Mr. Femi Falana > > *In this interview with *OLUSOLA FABIYI,* Lagos lawyer, who is also an > indigene of Ekiti State, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), speaks on the outcome of > the June 21 governorship election in the state. * > > *Were** your surprised with the outcome of Ekiti governorship election?* > > I was flabbergasted by the outcome of the results. Based on several > projections in the media I thought that Governor Kayode Fayemi was going to > win the election. > > *Why did you say so?* > > Going by some development projects executed by the government, I had hoped > that Fayemi would defeat his opponents. I never knew of the decision of the > vital stakeholders in the state to vote him out of office. That decision > was taken before the emergence of Mr. Ayo Fayose as the PDP governorship > candidate. The loss of the election by Fayemi has nothing to do with > ‘stomach infrastructure’ or the popularity of Fayose. > > *You think so?* > > On a critical analysis of the political situation in Ekiti State, Fayemi > is a victim of the ideological crisis of his party, the APC. Of course, the > arrogance of some of the governor’s aides who were allowed to wield > enormous powers equally contributed to the loss of the election. > > *Sure?* > > I have read very interesting but diversionary commentaries on the election > results. Some of them have deliberately denigrated the Ekiti people. Most > commentators have forgotten that the Ekiti people felt relieved when Fayose > was impeached in October 2006. In fact, his removal was celebrated by the > Ekiti people. Most of the commentators have also forgotten that Senator > Babafemi Ojudu defeated Fayose with over 45,000 votes in the election to > the Senate in the Ekiti-Central Senatorial District during the 2011 general > election. Rice and money were also distributed by Fayose then. > > *Was this the basis for the gang up?* > > That was the basis of the gang up against the Fayemi regime by teachers, > civil servants, local government staff, undergraduates and their parents . > Whether they are right or wrong, time will tell. Those who have reduced the > ideological crisis to what the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola > (SAN), has erroneously referred to as ‘stomach infrastructure’ are merely > begging the question. > > *People thought that Fayemi’s achievements would speak for him during the > election?* > > From 1999-2003, the Bisi Akande administration in Osun State was rated one > of the best in the country in terms of infrastructural development. But it > lost the election because it did not carry the people along. Fayemi has > just suffered the same fate. He assumed that the Ekiti people understood > the programmes and policies of his regime. Not much was done to explain the > basis of the sacrifice they were asked to make. Can you imagine that the > closure of miracle centres by the regime was opposed and misinterpreted by > those who were profiting from examination malpractice? > > *Is it right for the APC leadership to proceed to court after Fayemi > conceded victory? * > > With respect to the validity of the result of the election there isn’t > much to contest in court. Apart from the case filed by the E-11, a > socio-cultural group which is challenging the competence of Fayose to > contest the election in court in view of his impeachment, I do not believe > his victory at the polls should be challenged in an election petition > tribunal. To that extent, the APC ought to build on Fayemi’s concession > speech and reorganise its affairs. However, the APC should sue the Federal > Government in a Federal High Court to justify the restriction of the > movement of some governors, the arrest of a serving commissioner in > Fayemi’s cabinet and 14 other unarmed protesters at Ado Ekiti who were > later transferred to Abuja and charged with terrorism, the arrest of 25 > party members on election day, the militarisation of the electoral process, > the imposition of curfew and other incidents of impunity carried out by the > army, the police and other gendarmes before and during the election. A > government which cannot maintain adequate security in the North-East region > which has been overrun by insurgency ought to justify the deployment of > 36,790 soldiers, police and civil defence personnel, all bearing arms and > terrorising people including those who have no business with the election. > > *Did the election not reflect the wish of Ekiti people? * > > Frankly speaking, I don’t know about the wish of the people. Out of a > population of 2.3 million people in Ekiti state 1.6 million people are > qualified to vote but only 750,000 were registered to vote. Out of that > figure only about 50 per cent voted. Fayose, who won the election scored > only 203,000 votes. In the circumstance, you can only talk of the wish of > the registered voters. > > *Fayose said he’ll not embark on industrialisation of Ekiti, what does > this portend for the state?