Honourable Wale Ajani is an unusual man. He says he is a professional in politics. Of course, he is a qualified Engineer and, of course, a Lawyer. One can also say that he is a veteran and expert when it comes to youth development issues. He served Oyo’s Governor ‘Seyi Makinde as his Liaison Officer in Abuja and Lagos until recently. Over the weekend, he was hosted by the South West Guild Of Online Publishers (SWEGOP) in Ibadan. During the media event, he was able to talk about how he ventured into partisan politics and other sundry issues. Excerpts
Do you wish to discuss your trip into the world of politics sir?
Exactly June last year, I was appointed by His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde to serve under his administration and by extension work for Oyo State Government. Let me say this unequivocally that the number one thing is that I wouldn’t have joined any government if it is not performing. Gov Makinde was and is still doing very we and some of us were encouraged to work with him.
It is the basis for me to join and contribute my own little quota because if you look at my antecedent, I contested in 2019 as a candidate under ADC. If you know what happened, those of us that contested for House of Assembly were the cannon fodders.
So, if there is anybody that should be looking for appointment, it is people like us because the National Assemblies candidates already lost the election before the coalition. But, you can never see me around government circle seeking for any favour. I just went back to my professional vocation after losing the election!
As former Director-General of the Oyo State Liaison Office in Abuja and Lagos, what change were you able to bring to the table for the state?
I want to say this, my nine or 10 months in office served as very good re-learning time for me. Although, I wasn’t a person that was coming to office that didn’t know what he is going there to do. I came in with a very clear understanding, vision and focus because I understood the job assigned to me by my boss His Excellency Gov Seyi Makinde as a liaison officer.
You are to represent your state’s interest at the Federal Capital Territory. It is just like a mini ambassador. It is just that some of us don’t enjoy appellations. I was one of the first that was given (the title of) youth ambassador in this country in the early 90’s. I have also had the privilege of travelling round the world representing young people at different global platforms so I know the job of an ambassador.
First thing I did after resumption was to change the image of the Oyo House which is the Embassy of Oyo State in Abuja, I discovered that a lot of things were not on the right track. You have to put everything in order because image is everything; perception is key. How do you have Oyo House that when you look at the street, you would see Kastina (House), Rivers, Ogun, Ekiti, Lagos and others – it was only Oyo House that urgently needed a facelift internally and externally.
Secondly, I was able to restructure working template and administration of the staffers of Oyo House that were posted from Ibadan to Abuja. We had a meeting, everyone got a clear schedule of duty so no one was inactive. I checked the office files and discovered nobody had been engaging the MDAs on behalf of the State Government and with the permission of His Excellency, Gov Seyi Makinde, I was able to lead the Oyo State team to more than 40 MDAs for proper engagement on what Omituntun 1.0 was about and also the achievements of Gov Seyi Makinde. We also tried to make sure that we opened conversations on the short and long term interest of the Seyi Makinde Administration.
The third aspect was that one of the mission of Abuja and Lagos liaison office is to issue the Certificate of Indigene-ship to Oyo State indigenes in the diaspora. Before the dissolution of the government, I started the plans to make it seamless leveraging on latest technology thereby making it possible to acquire it without traveling through a long distance.
The truth is that there are over 300 federal agencies in Abuja. Every of these agencies have one thing or the other that they are doing and we have 36 states in Nigeria. So, the liaison officers’ responsibility is to make sure that you go and ask how does my state benefit? They won’t come and tell you. Nobody will come to you and say because you are liaison officer or DG, you are just DG in your pocket.
So you have to go and look for opportunities for your people and engage them because it is not the same grammar that I speak when I get to Energy Commission of Nigeria that I am going to speak when I get to Rural Electrification Agency. Most times before you go to these people, you need to research and know exactly what you are going there to tell them, otherwise they would just rubbish you or think you are there for ‘meet and greet’.
So, for me, it was a privilege to do what I had been doing before because as a former President of the National Youth Council in Nigeria, I was able to do a lot of things and it was similar. I was talking to government agencies and development partners on behalf of young people so it was easier for me to talk to development partners. I want to appreciate Gov Seyi Makinde for that opportunity.
Any regret missing the senatorial ticket last year?
Of course, I felt bad as human but no single regret because it is not over until it is over, and for me, God rules in the affairs of men. If it is the will of God, I may even achieve something bigger than that. So, I am not afraid and I am not in a rush. Don’t forget that His Excellency, Gov Makinde was also deprived of his Senatorial ticket at one point but today, he is the number one citizen of Oyo State and watch out for that enigmatic potitician, he is on a mission in this country and the grace is sufficient for him. But, I would say this categorically, if I was given the senatorial ticket, I might have done better because the truth is that politics is not rocket science. Politics is engagement and it is about interest. No matter how much you and I are brothers, if your interest is not captured in what I am doing now, you would work for someone else. And, politics is about negotiation; I might have done it better because I understand the game of negotiation and interest.
However, I am not a full-fledged politician. I am a professional in politics. There is a difference between a politician and a professional in politics.
What attracted you to partisan politics as a professional?
