•OSUN PDP Guber Aspirant
How do you think the PDP will fix its own internal dynamics within the state?
Absolutely, what you are seeing is a storm before the calm. So there are six candidates, from my perspective, any one of them is better than what we have now. Any one of the six is better to lead that state back to where it should be. And we have processes. The good thing about the PDP is the constitutional value that it follows, which means it was those processes following the constitution that lead to the six people coming to contest in the end. Now, it is only in a party that allows for democracy to flourish and we can see that.
Normally, the other party would impose its preferred aspirant on its people. The decision about who becomes our governor today was made outside of Osun. He had nothing to do with us. The people in Osun had no input. But that’s not PDP. PDP will make the gate open, if you want to contest, go get the nomination form. You talk to the delegates or you talk directly to the people within the party and then you make your pitch; you go to the field; you run primaries and the most acceptable candidate will then win, which every one of us will then get behind him.
How do you see the debate of these direct primaries versus the indirect primary process?
It’s interesting. As a party, we have a way that we have always done these things, which is through indirect primaries. We have a delegate system which is indirect primaries. Where we differ from the other party is the fact that they use both when it pleases them, depending on the circumstance, so
You see them use direct and you see them use indirect, but we have always used indirect.
What we feel is that it is wrong for a party in power to force down on peoples necks, a system that only favours them. A party as part of its constitution like we have done should be entitled to say this is what we believed makes the most sense for us. At some point, you will even see that they will use direct primaries in some places and indirect primaries in other places.
So if you go to Osun for example, in 2018, direct primaries were introduced the first time, it has never happened in the history of that state. They introduced it for the first time, then they went to another state and said no, they are going to use indirect. That’s the kind of party we are talking about.
The last elections in Osun show that the ruling party are no longer wanted anymore, but by the technicality of elections as seen in the state, they were able to retain power, how prepared are you for the technicality this time?
Ahhh, we are ready. It may take a while but the will of the people will be eventually achieved. It was evident that the people were robbed in the last elections. There’s no other way to describe it. PDP as a party won by 353 votes at the first ballot, and for the first time in Nigeria, as Mr President said, they used remote control. He said it with his own mouth, they said it was inconclusive. And because they believe some votes were not accounted for and it was more than the margin. You only have these situations where your homework is not done properly and where you have a narrow margin.
With the performance of the current government in Osun, the minimum that the ODO would use to win the gubernatorial election will be a hundred thousand votes. So what are you going to use? If there is a gap of a hundred thousand votes, there is absolutely no way you will claim inconclusive, it happens in Oyo State. Seyi Makinde won convincingly, there was no debate. Going to court with a margin of a hundred thousand votes is a waste of time, and we are sure our work is being done properly. The people, most importantly are ready. They are tired of this government. The level of poverty is heart-wrenching. When you pay somebody 40 to 50 thousand naira and you are not promoting them financially. They have done 3 promotions in Osun State without paying people’s salaries. You are paying someone 50 thousand naira and you are owing them thirty months’ salary. And then you say that you have government. Government of who for whom? It’s the government of a few for a few. The people that are doing things in Osun but are carting our money away. It’s not being used for the benefit of the people.
Can you tell us a bit about your background?
I was born in Osun. I started my education in Ibadan. I went to Itamefa Baptist Boys Primary School. From there I had my secondary education in Ibadan. I went to St. Patrick’s Grammar School, Ibadan. Then I went on to Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye, now OOU. I graduated in Law. That’s was 1989. And I went to the Nigerian Law School in 1990. I was called to the Nigerian Bar in late 1990. I practiced for a little while, say, less than two years. I then decided to go to the UK in search of greener pastures. I worked with only one organization in the UK. I rose through the ranks there and ended up as a Senior Project Manager, interestingly in Information Systems. From there I was recruited in a company called AXA Financial as a Senior Project Manager and then I moved to the US in 1997, started out with them in NewYork, I got posted all over the states, ended up as vice president of that organization and I stayed there for 10 years, and I was recruited by Celtel Nigeria Limited as their Director of Strategy, in 2007 and that brought me back home. Worked there for a year. I was posted to Abuja to work for the 19 States in the North, I did that for a year before Zain bought the company and I was asked to go to Madagascar, which I refused and started my own business in 2009. That business has now evolved from one company to 17 companies.
What is the motivation behind your decision to go back home to Osun State, despite your huge success in private business?
Two things are very critical. At a young age, my father was a university professor. He was at the Institute of African Studies in Ibadan. He was an Associate Professor, just about to become a Professor. Then in 1987, he called the family and told us he was going to Gbongan, that he wants to become an Oba.
I was extremely upset, I was wondering why would you throw away a career like this, to go into a village? Sleeping in an environment where there’s no infrastructure. We’ve lived in the university environment all of our lives, why are you going to the village?
His response to me was “you can’t understand it now, but you will understand it one day”. There’s more to life than what you can do for yourself. I didn’t get it until I turned 40, by the time I turned 40, there was nothing that you could do that could make me stay in the US. At this time, I had my family doing well, I was the first black vice president appointed in a company that was formed in 1893.
When I was leaving, they were going to triple my salary, but I told them, I need to go home. It’s not making sense anymore. I need to be home. Very little at home makes a lot of difference. And you can never tell what it can grow into.
What we spend on a dinner outing in the states, in just one night, is sufficient to send someone through the university education in Nigeria. And we have experienced it. Coming home, and getting involved in politics have exposed me to a lot of things that I will forever be grateful for.
I have seen a boy that was born blind; 7 years old. He can see now. The entire process of the operation costs peanuts, the operations were done at Ijebu Mushin Eye Foundation. We have taken over 400 people there for eye surgery. And in some cases, we only pay as little as 10 thousand naira. You will see a 70-year-old that is seeing for the very first time in 30 years. And the first thing they say is “Please can I have my Bible?” If I’d not gotten into politics, I will never have been exposed to this. You will see extremely brilliant kids, that just because of the circumstance of their birth, gets through secondary school, come out with 9-As, and then there’s nothing there to do, while we are continuously begging our kids for just 5 credits. What happens most times, in that kind of environment, is that brilliance dies with the kid because there’s no support structure for them? So, will I change anything about getting involved in politics? No. it’s beyond getting married, having my kids, this has been the most fulfilling and satisfying aspect of my life, to date. It’s not about holding a post, the reason I am going after this is if you can do this as an individual, how much more if you have access to the resources of government? It will go a long way, in bringing up that environment, in bringing up the people, because it is the people that make up Osun State. It’s not geography, and there are resources in there. The town I come from, my town has 60 professors. Ila has over 50 professors. And yet, that state, with all knowledge, because of lack of vision is almost going backwards. We have to change that narrative.
