Former Minority Whip of the House of Representatives, Honourable Babatunde Oduyoye, speaks with MOSES ALAO on the outcome of last Saturday’s presidential election, its implications for the governorship election in Oyo State and the choice the electorate must make ahead of the landmark election. Excerpts:
You were part of the Afenifere meeting that endorsed former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the presidential candidate of the Yoruba, with the outcome of the February 23 presidential election in which the South-West voted largely in support of President Muhammadu Buhari, don’t you think the Afenifere has lost its relevance?
I will not agree that Afenifere has lost relevance in Yorubaland or in the politics of Nigeria, because we are yet to ascertain what transpired in the presidential election. As I speak with you, Afenifere is collating reports from observer groups, people at the polling centres and others to determine how free and fair the election was. There have been stories of voter intimidation and harassment, burning of ballot papers in Lagos and other places. So, until we get the total picture of what transpired, we cannot conclude and it is then that Afenifere will come out with a comprehensive report.
Having said that, the leader of the Afenifere, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, has reacted on behalf of the organisation, saying that the election was not credible. So, I stand by the statement of our leader.
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But doesn’t it bother you that Afenifere could tell Yoruba to go in a certain direction politically because it would bring benefit to the nation and the level of compliance did not match up?
Well, I am from Oyo State and as far as the state is concerned, we delivered for Atiku. I also know of Ondo. I cannot speak for Osun because the state now has a tradition of voting under intimidation. As we speak, the result of the last governorship election is still being challenged at the Election Petition Tribunal, yet the PDP had a good showing.
You made mention of benefit; the only benefit that Afenifere wants from supporting Atiku is restructuring. You will agree with me that in Nigeria today, things are not right; we are running a federalism that is faulty. We do not operate fiscal federalism, which is the only way out of our myriad of challenges and it was only Atiku that had been talking about restructuring even before he contested the election. We had a National Conference, which deliberated and came up with a report, but President Muhammadu Buhari trashed that report. He is not even ready to talk about it. And if you look at the composition of his cabinet, most especially the Security Council, you will discover that it is lopsided; other nations have been shut out. Must we continue this way? No. The way things are, I don’t want to preempt what Afenifere and other ethnic nationalities will do, but it has come to a state where we have to talk about regionalism, because we cannot continue to be in a federation that is not ready to accommodate all nations.
You are a chieftain of the AD, which has stated its readiness to work with the governorship candidate of the PDP, Mr Seyi Makinde. But the question is why the gang-up to dislodge the APC, a party that many believe has brought development and transformation to the state in the last eight years?
Well, it depends on the definition of transformation and development and who is defining the terms. My good brother, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, has done his own bit considering his age. One thing I give to him is that he is urbane and smart and he has succeeded in touching on infrastructure in a few urban centres. But as a progressive who has learnt a lot from the exploits of the Awolowos, the Bola Iges, the Ajasins, I make bold to say without any fear of contradiction from any quarter that the APC government has failed woefully in the areas of education, health and agriculture. What is the essence of cosmetic development through construction of roads and bridges when our children do not have decent education? When the students don’t have decent places to learn? What is the economic sense in building a few model schools when hundreds of schools across the state are like shanties and don’t even have desks and chairs to sit?
When Awolowo governed, it was about getting things right with education by paying attention to the training of teachers, paying attention to good curriculum development, good libraries and other facilities as well as investing on the education of children. What do we have today? I am not surprised about the results the state has been getting in public examinations; it is because we have misplaced our priorities in the state.
So, when anyone talks about development, have they been to the Adeoyo State Hospital? Adeoyo Hospital and other hospitals in the state formed parts of the campaign messages that the APC government rolled out before taking power. Go to Adeoyo Hospital, it is still in darkness; it does not have a generator. It is barren. Recently, I saw them painting the fence of the hospital, why would anyone be painting a fence when there is nothing inside? I remember the influx into the hospital, the subsidised cost of treatment and drugs under the Lam Adesina government. All these have disappeared. So, you have to ask if this APC government is an offshoot of the UPN or AD, no, because progressive parties have their tenets and ideological leanings towards the masses.
