The former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Ladoja has cleared air on his purported retirement from politics, saying he is still active in ‘developmental politics’ but said he will not contest for any political office again.
The Osi Olubadan of Ibadanland stated this while speaking with journalists at his Bodija residence after observing Eid-el-Kabir prayers at the University of Ibadan praying ground on Sunday.
His words: “Is it possible for someone to retire from politics? Are you not a politician? And so, what are they talking about? All I said was that I am not contesting again. Is that not retirement? That is retirement.
“I say I am not contesting again but I will always go for developmental politics. Whether I am in partisan or non-partisan politics, if there are any developmental politics, I will always go for it anywhere in Nigeria. So, it is not a question of ‘siddon-look’, I am not ‘siddoning look’.
On the security situation in the country, Ladoja said the government is not sincere in its approach to finding a lasting solution to the myriads of challenges facing the country adding that, if they are ready they will first look at the root causes of the challenges and tackle the same headlong.
He said the people do not trust the government any more because the government has not fulfilled its promises to the people, adding that there is the need for frank talk between the people and the government to restore mutual confidence to tackle the various security challenges in different parts of the country.
“You know most of the time they talk about insecurity, we don’t sit down to look at the root cause of the problem. If we try to look at the root cause of the problem, then we will know that all these insecurities have got a root. And if we are not careful, we will be complicating it. Look at the Shiites people that were said to have been banned. They are calling for another Jihad. You know people take their religion very seriously and they will not want their religion to be killed. And that is another problem in our hands.
“The root cause is a question of equity. This is a conventional government both at the federal, state and local level. It was set up by a constitution and the constitution provides for the three arms of government. So, if one arm is dominating the other, then you cannot have the desired peace.
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“Why should the court grant El-Zakzaky bail and they refuse to release him? And now the people are saying, release our leader, after all, he has been granted bail and if you don’t want to release him, then take him to court.
“Then if the court asks them to jail him, then its another thing. But, they didn’t take him to court and they didn’t release him and his people are worried and they said the man is sick.
“God forbids, if he dies in detention, we are looking for another problem and these are some of the issues that heighten insecurity apart from the fact that some people also capitalise on these issues. We have had some people who stage-managed their own kidnappings. We have had people who kidnapped their parents and so it is a very complex issue and I don’t think that it is a limited to Southwest and it is not limited to anywhere.
“But, I believe the government should look at it from the angle that, there must be root causes. The one of Boko Haram has been technically defeated and yet Generals are dying and soldiers are dying. The Governor of Borno even said nearly three-quarter of his state is not habitable. So, we are not frank with ourselves and we are not sincere with ourselves.
“I say between the government and the people, there must be trust. A lot of people don’t trust the government again because they tell a lot of lies and if we don’t know if it is the same thing the new cabinet will do. So, these are the things, we are not sincere with ourselves and that is the root cause of insecurity because if you report an incident with the security operatives, are you sure the same security operatives will not reveal the identity of the person who gave them the information?”
On the essence of the celebration, Ladoja said people must learn to make and keep their promises either to fellow men and or to God, adding that a life of sacrifice as depicted by Prophet Ibrahim must always be put into practice saying “there is nothing bigger than sacrifice.”