* > > Fayose is perfectly entitled to his views. I wish him well. As I said > earlier, the Ekiti people have gone back to Egypt with Moses firmly in the > wilderness. I can only wish them luck. In fairness to the governor-elect he > says that he has changed his old ways. Let us wait and see. > > *What does ‘stomach structure’ phenomenon portend for Ekiti?* > > It is not fair to insult Ekiti people for voting for the candidate of > their choice. Did Americans not vote for Mr. George Bush instead of Mr. Al > Gore? Did they not pay for the consequences of their decision? Is the world > not paying for that choice with the rising wave of terrorism all over the > place? Even in the Bible, did the Israelites not ask for Barnabas who was a > well known criminal in place of Jesus Christ? For goodness sake, can you > blame a people who have been traumatised and pauperised for years for > collecting bags of rice and money from politicians once in four years? > Governor Fashola knows that the concept of “jeun s’oke” did not originate > from Ekiti State. It has its origin elsewhere. I am sure that the governor > is not unaware of the celebrated case of Olu Falae v Obasanjo in which the > petitioner alleged that rice and salt were distributed by the PDP to entice > voters during the 1999 presidential election. Even though the allegation > was proved beyond reasonable doubt the Court of Appeal held that there was > no evidence that the beneficiary, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, authorised the > criminal action. Since then, rice and money have always been distributed by > political parties and candidates through proxies during elections in > Nigeria. > > *Do you think the Ekiti election was actually rigged? * > > The election in Ekiti was not rigged. I witnessed it. I spoke to people > before and after the election. Fayemi gave a good concession speech. > > *But the APC has raised the possibility of photo-chromic ballot papers > being used in favour of the PDP. * > > I have been told by many APC members that photo-chromic ballot papers were > used. I think the allegation is bunkum. Unless the party is ready to > confront the reality of the election it is not going to draw the vital > lessons from it. There were protest votes against the government. Instead > of questioning the credibility of the election the APC should engage in a > critical review of the verdict of the electorate. > > *What do you foresee in Ekiti during next year’s general election? * > > Many states today have to take loans to pay salaries because of shrinking > statutory allocations. It would soon be clear to Ekiti people that the > ruling party has no solutions to the crisis of infrastructural decay, > unemployment, falling standard of education, corruption and abuse of office > confronting them like other Nigerians. Having raised the expectations of > the people, the Fayose administration will be under serious pressure to > perform. > > *The PDP said if the election was rigged, Ekiti people would have > revolted. Do you believe this? * > > No doubt, there would have been a violent eruption if the election was > rigged. It happened in 1964. > > *What do you foresee coming up in Osun election?* > > Ceteris paribus, I am convinced that Governor Rauf Aregbesola will win the > election in Osun State. Even the PDP members admit that he is a grassroots > politician. So, you cannot accuse him of being disconnected or alienated > from the people in any sense. In spite of the crisis of relevance that the > APC is going through, Aregbesola’s socialist background has influenced his > policies and programmes. Those programmes have endeared him to the people. > Even the World Bank has taken officials from 12 states to Osun State to > learn about job creation in the midst of massive unemployment caused by the > neo-colonial capitalist system. Through the school feeding programme, the > Aregbesola regime has boosted the rural economy in his state. No doubt, > there are limitations in view of the dwindling statutory allocations from > the federation account but he has engaged the masses in a pedagogical > relationship. In 2011, he made sure that the presidential candidate of his > party, the former ACN, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, won the election in Osun State. > That was based on ideological commitment of some sort. But that was not the > case in the other states in the South-West region. > > *What’s your assessment of Nigeria’s democracy from 1999 till date?* > > For the majority of Nigerians the democratic experiment has been an > unmitigated disaster. While President Goodluck Jonathan recently measured > our prosperity on the basis of private jets owned by less than 150 people > it is better to rely on the evidence of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics > that 113 million Nigerians live on less than $1 a day. > >
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 14:17:56 +0000
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