Oyo State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Toye Arulogun, speaks with DARE ADEKANMBI on the achievements of Governor Abiola, Ajimobi in office, as well as the succession the diatribe on 2019 election. Excerpts:
GOVERNOR Abiola Ajimobi will be two years into his second term soon. What would you list as his achievements?
I believe that the best way to look at it is to start from the very beginning. This is because for the first time in Oyo State, we have a continuum. So, you can’t isolate first term from the second and that is important because of the things that help a developing state is continuity. I believe Oyo is benefitting from continuity because people knew it would help them. That was why they voted for Governor Ajimobi in an unprecedented manner.
Let us start with the things that re fundamental to this government- peace, security of life and property. Pre-2011, you wouldn’t be talking about this in Oyo State. Go and look at the crime rate, the police will tell you it has gone down. Look at incidents of robbery. Go and look at what used to happen during festive periods, you won’t find them in the state again. Safety, peace and security have been one of the major achievements of the Ajimobi administration. Safety is important because there can’t be any development without peace. When the citizens live in constant fear, investors won’t come.
This was why I said we should not look at the last two years alone. It is a thread. This administration operates methodically. From the very first day, the governor set out what it wanted to do- restoration, transformation and repositioning. The state has a pyramid of development at the base of which is security and safety. The governor has been expounding this locally and abroad and people understand him and key into it. Critics may want to gloss over this, but it is very significant.
After peace, safety and security, let us look at road infrastructure. Before 2011, people who came to Ibadan would say ‘Ibadan has not changed.’ It was not a compliment. A state must change. People come now and say they miss their way. We are not just doing rods; we are doing a network of roads. We are still continuing. Go and see what is happening in Oke-Adu-Iwo Road, Bashorun-Akobo, Ologunerun and also in Oyo, Ogbomoso and Oke Ogun. We are also doing quality roads.
Whether locally or internationally, nobody likes an environment that is not aesthetically pleasing. You will agree with me that Oyo State, especially Ibadan as the capital city which was where the problem was, has taken on a new, pleasing look. There is a lot that is going on in that sector. Ibadan has become a modern city, unlike what it used to be. Yes, we still have challenges in the area of waste management. Resolving this is a collective responsibility. Our people must begin to imbibe the new way of waste disposal. They must also be willing to pay for the waste they generate. Government has invested heavily in this and we have embraced a public-private partnership model in this regard. It is also something we are hoping we can convert to wealth and energy because we generate so much waste. We recognise that Ibadan is an ancient city where old habits die hard.
On agriculture, the governor just came back from Songhai in Benin Republic to model the agric initiative there. Oyo State has the potential to be the food basket of the country. The founder of that farm is in the state now and there is a team that is working with him. There is a silent revolution going on in that sector. There is also a revolution going on in the area of industrialisation, especially in the Free Trade Zone where 125 companies from China will, next month, set up businesses in the state and they will employ our people.
In the area of social infrastructure, education has taken a new shape. The government of Ajimobi looks at education on three legs-students, infrastructure and management. It is the management that will take care of the remaining two and this is why the government constituted governing boards for schools. I consider this a master stroke. I say every time that even members of the opposition have not been able to fault this decision. It is a community-based management of schools and a lot of people have embraced it.
You flaunted peace and security as part of the achievements, but lately communities in Ibadan like Eyin Grammar, Felele, Arapaja, and many others have come under incessant robbery attacks, despite the presence of policemen in some of these areas.
We can’t have a zero-crime society, not even in the United States. There will still be pockets of such incidents. I am not saying these things are pleasant. What I am saying is that the rate of crimes has gone done tremendously. Some of these things come up when elections are coming. Government is taking it seriously and it has pumped a lot of money into security and safety. We have Operation Burst.
But we hardly see these Operation Burst operatives on the streets these days…
When they needed to be on the road most visibly, everybody was seeing them. When the crime rates dropped, what would they be showing force for? It is a strategy. Operation Burst is accepted and effective in checkmating crimes. What you have only noticed is a tactical withdrawal. These happenings can’t remove the fact that we have achieved peace and security in the state. There has been a renaissance of nigh life in Ibadan. I go out in the night and I don’t use escort. I measure and gauge the opinion of people and the feedback I get is positive about what government is doing and what their expectations are. Before 2011, how many night clubs were operating in Ibadan? This can only happen in an atmosphere of peace.
