In this exclusive interview with former Ekiti State Governor, Engineer Olusegun Adebayo Oni at his Ifaki Ekiti country home by Ekiti State Correspondent of Parrot Xtra Magazine, EMMANUEL ADENIRAN, he submitted that Fulani herdsmen should be allocated designated routes to carry out their grazing and called on the Federal Government to speak out on the criminal activities of the Fulani herdsmen in Yorubaland before it is too late. Excerpts Below:
Sir, for sometime now, you left the PDP to the APC, but now, you are back in the PDP. What actually brought you back.?
It is because I prefer the PDP. I have tasted both. And I can say categorically that my main interest is democracy, intra-party democracy. This is very important to me. That I can say categorically. We have more of it in the PDP than in the APC.
Between the time you were the Governor of Ekiti State and now, do you think anything has changed in the state in terms of development and progress?
Of course, there are changes always. I don’t have to start criticising people about what they did or what they didn’t do. You yourself, you would know whether there are positive changes or there are negatives changes.
Sir, we are now getting closer to the year 2022, a year for another Governorship Election in Ekiti State, what do you think the political permutations will be like in the state?
The strong political parties I think will still be the PDP and the APC. The strong ones, the very dominant ones. Of course, there will also be other political parties.
Do you see the possibility of a third force political party emerging in Ekiti State ahead of the year 2022 Governorship Election?
I haven’t seen it yet.
As a leader of the PDP in Ekiti State, and a former Governor Sir, tell us what you are going to do, and what is going to be your advice and best solution to the current crisis rocking the PDP in Ekiti State, most especially with the existence of two different factions of the PDP; that is, one for the Ex-Governor Ayodele Fayose and the other for Senator Abiodun Olujimi?
We are going to resolve all that very soon. I can tell you that efforts are on to resolve whatever differences exist at the moment.
There has been a rumour that you have the intention to contest again in the 2022 Governorship Election but we will like to hear from you on this.
Well, things remain the way they are. I am going to contest the Governorship.
Overtime, we have been witnessing so many activities of Fulani herdsmen in Ekiti State such as kidnappings, destroying farm produce and the rest, what do you think is the best way to solve this particular issue?
First, the government must hold consultations with everybody that is involved because it could be very painful if you for example, have a maize farm and you have weeded, you have planted and just before it is ready for harvesting, somebody brings a herd of cattle there and they destroy the farm, you won’t be happy. So, there should be proper discussions between the government and everybody including the herdsmen, I am talking of the real herdsmen and not the kidnappers.
They can meet and agree on the routes that people who rear cattle can take that will not be through people’s farms. This is because if it is people’s farms, they will destroy the people’s livelihood. They can agree on cattle grazing routes because, of course some people will want to pass through Ekiti to Ondo. It must be. But you can agree on the routes to take. Then, any cattle or herder who passes outside the routes agreed on for grazing, has clearly gone astray and government must take action about that.
So, if they have things like that, minimum conditions like that, even the real herdsmen will know they have accommodated them enough.
But, the so called herdsmen who are kidnapping people are criminals. The kidnappers are criminals. There is no other name for it and our government must stand against it. Criminals should not be handled with kid’s gloves.
Just about a week ago, the Southwest governors met in Akure, and our own governor in Ekiti State made a statement that the Fulani herdsmen are welcome in the state, what do you have to say about this coupled with the issue of quit notice given to the Fulani herdsmen to leave some parts of the Southwest by one Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Sunday Ighoho?
You heard me talk now. There should be routes assigned to the herders that they can pass and once government agrees with them on these routes, if any of them now goes outside those routes, it will be outright illegal to be there. They can’t continue to turn everywhere to a grazing area in Yorubaland. No. But there should be some routes they can pass. People along those routes will also not plant what the cows can destroy. No. But as for the people who kidnap, there is no excuse for criminality. Kidnapping is a criminal offence. Those ones should not have any privilege or consideration as far as I am concerned. Kidnappers cannot and should not have anything to negotiate about. You can’t negotiate the presence of a
So, do you subscribe to the issue of quit notice issued to the Fulani herdsmen living in Ibarapa area of Oyo State because it was earlier reported in some sections of the media recently that some Fulani herdsmen came back to attack farmers at the same Igangan in Ibarapa area of Oyo State, the same place Sunday Ighoho sent away Fulani herdsmen few days ago?
It is already going out of hand, I must say. Our governments cannot pretend that they are not aware. Our governments should also do something and say something and save lives. If the Federal Government pretends that things are right or well when it is not right or well, then, that should call for more concern by all Nigerians. Look, Ibarapaland is the ancestral home of some people. They are farming there. If herders go there and raze the place down, it cannot be right. Then, we could create channels that the herders can pass through and everybody will know that cattle pass through there and anybody who wants to farm there will know what to farm. But, we cannot just keep quiet and do nothing. A do-nothing approach is dangerous because you will be increasing tension in the land. You will be pitching people against people and I don’t think it is right. And it is high time the Federal Government bends and comes into it to be able to negotiate and at least moderate negotiations on what grazing routes can be and so on. But the herders can’t just continue to take over everything. No.
We will like you to dwell on whether it is okay for stakeholders in Ekiti State to converge to have a discussion on the way forward on the problem of herdsmen and other security issues?
The government should moderate that. It is the government that will create the atmosphere and knows who to invite. You see, government cannot stay out of this. Anything done outside the government can easily be branded illegal. Government should take it upon itself to see what the issues are and who are the people whom they will have to invite to a roundtable and get them to talk. We are too afraid and in the process of being afraid, things are getting scattered everyday.
So, government must take it upon itself to see what the issues are and who are to be called together on a roundtable in order to hear from all the sides and get a position that is fairly acceptable to everybody.
Sir, at the Southwest meeting of the PDP held a few days ago in Ibadan, Oyo State, it was observed that the faction from the Ex-Governor Ayodele Fayose side did not attend that meeting, what do you have to say about this and don’t you think that this can snowball into another crisis come 2022?
Whatever problem we have as a party, we admit that there are problems. We will definitely solve the problems. A political party cannot be free of problems because it’s an assembly of people who themselves are independent and from different shades of thoughts and opinions. Therefore, you can only whip people into line if they are going against the party’s Constitution. But be that as it may, you have to call them to order to initiate discussions. So, we will get over our problems very soon.
Sir, do you think somebody like Ayo Fayose will support your Governorship Ambition come 2022?
I don’t know who will support my ambition. I leave it to God. God is the one who will determine who will be on my side and who will not be on my side.
So, if by tomorrow Sir, you are given the opportunity to fly the PDP’s ticket and eventually emerge, what plan do you have for the people of Ekiti State? We will like you to highlights some of your plans for the people of Ekiti State?
Well, my position is known. They are things you should know. I am not coming newly.
I asked that question probably because you may have fresh ideas.
We are always coming with fresh ideas. Wait until you see what we are coming up with. We are always coming with fresh ideas of governance. Of course, we can’t be static. What we did ten or twelve years ago, some of them are still very relevant but some of them are also going to change definitely. Wait for it.
Your final remarks Sir.
All I have been saying are my remarks. And it touches on everything. And what we have been saying is that there are solutions to every problem. We mentioned what we should do together with the government because it is the job of the government to solve all problems and not shy away from them.
The people should cooperate with the government when the government makes a genuine and very serious effort to solve some of these problems. You cannot wish away discussions, arguments, disagreements and so on. But we must apply ourselves diligently in trying to solve our problems not running away from them and not pretending at all.
