The Deputy
Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and governorship
aspirant in Ekiti state, Segun Oni, has made it clear that he was never
imposed on his people as governor by the former president, Olusegun
Obasanjo...
In this interview with some journalists
in his country home, Ifaki, in Ekiti state, the former governor spoke on
his reason for wanting to occupy the number one seat in the state again
in 2018 and other issues of interest.
There are insinuations in some
quarters that you were imposed on the people of Ekiti as governor the
first time you came by former President Olusegun Obasanjo; what can you
say about that?
Three years before the primaries, I had
done a couple things that impacted positively on lives of my people in
Ekiti. Before the primaries, I had provided micro credits to the people
of the state. I was also providing free Universal Tertiary Matriculation
Exams (UTME) forms and lectures, where I gave qualified people free
UTME forms and a 15-week-free lesson in every local government area of
the state. I also had a scholarship scheme because I realised that many
of the people that did well in their UTME didn’t have the means to go to
the University.
Now, if you do your arithmetic well, you
will discover that it ran into millions of naira. So, before the
primaries, I’m sure the delegates must have picked my name and
goodwill. In terms of goodwill, I have never had any dent in my career.
I worked in Xerox and many other places. So, if there was any screening
about who would be the party’s candidate, I don’t think I would have
failed it. But you will remember that the PDP combined that primary with
the assessment of individual. Chief Ropo Adesanya was the chairman of
the party at the time. And on the day of the primary, he addressed all
the aspirants where he clearly stated that the primary would be combined
with the assessment of individual, before they would pick the party’s
candidate.
If they adhered to the guidelines they
have told us about and they now picked one person, how does that become
an imposition? There were three ballot boxes. I was there when they
were opened. We were about 16 contestants. I already had more than 40
percent of the call in the first box before they stopped. They met and
took their decision. By the time they resumed, the story changed. The
guy who represented me was very naïve. He was not conversant with the
procedure and he did not ask to see what was going on. He was just
making calls. What I heard was that people did whatever they liked, but I
never complained and I did not say anything. So, I believe and I’m
saying this now, that I didn’t lose that primary. If I was not made the
governor, I would not have also talked about it. The primaries were not
conclusive because to be conclusive you have to score more than 50
percent but none of us scored that much. Yinka Akerele scored the
highest, Professor Ojo followed and I came third. Oni from Okemesi came
fourth. I immediately instructed my team to take N1m from our Save and
give to Akerele. I also told them to give him two buses. I led my people
round to thank all our delegates and tell them to vote for Akerele at
the gubernatorial election.
But, eventually that was not to be. I
think the lesson for me is that human beings can only strive; it is only
God that determines our fate as humans. I’m saying this for the first
time. I don’t mind the controversy, but individuals will justify their
actions. So, it sounds so annoying for people to keep saying that I was
imposed on the people.
On rating basis, which of the candidates
would have been rated higher than me? What have they put into the lives
of other people, young or old that would have made them to be rated
higher than me? So, if I was rated number one in goodwill and I’m number
three by the result of the primary, what stopped me from being the
number one? And I don’t think I was number three, but let us assume I
was number three, what stopped me from being number one? Let me also
say that I was not close to Baba Obasanjo until I became a candidate.
People just say all sorts of things without being fair to the old man.
He did what was best for the party. I was not imposed by Obasanjo.
Anybody who wants to counter all I have said now is free and we would
talk. But in terms of goodwill, I was number one. Let us also not forget
that primary election is supposed to be a test of popularity, because
the party did not want to risk giving its ticket to somebody who would
not win election. Also, at that time, people of Ekiti knew who was in
the best position to command their votes.
Could you share your experiences in your first outing as the governor of Ekiti State?
It was very interesting. I contested for
governorship because I had ideas I wanted to try out and I was very
excited that I was given the opportunity to experiment those ideas. They
worked and I am quite happy and grateful to God about that.
What would you like to do differently if you have another opportunity to lead the state?
Most of our ideas then had been
abandoned. I think I will still bring back the micro credit the way we
did it before, but definitely we must do something to give people access
to credit, because that was what that programme was meant to achieve.
That scheme would be completely repackaged.
