Hon Omotayo Aramide Oduntan Oyeledun, the former Deputy Chief Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly and a notable member of the APC Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential campaign committee has charged the party to recalibrate its internal democracy so as to quickly restore political integrity that behoves a truly progressive party while speaking about the ills that trailed party primaries in Alimosho,the yet to be assuaged individuals and other sundry issues, Olanrewaju Adesanya brings excerpt.
X-ray the Lagos polity from the woman angle, has the women folk faired better the way it is structured?
When we look at the politics in Lagos now taking it from the party’s angle, the party has done something good to encourage the women to come out, by just asking us to pay for expression forms only and so many women actually came out, which I thought is a very welcomed development and I was happy about it because when all the female aspirants met in Abuja, the turn out was encouraging but when we got to the primary level, then the woman angle crept in. You know women have not enough money like the men, who were consequently able to use money to push the women aside and asking us to go through the process we went through, the delegate thing I don’t think it is the best for the women, because if it were to be the ones we’ve been doing where everybody would come out to vote for the candidate of their choice unlike what I saw happened in most places in Lagos State, where they just feel this is the person that should go, not minding whether the person is qualified or not. Like it happened in Alimosho, we have so many candidates and in fact so many youths, the young ones really came out this time around and they were not given a level playing field to contest.
This type of thing actually does not augur well and it does not encourage well meaning people to want to join politics or to want to come and contest, as the best candidate don’t emerge in this kind of manner, it is like a money politics where aspirants is ready to go as far as offering one delegate 3million naira per vote, so that was what happened in Lagos State and we still have some salient issues the party have to iron out before we get to election time otherwise I pray we don’t have problems when it comes to the real elections because most of these aspirants were really disappointed. They kept on complaining about one thing or the other, considering the high amount they paid to collect this forms.
So the primary did not go down well with many of you?
Usually the delegates thing is not a cost efficient thing, we had something like that during the SDP era money was not the real key factor then, but now it’s a money, money affair, you have delegates asking you for 1million per vote where do you get the money? And if one is a serious aspirant and want to actually go there to serve the people where will you get such money to give to delegates? Where will you get money to fund the actual election or the processes that will lead to it?
What kind of party primary will you advocate?
I prefer the indirect where all members of the party will come out and pick the candidate of their choice, whoever they want to represent them.
What does future portend for Alimosho in your view as a stakeholder?
The Yorubas will say, ‘Oloju oni la oju e sile ko fo’,we the indigenes won’t allow it to go the wrong way in Alimosho, what each of us should be concerned about is the development of the area bringing good things into the local governments.
So like it happened to me, I was an aspirant and I know what happened even in Alimosho even though I was really not happy about the whole thing but I just felt people get the type of government they want, so if that is what they want let them go for it all of us will see what will happen at the end of the day.
Have you any plans in modelling up-coming leaders in Alimosho given your wealth of experience?
Yoruba will say ( Oro ti aba n se ti a o fi han omode, iru oro be maa n parun ni) whatsoever culture we fail to initiate our children into goes into extinction quickly, I just felt that we are not encouraging the young ones to come up, it is like we want to stay there forever and this way we are not encouraging the young ones to come out. As a good politician you should be ready to groom young ones to take over from you or you step aside and let the young ones come out and stay as an advisory body to guide them, this how to go about it. But when you don’t allow them to come out or to know what politics is all about I fear more for this country, because it is like repeating the same set of people all the time. There are some offices where I believe should be left for the young ones while the older ones have offices where they can stay, the younger can do well as counsellors, House of Assembly not even as a local government Chairman because a local government Chairman office is a very important one being the closest to the people and the most important where maturity is demanded. It is the most important of all the arms of government, you need experienced people who actually have genuine interest and passion to serve, like I always tell people if you want to be a local government Chairman you don’t need to start sowing ‘Agbada’, you need plenty of Jean’s, get nickers, you are not supposed to be in the office 24-7 you should be on ground. I each zone, each ward, know what is happening, you interact with the people and thank God they’ve made their works easier with the CDA’s, they know people from their zones and what they want so you have to work in tandem with the CDA to bring dividend of democracy to the people, but when we say dividend of democracy this days to a lay man on the road may mean giving them rice and stipends during festive periods.
