August 21, (THEWILL) – A former Chairman of the Lagos State Chapter of the All Progressives Congress, Otunba Oladele Ajomale, speaks on his party’s chances of emerging victorious in the 2023 general election among other matters in this interview with AYO ESAN. Excerpts:
What is your reaction to the emergence of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress
Tinubu’s emergence as the APC presidential candidate is a good omen for the nation’s democracy. It is a welcome development and I believe it will usher in a new era of socio-economic development for the nation if he eventually wins the next year’s presidential polls.
Tinubu is not only qualified to deliver the goods but of all the candidates that are in the race, he is the one that I believe has the experience and the ability to deliver the dividends of democracy that Nigerians are yearning for.
Nigeria is a blessed country, richly endowed with the natural resources that should have made the nation one of the most developed countries in the world but sadly this country has been unlucky to have the right leadership that would have harnessed these resources for the common good of all. Our problem over the years is that of not being blessed with good leadership, especially from the period when the military truncated democracy in 1966 up till now.
I believe that if Tinubu emerges as the nation’s next leader, Nigeria will witness a refreshing new order. Talking about his chances of clinching the Presidency, I believe his chances are very bright. It is his opponents that should be getting worried. I’m also glad about his choice of running mate, that’s talking of former Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state. It is the right choice. The two of them are a perfect combination to tackle a headlong series of challenges confronting the nation, especially in the area of insecurity.
Shettima was there as governor while the insecurity challenge of Boko Haram was ravaging Borno state, and he was able to weather the storm. So there is nothing you want to talk about, that is strange to him. Then Tinubu with the way he was able to carry out socio-economic transformation in Lagos state when he was the state governor between 1999 and 2007, he has not only continued to generate accolades but it has also resulted in Lagos state being one of the most developed states in the country today. Tinubu laid the foundation upon which other successive governors have been building. He laid that foundation that has made Lagos state become a role model state in the country today. With Tinubu and Shettima, Nigeria is in safe hands. The combination of the two will raise the bar of governance in the country.
But many people are raising eyebrows about the choice of Shettima as Tinubu’s running mate. They are saying it is a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Isn’t that dangerous for the country?
To me, there should be no controversy over that. We should be very careful over this issue of religion. People should stop bringing religious sentiment into this matter. The issue of religion is one of those things that have been dragging us backward as a nation. I believe that we should be more concerned about competence. Competence is what we should be talking about. We should be talking about who can deliver. Religion will not take us anywhere. We are talking about who will be able to solve myriads of challenges facing Nigeria, and some people are talking about religion. Is it religion we should be talking about or how to find solutions to the insecurity, and other socio-economic challenges facing the nation? Nigeria is in a serious crisis, especially the insecurity problem, and this is not a time to put those who are not tested in the art of governance in charge of power because of religious considerations.
Religion has never been a factor whenever we are talking about having those to be entrusted with political power. Nigerians have always been talking about those who can deliver. It is now that some selfish politicians and some religious leaders are now bringing the issue of religion up.
What should be uppermost in our mind is competence, otherwise, if you put somebody there in office just because of religious consideration, and not because of his competence, then you are not a patriot because, at the end of the day, it is the nation that will end up being worst for it if such an individual can’t perform.
Then if some people are talking that having a Muslim-Muslim ticket is an aberration, then what will they say about having Atiku Abubakar, a Fulani man succeeding Buhari another Fulani as the new President in 2023?
If Atiku wins the election but which I believe he won’t, will that not result in having another Fulani man succeeding Buhari also a Fulani man? Is that not even worse than having a Muslim-Muslim ticket? Having another Fulani man like Buhari taking over power in 2023 is not the best for the country. That will mean Fulani being in power for 16 years, and this certainly will create some forms of discontent in the land. It means that power will remain in the North again contrary to the principle of power rotation between the North, and the South. This will be more insensitive than a Muslim-Muslim ticket and will be unacceptable to the majority of Nigerians. These are the things some Nigerians are not thinking about. Transferring power from Buhari, a Fulani man to Atiku another Fulani is worse than a Muslim-Muslim ticket.
They should not use religion to confuse us. I’m a Christian, and I don’t care about all this noise about Muslim-Muslim ticket. What is paramount on my mind is competence, and the ability to deliver. These two important attributes I strongly believe Tinubu and Shettima possess in abundance.
But there are still other contestants like Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party. What is your assessment of them?
So far, and from the look of things, I don’t see any of the two or any other presidential candidate measuring up to Tinubu or Atiku in terms of visibility, and structure. It is only APC, and PDP that have been tested by Nigerians. Labour Party and NNPP have not been tested. Then talking about structure, both Labour Party and NNPP are not yet there. I don’t see both parties going anywhere in 2023. Obi and Kwankwaso don’t have the structure to win the elections. I don’t see Obi in the picture at all in 2023, and neither does Kwankwaso. If the two have formed an alliance, I will say that they may be able to make an impact and that something great is about to happen in the country. But since they have not come together and have been working along separate lines, there is no way either of them can spring any surprise in 2023. If Obi and Kwankwaso have combined together, then they would have been able to give PDP, and APC a run for their money. Without having strong structures, it will be impossible for the Labour Party, and NNPP to defeat either APC or PDP. There is no harm in trying but I don’t see Obi or Kwankwaso creating an upset next year. So far, the only person I have been seeing in the Labour Party is Obi but a tree doesn’t make a forest. The same also applies to Kwankwaso. Take him out of NNPP, then there is no NNPP again. Politics is not a one-man show.
As a former Chairman, Conference of APC States Chairmen, what’s your reaction to the crisis rocking many state chapters of the party across the country and what is your advice to the party’s National Working Committee on ways out of the crisis?
I believe that before the general elections next year that all these crises will go down. There is no party in the country that doesn’t have one internal squabble or the other. It is all part of politics. APC will get over the crisis. This is not the first time that such a thing will happen. It happened in the past, and we were able to resolve all the issues threatening to cause harm to the party. We are going to do the same this time around, and even already the process of reconciliation is already underway. We will put our house in order before the elections so as to enable us to present a formidable team that will win the elections across all the levels in the country. A house divided against itself can never have any good showing in any election. Anywhere you have a crisis it will have boomerang effects as it will have negative consequences on the party.
Some Nigerians believe that the general election scheduled for February 2023 may not hold due to insecurity. What is your take on this?
I don’t think so because I believe that insecurity can’t be worse in 2023 than what we are experiencing now. My hope is that the situation will get better before then. Nigerians should be vigilant. They should co-operate with relevant security agencies in ensuring that we all work together to secure the nation. Although the present insecurity situation is a source of concern, I believe that the situation is not insurmountable. The President has given marching orders to security agencies once again to put the situation under control, and I believe this time around, those in charge of the nation’s security will be able to achieve concrete results. But my advice to them is that they should learn to be proactive instead of waiting for the terrorists to strike before they launch counter-attacks. Preparations for the elections should go on, and I believe that in spite of all these challenges we are going to have a successful poll.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