In the schools in Oyo State today, families are being charged to pay development levies, LAUTECH is in crisis and all that. I can say without mincing words that in Oyo State today, education is in a shambles, health facilities are in a shambles. Nothing is being done in agriculture. The only thing the Oyo State government does in IITA is to go and hold retreat or meetings; they are not partnering with the institute and many other federal institutes located in the state to achieve agriculture revolution. The state is not getting anything from the presence of the institutes. As we speak, the food basket of Oyo State, which is Oke Ogun, is not even connected to the state capital; a 50-something kilometre road from Moniya to Iseyin has been left untouched and the governor went to Iseyin to do a road that didn’t even cover the stretch of the town. He neglected a road that will connect Ibadan to Oke Ogun. And anyone will tell me that is transformation? What are they transforming? Everything is cosmetic and this government has been paying attention to areas it can derive benefits. I am not impressed and that is why I think it is important to dislodge the APC government in Oyo State.
But why Seyi Makinde out of the array of contenders?
I am an ardent advocate of generational shift in the politics of Oyo State; I support and I have been promoting it and now I want it to come to fruition. I remember granting an interview in which I said that at 54, I was getting too old to be governor of Oyo State. With due respect to my brother, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, who I admire a lot as a complete gentleman, and former Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala, who I have also had cause to relate with, I believe it has got to a stage that we need young, vibrant individuals as governor. Though I agree that there is no correlation between age and performance in office, I make bold to say that having seen the antecedents of some of them that have come up, they are well-suited for the state. Look at Bayo Adelabu, a young man of 47 and a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Look at Chief Sharafadeen Alli, my colleague at the University of Ibadan, who has served in various capacities as pioneer chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, Secretary to the State Government and recently chairman of Odua Group. All these individuals are in the category of those I call serious contenders.
But from our search, based on the report of a committee set up by the AD, we want a radical departure from the era of arrogance. We do not want people who have not been properly mentored and have not learnt much from political actors and we want a radical departure from a government that will do things without a human face. Based on some of these parameters, the ability to win an election and the antecedents and humble background of Seyi Makinde and his exploits at Makon Group; his simplicity and humility, we settled for him. When you interact with him, you will discover and appreciate that he has a great passion for the state, having benefited from the free education of the Bola Ige government.
Apart from these, some of the candidates in the governorship race have one baggage or the other. When you look at the character of some of them, you will understand that they do not have what it takes to govern this state well. I was born in Ibadan. I have lived all my life in Ibadan. I have interacted with some of these people and I have a strong network so I can tell you that character is a sine qua non for good leadership. No matter who you are or what you have, if you don’t have a good character, if you are arrogant and you lie a lot, you cannot be a good leader. Politicians lie a lot, but it is not all of them. I have interacted with Seyi Makinde in the past few months and I can say boldly that he is a truthful person. He is always afraid to make promises, because once he makes a promise, he would not renege. So, without fear of contradiction, I want to say that Seyi Makinde towers above his main rivals when it comes to character. He towers above them when you look at the era we are now in Oyo State and you look at the future, you will appreciate that Seyi Makinde should be the man to take over from the man who is currently governor. These are the reasons we are backing Seyi Makinde
But there are already words in town following the election President Buhari that Oyo State cannot afford to be in the opposition…
What is opposition? All politics is local. I voted in the presidential election; I am a member of the Afenifere and we supported Atiku. But I am more concerned about who is going to be the next governor of this state. I am more concerned about who is going to lead Oyo State from May 29. Chief Awolowo was in the opposition when he was Premier [of the Western Region] and the best things that happened to Western Nigeria was being in the opposition. Move from Awolowo to Bola Ige, who governed Oyo State from 1979. Move from Bola Ige to Lam Adesina and even the incumbent Governor Ajimobi, they all were governors under a Federal Government controlled by another party. If I am told to analyse the first and second term of Senator Ajimobi, I will say without fear that his first term was better than his second term. He was in opposition under Jonathan when he recorded the achievements in his first term, which are better than this second term. Even Governor Ajimobi knows that his first term under the opposition is far better than his second term.
