Aregbesola Can’t Win Osun The just concluded governorship election in Ekiti State and also expressed high hope in the August 9 Osun State election. Excerpts: The Ekiti election has come and gone but do you see your party’s victory? What I would say first is that the contest was won by Fayose. As at that time Fayemi made that pronouncement of congratulating Fayemi, I believe that the spirit of the contest was won by Fayemi. But right now, the party machinery has taken over from Fayemi and now made a U-turn, which is normal for APC. This is their stock in trade. This is what they know how to do best. This is how they get what they want. It is either by killing, by fighting, by struggling, by going to court, by corruption, by bribing – that is the only way they know how to do the things they do. But it is not new to us. And believe we were ready because we knew that something like that is going to happen. We also have our facts, we have our figures and you cannot change what is already there; you cannot change human beings to cow or goat; they were real human beings that came to vote. I saw all the things that they were complaining about. They were thinking only about themselves when they were mentioning those things like militarisation of Ekiti. What do they mean by militarisation of Ekiti? Putting security men on the streets was to chase the hoodlums away from polling stations. To keep them away from truncating the people’s mandate. Were we the ones that told him to start re-interviewing his teachers? Were we the ones that told him that he shouldn’t connect with the grassroots? Were we the ones that told him that his contracts should be given to his own family? Were we the ones that told him to cut his relationship with Opeyemi Bamidele? All these things added up! Now you have lost an election, you have agreed that you lost the election gallantly but your party, which is the same thing that happens in all APC states – now takes over and said “we have reasons to go to court.” It is just that everybody needs to be careful. Everybody should thread smoothly. Everybody needs to understand that at this point in time, any manipulation of any kind, any kind of dishonesty or corrupt practices anywhere, in any sector will be met with heavily and the person will definitely give account for his deeds. As a politician who understands the rudiment of governance, is it also possible that an incumbent will not even win a local government at all? There is nothing that is impossible politically. It depends on how well the sitting governor has connected with his people. Remember also that it was this same Fayose that rallied support for Fayemi’s emergence as governor against our own candidate. So it is very clear that this gentle man never had the support of the grassroots before he even emerged. As a matter of fact, he was brought in from London to come and be governor. So nobody knew Fayemi before the APC picked him as their governorship candidate. If you have a weak governor definitely, he would lose at the polling booth in front of his house. So if he could lose at the polling unit where he thumb-printed and he was there with all those on the line and majority of them did not vote for him even with the fact that he was standing there, including his deputy. So what do you think must have happened? And remember, INEC did something and which I hope they would continue to do. Everybody lined up and voted and the votes were counted right in the front of everybody. So please tell me, if you lose the polling unit in the front of your house as a governor and as deputy governor and people looked at you in the eyes and voted against you, why can’t you lose the entire state? There is a general belief that the PDP has established a template coming from Ekiti and that same template would be taken to Osun. Is that true? Osun is going to be a bit different, I can tell you but I cannot let it out. But I can tell you we will meet Osun the same way Fayemi acted in Ekiti because we know that with a level playing field – on a good day – a top of the action INEC, a top of the action civil society - in a one-man-one-vote situation, Aregbesola cannot win. Why did I say so? Who told him to talk against Christians? Why did Tinubu go there and start begging all the Bishops? Who told him to put Arabic inscriptions on the tablets he gave them in schools? Was it PDP? Was it PDP that put in his mouth that he should talk against Christians? Was it PDP that told him to put Ifa cowries on the Coat of Arm of Osun? Was it PDP that told him to change the name of the state to State of Osun? Was it PDP that told him to tell all the ladies to be wearing hijab? Was it PDP that told him to be calling Ifa priests? Was it PDP that told him to go on a kind of Islamic governance? Was it PDP that told him he shouldn’t do roads? Was it PDP that said he should be anti-people? Look at the negative things that the governors have done. If it was a PDP governor that does those things, he will lose! Just like in Lagos, the same thing, they will lose. I can tell you one million reasons why they will lose. All those things they have done against the people, is it PDP that told them to do them? So as far as Osun is concerned, Osun State is gone! He cannot turn back the hand of time. Ekiti is gone, Osun is upcoming – placed side-by-side the good and the bad things Aregbesola has done – are you saying he doesn’t have the chance to come back? Let me explain something to you. Human beings are very funny. The electorate too is very funny. Remember Osun State comprise of local people. Ninety per cent of them are local. You can build good roads, put flyover there, cut all the bushes and the shrubs but in Osun State, if you attack their personality – if you make them feel that they are not good, if you do those contracts and they cannot identify their sons and daughters with what you have done; if they see that you have brought all your contractors from Lagos; you have brought all the Lagos people to come and infiltrate their civil service, there is no amount of work that you can do, they will not like you. They will vote you out. And that is what they have done. Lagos has taken over the state. It is Lagos that does their audit, it is Lagos that does their civil service consultation, it is Lagos that does their bridges, it is Lagos that does their roads, it is Lagos that buys their books and at the end of the day, they would say Aregbesola has sold us to Lagos. And everybody knows why. All the construction companies that work in Osun State are from Lagos State. All the members of staff are from Lagos. The people could not connect. They didn’t see the good in what he is doing. You can go there and say Aregbesola has done well, he built this school but who built it and who has benefitted from it, it is only Aregbesola and his people from Lagos. It is the same thing they have done in Lagos, so I’m getting your mind set that Lagos too has gone. Don’t say they rigged it or that Obanikoro brought one million soldiers and the soldiers took over the whole of Lagos. They would fight and because they would want to fight, we would bring the soldiers to make sure that everything is peaceful but we will have one-man-one-vote in Lagos. And I’m saying it now, Lagos too is gone. Ogun State too is gone. Oyo State is gone. So know now that we said it; it is not something that you will say that they rigged it. In the light of the prevailing institution in the country, do you have any fears about 2015? I’m not saying we cannot do our democracy right and I’m not saying PDP will rule for 100 years. If PDP does not deliver the dividends of democracy to the people, then, let the people vote PDP out.
Posted on: Thu, 24 Jul 2014 09:01:59 +0000
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