Dr. Gbolade Osinowo is the Ogun State Chairman of the African Democratic Congress. In this interview with Ayo Esan, he speaks on sundry issues as they affect Ogun State and the nation at large. Excerpts:
What is the state of ADC in Ogun State?
ADC is spreading like wildfire .Many people who are disillusioned with the PDP, who are disappointed by APC and who are fed up with the incompetence of Muhammadu Buhari administration and who have lost hope have seen a new beacon of hope in ADC .They are trooping into that party in large number.
How far can ADC go in the 2019 elections?
We are going to win the election. We will win the election and Ogun State will be an ADC-controlled state by the Grace of God.
This is a test for creativity, ingenuity and integrity of the leaders of the alliance. And I believe that we’ll do it. The ADC has a crucial role to play. CUPP Chairman is from ADC and we have set up a process for the emergence of a credible candidate
Ogun State APC has zoned its gubernatorial ticket to Ogun West, what is the plan of Ogun ADC for governorship election?
APC has not only zoned its governorship ticket but the party has by fiat picked one candidate and the reaction has been instantaneous and there is widespread rejection of the same dictatorial and draconian tendencies that has become byword for APC throughout the nation in general and now in Ogun state in particular. Even their own members are rejecting that and we see that, that is creating a golden opportunity for ADC .We are going to have a transparent process by which only a person who is wanted by the people will emerge. So we are not imposing anybody. Anybody is free to come and take our ticket. And when the time comes, we will have free, fair and transparent
primaries.
Looking at Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s administration in the last seven years, what is your assessment?
What Amosun’s administration has done is that it has concentrated all the resources, all the energy of the states on developing one town and developing it in only one area – the building of bridges. And it is questionable how necessary those bridges are. This is because even when you are talking about infrastructural developments, there are many other things that you can do . And the cost of building those bridges are enormous. Because of that single – minded focus, education has gone down considerably .Our schools have become dilapidated. You see the primary schools, some of them were built by Chief Obafemi Awolowo and they have not been maintained. There are few hospitals, so health has suffered. Social welfare has suffered. The other thing Amosun had done well and I will give that to him is in the area of security. But beyond those two areas, what has happened ? He wasted billions of Naira building white elephant projects like model schools with no students and they are just standing there with nobody to use them.
Our.people are getting poorer , the APC, generally, has pauperised Nigerians
That is why ADC is declaring war on poverty .Our rallying cry is from poverty to prosperity. We are going to put our people back. We want to put smiles on our people’s faces .Ogun State is a pace setter state and we are noted for being first in everything. But that has not been the story in the last eight years .But by the Grace of God, we are going to be back. We are going to make sure that our proximity to Lagos state is maximised and not just to a family, few people in the village, but every citizen of Ogun State will feel the impact of
ADC.
What is your message to the grassroots in Ogun State as the election is coming up next year
They should hold on, hope is coming, it is around the corner. We are going to rescue the nation. The last three years have been terrible in the nation generally but with the coming of ADC , there is a new horizon , a new dawn, and things will certainly happen by the Grace of God.
President Muhammadu Buhari is gunning for re-election next year. How will you assess his administration?
Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is an unmitigated disaster. Buhari came riding on the disillusionment of Jonathan administration.. And the mistake they are making is that many of us who voted APC did not vote for Buhari but voted against Jonathan. It was a referendum of what we felt was a disappointment from Jonathan . And they promised heaven and earth.They made so many promises but within one year, people were calling them All Promises Cancelled. They narrowed it to only three things .They said they were going to work on security, they were going to work on economy, and they were going to work on corruption. Transparency International says corruption has not been so bad as it is under Buhari. And everyday, we witness great disparity between their words and action. Buhari’s government is peopled by most of the worst known corrupt individuals. Both international observers of Nigeria as well as their own institutional people say it that for three years, there have not been any returns by certain MDAs of their audited accounts. The ranking members of the government, Chief of Staff, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, have all been (allegedly) indicted. Now, when you talk about the economy again, it is terrible . Nine million jobs /have been lost .Nigeria has become a place where poverty grows at a high rate..We are now told many Nigerians are poor .And it is not just the indigent, it is really, really grinding poverty. And every moment people become poor so that if Buhari were to remain for another four years who will remain ? Even the rich cry in Nigeria. Under Buhari, the richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote has lost half of his fortune and that is the story. Three hundred companies have folded up in the country. .The only thing that has grown is the amount of debt. they are owing. So, Nigeria’s debt is growing, our living standard is dropping. People, out of frustration, are committing suicide.. There is greater suicide under Buhari than at any time in the history of this country. When you look at the security, that is the worst of all. Now most people in the Middle Belt and some part in the North can’t sleep and hope they will wake up in the morning because of the marauding Book Haram which we were told has been technically defeated .They are still potent, aggressive menace .Fulani’s herdsmen are now running riot all over the place There is greater amount of insecurity even more than a nation
in war.
So, in every ramification, in every facet of human life, the administration is a glaring failure. The only thing they do so well is
propaganda.
Your party is in alliance with about 48 other political parties, how will you manage this arrangement without resulting in
crisis?
This is a test for creativity, ingenuity and integrity of the leaders of the alliance. And I believe that we’ll do it. The ADC has a crucial role to play .CUPP Chairman is from ADC and we have set up a
process for the emergence of a credible candidate.
A candidate that all the alliance coalition members will embrace and at least all Nigerians will accept. Hardly can you found a Nigerian that is not fed up with the present
situation.