Having the older hands who have known what politics is all about with enough experience and passion for the job and interest of the local government and the people at heart, I prefer having such people at the local government. Having such people at the local government will make the job of the Governor easier. Governor cannot be everywhere at the same time but can always link up with such chairmen and ask for whatever they need or what the people want in their localities. That is what I understand as most important.
What more do you have on your sleeves if the opportunity beckons again, have you any regrets thus far given the times you have served at one capacity or the other?
I don’t have any regrets, I looked back from where I started from and where I am now and if God spares our lives in future. Would I have done anything differently? I will say the passion I have bothers on contributing my quota, building people up, it is geared towards human development and infrastructural development. Alimosho used to be a very rural area though it is now a developing area where government should focus on considering the bulk of votes coming out or that will still come out because it is a developing area and people are moving in there daily.
So I hope and pray that the electoral power will still translate to development in future. I would say we still need roads even though we have good link roads within Alimosho if there is gridlock in one place you can always take another road, but to decongest that area we have so many of these roads in Alimosho. The ones the local government supposed to do, are they even doing anything? The local government is not doing anything.
Many attributes that to the fact that the state government have already usurped their roles.
They hardly do anything this days, during the working hours the Chairman is always in the office. He is not even going out to ask from people what they want, he is not going out to check the level of development in his area. That is one of the things I would say are my regrets but I know God is good he would not leave us to suffer.
The amended electoral act assented by the President Mohammadu Buhari, what good has it brought to this polity?
I am yet to see it, except that we have to wait for this election to take place and see where lies the positive impacts it has brought.
What about relating it to pockets of elections in Ekiti and Osun?
Speaking candidly, has the elections been free and fair in the real sense of the whole thing? Because I know in some areas in Ondo state election is known to be (Dibo ko sebe), you go for election they give you 2000, 5000 naira for your votes even as high as 10,000 for a single vote, when such happens, can people demand for development? Having collected 5000 for a single vote and you are expecting maybe about half a million votes so 5000 times half a million people, how much would that amount to and when they get to that office how do you want them to perform? They would first of all services the loans they’ve collected. That is why I say people get the type of government they deserve.
So it has not really addressed any of the issues that informed the amendment in the first place?
I am yet to see it speaking candidly. Even the electronic devices adopted when people are not happy and they would still be momentarily induced to vote against their wish, would you say that election is free and fair? Certainly not at the end of the day so I am yet to see it.
Muslim/muslim ticket and perceived insensitivity of APC in its choice of candidates, what will be your take?
How many religions do we have in the country? So nobody is talking about the other religions now but about the Muslim/Christian, are those the only two religion we have in the country and who has that religion helped? What they should demand for is good governance, good development, the government that will cater to the yearnings of the people. Is what we should clamour for not for Christian or Muslim. I am a Christian but all I want is development, good road, good health facilities, good schools for my children those are the things we should be clamouring for, not Christian … Who is a Christian? They’ve turn the whole thing into a business affair. Are they serving God? Can they say, they are serving God when the supposed Christian Universities their members children cannot afford to pay tuition let alone attending such school. When we were small Catholic schools, most of these religious schools, they were almost free. Are they free now? Are they even serving the people they see? So how can they claim they are serving God they don’t see when you didn’t believe in somebody you see, how can you tell me you believe in somebody didn’t see? For the past two, three weeks now I have been watching some good things on YouTube this days and I am not concerned about religion. I just want good things for the people. Whether you are Muslim or Christian, my father was a Christian, his sisters were Muslims but this days for our own convenience, we segregate and say this is Christian.
How do you behave to your Christian brothers? What is your mind towards you Muslim or Christian brothers? My heartfelt prayers is that the Lord give a very good government that would cater for the masses, that would have the interest of the masses at heart. That is why I personally -Omotayo Oduntan would say let Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu become president knowing his antecedents, I know when he gets there, I mean Asiwaju and Senator Kassim Shettima, very good combination and I am praying and I would work for them and pray that God should let them be victorious as President and Vice President at the end of the day.
We cannot afford not to ensure that becomes a reality. I look at the other candidates so far, the supposed leading contenders, eh! I hope we get it right now and vote Asiwaju, what is Atiku’s antecedents? Can you point to any? How did he make his money? Go and search how this man made his money and fathom if he is interested in serving or he wants power by all means. Or Obi, I just laugh when people say Obi, Obi, I saw his factory, I have forgotten the name and I marvel when he say he want to go and serve and the young people did not even sit down to do their research properly maybe because of the EndSars thing that happened is the same thing they are bringing into politics now. What has Obi done in the past? He was a Governor what are his achievements back then? If he did not perform well how can he perform if he becomes President?