The new thinking all over the world is
geared towards developing the youths. We have not given enough attention
to our young people. We keep bringing children to the world without
thinking about their welfare. This is neither Ekiti problem, nor that of
Nigeria, but that of humanity. That is why human trafficking is
thriving because people are frustrated. A frustrated person wants a way
out of this country, even if that way is unreasonable. Many of the
trafficked persons paid to be ferried across the Mediterranean and they
know the dangers involved, some will even go through the desert, facing
all the dangers. Many have died in the process. So, we must provide for
this younger generation. If you look at the so-called Jihad terrorists,
you find that they are young people. Even the ones they call home boy
terrorists are equally people who are in their productive years but
frustrated.
The energy they would have used to serve
humanity is what they divert to commit all sorts of crime. So, this is
the time for us to face the plight of the youth and we can’t do that by
singing on the pages of newspapers. We must create an opportunity for
them. We must make their issue a front line agenda by creating a martial
plan for them. For me, that is the most interesting challenge I want to
tackle, if elected governor next year. I’m not saying I know all the
answers but they are beginning to come from people I have thrown this
question to. That is more important to me than building roads because
nobody has constructed more roads than me in Ekiti state. I built the
blue hospital. I equally built the best eye hospital in Africa in Ekiti,
and in a few period it operated, it recovered many sights from within
the South-West, other parts of Nigeria and even from outside the
country.
There are strong rumours
circulating as we speak that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is backing you in
this second mission to govern Ekiti State; is that true?
God is backing me. I also want to say
that nobody could have achieved what we are seeing on ground now, if he
does not have the backing of God. I also believe that I will be backed
by not only Asiwaju Tinubu, but also by Baba Akande, President Muhammadu
Buhari, the Vice President and everybody that want the party to win and
have a good run in Ekiti. I’m not backed yet, but I will be backed and
I’m working towards that.
You were in PDP before you crossed over
to the APC. Recently, someone said that APC governorship ticket is not
for people with no progressive background, which was a veiled reference
to those who defected from other parties; what is your reaction to that?
My reaction would be to know what
progressive background means. I was governor of this state and I know
that progressive politics is about care and attention to the
under-privileged. It is about equity and equitable distribution. When I
was governor of this state, I was the first to start a scholarship
scheme. There was no scholarship scheme before I came to this place.
Bursary was the only thing the state was doing and I told the local
government to take over bursary and they did so. So, in addition to
bursary, we had scholarship. I introduced nutritional subsidy for
school children twice a week with chocolate tea and egg, yet I’m still
not a progressive. I introduced quarterly free surgeries involving more
than 2,000 people who are today alive, yet I’m not a progressive. I
abolished the practice of carrying bench and desk to school and ensured
that every child had full complement of desk and benches. I ensured that
every school had full complement of library. I also ensured that free
text books were given to students at senior and junior secondary
schools. We ensured that the rich and the poor had equal level of
access, yet I’m not a progressive. I recruited over 4000 people at once
into the civil service here based purely on merit because I wanted
equity, yet I’m not a progressive. So, let all the progressives who are
contesting show their credentials, and let’s see who is a progressive. I
did not respond because I thought it was no worth responding to. It was
not because I don’t have progressive credentials. I believe, without
mincing words, that nobody can fault my credentials.
There are insinuations that you are planning to go back to the PDP?
It is good that all these questions are
coming in but if I were you, I would ask those rumour peddlers where
they got their information from. Why would I go back to PDP; did I owe
PDP money that I need to go and pay back? Why will I be going there? I
have been here; we conscientiously fought the PDP out of power, with
everything we have got. Those peddling the rumours are either bystanders
or those who didn’t believe in the agenda of President Buhari and who
are now trying to find ways of rubbishing people who believe in the
President. I’m a member of the APC and by the grace of God, the deputy
national chairman. I don’t know any other party. I have said that if I
don’t pick the APC ticket, I would not go to any other party; I don’t
have a plan B. My plan A, B or C is APC because I’m not desperate. Why
would I be desperate when I know that honour has no equivalent? So if
anybody tells you I want to go to the PDP, the question you should ask
the person is whether I told him so or if I held any meeting with him
where such matter was discussed.
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