By Emmanuel Okogba

Ile Ife, the cradle of Yoruba civilisation, stands at a political crossroads. As Osun approaches another election cycle, questions of heritage, federal relevance, and generational inheritance have returned to the front burner. In this exclusive interview, Hon. Rotimi Makinde, former Member of the House of Representatives representing Ife Federal Constituency, speaks with clarity and conviction. He defends Ife’s leadership, rejects fire-brigade politics, and makes the case for strategic alignment with federal power as the only path to the kingdom’s rightful place. The message is direct: consciousness, strategy, and patience must replace short-term temptations. Excerpt…

Why are you speaking with such passion for Ile Ife now?

Well, I was born because of Ile Ife and its environs, which includes Modakeke, the Origbos and the other towns and villages that made up Ile Ife as a kingdom. This is not politics for me. This is home. When your root is in the soil, you cannot watch strangers dig it up. My concern is personal; it is ancestral, it is generational.

What exactly does Ile Ife bring to Osun and Nigeria?

We occupy the largest land. We host the largest number of educational institutions. We sit on large resources of mineral resources. Our border town is Ijebu Igbo. Our history and our stool are indisputable, the richest. “The elephant does not announce its size, its footprint does.” Yet our structural re-engineering is being treated as secondary at a time of windfall in the state. No, it is not acceptable. We must not trust them.

But Ile Ife has its leadership challenge?

That is not true. What I think we lack is a new channel and recognition and a mission to do the needful for our people to be adequately rewarded. We do not lack leadership structure; we simply need to be focused and for any of us to change the narrative to radicalised changes. We have leaders and no dispute or controversy about that. Our people can recognise dividends, and we as politicians must not betray them no matter the consequences. “A house with a strong pillar does not fall because of wind.”

The state government says they are working. They point to the bridge and roads. Your response

Yes, the state is doing their best by giving us a bridge. I have seen them concentrating on roads that would place them on record, and that would attract some exaggeration and refund from the federal government being led by our party. I would not condemn them for this. But our major need is not within their limit, and I believe they know these truths. “A bowl of water cannot quench the fire of a forest.” Bridges and roads are good, but Ife needs federal projects, federal institutions, federal presence. That is beyond the state’s purse.

Some say you are being sarcastic or political

I am not being sarcastic about this; I am a crusader for peace and transformation. We must not allow any sweet talk or dance to mislead us to commit something terrible. Accord cannot bail us as a state. This state under Accord cannot operate solely under this federation as isolated, no. Ile Ife must key into the federal atmosphere. “The bird that leaves the sky to swim with fish will drown.” Our survival is tied to federal alignment, not isolation.

What is the way forward for Ife’s political relevance?

When I was in the National Assembly, I worked as opposition, same as my successor. This trend must stop. We must be ready to vote in our next legislator to be a member of the next ruling party. In that case, we could fight for the right place. To start that liberation is to ensure we vote massively for Mr President’s party to control the state. “If you want to eat from the king’s table, you must sit in the king’s house.” Opposition cannot deliver Ife’s inheritance. Only alignment can.

How do you assess the present state government’s overall approach?

I frown at it completely. It is a fire brigade approach. No plan, no prioritisation, only emergency visits when the election is close. A kingdom that built the Yoruba race deserves more than emergency attention. “You do not remember the well only when your throat is dry.” For four years, Ife and its environs were on the back burner. Now they want applause for last-minute gestures. Ile Ife is wiser than that.

Final counsel to the cradle of Yoruba race?

Let us think beyond the next 4 years and think positively about what becomes of our society and its environs. “The elder who plants iroko does not sit under it, but generations after him will.” Ile Ife, Modakeke, Origbo and all our villages must act like a father, not a child. A father thinks of inheritance. A child thinks of snacks. With the largest land, the richest stool, and the greatest resources, Ife’s status demands inheritance, not handouts.

The fire brigade approach of the present state government has failed Ife. The temptation of Accord will fail Ife. Only strategic alignment with federal power can lift Ife to where it belongs. Consciousness. Strategy. Patience. That is the Ife way.

Hon. Rotimi Makinde served as a Member of the House of Representatives, representing Ife Federal Constituency.