I Am Sorry For Osun People - Omisore Senator Iyiola Omisore Senator Iyiola Omisore (Shortly before slain Minister of Justice & Attorney General of the Federation, Chief Bola Ige, was killed in his Bodija, Ibadan, Oyo State home by yet-to-be-identified assassins, former Deputy Governor of Osun State, Iyiola Omisore, granted this interview to the defunct TEMPO magazine.) The interview is republished here for your reading plasure About a week ago, there was a violent clash at the State House of Assembly, there are indications that the crisis ensued as a result of a move to impeach you. What is your comment on this and what is your level of involvement? I know that you are aware that I was away abroad on that day; on those days Monday and Tuesday, when the crisis was on, I was in the World Bank discussing ways to get Osun State out of its impoverished state. I had a meeting with the World Bank president, and other operatives, in those days. It was in the cause of the meeting that I learnt that there was fighting in Osun State, I was not aware. The fight started among the members of the House of Assembly and it was Akande that caused it. How? I heard that there was a motion to embarrass the deputy governor and I was told that Governor Akande gave them the instruction before he left for Mecca and that was what led to the crisis. When this motion was moved, members reacted negatively and fighting broke out in the House. They used microphone to beat themselves up. So, what is my involvement in that? But some arrests were made and there is a report that majority of those arrested were linked to you? What I was told is that people were arrested on the road; the Commissioner of Police had compromised. I read in the papers that it was two factions that were righting and some thugs of the governor were arrested with cutlasses, charms and guns, were left unattended to. But the police arrested people who were just coming from the quarters to prefer charges against the thugs. The commissioner of Police has compromised and he is the one causing the crisis in this state and I am calling on the Inspector-General of police to give us a neutral CP because I cannot trust the current one again. I am the deputy governor of this state and I cannot trust the CP. He has turned to be Akande’s staff. I have not seen the CP in the last one year, I have not set my eyes on him and he is supposed to be coming here to see what is happening. He is supposed to be checking my guards here randomly. Are you saying he has taken sides? Yes he has compromised With this development, can there ever be any meaningful reconciliation between you and the governor? With somebody who wanted to take my life, somebody who does not wish me well, somebody who does not let me have my entitlement? I am spending close to seven million naira every month to maintain my people here, water has not be supplied to this house in the last one year. The state government is owing me, on entitlement, on allowances on fuel and other things, close to N20million and this is a bastard whom I fed and paid salaries. He was feeding fat on me. The car he drove to the secretariat was given to him by me. The driver that I gave him was shot by his aides “when they attempted killing Olofoyeku. The man has no conscience. But there will not be peace in the state until the wrongs are righted, until the murderers are brought to book. Rinde has come out to say that they were given money to impeach and that one of them suggested that they should murder. Who and who are to be victims, where does it start from, the police must come out quickly. But, 2003 is still far away and we are already experiencing this… I am not interested in 2003, I am concerned about what is happening now, the government on the ground. Akande is not a sole administrator in this state and must not turn the state into his personal company. He is a thief, he has stolen so much money and he will continue to steal money. This is a man who did not leave Nigeria for eighteen years prior to his coming to power, he has, however, gone abroad, when he became the governor, more than ten times now on flimsy excuses. He said some students wanted to give him an award in Ghana and he gave some people money to go and represent him. Spending the people’s money, he is a bastard. He will go back to prison anyway, he will go on account of murder, looting and fraudulent practices. He and his Commissioner for Finance. Will you not blame this escalating crisis on the leader of your party and Afenifere? No, I cannot blame them. In the last few months, Akande had been abusing the leaders of Afenifere. So, where do we start from? He has abused and insulted the leaders. He is a nonentity. There were facts that he was at one time mad, he is “Alawoku” and there is no way he can be totally cured of the madness in him. He has a psychiatrist who moves about with him. The laughter he puts on is a therapy. If he does not laugh, he is going to bite people, and I am not surprised and it is unfortunate that when we were contesting people came out with this detail but we were not sure then he is a mad man. He has insulted the leader using the state’s money to advertise. Who will he listen to now? Recently too, Bola Ige came on radio here to insult me and my family. That is his last one. He was beaten yesterday, the people of Ife beat him up and he was crying like a baby as they removed his cap and his glasses. The crowd at Ife had it been it is a political gathering he will be dead by now. It took the intervention of S.S.S. men and some of us, we had to bet the mob, to free him. He was disgraced out of Ife, he had to be dressed like a woman to get out of the town. We had to co-operate with the S.S.S people to