What have you to say to this?
Tinubu is not a citizen of Oyo State. If you don’t know, Hameed Sangodele, also known as Bola Tinubu, is not a native of Oyo State and as such cannot direct the political affairs of Oyo. I think he has the right to do whatever he likes in Osun because I believe he is from Osun. He can also do that in Ekiti because I learnt he has some relatives too in Ekiti. But, here in Oyo, we don’t know him and he has no political structure here.
Don’t you think that has been the attitude of the other two state governors who have lost their seats, that is, underrating Tinubu? It seems he knows what he is doing and how to get his way.
(Cuts in): And I also know what I’m doing. If he knows what he is doing, I know what I am doing and I know what I’m saying. Oyo is a no-go area for him. Please, when you want to talk about Tinubu, in relation to ACN, let us talk about ACN and not about Tinubu because (he) has nobody here in Oyo.
What gives you that optimism?
That what?
That PDP cannot lose Oyo
To who?
To ACN
Because I know the mentality of the electorate in Oyo. They want PDP and they will stick to PDP. A devil known is better than an angel they don’t know. They know me and they have tested me. They know what I can do and they are the ones clamouring for a second term for me. I know PDP is here in Oyo to stay. They (ACN) have been given opportunity to rule before but they failed woefully. We have all been tested and the electorate know what they want.
But the PDP in Oyo is divided
(Cuts in) I don’t know what you mean. PDP in Oyo is not divided.
ACN might not be strong in Oyo but the opposition within the PDP…
(Cuts in) I don’t have any opposition…Let me correct that impression. There is no way I will agree there is any division in PDP in Oyo. We are very intact, and that is the truth. Those people that are talking just want to distract us. We are much focused; don’t mind what they are saying. I have said it before; I don’t need them. If I need them, I will go for them. They are spoilers and I cannot allow them to spoil things for me. I am not trying to be over-confident, but if they want to be spoilers, you have to avoid them, prevent them from coming to you, because whatever things you have arranged perfectly they would just come to disorganise. As far as I’m concerned, PDP is one in Oyo and we are ready to welcome anybody. But not those that will distract us from what we are doing.
They all insist that they belong to PDP - Ladoja, Balogun, Teslim Folarin
(Cuts in) Teslim is in PDP, Senator Balogun is in PDP, but Ladoja is not in PDP.
Where does he belong?
I don’t know where he is
He is a member of the party’s Board of Trustees
(Cuts in) Who told you that? We have only one member of the Board of Trustees in Oyo and that is Baba Kolapo Ishola. I nominate who becomes what.
If there is no division, what is the Ike Nwachukwu reconciliation committee all about?
Don’t mind them. That one has died a natural death. Don’t let us revive it. The committee sent a report to me (and) sent another (different) report to the national body. How can you do that type of thing? But I don’t want to discuss it because it is now past tense. It didn’t see the light of the day.
About two weeks ago, the President was in Lagos and he met with the factional leaders…
(Cuts in) He met with whom? Not without me. If I didn’t permit that meeting, it wouldn’t have happened. I was there and told Mr President to leave me with Oyo, if he believes in me; that I can identify people who can stay here with me to talk, who are really members of PDP. If we have problem I can solve it. I identified them in front of the President. I identified Balogun, Oyelese, Teslim, Hon. Adeseun and Hon. Abu. The five of them are members of this party.
If they have grievances against the leadership of PDP in Oyo, of which by the grace of God I am the leader, they should please tell me, so that I will know how to solve their problems. But others like Adeojo, Ladoja, who were there with them, I told them I don’t have to talk with them because I cannot at this critical point deal with anybody that is not good. This is the 11th hour in politics, so you don’t do that. They will just take advantage of you. How am I sure that they are not coming to disorganise us, I mean those who are not happy that I’m even on the seat? So, I have to be very careful. Let me deal with the people I have. Politics is a game of number.
But Lekan Baolgun is the arrowhead of this opposition group
Lekan Balogun is with them. Unfortunately, he cannot stand alone. It is just because he is the eldest among them. Politically, he is not the strongest. You see, what some have used to identify people as great is just their names. If Balogun is mentioned somewhere, people will say hey, Senator Balogun, blah, blah, blah. It is just the name. We are talking of those who can combine both electoral and political values together, who have respect in their constituencies, who can call people out to vote and they will vote.