Yes, my attraction to politics started when I was a high school student, I didn’t know that the blind also go to school. As the President of my school’s JETS Club, I saw a young man that was using braille in those days and said this must be a ruse, it must be packaged, so I picked one of my textbooks and I was reading to him. And when I finished reading, he was reading everything that I had read from his braille so I said ah, this thing can work.
I decided to join the movement under – Sir David Osunde Foundation for the Handicapped then. It was through volunteerism that I found myself in politics. I have also been in the Exco of the University of Lagos Engineering Society (ULES) But I was running from Oyo Amala politics because there was this news that we used to hear then as upcoming politicians, so I didn’t want to fully join Oyo politics.
I was eventually invited to join Oyo politics when as a delegate to the National Conference (CONFAB) of 2014, myself and Baba Rashidi Ladoja met and because of my vibrancy within the National Conference and among Oyo delegates in particular, he encouraged me to come and join local politics. That was how I joined politics.
At what stage did your efforts on job creation for youths in Oyo State yield fruits?
At our level in Abuja, we deal with the Federal Character Commission. They base things on quota. Oyo State have representative – a Federal Commissioner. We need to keep pushing for more slots that are due for Oyo State. As I said, there are over 300 parastatals. Within my little sojourn in the office, I was able to get some of our people employed at the Federal level and this could not have happened without the support of the God-sent man, H.E Gov Seyi Makinde.
Meanwhile, there are lots of graduates in Oyo State but from statics, I want to say also that there are more artisans in the state. As a state, what are we doing about these clusters? It is not the same equipment that they used to sow dresses 10years ago that they use now. Whoever fails to upgrade will join the unemployment class. We need to actually help our people in that area. What are we doing about our technical and vocational education? There is so much in that area to help reduce unemployment.
As a journalist, if you go to the Chairman of This Day newspaper that you want a job, he would not ask you to bring your certificate but they would ask you to bring some of your previous works/publications and if you are good, he will give you a job. For me, it is about how do we update and develop those skills in our youths.
Today, the educated guys have taken over almost all the industries. You will see big outfits specializing in sewing of local caps. Also, for example, in the media industry, very soon, there won’t be physical newspapers and the paper sellers would go jobless. We keep upgrading. So for me, knowledge economy is the best anytime, any day.
So, I look forward to Oyo State that would be built and developed on knowledge economy. If you have been to the Facebook headquarters, it is not as big but you can’t imagine the kind of things that are going on there. So, you don’t have to build a big factory before you become a billionaire.
Are you not worried about the rate at which our youth are derailing and what do you think can be done to reverse the dangerous trend?
I will start with the issue of value in our youth. We always believe that when you always go to church or mosque you actually know God but going to church and mosque is just a religious activity. It is strictly ‘religion’. Values are from homes. Unfortunately, with the kind of value system we are running now, fathers and mothers don’t have time for the children anymore.
You will even see young ladies whose mothers would say, “Look at your mates who are making money. You can’t bring anything to the table. They are thinking that because you are a fine girl, you should go and do anything. It is a serious issue.
The value is missing at home. It is the responsibility of parents. You should not wait for teachers to help you train your children. I told my son that if I knew what I know now in those day, I would not buy a car at the age that I bought it. It wouldn’t have been my priority. I told him this when he was 10years old. Some of us would not tell our boys these things. I would call my boys and say come, let’s talk about masturbation, cultism and other vices. they need to know them before one friend will lie to them and introduce them to wrong groups.
Teachers are just doing their best. You see what some students do; they drink and do all sorts of things. When my son told me he wanted to us to buy a necklace for him, the question that I asked him was that what value would the chain add to you? For me, value is key but we are losing it day by day. Parents have the responsibility while pastors would preach it. It is not what they preach on the pulpit but what you say to your children.
Are you not bothered that we don’t have apprentices for our mechanics and bricklayers again – our youth are not training in these key vocations any longer. How do you feel as the government is not regulating activities, everybody is just riding okada…
On apprenticeship, I want to use Oyo State as my focus. I developed a platform called ‘Anywork 24/7.’ This is it, you want a ‘handy worker’ and you cannot guarantee anyone who can do it well. Now, let’s create a platform where we can get accredited and verifiable ‘handy worker’. But alas, most of the handy-workers are half baked.
They are not being trained using the current technique. A member of my church once came and said that he does kaftan. I told him to go and make one for me. By the time he brought it, it was nothing to write home about. I rejected it. Apprenticeship is key but we need to have relevant skills and equipment. We need to have in place a vocational centre set up and funded by government but managed by consultants. We can have different latest equipment to make life easier for the serious artisans.
Can you tell us your defining moment in politics?
My defining moments in politics are many but if not for politics, I won’t sit down with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As President of the Nigerian Youth Council, I don’t know how many young persons of my age then that had the opportunity to enter the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as much as I did. It might not look like an achievement, but I had a boss, a senior professional colleague – the day he was meeting the President, he was fidgeting and restless despite his affluence and standing in the society.
I have been privileged to speak at different platforms locally, regionally and nationally, so there is nothing that would scare me from talking to great people. I have plenty defining moments but my most defining moments are when I talk to the president of Nigeria and presidents from other countries on behalf of young people. Many people might not like Robert Mugabe for example, but he was my friend.
