Former deputy governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Azeem Gbolarumi, is a chieftain of the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party. In this interview with AYO ESAN, the former deputy governor speaks on the problem of insecurity in the South West and the 2019 general elections, among other issues of national interest. Excerpts:
Currently, kidnapping and armed robbery are on the increase in the South West. What do you think can be done to check insecurity, especially in the South West?
Generally, insecurity in the country has reached an unbearable level. As you said, kidnapping and other forms of insecurity is on the high in the South West. There are reported cases of armed robbery and kidnapping on major highways in the South West, especially in the Akure – Ilesha – Ibadan axis. I learnt the Governor of Osun State, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, even went to Abuja to seek the support of the Chief of Army Staff. We are known for peace in Yoruba land and we tolerate all Nigerians irrespective of their tribes. I support all measures being taken by the South West governors to ensure there is improvement in the security situation in the region. I learnt the governors and some of our leaders are proposing a security summit. I am fully in support of this and I believe at the end of the summit, measures that will be put in place will restore our region back to peace. Security is a collective responsibility and I, therefore, call on the local hunters and the members of the Oodua Peoples Congress to also play their own part in ensuring that the criminals are chased away from this region.
On a general note, I think President Muhammadu Buhari should find a way of improving the security situation in the country. The rate of killings by bandits in the North West, Boko Haram in the North East and the rampaging herdsmen in the middle belt should be checkmated. The Federal Government should create jobs for our teeming youths. Youth unemployment is on the increase and idle hands definitely are devil’s workshop. It is high time the government did something drastic about this.
Looking back at the last general elections, how will you rate the performance of the Independent National Electoral Commission?
INEC tried its best. But if you look at the presidential election, which was held first, it was very glaring that there were manipulations of election in some states and INEC didn’t get it right. Nigerians are looking forward to see the outcome of the case instituted by the Peoples Democratic Party and its Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, at the Presidential Election Tribunal. They stole Atiku’s mandate. Atiku won the election with over two million votes. From the results we obtained from units, you know we have our own situation room, where we received our results and if you calculate the results plus and minus, we believe Atiku won the election.
So, are you optimistic your party and Atiku will get victory at the Tribunal?
By God’s Grace. I hope the Judiciary will be in a better position to give us our mandate.
How will you describe series of inconclusive elections declared by INEC?
As far as I am concerned, gradually, we will improve. So, let’s just look forward and I believe our electoral umpire will also improve as we advance in democracy. How old are we in democratic governance? We are still very young and I think with time, there will be improvement. We are improving already, although we are not as perfect as the European countries. These European countries started from somewhere. With three, four or five more general elections, we will be very okay.
One of the features of the last election, according to the European Union observer team, was the high preponderance of violence. Before the election, a lot of money was voted for the security agencies to ensure peace during the election. Many Nigerians believe the security agencies failed to perform their expected role. What is your take on this?
The EU Observation team are right, but even the local observers pointed out the violence during the election. But I won’t say the security agencies failed to perform their expected role. That would be unfair to them. You can’t get 100 per cent, they tried their best. Look at the Inspector General of Police, for instance, he can’t be everywhere. So, he gives instructions to the Deputy Inspectors General and Assistant Inspectors- General, or even in some cases, to the state commissioners of police. The commissioners of police will pass it down to the Divisional Police Officers. It is like a chain. So it is not as easy as we are looking at it. You know Nigerians are very difficult to control. We are a difficult people. So, let’s encourage the security agencies. Like all other stakeholders, they also need to improve as we move on in our democratic journey.
Another feature in the EU observer team’s report is low turnout of voters during the elections. What is your advice to the electorate in future elections?
Yes it is true and I think the turnout was abysmally low during the Governorship and State Assemblies Elections. The question you need to ask me is why this? It had to do with the outcome of the presidential election which was held first. Everybody came out to vote but at the end of the day, it was believed that some cliques tampered with the results. People now felt bad and it was like they were saying, what is the essence of voting, if the votes would not count. People felt why should they bother themselves, why would they be wasting their time? So, they relaxed and sat at home. That was what accounted for the abysmal turnout during the state elections.
But my advice to the electorate is this, when you say some people are not doing well, they need to be checkmated. And if you want to checkmate them, it means you have to participate. If you believe you don’t have good government and you have an idea, you need to come out and participate in that election. That’s the way I look at it.
