PMParrot/Parrot Xtra’s correspondent, EMMANUEL ADENIRAN recently had an encounter with a former gubernatorial aspirant in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN). He shared his view on why Tinubu is the best candidate to win the 2023 Presidential election, and reasons PDP must not play ethnic politics ahead of the general poll among many salient issues… Excerpts:
Can our readers meet you?
I am Chief Olusola Oke, A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN). I am a law practitioner and politician. I am an indigene of Ondo State from the riverine area.
In recent times, much has not been heard from you since the last gubernatorial election in Ondo State. Can we know why sir?
Before the election, I joined hands with the incumbent Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to ensure his victory and I also mobilized my supporters, time, energy and resources to ensure his victory at and be re-elected. I am sure my involvement was quite impactful; I am a professional in politics and not a professional politician.
Immediately, I concluded my assignment, I went back to my profession and since then I don’t know what has been happening except for the presidential primaries and national assembly election which we all participated.
Deliberately, I did not present any candidate for any elective position rather I supported the aspirants presented by leaders of the party and they have all emerged victorious at the primary election.
At the National level, I am an Asiwaju person. Even though, it was not looking clear at the beginning in terms of the configuration but those who believe in him know his antecedents.
It did not come as a surprise that he emerged the winner, now our responsibility is to ensure his victory at the presidential election next year. It is good for our party to remain in power and to ensure that somebody who has the mastery of the game to continue to lead us.
In addition, it is good for us as a Yoruba person to have one of us in the corridors of power.
What is your view on the new naira notes – the N200, N500 and N1000 introduced by the CBN Governor?
That announcement came as a thunderbolt to many Nigerians. Firstly, I do not see the need for currency change at this time. Do you think there was any consultation with any interest group and Nigerians before the announcement?
Also, if it was done to stem down corruption, I want to let you know that corruption is not being executed in naira, it is done in dollars.
Most Nigerians that are looting the treasury loot in dollars especially at the time our economy is going wobbling, we are spending almost 40% of our income to service debts while subsidy is also taking the balance. We have been indulging in budget deficits, for some years’ now and I know it costs a lot of money to print new notes.
I think it is a misadventure apart from the illegality of it because I believe that currency is a statutory matter. It is a major policy of government; it is reasonable that all National Assembly members ought to be involved to determine whether we actually need it at this time or otherwise.
I was reliably informed that you could not print a note with less than 25% to 30% of the value. I think the CBN Governor was just testing ground, I do not think he is very serious about it because if he does that, he is going to further depreciate the naira.
Soon, people will start buying off the dollars in the market, and this will put pressure on the dollars, which will further make naira to crash.
It is a wrong time to effect such a policy in the country and it is done at a time there is going to be a change of government in the country. Another government is coming in soon, why would anybody conceive that kind of idea.
What your opinion on the position of the Afenifere leadership on the choice of the presidential candidates?
I will urge people to give their support to the aspiration of Bola Tinubu, which I believe he is not going to be the President of Yoruba land. I also do not see anything wrong in the one led by Pa Adebanjo, there is nothing wrong if some Yorubas also stand up for Peter Obi. It shows Nigeria is dynamic, and that leadership is not going to be sectional.
However, we all know that the authentic voice of the Yoruba leadership is Pa Fasoranti. I think it is healthy for Nigeria’s democracy. We align with those who are speaking the Yoruba voice especially at this time and we do not stand in condemnation. We do not condemn those who are supporting other candidates; this is a democratic system. Husbands and wives can decide together to go different ways yet it does not mean they will stop being husband and wife.
As a prominent member of the APC, what is your prediction concerning the 2023 general elections?
I am a chieftain of the APC, so my views will be biased but that does not also becloud my vision or ability to have divergent views on it.
I am not a small politician anymore; I have served at the national level and at the state level, I should be able to see beyond partisan politics. We first have to appreciate God for Nigeria and to salute the courage of Peter Obi.
He came round and he was able to manipulate the control of the social media, he has reached out massively to Nigerians. In politics, when the chips are down, people would go back to their party and if you do not have a structure, you are not wise. When things suddenly turn around, the reality will dawn on him, yet I salute his courage.
The issue is not about party, it is based on individualism. Atiku Abubakar has a name in Nigeria, he has served as vice president while Bola Tinubu was a Senator and a Governor of Lagos State and this has shown he understands the mastery of the game.
At a time when the PDP was in power, it was only Tinubu who was holding sway as the leader of the minority and I know his antecedents. He has understanding of the Nigerian economy and the world economy at large. I know he is a very bold and courageous politician who is not looking for any accomplishment.
Tinubu is an accomplished person who is waiting to write his name in gold. I know what he will be looking for is legacies, to write his name in gold.
At a time when Nigeria was in need of qualitative leadership, Bola Tinubu stood out and restored the hope of many especially Lagosians.
He struggled for the liberation of democracy in the country because at a time, Lagos was like an abandoned property especially after the relocation of the Federal Capital Territory to Abuja, when he came in, he was able to fix Lagos State and it is the fifth largest economy and one of the fastest growing economies in Africa.
How comfortable are you with the decision of your party to field Muslim/Muslim ticket?
