Past governments have failed the people —Alao

Oyedele Hakeem Alao is aspiring to become Oyo State governor on the platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD). In this interview with TUNDE ADEGBOLA, he speaks on his chances, the hurdles before him and what he intends to do to better the lot of the state. Excerpts:

You are contesting against bigger guns in the state, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), how do you see your chances of winning the election?

It is true I am contesting against the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and the leading opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). If you look round the state, which I have done, I have visited almost all the local government areas in the state; you will see that the basic amenities that government was supposed to provide are not there. I have seen that people of the state are suffering and they are in dire need of a redeemer, a miracle worker, somebody who will turn things around, provide food on their table and ensure that their children get basic education as well as access to basic health system. The people need somebody who will provide secure jobs for their teeming youths.

So, I don’t see the current government of APC providing all that, because in the last 16 years, both the present and past governments have failed the people. They are looking for that alternative and I believe the alternative is here, the Alliance for Democracy (AD). Oyo State used to be a pace-setter state but it’s unfortunate we’ve lost the glory. We used to have companies such as Leyland Motors, Exide Batteries, etc and Femi Johnson was one of the topmost insurance stockbrokers before, where are they today?

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You said the state needs a redeemer, what does the redeemer intend to do?

We have put a blueprint together; we have looked at all the issues in context and come to conclusion on what we are going to do in education, health service, environment, agriculture and the rest. If you go round Ibadan alone, you will see that the city is extremely dirty and there is heaps of waste littering the median. That’s not how it’s being done in most of the countries our leaders have travelled to. There are systems and methods we are supposed to follow, it’s not everything you do that you will have to spend a lot of money on We believe that we have the antidote to the problems within the society because we’ve seen things working in other places. I have been part and parcel of another government in another country where things were done properly and where every penny they are making goes back to the society.

We are going to establish companies that would take care of all these and invite people from the diaspora. I am a member of stakeholders of the diaspora forum. There are a lot of people, even from Oyo State that are ready to invest in the state but they are looking for enabling environment, an incorruptible person who they can trust. If you go to the industrial hub that was set up, you won’t see any infrastructure that was provided. Ethiopia did industrial hub, they provided the facilities, the road, light, water and investors were there. I was there when they were commissioning it.

I can tell you I have travelled far and wide, I have seen what other people are doing in their countries and I believe with all intent and purpose that we can do the same thing. It’s unfortunate that our leaders, though they travel around the world, but they could not implement what they have seen. Nigeria’s situation is not as bad as people say that there is no money. The question is: the money they have been receiving from either the federal allocations or internally generated revenue, what are they using it for? Oyo State, in the last seven years, based on my findings, the highest money the state got was $1.14 billion and in 2017 alone, we got $680 million, but the question is, what did the government use it to do? The interconnecting roads between cities in the state are in deplorable conditions. Why putting money on a single road for dualisation when there are many interconnecting roads begging for attention?

How popular is your candidacy? What are your chances of clinching the ticket of your party?

Alliance for Democracy is an old party which started in 1953 as Action Group (AG), later became Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and now Alliance for Democracy. People are aware of the antecedent of Action Group and UPN. My grandmother was a member of AG in those days and my father was also a member of UPN as well. Alliance for Democracy has party structure in Oyo State and I have travelled in the last two weeks to each of the local government areas in the state. In fact, I was impressed with the kind of support and welcome I got from those areas. People are tired of PDP and APC and they are ready to go back to the old party that gave them free education, free health services and trained Yoruba leaders to become what they are today. Most of our leaders today passed through free education, free health services put in place by Chief Obafemi Awolowo-led Western Region. I may not have the luxury of money to throw around but, believe me, people are not interested in the moneybag politics again. They know now that if they collect money they are selling their future and the next generation. Progressive government and ideology is what our party is known of and people are ready to go back to the party.

Now, with what I have seen around, I believe I will win the primaries because the party executive members have seen the eagerness and my seriousness and I got the youthful energy to deliver on the promise of our founding fathers.

Recently, President Buhari signed not-too-young to run bill. How do think youths can come together to move this country forward?

If you look at the age of our past leaders when they were at the helm of affairs of government in the country, they were between ages 27 and 35. They got the youthfulness and the energy to do it. It is unfortunate that some are putting constitution together and they were putting the age barrier, as long as you are more than 18 years anybody can aspire to hold any post. If it is not elected position and it is a monarchical government we are running, if a child is 20 and his father, a king, died and the child is in the lineage, who will become the king? As far as I am concerned, government should remove age barrier. As long as one is above 18 and got what it takes to rule, he is good to go.