Nigeria’s ex-leader Olusegun Obasanjo has told the current boss of Oyo State not to let harsh words from naysayers get him down. He said people who slate rulers today often sing their praises tomorrow.
Obasanjo shared this tip on Wednesday as he helped open a fresh bus hub in the heart of Ibadan, at Iwo Road. The site packs in two large stops, lounges for waits, spots to buy tickets, food stalls, loos, open car parks, a backup power unit, water tanks, lifts, and moving stairs.
He called the governor an upright fellow and pushed him to stay sharp on building projects. “Folks slating you now will cheer you later. I got the same flak once, but they’ve turned around to back me. That’s just how it goes,” he noted.
Obasanjo tipped his hat to the governor’s drive to make Ibadan a nicer place to live, with schemes that put people first. He said the new stops at Ojoo, Challenge, and Iwo Road will smooth out travel for locals. Such changes help the whole south-west corner of the country, he added.
“Makinde, you’ve shone bright. You’re turning Ibadan into a spot where folks can thrive and trade with ease. It’s Nigeria’s third-busiest city by headcount but biggest by size. Shifting from one end to the other takes longer here than in Lagos or Kano. To keep things handy, you need solid travel links—and that’s the job these hubs do,” he said.
He also gave a nod to the governor’s style, saying: “You rang me three days out for this, and I jumped at it. You’re the sort I rate highly. Call me a day ahead, and I’ll show. We share a lot in common. When I hear about your builds, I say: why not? You’re a trained fixer who knows the ropes. Now you’ve added a twist—you’re a whizz at steering politics too.”
Obasanjo asked users of the hub to look after it well.
Before him, the governor said his team has rolled out four up-to-date bus stops in Ibadan—Challenge, Ojoo, New Ife Road, and Iwo Road—to tackle city travel woes. He called the launch a sign of his crew’s push to freshen up the state.
Unlike those who trumpet their wins, I’ve been getting on with the job quietly, the governor said. A new twin-lane road from Iwo Road to Adegbayi has cut jams in that stretch, and we’ve sought national backing to stretch it to the state edge at Asejire.
“With this rollout, we’ve ticked off all four key hubs in Ibadan. The ones to come will cover spots like Ogbomoso, Saki, Iseyin, Ibarapa, and Oyo—but that’s for the next lot in charge. I’ve got just 18 months left. We aimed for 12 months on this one, but hold-ups from a worldwide health scare, supply snags, and other hits slowed us. Now it’s wrapped, and it’s a nod to our stick-to-it spirit. This proves pledges can turn real.”