For close to four years Governor Seyi Makinde and Mukaila Lamidi aka Auxilary the General Manager of the Oyo State Park and Management System dinned and wined together like brothers to the amazement of the people of the Pacesetters state.
But the relationship that started between the governor and his man Friday, which dated back to 2019 when Makinde contested the governorship election has ended on a sad note, at least from what the people of the state can see playing out.
Not a few have rightly attested to the fact that Auxilary was among those that helped Makinde secured victory in that election by deploying the violent tactics of the men of the underworld to intimidate the opponents.
He was later compensated for that act of gallantry by the governor, who appointed him the General Manager of the OSPMS according to analysts.
An indication that the camaraderie has ended surfaced on Wednesday following the raid on the Alakia-Isebo home of erstwhile thug and enforcer by men of the Nigerian Police Force, NPF.
Auxiliary may still be wondering how he had fallen from his utopian height to the man now being wanted by security agencies who accused him of planning to cause trouble in the state, but those that know said Governor Makinde has finally decided to end the bloody activities of the Park Management by moving against his once trusted associate.
Following the Gestapo-styled operation at the home of the now-fugitive Auxillary, the police said yesterday that he managed to escape while one of his men was killed.
Adewale Osifeso, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso,said in a statement, said the men have to move in following intelligence report of a plot by Auxiliary and his boys to unleash mayhelm.
After the raid, Osifeso noted sophisticated firearms including 724 cartridges, assorted charms, 33 mobile phones, and a cash sum of about N3,450,000, were recovered from the suspects.
Osifeso said, “The Oyo State Police Command in its proactive nature while acting on intelligence-driven surveillance was able to foil an attempt at creating widespread carnage and civil disturbance in the state by some members of the Park Management System led by one Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, aka Auxiliary sequel to the immediate dissolution of the Disciplinary Committee of the PMS of the state.
“Preliminary investigations reveal that at the early hours of Tuesday, May 30, 2023, in a strategic intelligence coordinated raid around his location at Diamond Hotel, Alakia-Isebo, under Egbeda LGA, 78 notorious hoodlums who had perfected plans to unleash mayhem at the early hours of the day at major parts of the metropolis were arrested in possession of sophisticated firearms including 724 cartridges, assorted charms, 33 mobile phones, and a cash sum of about N3,450,000.
“Worthy of note is that, though the PMS Chieftain evaded arrest by fleeing the scene as at the time of the raid, a member of the group was neutralised in a gun duel with the police. Recall that the same group was responsible for the attack on 14 members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria along the Agodi axis under the Ibadan North-East LGA en route to the venue of yesterday’s inaugural celebrations.”
He urged the people of the state help the police in apprehending Auxillary who is now on the run.
“Consequent on the above, the Oyo State Police Command enjoins residents to cooperate with the police with the provision of useful information to help apprehend the sacked PMS Chieftain,’ he said.
Even though the story of Makinde’s friendship with Auxiliary has now come to a sad end, the people of the state are still wondering why the state government could legitimize the activities of the ‘motor park thugs’ who had been a terror on the state for years.
Recall that the late Abiola Ajimobi’s administration had proscribed the NURTW after a series of complaints from the people of the state, but the thugs were later brought back by the incumbent in the guise of Park Management.
Even when the people of the state complained that Auxiliary and his boys have become a pain in the neck, following a series of killings and skirmishes due to rivalry among their members Governor Makinde clearly turned a deaf ear, leaving many people to describe his love for Auxiliary as the one made in heaven.
Those that are close to the two men said the governor allowed the excesses of Auxiliary because of political exigencies; Makinde, according to them needed him and his boys for his re-election bid against political enemies that may want to thwart his ambition.
But the once blossoming relationship apparently ended after the governor won the 2023 governorship election, and from what people say, does not need the ‘service’ of Auxiliary again.
Besides, the governor’s team was said to have told him that he won the last election purely on his popularity, and not necessarily through help from Auxiliary and his boys.
It’s based on this advice that Makinde was said to have dissolved the Park Management in his second term in office, which apparently did not go down well with Auxiliary, who felt he has been used and dumped.
“The thugs were planning to unleash mayhelm on the state, causing bloodshed, but being the constituted authority in the state, Governor Makinde will not allow this to happen. The people are already tired of the activities of the thugs, they have been calling on the government to intervene. That’s what Governor Makinde has just done,” a source close to the Agodi Government House said on Wednesday.
