The All Progressives Congress (APC) has condemned Governor Seyi Makinde's reference to "Operation Wetie" during the National Summit of All Opposition Political Party Leaders, calling the comment irresponsible. Makinde, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), warned that "Operation Wetie started from here" while cautioning against a one-party state, describing the South-West as the "Wild Wild West." The APC national spokesman, Felix Morka, dismissed the statement as inciting, stating it was "disgraceful" for a sitting governor to invoke such a violent historical episode. Morka made the remarks during an appearance on Channels Television's Sunday Politics.
Morka described Makinde as the chief security officer of Oyo State and said leaders must speak with restraint. "You don't sit there as governor, wield enormous authority, and incite people who are beneath you to violence," he said. "That is completely anti-democratic." "Operation Wetie," derived from a Yoruba phrase meaning "wet him," refers to the political violence that followed the disputed 1965 Western Region elections, during which opponents' properties were doused with petrol and set on fire. The APC spokesman argued that invoking such imagery undermines democratic norms.
Ladan Salihu, a chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), defended Makinde, saying the comment reflected current political realities in Nigeria. Salihu also appeared on Sunday Politics and supported the governor's right to express concern over democratic backsliding.
A governor tasked with maintaining peace in Oyo State invoked a violent 1960s political purge linked to arson and chaos, then faced backlash for it. While the APC condemns the rhetoric, the fact that such a reference resonates at all reveals deep public anxiety over electoral credibility. If today's political climate makes "Operation Wetie" a relevant analogy, then security and democratic integrity in the South-West are already under strain. The irony lies in a constitutional security officer amplifying fear rather than dispelling it.
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