Senator Bola Tinubu, who they now refer to as governor-emeritus, was governor in Lagos State for eight years under opposition, same for former Governor Babatunde Fashola, and today, APC continues to use Lagos as an example of good governance, so what is bad in Oyo State being in the opposition so that we can break away from this era of lazy dependance on federal allocations and peanuts? Oyo State people should not be swayed by the propaganda that the state should not be in the opposition. I am not bothered about who is president, but I am more bothered by who is governor of Oyo State; I am bothered about who is going to increase the internally generated revenue, block leakages and run a government with human face. They should stop the propaganda that Oyo State cannot afford to be under opposition. What will change? Look at Governor Emmanuel Udom in Akwa Ibom, he just launched Ibom Air. He achieved a feat that the Federal Government could not manage despite wasting billions and his state is in the opposition. How many APC states achieved that despite belonging to the ruling party at the centre?
So, what will you say are the chances of Makinde, going by the fact that the APC has been regrouping, wooing people into its fold and showing the readiness to use the federal might if need be?
Well, we have done a poll and you can equally do that; three out of every four people that you meet in Oyo State want a Seyi Makinde. They want Makinde because, as I said earlier, he does not have a baggage and he is not under the influence of any godfather. Though some people out there ask if he will not get arrogant if he is elected governor and who will they report him to when that happens, I think Seyi Makinde is humble person with a listening ear. His chances are bright, because the people out there want him. If you look at the total result of last Saturday’s presidential election in Oyo State, not the number of the members of the House of Representatives or senators, PDP has the highest number of votes cast in the state. So, it is clear for you to know what the potential strength of the PDP is. As we speak, discussions are ongoing among the opposition parties and they are likely to yield good fruits. Personally, I have always maintained that all hands must be on deck and we must not have a repeat of 2015 where Senator Ajimobi won election with less than 38 per cent. In 2015, if two parties had agreed to work together, they would have dislodged the APC. But now, we have the ADC, ZLP, ADP and SDP talking and I can only pray that they succeed, because that is the only way to go. My only fear for the March 9 election is that Oyo State will not be given the Lagos State treatment in areas of PDP’s strongholds. People should be watchful and proactive in their immediate voting environment, because their party is known for violence wherever they have gone to campaign. So, I want to encourage the people of Oyo State to be watchful, proactive and most importantly resist attempts to prevent them from voting for Seyi Makinde. This current government has always flaunted peace and order in the state as its achievement. But since this electioneering started, the credential they are flaunting has been destroyed, because they have recorded violence and killings wherever they have gone to campaign.
Haven’t you heard that the APC is talking with Alao-Akala to rejoin the party and also making efforts to bring all its aggrieved members outside the party together with a view to making it retain the state? How can Makinde, who does not have any bargaining chip to offer bigwigs, stand up to this kind of gang-up?
I believe that at 68, the former governor should be more interested in the legacy he will bequeath to the state and most especially Ogbomosoland. Everyone is aware that LAUTECH is like the economic base of Ogbomoso and Senator Tinubu has been the chancellor of the university for years while Ajimobi and former Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, were APC governors, yet they allowed LAUTECH to be closed for a long time. That closure practically ruined the economy of Ogbomoso. Since Alao-Akala left office, the government of Ajimobi has done nothing to improve on LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, which Alao-Akala built in Ogbomoso. And about two weeks ago, Alao-Akala’s son, who was democratically elected as chairman of Ogbomoso North Local Government was illegally removed from office in the office of a commissioner because he supported his father’s ambition to be governor and I listened to Alao-Akala’s interview on BBC Yoruba, in which he furiously condemned that illegality. So, are you telling me that if Alao-Akala juxtaposes the hurt done to his personal interest and the interests of Ogbomosoland by the APC, he will go back to the APC? I doubt that. I think he has a right to meet with anyone, but I don’t believe he will mortgage the interest of his people. I want to believe he will be a strong participant in the coalition.
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