People outside Oyo State were surprised that PDP was able to win the last presidential and governorship elections in the state. It was believed before the election that PDP was not so strong. How did you achieve the victory?
I don’t know where you got that information that the PDP is not strong in Oyo State. Oyo State is a PDP stronghold, ab initio. You know the APC came about eight years ago and the people of Oyo State have now discovered they made a mistake. They have tested APC and they no longer have interest in the party’s leadership. They didn’t have any other option than to come out and make sure they gave victory to the PDP. This is because they have already tested the PDP and they believe this is the party the people of Oyo State will have to work with and it’s a party they would love to govern them. So, where you got the information that PDP is not strong in Oyo State, I can’t
understand.
But PDP has not won the Governorship Election in the last eight years.
You are right, the APC got the opportunity but they misused it. You know people then were clamouring for changes and the ‘change’ has now turned to something else. It has now turned to kulikuli and gari or groundnut and gari. People were suffering, the level of poverty in the state under APC was very high. And what are we talking about, the APC impoverished the people of Oyo State. The people have now come back and they have given the PDP their mandate. I believe they will continue to maintain their support for the PDP.
Before the Governorship Election there were perceive disagreement among PDP leaders as to which direction to follow. Many thought at that time that somebody like you would not work for Engineer Seyi Makinde. What brought about the change of mind?
I think that was a wrong perception. There was never a time we have a major disagreement among ourselves. You know in a big family, there is every chance to have disagreement. When you disagree, you end up agreeing. So, it is normal in a big family to disagree to agree. We all believe in PDP as a party. Initially, what most of the leaders were thinking was how to realise their ambition. Everybody was looking for opportunities, I want to become this or that and they didn’t have that opportunity in PDP. You have to give the governorship ticket to one person. So, when they didn’t get the opportunity, most of them became aggrieved and they believed that if they go to other parties they would get a chance to realise their political ambitions. But at the end of the day, you know Ibadan people, they always know where they are going. Initially, it was always like that, most of our party leaders scattered to realise their ambition. But at the tail-end, they came together and said what do we do. We better go for the devil that we know than the Angel we have not even met. So, it was a very easy calculation because everybody knew that APC was not going to win. PDP was the only alternative party. So, we all met and said how do we carry everybody along? Those that defected, cross- carpeted, realised they had to come back to our house, (PDP) because we jointly built the house. PDP was the house we built together and so we just have to paint it, put the windows and so on, to make it a good and fine house. The merger, the coalition just came naturally and that was how it should be. It was a matter of calling few people and they reacted by saying we were also planning that and it was a very easy thing to do. Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala initiated it, but at the last minute, he stepped out for reasons best known to him. But that didn’t mean the coalition would not work. Everybody knew then that it would definitely work.
So, how will you describe the new Governor in Oyo State, Mr. Seyi Makinde?
He is a very nice person, very young and vibrant. Though he has not been tested, but the people of the state believe that this is somebody who has been running his own business for years and has many staff. He has not worked under anybody. If he can manage his business successfully to have got so much money, I think managing the state will not be a problem for him, with the assistance of leaders. People are envisaging that now that the coalition has achieved victory, it may be difficult satisfying all the partners in the coalition.
We have to manage it and God will guide us aright.
What is your advice to other parties/ leaders in the coalition?
I am very grateful to all of them, they have performed creditably, resulting in our winning the governorship election. They are highly appreciated and in governing the state, everybody is expected to contribute immensely.
What is the future of the PDP in South West?
Very bright. We shall all wait and see, because ours surely will be a test case for others to emulate.
How would you describe the action of your principal, Otunba Alao – Akala? Some people described his action of ditching the coalition for the APC on the eve of the Governorship Election as an act of
betrayal.
I won’t agree with that perception because I believe I have a different opinion. Alao – Akala is a politician and permit me to say that he is a political practitioner. He is a mature person and knows what he wants. It is just that when you are calculating
to be this or that, at the end of the day, your calculations might be faulty. This is a man who has his own brain and he is very intelligent. He knows what to do at the appropriate time.
He calculated and got it wrong. That doesn’t mean he is not a good politician. You can’t be getting everything right all the time. As a mathematician, if you are given an assignment or a test to do certain arithmetic, by the time you have a lot of stress, you might even get two plus two
wrongly.
