A governorship aspirant of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kwara State, Mallam Khaleel Bolaji, has promised to instil fairness and justice in administering major ethnicities and tribes in the state when elected as governor.
Speaking in Ilorin, after breaking Ramadan fast with journalists, the governorship aspirant said that fairness and justice are two major factors lacking in the administration of the state.
Mallam Bolaji, who was a cabinet member in the late Mohammed Lawal administration and a governorship candidate of the ANPP in the state in the 2011 general elections, said he would be satisfied to serve only one term of four years to achieve his manifesto if elected as governor.
“You see, the thing is this; the first thing that is lacking in this state is a lack of fairness and justice. We don’t have It. I want to bridge that gap when they say I’m a Baruba man, I’m an Ilorin man, I’m an Igbomina man. You have to be justifiable to one another. If that is in place, all these he’s north, he’s central will never happen. In fact, if I do only four years and I’m able to achieve that and I die, I will die happy.
“Number two, give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar. Whatever that is due to everybody… You know, let me tell you, the time I wanted to be governor by my own desire was in 1999 when I contested against Late Governor Lawal.
The only time I didn’t contest was in 2003 because Lawal was contesting and I was supporting him. When you look down the line till now, the kind of situation we have found ourselves at the poverty level is unbelievable. And I asked myself; why? Former governor of Anambra, Obi, I was watching his programme last week, he said 70% of wealth is in the hands of 1% of Nigerians which is 20,000 if we use out 200,000,000 population.
And the man was honest, he said, “I am one of them”. So, you can imagine the remaining 99% are sharing 30% of the wealth.
“That’s the worst thing that can ever happen to any nation! Anybody that wants to come as the president and cannot redistribute this wealth appropriately, is not good material. That’s why I said among all these people declaring interest to run, I’ve not seen a good one.
“Unfortunately, number two, for Kwarans, You see, let me tell you, each of us now, we just finished eating. Are we going to eat more than this food? In fact, I’m not eating till tomorrow night when it’s time to breakfast. You don’t need much. But as little as we have taken, a lot of people can’t afford that. A lot of people, I say.
“For me, redistribution of wealth is what is more important than anything. I’m a Muslim and in Islam, anything you acquire illegally is like a burden to you. So, for me, this time, I want to serve. Let me tell you, it’s not because I want to become governor, I’ve been telling people I’m more popular than some people in government in Kwara state and in Nigeria.
I want to prove a point that governance can be very good by being open, transparent and honest. That’s all I want to do. If I’m able to do that, I’m fine. That’s my point because I can see poverty in the open, very clear. You see, some of us, I can not imagine people suffering around me.
So what do you do? And it’s only when you’re in government that you can redistribute wealth and you can bring succour to the people.
“It’s very simple, what people are ‘chopping’ in government is not what is not making them do what they need to do. To go to the hospital and be treated free of charge costs nothing.
It’s not up to what one person is siphoning in terms of corruption. For me, it’s for good governance.
I’m not playing politics. Politics is gone at those time and I’m very serious. Do you know what I tell God? I said God you know my intention, you know why. If you want me to serve your people… I believe that is the reason why God created us; to add value to somebody’s life. But I said, no government has plenty of resources. If you give me, people will know that not everybody is a thief. You know me when I was commissioner here.
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