The five people you identified at the meeting with the President, are you saying…?
(Cuts in) Lekan Balogun is one of them. He is just a member of the party. He has not moved out of the party since he joined; since he defected from AD (Alliance for Democracy) to PDP. I must give that to him, but not that I need him very much to win election. Honestly, I don’t need him to win.
The remaining four?
Teslim is a distinguished member of the Senate. I would not say I don’t need him, but where he is coming from a candidate has also come out of that place. And that is in the person of Jumoke Akinjide. He is coming from Ona-Ara Local Government and that is where Jumoke Akinjide is from. So, I don’t know what is going to happen there.
You mean you cannot guarantee his ticket?
I’m not talking about ticket now. Are you asking me about ticket? You didn’t ask me anything about ticket.
We just veered into the issue of ticket
Do you know that in the electoral process, there must be primaries; everybody will go for primaries. So primaries determine who gets ticket. I, Adebayo Alao-Akala, I’m also looking for ticket.
Talking about game of numbers, we heard that even in Ogbomoso where you are expected to get bloc vote, the party is also divided
(Cuts in) Who divided it? You see, when you want to talk about people, you look at their antecedents. How did they come to power? Who are they? Fatai Buhari has got his own share of what it is to be loyal to the source that he used to rise, because he thought he could use it in 2007. He wanted to contest under Labour Party as a Senator and failed woefully. I don’t want to go into that. But God used me for him to go into the National Assembly. The same thing with Adeseun. Everybody knew I brought them up.
What was the source of conflict between you and Adeseun? We understand you were good friends.
We are still good friends. We just have political differences.
Why would people you helped to move up the ladder suddenly want to pull the ladder off?
Because they felt they have arrived and as such want to rubbish me.
There is a jinx in Oyo that a governor must use only one term. Do we see Alao-Akala breaking the jinx?
You see, my own project is God’s project and I don’t boast. I leave everything in the hands of God. When the time comes, we shall all talk about it. But I know as things are now, I think the people of Oyo want me and they have told me clearly. I have listened and said here I am, send me.
But, the Ibadan people don’t want to send you
Don’t forget that my deputy is an Ibadan man. He was once a local government chairman, a two-term local government chairman in the heart of Ibadan, that is Ibadan South East. I’m talking about His Excellency Taofeek Arapaja. Again, he went to the House of Representatives and he is an Ibadan man. So, who are the Ibadan people that are saying so? Wouldn’t he like to retain his position as the number two citizen of the state? When you talk of Ibadan, it belongs to everybody. Ibadan is the political headquarters of all the Yoruba people. There is nothing like Ibadan people.
We heard the President advised you to pick a senatorial nomination form as sacrifice for the unity of the party in the state. How true is this and how acceptable?
The person who said that must be very mischievous, because I know the President didn’t say such thing. For God’s sake, why would he say that? Does he know Oyo more than me? If he wants to do anything in Oyo, he would call me; I’m the first person that he would call. I am the symbol of PDP in Oyo. Even somebody is looking for a senatorial ticket from me now, why would somebody say I should come and pick a senatorial ticket? Why are they trying to be mischievous? Why can’t such paper, which reported it, ask questions? To leave the governorship for who?
For a neutral person to emerge
Ladoja is not my match politically. He was my boss because we had to choose the governorship candidate from Ibadan . He is not my match politically. When you talk of politics, it is not all about you having been the governor before me, or things like that. Because of political calculation, some people are just in position not because they are powerful to be there. We knew what we did in 2003 before we came to power and we repeated it in 2007. By the grace of God we are more now in that camp and we are going to increase by 2011. Politics is all about structure.
Gbolarumi Azeem, your fellow Adedibu mate, has left you
Azeem has not left the party. He may not be with me now, but he is with the party. When the time comes he will be with me. He knows he cannot do it alone. He is not with anybody, not even Lekan Balogun.
He is seeking to be governor too?
Yes, that is the beauty of democracy
This doesn’t worry you?
Why would it worry me?
Don’t you feel you are fighting a lot of battles at the same time - the royal fathers, NURTW, NUT, G-8 lawmakers?
How do you identify a person that is tough politically, if you don’t have these things?
They say when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. That is exactly what is happening now. I don’t see it as a battle. I see it as what will strengthen me. When the road seems very smooth, you will not appreciate it. It was tougher than this in 2007. Ibi to ba le, la ba omo okunrin. 2007 was much tougher than this. In 2007, I didn’t even have the clout like this to take care of myself.