What have been the challenges?
The major challenge has been funding of the projects. But apart from this, there is the challenge of human capital that will drive and deliver the vision of Governor Ajimobi from within. He can’t do this alone. We need the right set of people to achieve the lofty dreams and vision.
Despite the assurance from Governor Ajimobi that there will be local government election in the state, many are doubtful the election will be conducted.
We can’t do much about whether people doubt it. But as a government, we have demonstrated enough commitment that before the election was called, government had done what it ought to do in terms of materials and other logistic needs. Why would government pump a lot of money into the exercise only for it to truncate the election? We are in court because of the litigation over the creation of LCDA. I believe that shortly, a new date for the election will be announced. The worst that will happen is that the election won’t be held in places affected by the suit. Government is committed to conducting the election.
LCDAs are very important for effective service delivery to the people of the state. The closer the headquarters of a council is to the citizens, the easier the access to government. In a couple of months, the people will begin to see the benefit of the LCDAs. It is like owing a bank and setting up branches to make it easier for clients to enjoy banking services.
There are those who see the LCDAs as mere political outlets to ease mobilisation for 2019 elections. The government created LCDAs when there is cash crunch which has made the extant councils ineffective….
LCDAs are not costing us extra money. If it was expedient during the time of Alhaji Lam Adesina, it is more expedient now that the population size has gone up. Was Ologuneru like it is now during Lam’s government? There are some councils that are too big to manage. The LCDAs and the LGAs are sharing assets now, there is redistribution of staff. I would like to appreciate the people of the state who donated buildings, especially in Felele, for the take off of the LCDAs in their areas. LCDA creation and 2019 elections are mutually exclusive. Government wants better service to the people; that is why it has broken existing councils for ease of management. It was the state House of Assembly that originated it. It wrote a letter to the governor to set up a committee for the creation of LCDAs. The committee saw that work had been done on it and decided to change the name from LGs to LCDAs.
Adebayo Shittu appears to have an axe to grind with Governor Ajimobi over the non-conduct of council election and some actions of the governor.
Generally speaking, the minister has declared his intention to vie for the governorship of the state in 2019. Who else will he attack than the incumbent? We are not caught unawares with such development. It is expected and a lot more will still come. What is important is for us to tell the people what we have done. Governor Ajimobi is not going to contest any election again. So, at some point, it will be among the contestants.
Yes, people can criticise. For me, criticism is negative, appraisal is positive. Is he saying there is nothing good that this administration has done? An appraisal looks at both the negatives and the positives and a conclusion is reached afterwards. Is he saying there are more negatives than positives? Certainly not. Election time is fast-approaching and it is not only the minister who has been saying different things. We are the government in power and so it is natural they will say they can do it better. We understand the dynamics and the nuances of this kind of political comments.
We would like people in Abuja to do a critical appraisal of the minister’s tenure and let us see whether he will get a pass mark or not. Some of us know what is happening in the ministry under his watch. If he can’t mind such a small place, how can he run a whole state? I think he should do the business he is given to do part-time instead of causing distraction. He should remove the speck in his eyes before he can attempt to remove the log of wood in other people’s eyes.
For us, what he has said is a non-issue. One of the things I have learnt from Governor Ajimobi is that we should not listen to market noise. We remain focused on what we want to do. What is important is that Governor Ajimobi will be remembered as the founder and architect of modern Oyo State. That is incontrovertible.
The minister says he is acting as the voice of conscience for the party leaders and members who have resigned to fate in the face of tyranny and impunity. Is the governor truly behaving like an Emperor?
Have you gone to the people of the state and they told you they appointed him? I might not be long in politics, but I have been long enough to know its characteristics. Before his appointment, the minister had been like that. It would have been a big surprise if his so-called criticism had not come now. He is entitled to his own opinion. But what is the general opinion? Most times, some of the critics can’t decipher between facts and truth. Truth is subjective. Facts are sacred. What we are putting on the table are facts.
Despite your saying the governor won’t contest any election again, I have it on good authority that Governor Ajimobi is interested in returning to the Senate in 2019.
