Okanlomo Odua/Gbonka Olubadan challenges critics to produce evidence on Makinde’s seven-year record
By Chief Jubril Dotun Sanusi, Okanlomo Odua/Gbonka Olubadan of Ibadanland
Chief Jubril Dotun Sanusi, Okanlomo Odua and Gbonka Olubadan of Ibadanland, has declared that there is “no masquerade” behind his recent comments on the administration of Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, insisting that he personally authored the statement and is prepared to defend it with facts and evidence.
Sanusi made the declaration in a detailed response to an article by Morohunkola Thomas titled, “On Chief Jibril Dotun Sanusi’s Statement on Governor Makinde: Let the Masquerade Come Out.”
According to him, the article has provided an opportunity to move the discussion away from political praise and towards a public assessment of the performance and record of government.
“There is no masquerade. The statement was mine. The convictions are mine. The concerns are mine. And I am prepared to defend every word in the full daylight of public scrutiny,” Sanusi said.
He added that he had no reason to hide behind anyone, stressing that his intervention was not motivated by an ambition to seek political office.
“I am speaking because I believe that those who love Oyo State must be courageous enough to tell those in power the truth—especially when the truth is uncomfortable,” he stated.
Sanusi said the central question should not be who was behind his statement, but what the available evidence showed about the condition of the people of Oyo State after more than seven years of the Makinde administration.
Makinde Has Achieved Some Things, Says Sanusi
The Ibadan traditional title holder acknowledged that the Makinde administration had recorded some achievements, saying it would be intellectually dishonest to deny them.
He cited road and bridge projects, interventions in education, healthcare and agriculture, recruitment exercises, rural projects and other infrastructure programmes.
He specifically mentioned the 34.85-kilometre Oyo-Iseyin Road, commissioned in 2023, as one of the major infrastructure projects undertaken by the administration.
He also acknowledged agricultural interventions, including tractorisation subsidies, noting that the state government reported that 6,103 farmers had benefited from its 50 per cent tractorisation subsidy programme by September 2025.
In healthcare, Sanusi noted the commencement of the upgrading of 66 primary healthcare centres in 2025, while in education, he acknowledged the recruitment of thousands of teachers.
“These achievements deserve acknowledgement,” he said.
However, Sanusi argued that acknowledging projects was different from declaring seven years of governance universally “people-friendly”.
“That distinction is fundamental,” he stressed.
“People-Friendly” Claim Requires Evidence
Responding directly to Thomas’ description of the Makinde administration as one that had spent seven years delivering “people-friendly programmes and quality projects”, Sanusi described the claim as “partly supported, but overstated.”
He argued that while the existence of government projects and programmes could be verified, descriptions such as “people-friendly” and “quality” were evaluative conclusions that could not be established merely by listing projects.
According to him, a serious assessment must consider measurable outcomes.
He asked whether poverty had fallen, household purchasing power had improved, unemployment had declined, access to quality education had improved and health outcomes had become better.
He also questioned whether insecurity had declined, whether the state’s fiscal position had strengthened, whether infrastructure projects had been completed on schedule and whether government projects had delivered value for money.
“Have citizens experienced a measurable improvement in their standard of living? Those are the questions that must accompany the claim,” he said.
Sanusi Raises Questions Over Borrowing and Debt
Sanusi also raised concerns over the state’s borrowing and debt obligations, citing figures contained in Oyo State’s 2025 Debt Sustainability Analysis.
He said the document projected ₦62.006 billion in internally generated revenue for 2025, while also anticipating substantial borrowing and financing requirements.
The document, according to him, projected ₦152.051 billion in loans and financing for 2025 and ₦91.15 billion for 2026.
Sanusi, however, cautioned against interpreting borrowing automatically as evidence of financial irresponsibility.
“This does not automatically mean the borrowing is bad. Governments can borrow responsibly to finance productive infrastructure,” he said.
But he argued that once borrowing was presented as part of the state’s development story, citizens had the right to ask what economic returns were being generated.
