Why I didn’t show interest in becoming governor —Gbade Ojo

Before the All Progressive Congress (APC) primaries to select the party’s governorship candidate in Oyo State, several government officials showed interest in leading the state, but many people felt that as one of the closest to the governor, you ought to have come out to slug it out with others, but you didn’t; is it that you are not interested in contributing your quota to the development of the state by governing it, or what?

This is a very interesting question. It is not that I did not desire to become governor of the state, but as a political scientist, and with all humility, I want to say I know better. If one wants to become a governor, and one is in an opposition party, then one can throw his hat into the ring. However, if one is serving in the system, and working with a governor who wants to produce a successor, then one doesn’t need to struggle. When a governor is not going for a third term, it is the responsibility of that governor to determine who should succeed him. When some people were spending money, printing billboards, posters, among others, I was just smiling. Except the governor calls you in private, saying from what he has seen in you, he wants you to succeed him based on certain qualities you have, that is when you can go ahead. However, if your principal does not tell you he wants you to succeed him, and you want to slug it out to attain the position at all cost, then political scientists see such a person as being disloyal. If you are loyal to your principal, you allow him decide what he wants to do. There is a difference between advising and you imposing your own will on your principal. In Lagos, during the era of Senator Bola Tinubu, Mr Babatunde Raji Fashola, who was the chief of staff, was not the only person working for the governor; in Osun, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola is not the only person working for Governor Rauf Aregbesola, and both Senator Tinubu and Governor Aregbesola must have seen certain qualities in their successors, so in Oyo State, we should give the governor the opportunity to decide who succeeds him. It is not that I could not print billboards or posters, but out of respect for my principal, I allowed him to make his decision.

 

Again, you are one of the closest government officials to Senator Ajimobi, what qualities does the governor have that the average resident of the state does not know about?

Having run the state for seven years now, the people of the state would have known one or two things about their governor. However, as a social scientist, the way Mr A sees object A, will not be the same way Mr B will see the same object A. I got to know Senator Abiola Ajimobi before he became governor, and I related with him as an elder brother from Ibadan. So when he became governor and invited me into government, I saw it as an opportunity to go out of the university system, gain some experience in my academic field, and return to the university as a better teacher of political science, as well as a better preacher in the church, so the governor, being a sufficiently-educated person, with a first degree and two Masters’ degrees from the United States,  and having worked in the private sector in multinational corporations for years, is sufficiently-exposed in terms of making decisions. I can say that he is a better decision-maker than people who were governors before him. I am saying this because we are in an era in which the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) is insufficient, and he doesn’t want to overburden the citizenry with taxation, while the statutory allocation from the Federal Government is equally dwindling, so it is only a governor who has a background of economics, business management and public finance who can turn things around in this situation, and the governor has all these and that is why he has been able to successfully manage the affairs of the state. I, therefore, see him as a better governor than others who came before him.

 

As a Chief of Staff, you know the workings of government. Is it true that politicians share money in government?

I was a special adviser on Political Matters before I became the Chief of Staff, and I have never experienced that. As a political appointee, I am still a salary earner. When I joined the government, I looked under the table and carpet in my office whether I would find money because people say they make money in government, but I couldn’t find any. It is, however, a good thing that I got involved in government because there are a lot of insinuations and innuendoes flying around about how people make money in government. Today, there is due process in government, and it doesn’t give room for the system to be abused. In the area of the award of contracts, for example, no government official can single-handedly award contract, including the governor. Contracts are discussed at the state executive council for ratification. Due process then follows, in which the papers must have passed through certain processes, and finally the contracts are advertised in national dailies for bidding. So what I am driving at is that there is no avenue for money-sharing in government. In Oyo State, the governor runs a decent system which does not leave room for corruption to thrive.

 

As a pastor, who is also in government, how are you coping, since some people believe to be in government, then one must be able to dine with the devil; how has your political appointment not clashed with the core tenets of your faith?

I am not just a pastor, I am the General Overseer of a ministry, and I am also in government, as the Chief of Staff to Governor Ajimobi. I am also a scholar, as I am an associate professor of political science at the University of Ilorin. Although I am a pastor, I am also a professional in government. The question about the core values of my faith clashing with my work as the Chief of Staff has been a recurring one. However, when I am in the university, it is purely academics; when I am in the church, it is purely spiritual engagement, and when I am in my office at the state secretariat, it is purely public office duties, and the other work the governor assigns to me to do. It is only grace that has been sustaining me. However, the challenge is that public perception, rightly or wrongly, believes that one cannot hold a public office and still remain as a child of God, but with my experience over the years, I have seen that one can hold a public office and still maintain his consecration.

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How have you been coping health-wise with the core assignments at your disposal, being in government, managing a church and publishing scholarly articles?

In the church, I am fully engaged on Sundays, but during the week, there are more than 10 pastors in the church who hold forth. Pastors at the ministry’s branches are equally busy. The church has dual functions, the spiritual and social functions. For the spiritual, I minister on Sundays, while my pastors handle the social aspect like weddings, naming ceremony, among others. I also go for some social functions, especially when there is no important state function to attend to. However, being in government is ephemeral, as it will be over one day, and it will be an added experience to my profession as a teacher.

 

Nigerians are being enjoined to go into politics, but many are put off due to the violent nature of our politics. In a situation where someone is interested in going into politics, but is being put off by the fear of violence, what advise would you give such a person?

Participation in politics begins from registering as a voter. The moment you register as a voter, and you go out to vote to perform your civic responsibility, then you have participated in politics. However, for partisan politics, that is, registering as members of political parties and coming out to contest for public positions, then we need more Nigerians to be fully involved. However, the fear of violence by thugs and hoodlums has been reduced due to the effectiveness of our security agencies. In Oyo State, for example, the mantra of the state government is peace and security. It means the government takes the issue of security very seriously, and since 2011 when this government came on board, hardly would you hear of mysterious assassinations, kidnappings, burning of houses or attack on political rivals.  The effectiveness of any government is its ability to maintain peace and tranquility, which this government has succeeded in doing, so anyone who is interested in politics should have no fear whatsoever, as it is only God who protects. However, fear comes from attitude in government. When someone is corrupt, then he is bound to be attacked, or maybe he went into a deal and cheated the other partner out of the money, then these are scenarios which can lead to someone being attacked.