I am not aware of that. That is not to my knowledge. The man is a human being and he can change his mind. He is in the best position to answer that question. But I have not seen such move from him. This is politics; people peddle a lot of rumour and innuendos for different purposes. I have not read that in the governor’s body language. He has not told me and there is no reason for me to believe otherwise.
Do you see the number of aspirants as posing a threat to unity of the party?
It typically starts like that. We should even credit Governor Ajimobi if this is an unprecedented number. It is still an extension of the Koseleri syndrome. He has made governance attractive to a lot more people. If you look at the quality of people coming up, it is changing. There are people with sound intellectual background among them. They see in Ajimobi the model for governance. No more amala and gbegiri politics. This is intellectual politics.
What is important is that anybody who is going to be the next governor, we must ensure is not someone who will take us back. We won’t allow the eight years of Governor Ajimobi to go to naught by allowing a misfit to me governor in 2019. We need a candidate who will continue from where Ajimobi will stop and not someone who will take us back. The candidate must come with certain characteristics and credentials. We are going to be sufficiently interested in who that person is. We won’t allow the state to go back to the doldrums. The next captain of the ship is very important. Everybody is talking about Lagos. It is because Lagos has enjoyed continuity. Whoever is coming must have the capacity to take Oyo to greater heights from where Ajimobi will leave it.
You seem to be saying there are some of the aspirants who are not qualified to contest…
Certainly, there are those who should not be mentioned as governorship contestants at all. Governor Ajimobi has given us a pedestal and we have an idea of what standards on which a governor should be operating. The DNA of the next governor is important. It is also not only about having intellectual bent, human relations are critical too. The political environment of the state requires someone whose attitude complements his intellectual endowment.
What about the zone from which the next governor should come from? This has been a subject of public discourse.
When politicians sit down, they will address that. But zoning is also important. Population and other dynamics factor too. It is better for the state to choose someone that should take us higher and not the other way round. Left to me, I would say irrespective of zone. But it is not an easy as I have said it because the zone is also important. When I was head of state protocol, I realised through my interactions that politics is the vehicle for governace. When people came to see the governor without prior appointments, I would protest. But I was told that without politics there can’t be governance. If you are a fantastic technocrat, you will have to realise that politics is the root to governance. If you can’t play politics, even if you are fantastic, you won’t get there. There has to be a combination of both; that is why the issue of zoning is very important because it is a major factor. You must play politics to display your skills in governance.
Do you think it should be outside Ibadan this time round? Ibadan has had it for so long.
Ibadan will produce more aspirants because we are more in population. I don’t want to be caught up with if it is Ibadan or not. But we have a good idea of the description mentally and DNA-wise of who should be the next governor of Oyo State. This is important because we cannot come this far and then drive backwards. It will be a shame, a tragedy and a disaster and it will be unforgiveable. Part of the things happening is that a lot of technocrats who didn’t want to get involved, are now showing interest in the governance of the state. On several occasions, they heard the governor speak and they say ‘yes, this is the kind of man we should be calling our governor in terms of eloquence, logical presentation of issues, and logical presentations of ideas.’ We can’t go back to the days of asking ‘what is he saying.’
For us as young people, we must queue behind a credible leader, someone with superior arguments and not the chop-chop type. He must have swagger too; it is important.
Are you trying to bring age factor into the race?
Age should not even be the factor but the age of the ideas. I am passionate about this because I have invested in Oyo State. I am suffienctly interested in that person. A lot of young people talk about the Ibadan movement, new Oyo State movement. When we go around, the kind of joke people make of Ibadan people when they see someone weeing at the wrong place or doing some mess on the road and when asked they say they are from Ibadan. This is part of this mental shift that we need. We can’t go back to those days. We are pacesetters and it is very important. I am saying that there are a lot more technocrats that have got interested in what is happening in governance because Governor Ajimobi has given us the compass to be able to see the need for us to be sufficiently interested in what is happening. Governance determines everything, so we can’t let it go back to the dogs. We can’t.
After all is said and done, do you think the governor will able to install a successor in 2019, given the factions and crisis in the party?
There will always be factions, even in your house there are factions. So there is nothing new about faction. People will have their own inclination, thoughts and ideas. They want to reason and look at things in their own ways. So, there will always be faction. But what I know is that a good manager or leader must also clone himself and any good leader must be interested in who succeeds him, because we should be bothered about what happens when we are no longer in the saddle.
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