What about the perception that desperation is evident in the statements of your party’s flag bearer Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu?
I wouldn’t say desperation but like it happened to me in the previous primaries, I have genuine intention and interest to serve, it was like please just give me this opportunity and see what I will do, I think that is what Asiwaju did, I do not see it as desperation. Prior to his emergence, the way the whole thing was going, like okay some people were against him, but sincerely we are not being our brothers keeper again we are just after what I want to be, what I can be. We are just after what we want to be, we are after the wealth people want to amass so the genuine feeling was lacking prior to his emergence and the people up there, they were not been sincere but God in his infinite mercy actually put it in the man’s mind to recount all he has done and knowing his person, Asiwaju has really invested in people. Whether he knew you or not. I know him very well having worked with him he has that milk of human kindness and that is what has been sustaining him. He gives freely to people, he has lifted so many people up and that is what God wants and that is what is working in his favour. Like he said, ‘Eleyi’ you know a good turn deserves another and this is one of the person I helped how can you do something like that to me? You know as human, you will feel bad, you feel terrible to an extent you are tempted to even say somethings, he is human, if I am annoyed too I can say anything I am human only God is perfect, but the thing worked in his favour at the end of the day.
Given the fact that age and health seem not be in favour, don’t see this as the right thing happening at a somewhat a wrong time?
This is the best time, when we came into government in 1999, look at the security challenges we were facing then and Asiwaju came on board, he actually canvassed for increment of Police salary, welfare package as well and giving them all the machineries they need to perform, because our police when they go out there always come back first but they don’t have basic things they need to perform, working under this condition they still perform very well and the security in Lagos state, see where we are. We have the Security Trustfund they use to buy helicopter, flying boat and some basic equipment for our own Police and even when you see they are kitted up to face any challenges, I mean the Police posted to Lagos as state police is not allowed yet, they work under better conditions than all the other states Police, so all of them want to come to Lagos all thanks to Asiwaju’s vision then.
What have we been seeing? No security, how can a group of people get themselves together and start terrorising people are they above the law? See how many lives we have lost to Boko Haram, kidnappers and all that but we know where the kidnappers are and government is shying away from arresting them, there was a time Sheikh Gumi was acting as middle man between the people I termed terrorists and the government, is that not even a criminal act on its own? So this is the proper time now for Asiwaju to come out and help. When we were in government I had the opportunity of travelling with Asiwaju to US we went to some states, we went to his old school in Chicago and we were able to bring some things back because when we got there we discovered so many of our children-Nigerians making their marks there but the atmosphere in the country does not help so they are not coming home to come and replicate what they have learnt there in the country, but he was able to bring some of them in quote ‘Chicago Boys’, who were his friends back into Lagos and they really impacted the system.
But he was instrumental towards President Mohammadu Buhari’s emergence for two terms, hope that won’t boomerang for him now that he is gunning for the position?
Who knew Buhari will come and mess up the economy? Coming from his military background and what he did when he and Idiagbon were in power? Some people believed the man would replicate what they did with that combination back then, so many people came out to canvass for Buhari then now, so how can you now blame Asiwaju, we all came out to canvass, my children came out enmasse, so many professionals. Doctors and many more, they form themselves into groups and they all canvassed for Buhari, so why are you now putting the blame on Asiwaju? No, we all felt he could replicate the old order of sanity not because Asiwaju supported him, we all supported him so we are all to blame, I blame myself indirectly not forgetting that we are from the same party but sincerely when I am in my room I blame myself why did I canvass for this man, I wasted so much money because all those youths while coming for campaign I will say come and collect food and drinks, all of them and us inclusive are even disappointed in Buhari. The man has a very thick skin nothing concerns him, it is not really normal for a person to behave the way he has been behaving lately.
What will be your counsel to politicians who are out to contest for a public office?
My advice to emerging politicians, they should put God first, secondly they should be their brother’s keeper, the interest of their people should be uppermost in their hearts, ensuring development and what could make life easier for upcoming ones, for their children and for those who are yet to be born. We should do it now when we have the power so that at the end of the day we can all rest in peace when we go.