Then I was a miserable deputy governor. And yet, I defeated the coalition of ANPP, Labour Party and so on. They came together and formed a coalition against this poor Bayo Alao-Akala and I defeated them. My office was under the bridge then, remember? Now that I’m the first citizen of Oyo and I have a lot of votes that I’m looking forward to, from people that I have helped, whose lives I have touched, people that are happy in their areas now, because of development projects I brought to them; people that are wondering if there had ever been governors before me.
Some people in this state said they felt the impact of government last when (David) Jemibewon was governor of the then Oyo State. When I’m going on campaign, I will just point to what I have done and ask, “what do you need again and I will do it for you.” There is no place that they will say they have not felt the impact of my government. There is no electoral promise I made in 2007 that I have not fulfilled. I can say it with all confidence.
So, why do we have so many people saying you have not done anything?
It is because they are jealous of my achievements. Oyo is a state that has about 8000sq km of landmass. To move from Ibadan to Kisi, it will take you five hours. So, it is not a small place. Saki to Ibadan is three hours. So, it is not what I do here alone that gives me confidence. There is no governor that has done the type of development projects we have put in place.
Here in Ibadan, I dualized almost all the important roads. There is no place you go that you won’t see street light in Ibadan. Everywhere in the night, you just go and see, you will find street light powered by me o and not the PHCN. Not only that, there had never been traffic light in Ibadan. I brought in traffic light to ensure people move freely. Beautification is part of it; Ibadan was not like this when I came in. We embarked on massive environmental beautification and renewal. We have made sure we clean Ibadan. People that are talking are just my opponents. They need to say something that will make them have a way, which they will not get.
What is your relationship with the royal fathers, particularly Alaafin, Olubadan and Soun?
I have cordial relationship with all of them. The impression they give you people is that all is not well between us. Because Balogun is a High Chief of Olubadan, Ladoja is a High Chief of Olubadan, they are just using that to play politics. I don’t know what type of Olubadan they will become when their time comes. They are using their closeness to the palace to bring the office of Olubadan into politics. I don’t have any problem with Olubadan. Why do we have to quarrel? We are parallel lines. Where can we meet that will make conflicts to arise at all? The same thing with Alaafin.
How about the new royal father you installed in Oyo, the Alagoja of Agoja?
The man is there because he is supposed to be there. He is not the Alaafin of Oyo. He is Alagoja of Agoja.
Doesn’t that whittle down the powers of the Alaafin?
No, Alagoja is not all that powerful. He is a Baale. You see, we have three paramount rulers in Oyo State. The Alaafin, the Olubadan and the Soun of Ogbomoso, and the three of them are given equal treatment by the government.
So, any other chiefs…well. I don’t have anything to do with anybody, although we have to also protect the small ones too. We should not allow the big ones to oppress the smaller Obas. So, I have cordial relationship with all the Obas, but if any Oba is fighting me, it is one-sided because it takes two to tango. I am not fighting anybody.
The impression out there is that you are sharing governance of the state with the National Union of Road Transport Workers. Why is it that the situation in the state is becoming so embarrassing?
There is nothing embarrassing there. It is Senator Balogun that is now a member of NURTW.
How?
He is the one fighting their cause. I think he wants to be elected as chairman of the NURTW in Oyo. I’m very serious about it because the way he is taking the matter appears to be so. I am not a member of NURTW. I’m the state chief security officer. If anybody is trying to misbehave, I know how to deal with such a fellow.
Is the proscription of the NURTW effective?
Yes, it is.
It is alleged that you are backing the Elewe Omo faction, because his men were re-employed as park managers by the local governments you assigned to manage the motor parks.
They must have applied and found worthy of such employment. The council chairmen must have found them worthy to be employed. All motor parks belong to the local governments. After the ban, we didn’t want the commuters to suffer. We needed to monitor the garages, so we asked them to appoint park managers. People applied for the jobs and they were asked their experience to qualify for the job. When they find you suitable and worthy of employment, they will employ you. Anybody can apply. If Elewe Omo people applied, maybe Tokyo people didn’t apply. They should have, because they are all from Oyo and are qualified to apply.
You are one of the earliest promoters of Dr Goodluck Jonathan for 2011. What informed your support for the President?
