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Opinion: Handover Notes, Political Amnesia and the Rotimi Makinde Question
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Opinion: Handover Notes, Political Amnesia and the Rotimi Makinde Question
By Kenneth Kaunda
Mr. Rotimi Makinde’s recent essay, “If We Cannot Trust the Stage, How Will We Trust the Bridge?”, raises an important question about stewardship, competence and public trust. Yet, before drawing lessons from his intervention, it is necessary to examine the messenger as carefully as the message.
For a man who now speaks passionately about accountability and public confidence in public institutions, one would have expected some reflection on his own political trajectory.
Mr. Makinde should arguably be among the last people to lecture others on loyalty, competence or political stability. Many still remember how close he came to unsettling his own political camp when events surrounding a party ticket failed to align with his expectations. History has a way of recording the choices people make when ambition collides with principle.
More intriguing, however, is the fact that a man whose own years in public office remain open to public scrutiny has chosen to position himself as an evaluator of others. Before questioning the records of fellow public servants, Rotimi Makinde should first answer a straightforward question from the people of Ife Federal Constituency.
Beyond the widely celebrated ODUA FM project, can he identify ten concrete and enduring projects, legislative interventions, empowerment programmes or developmental initiatives he facilitated during his tenure in the House of Representatives? Can he point to ten achievements whose impact continues to resonate across Ife Federal Constituency today?
Can he identify ten legacy projects that transformed communities?
Ten interventions that changed lives? Ten initiatives that remain visible and relevant years after he left office?
These are not hostile questions. They are the same questions every former public office holder should be prepared to answer.
Public office is not measured by the number of opinion pieces one writes or the frequency of political commentary. It is measured by tangible impact on the lives of citizens. Leadership is judged by results, not rhetoric.
The true test of representation is not how loudly one speaks after leaving office, but what one leaves behind while in office.
Governance is ultimately assessed through budgets, projects, policies and outcomes.
It is therefore ironic that a former lawmaker whose own scorecard remains a legitimate subject of public inquiry now seeks to evaluate the stewardship of others.
The people deserve more than political sermons; they deserve accountability. They deserve answers. They deserve a clear account of what was achieved during the years entrusted to him.
And since Mr. Makinde appears particularly interested in the subject of handover notes, perhaps he should begin with his own. The people of Ife Federal Constituency deserve a comprehensive report card of his years in office.
They deserve to know what became of the promises made, the opportunities available and the mandate entrusted to him.
This is why the more important conversation may not be about who should prepare a handover note.
Rather, it is whether Rotimi Makinde can provide a convincing account of his own stewardship beyond ODUA FM and explain why his tenure should be remembered for more than political commentary years after leaving office.
Public office is temporary, but records are permanent. Before asking others to write handover notes, Rotimi Makinde owes the people of Ife Federal Constituency a report card of his own service.
That conversation is long overdue.
Kenneth Kaunda
Ife North
