Mr Olumuyiwa Adesua is the chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC) United Kingdom South-West Caucus. In this interview by SEYI SOKOYA, he speaks on the chances of the party in winning the Ondo election and his experience as chairman in the Diaspora.
What is the atmosphere of politics in the Diaspora, especially with the recent rally on ethnic agitation?
The atmosphere of politics in the Diaspora to the best of my knowledge has its own ups and down. In the respect of agitation for self-autonomy among the Yoruba people here, we have been receiving diverse opinions. Some believe our lots are better served under a restructured Nigeria. As for me, I am in support of restructuring Nigeria for a better and sustainable nation. This personal view is also in tandem with that of my political party, APC.
As the chairman of the APC UK South-West caucus, how do you perceive the state of the party, coupled with its loss in Edo State?
I believe we have challenges in most of our state chapters in Nigeria; hopefully the reconciliation efforts of our acting chairman will yield a fruitful result before the national congress. I won’t be able to say much about the Edo election until I get a full report from those on ground in the state. But, it appeared we went into that election with a divided house. We need to now focus on the Ondo election and deliver the state to the party based on the achievements of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
Is it true that some people in the party are selling out as some stakeholders in the APC claimed?
I don’t have any empirical evidence to that. But I am very sure that we went into that election a divided house with loads of the anti-party activities and that was how the election turned that way.
How is delivering Ondo to APC realistic as some stalwarts claim that the chances of the party are slim?
As I said earlier, based on Governor Akeredolu’s achievements and reconciliation move after the primaries I am very sure that my party will win in Ondo overwhelmingly.
What is the experience like as the chairman of APC UK South-West Caucus?
I discovered that the average Nigerian politician is the same, despite our exposure. You have Nigerians who love to sit tight in a position for years and continue to violate the constitution of the party. They don’t want to follow the term of office or respect the constituted offices. You have some of our leaders back home supporting these usurpers, just to divide us for selfish reason. The coming congress in the party and the Diaspora chapter should put a stop to this shenanigans. Nigerians here are committed party members, especially our party leaders in the UK. Some are part of the party since the Alliance for Democracy (AD) days. They never decamped nor engaged in anti-party activities. We have the six state chapters under different leaders.
Ogun State just conducted its congress and we have a new chairman, Mr Andrew Taiwo. The chairman of Ekiti APC UK is Mr A. J. Idowu. The chairman of Oyo State chapter is Honourable Kola Saidu, but they are conducting a congress very soon to elect a new chairman and the Lagos State chairman is Honourable Tayo Sodeinde. All these leaders support one another during election in any state. Presently, we are supporting the leader of Ondo State. We have provided necessary support such as jingles on electronic and fliers and T shirt are being delivered to leaders and party members back home. We have our representative in Ondo State ahead the governorship election. The national deputy chairman of APC UK, Honourable Tunde Doherty is in Ondo on behalf of the party and he is currently feeding us with reports and I can category tell you that the feedback has been favourable.
How do you intend to put the party in good shape abroad?
I will ensure our members respect the constitution of the party, laid-down rules and guidelines. I am also encouraging our leaders not to interfere in our internal affairs so as to maintain party cohesion. In addition, we are to work with our leaders back home in ensuring dividends of democracy delivered to our people.
Is the party in the Diaspora pleased with the style of leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari?
Yes, very well. To the average Diasporas, they do understand where we are as a nation before President Buhari emerged in 2015. In the fight against corruption, we scored Mr. President very highly. He cares about his people and we know he will do more before 2023.
With your experience, how has life been for Nigerians in the Diaspora outside politics?
We have Nigerians at every level of public service, as well as in the private sector, such as in the health sector; our Nigerian nurses and doctors are doing great. We are also doing well in Information Technology and Telecoms, but there is a missing link between Nigeria and the Diaspora and that link is part of what I have been building in the last one year I resumed office. I have worked closely with the Developmental Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN). We are all out to blow our trumpet.
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