He questioned the number of permanent jobs created by the projects, the amount of private investment attracted, the cost per kilometre of roads constructed, maintenance liabilities and the debt-service burden.
“These are legitimate questions—not acts of political hostility,” he said.
“Debt Cannot Be Ignored”
Sanusi further cited Debt Management Office figures, which he said placed Oyo State’s domestic debt stock at approximately ₦80.28 billion as of September 30, 2025, while its external debt stood at approximately US$87.52 million as of December 31, 2025.
He stressed that his position was not that every naira borrowed had been wasted.
“That would be an irresponsible conclusion,” he said.
Rather, he argued that any comprehensive seven-year assessment of government must consider both expenditure and liabilities.
“A responsible government must be judged by both sides of its balance sheet: What did it build—and what did it obligate future taxpayers to pay?” he asked.
Poverty Must Remain a Key Measure
Sanusi argued that poverty and citizens’ welfare should constitute major benchmarks for determining whether government policies were genuinely people-friendly.
He referenced the National Bureau of Statistics’ Nigeria Multidimensional Poverty Index as an official framework for measuring deprivation beyond income.
According to him, the existence of roads, flyovers and government buildings alone could not establish that citizens had been lifted out of poverty.
“A road can be excellent while the household beside that road remains poor,” he said.
He added that a useful flyover could exist alongside rising food prices that undermine household purchasing power, while an improved school could still leave families struggling with transportation, food and other education-related costs.
He therefore challenged those defending the administration to produce measurable poverty and welfare indicators demonstrating improvements attributable to government policies.
“I welcome that evidence,” he said.
Agriculture: Measure Outcomes, Not Inputs
While acknowledging the government’s agricultural initiatives, Sanusi argued that interventions should ultimately be judged by their outcomes.
He cited tractorisation subsidies, farmer input distribution, veterinary recruitment and extension services as examples of government interventions.
But he asked how much agricultural output had increased, how much farmers’ incomes had risen, how many sustainable agricultural jobs had been created and whether government intervention had contributed to lowering food costs in the state.
“Inputs are not the same as outcomes,” he stated.
“Government publicity tells us what government says it has done. Independent performance measurement tells us what those interventions actually achieved.”
Education: Recruitment Is Not Enough
Sanusi also welcomed teacher recruitment and other educational interventions but argued that the number of teachers employed should not be the sole measure of educational progress.
He called for attention to literacy, numeracy, WAEC and NECO performance, school attendance, completion rates, teacher-to-pupil ratios, classroom quality, learning outcomes and graduate employability.
“If we want a serious debate, let the government publish a seven-year education scorecard showing where Oyo was in 2019 and where it is in 2026,” he said.
“That would be evidence.”
Healthcare Outcomes More Important Than Facilities Alone
On healthcare, Sanusi described the upgrading of 66 primary healthcare centres as positive but maintained that infrastructure alone could not determine the effectiveness of the health system.
He questioned how many of the upgraded facilities were fully functional, adequately staffed and supplied with medicines.
He also asked whether the centres operated around the clock, had reliable electricity and water, and whether maternal and infant mortality had improved.
Other questions, he said, should include changes in out-of-pocket healthcare expenditure and actual utilisation of the upgraded facilities.
“These questions do not insult the government. They are the questions of citizens who paid for the system,” he said.
Infrastructure Must Be Tested for Quality and Value
Sanusi acknowledged the construction of important roads under the Makinde administration but said the description of such projects as “quality” required objective testing.
He cited the state government’s July 2026 statement that it was still working to complete ongoing projects before the end of the administration in 2027.
Among the projects he referenced were the 8.24-kilometre Okudu-Oyada-FRSC Road and the 21.953-kilometre Oloko-Oyo-Orita Aloba Road under the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project.
He subsequently raised questions about original and revised contract sums, contract variations, percentage completion, cost per kilometre, expected economic returns and whether projects were delivered within their original timelines and budgets.
