At 55: I Once Wanted To Be A Musician, Says Gov. Makinde

The governor of Oyo State, Engr Seyi Makinde, said he wanted to become a musician because of legendary King Sunny Ade’s performances.

Makinde make the disclosure in an exclusive interview with newsmen on Sunday as he marked 55th birthday.

According to him, “While growing up, I wanted to become a musician. Later, I thought I could be a boxer. I wanted to be a musician because of King Sunny Ade. He was probably the only one they used to show performing on television then.

“So, I asked my mother to buy a toy guitar for me and most times, I used to imitate KSA, thinking I would be a musician.”

Speaking further, Makinde said he later wanted to be a footballer but clash of club interest between him and his father ended his dream of becoming a professional footballer.

“Later, I watched the bout between Dele Jonathan and one white guy and I thought I would like to be a boxer too. During my latter days in primary school, we were always kicking football around our neighbourhood.

“I was quite good at dribbling and around 1976, lICC Shooting Stars FC won the African Cup Winners Cup for the first time. I went to the Liberty Stadium, during their trainings and I used to see Segun Odegbami, Best Ogedengbe, Muda Lawal and the rest. So, I thought yeah, I would be a footballer.

“I went to my father and told him I would like to be a footballer and he asked me which team I wished to play for and I said “Water Corporation.

“I believe Sam Ojebode was with Water Corporation then, but my father was an ardent supporter of Shooting Stars and that was the end of my dream of a professional football career because I mentioned the wrong club.

“Eventually, I still joined Greater Tomorrow at Yemetu and we played a number of matches together with some of my childhood friends who later went on to play professional football. But my father did not allow me to proceed with that dream.

“But by the time I got to Bishop Philips Academy, I played for the school team while I was in Form Two. The implication of that was that I was playing with older guys, but I still got into the first eleven of the team.

“By the time I got to Form Three, where we started real work academically and had begun to look at which direction to follow: Arts, Commercial, or Science, the dream of being a footballer fizzled out.”

The governor also revealed that “Back then, the best 30 students in Form Three would be taken to Science Class, which was always Form 4A. I was among the first three or so and I knew they would take me to Form 4A at that time. So I started thinking about what to do seriously.

“At that point, I thought of being a medical doctor or an engineer…”

Tribune