beg the people to leave him alone. That is to show that Bola Ige does not command any respect again in this state. Chief Bola Ige was beaten at Ife?! Is the attack not traceable to you, and why do you think such an ugly thing happened? He has offended Ife people. If he insults me, he has insulted my people and they have the right to react. So they were fighting on your behalf? They were fighting for their own son, and they have the right. Ife has been marginalised in this government and they have the right to react. The people are not happy; they provided about 50 per cent of the votes that got Akande into power. When he came to Ife, he told them that the more they vote the more would their gains be. They were then asking him at Ife if what he has done is what they deserved to be given, it was just a spontaneous reaction. I had to beg them because what the people wanted to do was more than that. If he is wise, he must not come to Ife again. You said their won’t be peace in the state until the wrongs are corrected…? (Cut in) Yes, until the murderers are brought to book. You know there was no peace in Egypt until the Israelites were freed, it is not a matter of brick-stone or threat, it is a matter of natural recourse. There was an attempt to murder, blood was involved, naturally, the blood will not let peace reign in the state. I had been keeping quiet, just watching them. Now, they went to the House of Assembly to start embarrassing me. The House started the whole crisis. I wasn’t around. If I wanted to plan my own, this state will just go into ruins, I don’t want to do anything that will destroy my reputation in this state. Everybody knows me in this state and I have a good reputation among the people. Will you say you are sorry for the people of this state? I am very sorry for them. They have a governor who is not responsive. When we got to Osogbo, there was water everywhere. There has not been water in this town in the last one year. The pumps packed up at Ede, instead of them replacing pumps they are busy importing chemicals because of the bribe they take from the importers. Instead of using money to buy things that will make water available which I advised them to do, they bought chemical at inflated prices. So where is the water, they want to eat chemicals do you count five before one, there is not water in this house, there are water tankers in this state, they use them to fill their houses leaving this house alone, I spend about N7 million every month to maintain this house. Do you expect these monies paid back? I am sure when another government comes, because the expenses are all documented. I don’t have official car. I have bought cars by myself The murder (poison) plot that is under investigation by the police, has there been any significant development on the issue? I am surprised, I wonder, my former aide who was escorted by Akande’s aides revealed and confirmed that money transpired, there was attempt to murder and an attempt to impeach. They have confessed. What again? I want Nigeria police force to come out to explain what is happening. How will you describe the role of the state’s House of Assembly in the entire crisis? It is so unfortunate. There are cases in courts and I don’t want to say anything about them. One thing is clear though, they are fighting among themselves. Where there are bad eggs, the good ones will want to neutralise them. I think they are doing justice for themselves; it is too early to comment on them. How true is the talk that you’ve switched romance over to the PDP? The people saying this are blackmailers. I am not a small fry in AD so, why would I suddenly leave. I belong to the core Afenifere, Akande does not. My leaders know that I am not PDP, I am AD. Akande and his people do not stop blackmail. Akande is a big liar, somebody who was commissioning projects that previous administration has commissioned. Commissioning hospital that we used when campaigning, he is a liar and he will go to jail. Last time he went to jail because he used government money to enrich the party. Now, he is using government money to enrich himself and Bola Ige. They are on their way to prison and they will surely go. Don’t you see the attack on Chief Ige as an embarrassment to the Yoruba race being a leading light in Afenifere. Bola Ige is a traitor in Afenifere, he has abused and embarrassed leaders of Afenifere, and so, it is nemesis that is catching up with him. He is the “Akintola! of our time. What Akintola did to Awolowo is what Bola Ige is doing to Adesanya and the Yoruba people. That is nemesis, and that has started from the source of the Yoruba, Ife, and that is the beginning of his disgrace. Bola Ige is on the downward trend now. And you know Ife people will not tolerate any form of intimidation, gratification, embarrassment and cheating and if not for my intervention and the SSS, I saved him from being killed. You said you feel sorry for the people of Osun State? Yes, because this is a governor who imported dredging equipment worth about N200m and it has not worked for one day. Will you advice the people of Osun State to be patient? Of course, I have been begging them. I go to rallies, I stop at Bus Stops, I stop on the way. I have been begging, them to exercise patience since it is just four years, and we are going to the third year now. Look at how Abacha went, he misruled for 5 years, when the time came did any anybody did anything to him, fortunately we are in a democratic set up which is four years when there will be change of government. The spirit of Osun will ensure the change of guard in the state.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Jul 2013 22:08:16 +0000
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