20/06/2026
Who Made Who? Revisiting the Oriyomi–Makinde Narrative
If you are genuinely objective, I urge you to take the time to read this to the end.
Before anything else, one fact must be settled beyond sentiment and political propaganda: Governor Seyi Makinde did not make Oriyomi Hamzat. Political partnership is not ownership.
I laugh whenever I read people whose relevance begins with political office and ends with it claiming that Governor Seyi Makinde made Oriyomi Hamzat. Oriyomi Hamzat's relevance did not begin with Governor Seyi Makinde, and it will not end with him either.
At the national headquarters of the Accord Party in Abuja, where the much-talked-about "Gudugudu" plot was finally buried and he was presented as the party's governorship candidate, Oriyomi Hamzat made a profound statement:
"I am not rich, but I have what money cannot buy."
That statement captures the entire debate. Reputation, goodwill, credibility, and the affection of the people are assets that money cannot purchase. What Oriyomi Hamzat possesses today was neither bought with money nor handed to him by anyone. As Seneca observed, "No man is rich who has not what money cannot buy."
Those who point to the exercise-book contract allegedly awarded to him by Governor Seyi Makinde as evidence that the governor made him should answer a simple question: if contracts and access to power automatically produce influence, why have people with more resources, more contracts, and closer proximity to the governor not become another Oriyomi Hamzat?
Why have many others who have enjoyed far greater patronage failed to command the same organic following? Because influence is not transferable. Trust cannot be awarded. Love cannot be contracted. Authenticity cannot be manufactured.
His influence among the masses, who constitute the largest bloc of voters, did not begin with the governor. I tell you, no one around the governor today, from A to Z, commands what Oriyomi Hamzat simply enjoys. Who has Adekanbi, the APM governorship candidate, helped? Who is he without Governor Seyi Makinde?
Governor Seyi Makinde became governor seven years ago. Long before he assumed office, Oriyomi Hamzat had already become a household name among ordinary people whose causes he consistently championed.
Are we now expected to believe that a government established seven years ago created a man who had spent decades cultivating relationships with the grassroots simply because he was allegedly awarded exercise-book contracts? Such a claim does not survive even the simplest scrutiny. The late Governor Abiola Ajimobi even sought his support through Hon. Kola Amoo.
Agidigbo FM itself is only five years old, and Agidigbo FM is not Oriyomi Hamzat. Rather, it benefits from Oriyomi Hamzat's influence. That is why it became the most-listened-to radio station within the first two years of its establishment and remains the most-listened-to station in the Southwest according to MPS ratings. That is also why he said that one can destroy Agidigbo as a building, but not Oriyomi Hamzat.
The popular Bebe Islam gathering, initiated by Oriyomi Hamzat and through which I personally first came to know him when it began, is nearly two decades old. And that is only one of many platforms through which he built trust, relationships, and goodwill long before his association with Governor Seyi Makinde. Influence accumulated over decades cannot honestly be reduced to a political relationship that is less than seven years old.
Anyone who truly knows Oriyomi Hamzat understands that material wealth has never been his obsession. While many invested their fortunes in mansions and luxury cars, Oriyomi Hamzat invested himself in people and their burdens. What distinguishes him is not the size of his bank account, but the depth of his connection with ordinary people and his willingness to stand with them.
Governor Seyi Makinde himself benefited from that goodwill and support. His second term would most likely not have materialized without the vigorous support and sacrifice of Oriyomi Hamzat at a time when significant sections of the Muslim community in the state were opposed to it. With a prearranged European tour already underway, Oriyomi cut it short and immediately returned to Nigeria.
Beginning from Mapo Hall, he mobilized what became the famous One Million Walk and stood firmly against attempts to make religion the basis for denying Seyi Makinde a second term.
He was everywhere, including Adogba Mosque, passionately arguing that competence, not religious identity, should determine leadership. He put his reputation, relationships, and everything he had built over the years on the line. I still remember how, after the election, he privately appealed to many respected Muslim elders who felt disappointed by his position, seeking reconciliation and helping to restore cordial relations between them and the government. Many of Oriyomi Hamzat's political enemies today emerged because of his support for Governor Seyi Makinde.
That is why it is still difficult to understand why the same administration appears determined to present another Christian for another eight years. Are Muslims expected to remain mere spectators? Is political inclusion meant to be a one-way street?
Many of those benefiting from the government today are doing so because of the sacrifices of people like Oriyomi Hamzat, who risked comfort, relationships, and goodwill to ensure the success of that second term. The records and videos are available for those willing to be objective. The relationship between both men was mutually beneficial.
Because Oriyomi Hamzat has chosen a different political path, some have rushed to brand him an ingrate. Such a conclusion betrays a poor understanding of both gratitude and politics. Disagreement is not ingratitude. Independence is not rebellion. Political association is not ownership. Gratitude does not require perpetual servitude. Respect does not demand surrender. Alliances are partnerships, not chains.
What Oriyomi Hamzat has built within the short period of his political involvement would have cost billions of naira to replicate through conventional political structures. Yet he is not distributing money because he is not a wealthy man. People support him with their resources because he has, on several occasions, stood for them and put his life on the line for them.
That is why what he commands today is organic. If Oriyomi Hamzat calls for a political gathering tomorrow, any party seeking to rival the passion and commitment of those who follow him would have to spend huge sums on inducements. Perhaps those desperately trying to stop him understand this reality better than his critics. Fear is often the highest form of acknowledgment.
The truth remains simple. Governor Seyi Makinde did not create Oriyomi Hamzat. Both men benefited from a relationship that advanced their respective aspirations.
To reduce decades of sacrifice, service, and grassroots connection to the generosity of another man is not merely inaccurate; it is intellectually dishonest. As Aristotle reminds us, "Dignity does not consist in possessing honours, but in deserving them."
