Dr Oluwole Aina, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) aspirant for the Osun Central Senatorial District, speaks with MOSES ALAO on the reason he joined politics, his chances in the senatorial contest, the recent governorship election held in the state, among others. Excerpts: Many people know you as an entrepreneur and head of different businesses. Can you let us in on how you arrived at the present point where you are leaving all behind to join politics? I was privileged to attend the University of Ibadan, where I studied Economics. After my graduation, I served at the PPMC depot in Kano. It is an auxiliary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). After my NYSC, I worked with United Bank of Africa as an area sales manager. I worked in the private sector for about six years before settling to what has been my passion; that is to be self-employed. I began my business in Kaduna and registered my first company in 1984. I graduated into many other ventures. I used to have a company where we produced yoghurts and juice drinks and also tried my hands in mercantile. I set up one of the flagships of my company, the Regent Printing and Publishing and we have a real estate company where we do little investments in real estate. I am retired from my businesses and I thank God for what God has done for me. I retired fully in 2010 and decided to just stay and do what God wants me to do — service to God and humanity. You said you used to have a factory and that you have retired from your businesses. It was even said that you wound up the printing business. Are these not signs of failure? Don’t you think it will count against you that you are joining politics after failing in business? I don’t think so, because I got to the peak of printing business. I didn’t go into printing of my own volition; God directed me into it. Specifically, God told me that I was going to do printing for a while. I interpreted it that my children would take over. But in 2004, I had an encounter with God during one of my morning devotions. I was studying Genesis 17, where God told Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect and that led me to ask different questions on which areas of my life I have not been perfect. Then, I realised that in my business practice, I was not being perfect. I was doing all sorts of businesses and corruption was the height of the day, gains and profits were all you run after. Because of that, I asked myself what I could do and realised that the best thing was to stop corrupt practices. I finally took a decision that I was going to do the printing business the right way but it was not easy. The truth is, I no longer got business, because when they give you a business and ask you to involve in sharp practices and you say no, there are a thousand others willing to do it. I remember a particular event in 2006 in which I participated in a bidding for printing for a national programme and my company won the contract of N380 million. But the head of that institution told me that they were not interested in my profit, that what they wanted me to do was produce the value of N180 million and give them the N200 million. I told them I could not do it and we argued for two weeks before I was told pointblank that I was on my own, I knew what that meant and I wrote to reject that contract. That was the height of the temptations. In 2007, there was an election in this country and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) came to me to print ballot papers for them in the middle of the election when they ran short of ballot papers. I am mentioning INEC because the case went to court. They gave us a contract to print 15 million ballot papers between Sunday and Thursday and we were able to do 4.9 million copies. At the end of the day, we were approached to submit an invoice for the total 15 million I was required to do but I told them it was not possible. Because of my insistence to do the right thing, INEC refused to pay me my money until September 2007, so I took them to court in October and by December, I got a judgment and by January, we executed the judgment and got the balance of my payment. That was the height of it and when I decided that enough was enough. So, anyone who says I am a failure in printing is probably not a Nigerian, because I know the Regent Printing and Publishing got to the peak of printing business; we revolutionised printing business, particularly in the North. We were the first to introduce colour separation; we had web and we were doing all sorts of job. I became a council member of the Chartered Institute if Professional Printers of Nigeria and I am sure that no one would welcome a mediocre as a council member. I exited printing at the peak and it was based on the advice from my family and what I had in mind. So did God tell you to join politics? God did not tell me directly to join politics. I have been in politics since 1998, right from the time the PDP started. My company printed the ballot papers used at the party’s first and most successful national convention in Jos, Plateau State, where Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was nominated and elected as the standard- bearer of the party. They would not give that kind of job to someone who is not close to the party. So, I have been a member of the PDP and have performed my duties and roles; the difference was that I was not a noisemaker. I know the roles I have played at the national, state and local government levels. For your information, in the last governorship election in Osun, I won my local government for PDP because of my goodwill, antecedents and hard work. Together with other people who supported me, we won Boluwaduro Local Government. To answer your question directly, I never had a political ambition; it was not in my prayer points but after the governorship election, my people in Osun Central Senatorial District started asking questions. They started sending people to me that they needed credible people who could win elections, people who do not have any negative baggage that the opposition could capitalise on, all they did was to plead with me to contest the senatorial seat and I took it for a joke. But the height of it was when they came with a delegation to my Kabiyesi to plead with me. Luckily, I was at Iresi and he invited me to the palace and I saw them and laughed it off. But something erupted in me as I left the palace. I was to travel to Abuja that day and as I was driving between Iresi and Ibadan to catch the afternoon flight, the thought of why was I shying away from contesting hit me. Was it because I was not qualified? It was then I realised that all along, I had been working by emotions, that my reasons for not wanting to contest were neither spiritual nor moral. Then, I remembered what the Bible says that when the righteous rules, the people rejoice and when the evil ones are in power, the people suffer. I also remembered what Martin Luther King said that if the righteous refuse to be in governance, they do not have a reason to complain when the evil ones are there. Those things left a mark on me and when I got home, I discussed with my wife and she disappointed me. I was sure she was going to tell me not to contest but when I got home and told her; she said ‘Daisi, your people have asked you to contest? Go ahead; we will back you up with prayers.’ I also said we should pray about it and all the indications I had were that God was leading me. Let me tell you, when I retired from business, I decided to do two things for the rest of my life. I decided to serve God and to serve humanity and I saw the opportunity to contest as platform to serve do the two. But you said you retired from a business because there was so much corruption, are you not stepping into another world of corruption by joining politics? At that level, I can control things because I am at the top level and I am not looking for money. There is absolutely nothing that I have lost and I am looking for in life. I am a fulfilled and contented man; I have wonderful children, I am a grandfather. I have a roof over my head both in Abuja and Iresi. I am above 60 years; death can come anytime. So, what am I looking for? I am not looking for anything, I have enough resources to lead a good life for the rest of my life and I am satisfied. The issue now is I am going into politics with a clean slate and I don’t think I am going to stain it. I am going into the Senate to make a difference. Do you even think you stand a chance of getting the ticket of the PDP, when you are facing Chief Kunle Alao, who is very close to the Iyiola Omisore group? With all due respect to Senator Omisore, who is a very respectable man, you don’t win an election because you are a member of a group or belong to a section. You win elections because of your pedigree. The truth of the matter is that people want those who can serve them and I am sure I have those qualities of selfless service. I have done it in the past. Are you sure the people will dump the incumbent senator, Professor Sola Adeyeye and the All Progressives Congress (APC), which recently defeated your party by a wide margin in the governorship election? I will beat Professor Adeyeye hands down in my senatorial district; he is not on ground. It is all propaganda. As for the APC, they won that election by rigging it. What do you call wide margin? I will not want to comment much on that because the election petition tribunal is ongoing. But we know that the election was massively rigged; the APC was the one crying wolf about rigging but it was also the one that perfected rigging. They will be exposed and in due time, Omisore will be sworn in as the duly elected governor of Osun State.
Posted on: Sun, 30 Nov 2014 09:35:24 +0000
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