My bond with the people of Ogun —Akinlade

With six days to the March 9, 2019 governorship election across the country, the candidate of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) in Ogun State,
Honourable Adekunle Abdulkabir Akinlade sheds light on his blueprint for the state if elected. KUNLE ODEREMI brings some excerpts:

How is the journey so far in your preparations with six days to the historic political battle for the Ogun State governorship seat?

Where we are today? What we did from January 2, 2019 was to commence the ward-to-ward tour and that is one thing I have learnt about the political structure in Ogun State; that for you to be able to reach the people, you need to go to them at the ward level. That’s what we have done; we have been to all the three senatorial districts in the state. And in the process of doing that, we sold the APM brand and we feel the symbol cassava is strategic as most of our communities are rural. Cassava is one of the agricultural crops that is more accessible and conversant with most of our people across the state and that has worked very well.

For those who might not really understand what happened during the Presidential and National Assembly election in Ogun State, we got to a point, where we realised as a party, not APC and APM, (what I mean basically, not that we imported anybody from anywhere outside Ogun State to form APM) we reached out to our people, the same people who voted for me on October 2, 2018 at the party primaries. We sat down with them and took a decision to go for any other platform for the coming election and we were convinced we would win and that’s exactly what we saw in the February 23 presidential election. That is how grounded the APM has been in the last two months. Before then, when we realised that if we proceeded at the pace we were going, Mr President might even lose the election in Ogun State, and at this point, we resolved as stakeholders that it was important that Mr President won in Ogun State. We also resolved that the rail project must be completed.

Yes, we lost some of our candidates, who would have won in landslide in their various constituencies during the National Assembly election. But they lost the elections because two or three days to the elections, we had to come out openly to campaign for the president. I personally campaigned openly for Mr President all over, telling our people that for the first election, they should vote APC; vote Mr President. It is important for us to take that decision because if Mr President does not complete federal projects: Lagos-Ibadan Expressway; railway and others that are located in Ogun State, it will be difficult for me to achieve an increase in internally generated revenue from N7 billion to about N15 billion. I know that immediately the rail project is completed, most of the companies in Lagos, Ikeja, Apapa,  Oshodi; Ilupeju, and others will naturally want to build their warehouses around the rail corridor and the corridor will bring a lot of opportunities, commercial activities and revenue for the government. So, it was important Mr President won and thank God, he won the election. We are very happy.

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Coming back to the question: where we are today? Governor Ibikunle Amosun has stated it very clearly that if we come out openly and work with him and if Mr President wins, they will, in turn, come out openly and work with us to make sure that they deliver APM come March 9. And true to his words, when he came back from Abuja on Wednesday, there was the usual strategic meeting. I met with most of his lieutenants and reached an understanding on collaboration as it is a payback time for him.

Our candidates in Abeokuta North; Ado-Odo Ota, Yewa North, ijebu, Mafe , Sagamu lost their elections and so it’s painful for us a party but if we look at what we have lost and what we hope to gain, I think it is strategic for us because we have reached out to everybody, They are charged; we have six days to go; Ogun West is ready to go; for APM; Ogun Central is ready to go and Ogun East, I am confident that we will do very well there. So if you look at where we are today, the numbers are there to show very clearly  that we are good to go; the majority of those that voted for Mr President and APC are APM members, and those remaining in APC are already coming to APM. So, the coming election, by God’s grace, is going to be a landslide.  I recall when I met Mr President, all said was that I pray for is that my vote should count and be protected. When I said my vote should count, it has to do with the electoral umpire; that my vote should be protected by security agencies. We have kept our side of the agreement to work and campaign for Mr President and I have no doubt that he is an honourable man; a man of truth, a man of honour, he will act accordingly.

Has the violent incident that occurred during the presidential rally held in Abeokuta affected your campaign; if no, what are the reasons?

I am a member of APM; I won’t be able to speak on APC because I do not know what transpires in that party. We went there that day to show solidarity to Mr President, who is our presidential candidate, who we endorsed and came out openly to support and whatever transpired at that point in time, I believe the security agencies are looking into it; I am not a member of the security agencies. So, what I would say basically concerning the question is that the issue hasn’t affected me any way. I wasn’t in the crowd. The people saw clearly where I sat and when I was leaving the stadium, people saw clearly that I had continued to enjoy the support of my people.

Are you saying that if the APC members had not voted for Buhari, he would not have won?

I have said it many times. The people who voted for us on October 2 at the primaries are the people, who are resolute that the injustice would not stand; that the wrong will be made right. If we had not campaign openly at Odo-Ota for Mr President, I tell you it would have been difficult task but because we said everybody should vote for Mr President, some of our candidates lost; it is part of the sacrifice we made.

There is always the sentiment among politicians of wanting to belong to the party at the centre. Don’t you foresee a kind of bandwagon effect, where people will want to ensure their state is part of the APC with the victory of Mr President and which might affect your chance at the poll on Saturday?