I have the unity of Nigeria at heart. The only thing that can unite us is to have Jonathan in 2011, if we don’t want to break this country. Simple. God, in his infinite mercy, has put Jonathan there after the death of our leader, former President Umaru Yar’Adua. When we have seen what happened, why don’t we allow him to finish what he started? Simple calculation.
If we say this man should leave, we all know where he comes from; the Niger Delta. We know what is happening in Niger Delta. Why can’t we face the reality of life? Opportunity has made him President and not his making and he is qualified to be whatever he wants to become. I believe that our party should have supported the idea and stop the debate on zoning or no zoning. That is the way I see it.
People also talk of federal character. Now, if a President emerges, we then share other positions to other places, which is zoning too. So, we will continue to zone things. The President is from the South, the Vice President is from the North. When the time comes; by the grace of God when Mr President would have been sworn-in, we will take SGF (Secretary to Government of the Federation) from one place, the Speaker from another place and so on.
That is zoning, that is federal character, to show that we are one Nigeria.
I felt this is pay back time for the people of Niger Delta, for them to keep quiet. In fact, it will be a way of telling them to keep quiet. If your man is there, he should be able to help you get whatever thing you want and to stop disturbing us. Let us have free flow of our oil.
But people say you are supporting him so he could help you get the ticket for 2011?
Did he assist me in 2007? How can he help me? He will want me to help him not him helping me, because his own constituency is not part of mine and my own is part of his constituency. He needs me more than I need him.
Perhaps to get the party’s NWC to sit on the Ike Nwachukwu…
(Cuts in) Ike Nwachukwu’s report has no constitutional backing, and anything that has no backing should not be discussed.
Part of that panel’s recommendation is that a fresh congress should be conducted to replace the present state executive of the PDP.
I am not afraid of fresh congress. But, that was not the recommendation of the Nwachukwu committee, because at the beginning I told you the report had died a natural death. Did it sit on only Oyo State issue? Oyo is just part of the report submitted. They are just using it to shore up the situation to their advantage, that is my so-called people, Generals without troops - former Senator, former governor, former minister, former this and that. We know those of them that have expired that need NAFDAC number.
Do you think we should not be talking about zoning issue? The North doesn’t seem to be on the same page with you.
Must nine people decide for about 150 million people? What they think they have done, can it unite us? Can we be talking about North and South publicly?
But the South South and South East also came out to adopt the President as their candidate?
That is zone by zone. Nobody said South has adopted a person. We are adopting zone by zone. That is better than nine people adopting. What criteria did they use in getting those nine people? Number two, their action. Do you think it will help in uniting this country? Well, let us wait till the primaries. We will all support whoever emerges the flag bearer of the party.
With the new government in Osun, how far have you gone in resolving the issue of LAUTECH ownership?
On October 23, I signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the former governor of Osun State, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and that university is now owned solely by Oyo State. The only thing we are doing now is to share the assets and liabilities. We have agreed on what to do. The admission policy will still be as before and a number of things as well.
The noise was coming mostly from Osun government officials because they told us point blank that they don’t want to go and we said we wanted to go. When they went to court, we told them they were just wasting time, because no court will force a union. No judge will ask a husband to be with his wife by force. What we are just doing now is that we cannot forget our relationship. There are lots of things we will have to keep. We will not send the indigenes of Osun that are working there packing simply because it now belongs to us. My brother that just came did not study the paper very well, and so made one statement. But he must have seen the correct situation now.
After four years, what do you think you have not done that you want to do when you get a second mandate?
We thank God that he has given us a chance to start a good job. What we will just do is to ensure we consolidate on those things, the foundation we have laid in the last four years. By 2015, by the grace of God, nobody coming to rule Oyo will just play on the intelligence of the electorate, because the foundation we are going to lay will show immediately if you are not doing a good job.
We want to leave Oyo in a condition that nobody will be able to deceive the electorate, but that whoever gets there governs them well. Then they will be able to differentiate. Let me give you an example. Jerry Rawlings was able to rule Ghana for a very long time. He laid a good foundation for Ghana, he worked on it and that had taken Ghana to a greater height. He must have given a yardstick in governance. He must have set an example that people will have to work hard to be able to beat. So, that is what we are trying to do before we leave office in 2015 by the grace of God. And that is going to be my pledge on May 29, 2011 when I’m being sworn in.
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