“Again, this is not hostility. This is public accountability,” he said.
“The People Are Not a Cheering Section”
Responding to Thomas’ argument that “the people of Oyo State are his witnesses,” Sanusi agreed but said citizens could also bear witness when they believed government had failed them.
He said democracy did not mean citizens should serve only as witnesses to government achievements.
According to him, the people were also witnesses to changes in living standards, road conditions, electricity availability, security, healthcare, education, employment, taxation, public procurement, project quality and government expenditure.
“The people are not a cheering section. They are the owners of government,” he declared.
Sanusi Defends Call for Constructive Criticism
On the issue of “praise singers,” Sanusi said the debate should not become personal.
He argued that the danger was not necessarily having people who praised government, but having a political environment where criticism could no longer be heard.
“A government surrounded by praise is not necessarily in danger. A government surrounded by praise and unable to hear criticism is,” he said.
He stressed that every government needed people who could tell those in authority when policies were wrong, projects were too expensive, promises had not been fulfilled or borrowing required greater scrutiny.
“Those people are not enemies of government. Sometimes they are the people protecting government from its own mistakes,” he added.
“There Is No War Between Me and Governor Makinde”
Sanusi further clarified that his intervention was not an attempt to engage Governor Makinde in personal warfare.
He acknowledged Makinde as the Governor of Oyo State and said the office deserved respect.
However, he maintained that respect for an office did not require silence.
“I will praise what deserves praise. I will question what deserves questioning. I will acknowledge achievements. I will expose contradictions,” he said.
He added that he would continue to speak for ordinary people whenever he believed their interests required someone to speak.
“That is the responsibility of leadership,” he said.
Sanusi Calls for 2019–2026 Governance Scorecard
Sanusi challenged the Oyo State Government to publish a comprehensive seven-year governance scorecard covering the period from 2019 to 2026.
He said the document should include total revenue received, annual IGR, FAAC receipts, total borrowing, domestic and external debt, debt-service obligations, capital and recurrent expenditure.
He also called for information on the number and cost of completed roads, outstanding projects, education and healthcare outcomes, poverty indicators, employment and unemployment, agricultural output and security expenditure and outcomes.
Other areas he listed included public assets disposed of or transferred, public-private partnership agreements, project variations, Auditor-General findings, procurement information and actual budget implementation.
He proposed that independent citizens, economists, engineers, accountants, academics, civil society organisations and journalists should examine the figures.
“That is the debate I want,” he said.
“Not insults. Not insinuations. Not ‘masquerade.’ Not ‘friends who became enemies.’ Facts. Figures. Documents. Outcomes.”
“I Am Not Afraid of the Daylight”
Concluding his response, Sanusi returned to the “masquerade” metaphor used by Thomas.
He said Thomas’ warning that a Gbonka should not “fire arrows into the fog” was one with which he agreed.
“That is precisely why I am stepping into the daylight,” he said.
“I am the author. I own the statement. I stand by it. And I am prepared to defend it issue by issue.”
Sanusi said the same standard of evidence demanded from critics should also be applied to those praising government.
“If criticism requires facts, praise also requires facts. If a critic must identify the problem, government must demonstrate the solution,” he said.
He stressed that Oyo State belonged to everyone and not to any political party or individual politician.
“Government comes and goes. Governors come and go. Political parties come and go. But Oyo State remains,” he said.
He maintained that his loyalty was first to the people and future generations of Oyo State.
Sanusi said he had no quarrel with Thomas for defending Governor Makinde, acknowledging his right to do so, but urged him to defend the administration with evidence rather than adjectives.
He also challenged those who disagreed with him to engage the issues with facts.
“Let the books be opened. Let the projects be measured. Let the outcomes be compared. Let the people judge,” he said.
“There is no masquerade. The man who signed the statement is standing before you.
“And I am not afraid of the daylight.”
Chief Jubril Dotun Sanusi
Okanlomo Odua / Gbonka Olubadan of Ibadanland
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