In elections, emerging victorious is the ultimate. Politicians are aware that any time a candidate emerges from the Southwest and such candidate is a Muslim, the calculation does not favour the Northern Christians because the Christians are majority in the South while the Muslims are majority in the North.
Therefore, if you want to win the North, you must present a stronger candidate and this was clear from the beginning that once Tinubu emerged as the Presidential candidate his running mate will be a Muslim. I know how offensive it can be because I am a Christian.
What we need in Nigeria today is not a person who is a religious fanatic but a man who is God fearing and willing to work for the promotion and welfare of the people.
Recent issues of insecurity, kidnapping in our country is beyond being a Christian or a Muslim, while poverty does not respect religious affinity.
Poverty has no religion connotation and neither is it a member of Christian or Islamic religion. It affects everybody. It is the duty of politicians to explain, clarify, and pacify the electorates why they presented a particular candidate for election.
What is your view on the issue of Water Bill being proposed at the National Assembly?
Water Bill has nothing to do with religion. It is a government policy; they believed it is a way of taking over some territories in Yoruba land or in the South in general. It is unfortunate that government has allowed the issue of insecurity to further grow suspicion. It has actually caused disaffections in Nigeria such that Nigerians do not trust each other anymore.
Government has good intentions for some of those things but because of the prevailing circumstances, there is misunderstanding. That is why I doubt it if that Water Bill would ever scale through.
I can categorically affirm that the water bill does not have correlation with religion. I am sure that no Muslim politician will be bold enough to tell us that he can convert Nigeria to Islamic State just as no Christian can turn Nigeria into a Christian State.
Do you think the North will agree to the restructuring agenda presently being advocated by some Yoruba political leaders in the country?
There are Northerners who are also calling for restructuring. Presently, if you look at the number of Nigerian Governors who are supporting the state police, they are in the majority.
Restructuring means devolution of powers. Some people misunderstood it to recreating more states. Restructuring Nigeria’s federation can be likened to fiscal federalism, where you give more powers to the state and allocate more resources to them.
The tragedy of the lopsided federation we are operating now is that there is much money at the centre and what belongs to us belongs to nobody.
That is why you see heavy looting where an individual can loot over N200billion. You cannot do it at the state level because we know ourselves. In other words, devolution, restructuring is not the same with recreation of states.
When Nigeria is properly restructured, the states will take more responsibilities. Presently, the federal government cannot maintain the police force because in most of the states of the federation, the governors are the ones providing operational vehicles to the Nigeria police force.
The Northerners too want a better Nigeria but it depends on the approach and the understanding and I believe Tinubu is capable of doing this.
Looking at the dispensation of Justice in Nigeria, people believe that the poor are always cheated and sentenced to longer years of imprisonment while the rich, powerful folks are given lenient judgment. Don’t you think that there should be a measure to correct such a trend?
The law as I have read it states that do not steal. Stealing is stealing, let’s get that right. An average educated elites believes that if you steal N10 naira your punishment should be lesser than the one who steals N10billion, there is no such logic because the man who steals N10 is capable of stealing N10billion. There is no justification for being a thief.
However, you must appreciate the ability of the man who stole N10billion that he is capable of recruiting the best of lawyers to enjoy the best legal services available while the poor man who stole a goat may not be able to afford such.
Do not forget that lawyers have a major role in advocacy and in pleading on behalf of the accused persons/clients and that might explain such situation.
What is your final word of admonition?
Well, I believe that Nigeria has hope and the future is bright. Let us believe in our country and that only the best is good for Nigeria and Nigerians.
When there are candidates during a transition like this, our pre-occupation should not be whether such individual is a Yoruba, Fulani or an Ibo man.
The first rule is that we must organize a system that must protect the interests of all Nigerians and that is our own reason for advocating for power shift between the North and the South.
South ruled for eight years from 1999 and it went to the North. North has almost finished its own tenure and it is coming back here to the South.
Therefore, anybody who is sponsoring candidates outside this understanding is deliberately organizing a form of disorderliness and anarchy in the country.
I believe that the party that has toed that path and line of ethnicity knows what it is doing
While I also believe that there are patriotic Northerners who know there must be order in the country. We have come a long way and we should be preaching integration. Those who are thinking of exploring the old tune, Nigerians will reject them.
I want to salute the courage of the Northern Governors who rose up at the last minute and decided that power must go to the South and decided that Tinubu should be our presidential candidate.
When I hear some people says that 2023 general elections are going to be tough because Atiku Abukakar is from the North because they have the majority in terms of voting strength, I always ask them that was Buhari not from the North when Atiku Abukakar contested against him and took him to court? Why didn’t he say, he is my brother and a Fulani man, let me step down for him. He did not do so because he wanted power.
The Governors in PDP from the South also wants power to come back to them while the Governors in the APC are also looking beyond Tinubu because some of them are still young and this means if they give power to Atiku Abukakar, it means you are foreclosing them.
Therefore, let us be rest assured that Nigerians stand united with those political parties that are rotating power and stand disunited with those who are seeking to play ethnic politics in the coming 2023 general elections. May God bless Nigeria.