Not really; if you understand the scenario very well. What I am reiterating is that the people, who voted for me overwhelmingly at the October 2, 2018 party primaries are APC members; they are the same people, who  out of conviction, have proved a point and ready to further prove they can do it again. This is Ogun State; people have not forgotten what happened to MKO Abiola; the injustice of June 12. So, if it was another state, the point you raised would not have mattered. The people of Ogun State are politically enlightened.  You would be amazed to learn that even in the villages, the kind of narrative that goes on. So, on their own, the people sat down and came to the conclusion that we will vote any platform, regardless of what is happening at the centre, If I say our people voted for Mr President, that would tell you that they understand very clearly that they will still vote, come on March 9, for APM and like I said, the people will now decide where we will go from there. Actually, it will be so good because our people will want to prove that we voted but some people are trying to take credit for it. We want to prove that we voted on February 23. It was not a happenstance. We voted here and we will vote again, come March 9, and it is even be bigger than what we recorded during the presidential and National Assembly election.

No doubt, most of you in this race are eminently qualified to be the next governor of the state, given your individual pedigree and background. But, what would you regard as your Unique Selling Point (USP) as a candidate for the plum job? What do you think makes you stand out among your peers for the exalted office?

Let me put it this way: first, I would be the first governor, who actually served as an appointee in Ogun State government. I was a Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Internal Revenue and I served in the Ministry of Women Affairs between January and October 2014. I served between July 2011 and January 2014 as SSA to the governor on Internal Revenue and the appointment endeared me to the state civil servants because I interfaced with them and those I served in the ministry know me very well. I was the only politician when we tried to regularise some staff; most of them were inherited from the Gbenga Daniel administration as temporary staff. We tried then to see how we could regularize their appointment. I played a lot of role in making sure that most of them had their appointments regularised. So of all the governorship candidates, I stand a unique chance among Ogun State workers. I am from Ipokia Local Government Area and a sitting member of the House of Representatives. I have a lot of experience cutting across a broad spectrum of areas that will be of immense benefit to our dear state. I interfaced with corporate institutions and organisations as SSA on Internal Revenue. At the National Assembly, I have interfaced with the top management of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). I was the chairman of the House Committee on Steel, which means all the steel companies in Ogun State I have interfaced with their top management. I was Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee on Insurance, which means that interfaced with all ministries, departments and agencies of government. I interfaced with everybody on Defence, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and indeed all agencies of government; I interfaced with them on insurance. So, none among the candidates today has the wealth of experience I am bringing into the race from both the national and state levels. The only exception as far as this election is concerned is Senator Kashamu Buruji and for those who understand the workings of the parliament, the main parliamentary business is done at the committee level in the lower house and not at the Senate. We do the job. So that’s what I’m bringing on board, apart from the wealth of experience I had in the private sector before I came into politics in 2011. I have had the privilege of working closely with Governor Ibikunle Amosun. I shared his vision from day one, when he started and he began clearly with what he wanted to do and look around Ogun State and you would see clearly what he has been able to do.

No man is perfect; he has done the best he could and I believe very strongly that it is the same drum I will be beating that every administration beats but I will interpret the rhythm and I dance with a difference. Amosun interpreted the drum beat the way he knew best and he did the best he could. I have a very clear mind and vision on exactly what I want to achieve for our people. We are well positioned; our proximity to Lagos and to the West coast of Africa and I look very clearly that for you to get anything to the hinterland in Nigeria, you have to pass through Ogun State. So, that’s why we endorsed Mr President. We want to re-strategise on the operation of our state so that it can fully harness its economic potential. That’s the wealth of experience I am bringing onboard that none of the other candidates has.  One of my areas of competence is revenue generation; the governor is an accountant, a wealth manager; I am not an accountant; I generate money; I see wealth everywhere and I understand clearly that the state needs the service of a candidate that has skill, capacity and competence. You have to be creative and have capacity to create wealth. So, I have very clear and different approach and I believe none of them has such experience and pedigree. I believe in profiling; I have read a lot about the other candidates; I have done due diligence and realised none has the kind of capacity I possess; the capacity to serve the state at this point in time.

Politicians are good at making promises only to get to the office and renege on those promises. What is the guarantee you would be different, that your word would be your bond with the people of Ogun State if elected governor?

Let me give you this analogy: a man marries a woman and Allah gives them the grace to conceive and then you ask that man what the guarantees that when he has the child, that the child will not fall ill at all. Or that the child would not have cold until he grows up and lives his life. That’s only within God’s hands. Your conviction to act as person count most. My conviction is to serve. And I will continue to pray to the Almighty Allah to grant me good health; His grace that all that which I have promised; all that I desire in my heart, that God should give me the grace to actualize them; and I believe this will be so, with God because those intentions are pure and my heart is pure that I want to serve and I want to touch the lives of our people. I want to do something back for the opportunities I have been given in Ogun State and I have no doubt that God would grant me that grace to be able to do all that I have said I want to do and beyond them, as  a mortal. There are so much you can do as a mortal but once you have conviction, and believe in God that this is my conviction; my belief; this is what I want to do, and you pray to God that grant me the grace that which I have promised and that which I want to do; let me be able to it. For me as a mortal, and for those who know me, I do not renege on what I say. I will not tell you what I will not do because I understand what it is as a Muslim. So, my promise is a bond as a Muslim.

What do you have for the youths in term of sports and entertainment?

In our blueprint, sports is not just about the physical aspect; there is the commercial aspect and that’s what we are going to promote so well in collaboration with the private sector. One of the things we have in our blueprint is to build what they call sports centres and the greatest challenge you have is to call people to come and invest in sports in the major cities. It will not touch the lives of our people. What we really want to do is that we will take the commercial aspects of sports to our rural communities. There is a lot of talents in our rural communities that you can’t you can’t even get in the cities.