturally, is so passionate, humble and kind. He is a philanthropist. He has said it right from the onset that he wanted to serve.
“He made me understand that there is nothing in government that he can’t afford, but he wants people to enjoy the dividends of democracy.
It is my joy that he has done all he promised to do. He will still do more in the Omituntun 2.0. I’m proud of him. He is God-sent to liberate the people of Oyo State,” she says.
Ladoja explains that her assessment of Makinde is based largely on their long relationship, which she says dates back more than two decades.
How Their Relationship Started
According to the former First Lady, her relationship with Makinde began around 2002, when they first crossed paths during that year’s political activities.
“Seyi Makinde is the market I am selling. He’s marketable because he is loved by the people of Oyo State,” she says.
Recounting their first encounter, she says Makinde was then relatively unknown in the political circle and belonged to a group of about 12 men known as the Fortune Group, which monitored political developments in the state.
After the election, according to her, Makinde returned to the United States, where he was based at the time.
She says he returned to Nigeria in 2009 and began discussing his interest in politics more seriously.
In 2011, Ladoja recalls accompanying him to his hometown, Ajia, for the launch of his power project.
She says Makinde’s commitment to the project impressed her because, in her view, it was an ambitious undertaking that many people his age at the time might not have considered.
Ladoja also recalls being with the family following the death of Makinde’s father, Pa Olatunbosun Makinde, in 2012.
According to her, after the burial, Makinde visited her before returning to the United States. During the visit, he overheard her speaking with a doctor on the telephone about a young girl who needed an artificial leg.
“I was persuading the doctor to reduce the cost and all that. I never knew he was paying attention. But to my utmost shock, I saw Makinde’s message a week after. He cleared the bill,” she recalls.
Ladoja says the girl has since grown into a young woman, obtained an HND and is currently undertaking the mandatory National Youth Service.
She says experiences such as this helped strengthen their relationship and convinced her that they shared similar values.
“Since then, it has been a mother-and-son relationship for us,” she says.
‘I Told Him He Would Become Governor One Day’
Ladoja also recalls advising Makinde when he expressed his intention to contest the governorship election in 2014.
According to her, she was not convinced that the timing was right, although she told him she believed he would eventually become governor.
“When he wanted to contest in 2014, I told him I was not sure it was the right time. But since it was his wish, I also told him that I knew he would be governor one day. What I didn’t know was the particular time,” she says.
She describes Makinde as someone she has always regarded as intelligent and politically astute.
‘I Was Born Into Politics’
Speaking about her own political journey, Ladoja says her involvement in politics dates back to childhood.
She attributes much of her early political exposure to her mother, whom she describes as a prominent politician in Ibadan and a member of the Action Group.
According to her, her mother was from the well-known Akintola Compound in Oke-Mapo and participated in political activities alongside notable figures including Mrs. Wuraola Esan, regarded as the first female senator in the Western Region, and the late Iyalode of Ibadanland, Alhaja Humuani Alaga.
“I was young then, but I used to follow my mother to their meetings at Mrs. Esan’s place. They had meetings in our house as well. The likes of late former governor, Alhaji Lam Adesina, knew me from my childhood,” she says.
Ladoja also recalls her mother’s involvement in the establishment of Isabatudeen Girls’ School in 1958, noting that Mrs. Adio served as the school’s first principal.
She says her early exposure to political activities gave her a deep understanding of the political landscape in Oyo State.
“As a matter of fact, I would have contested during the time of late Chief Bola Ige, but I was pregnant then. After I gave birth, I didn’t leave politics,” she says.
‘Bola Ige Was My Leader And Mentor’
Ladoja describes the late former Oyo State Governor and former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, as one of her political mentors.
She recalls knowing Ige from childhood and says his home at Oke-Ado, as well as the residence of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo at Oke-Bola, were familiar places during her formative years.
“I bought my first car during the era of Chief Bola Ige. He was my leader and mentor in politics. I have known him right from my childhood,” she says.
Ladoja also recalls her first visit to Government House in Ibadan, saying she was only 11 years old at the time.
According to her, General Adeyinka Adebayo was the military governor of the old Western State when she first visited Government House in the company of her mother.
“I was eleven years old when I first entered Government House. The military governor then was General Adeyinka Adebayo. That was the first time I ate at the Government House in the company of my mother,” she recalls.
With decades of political exposure behind her, Ladoja’s account offers a glimpse into the relationships, personalities and experiences that have shaped her involvement in Oyo State’s political history.
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