A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and ex-special adviser on Education to former Osun state governor, Hon Jamiu Olawumi, in this interview speaks on the urgent need to rejig the security architecture of the country as well as political developments in the state of the livingspring, Osun. Hammed Shittu brings excerpts:
What is your general assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s 11 month-old administration?
President Bola Tinubu’s presidency is been very hard working and engaging the challenges that we have been having in Nigeria today because we must be true with ourselves. The previous challenges Nigeria have been facing do not demand a man that is not hardworking, who is not frank, who is not to be decisive but the pedigree of the President Tinubu and his past have pointed to the fact that he is a man that is equal to the task.
And that informed why the majority of Nigerians voted for him in the last general elections in the country. And if you look at the last elections, the issues before the elections, Nigerians have a lot of issues with the way of the administration and the way of service delivery which had become a sort of challenge to the common Nigerians.
We would not forget in a hurry, the issue of security that had started during the PDP government and extending to the Buhari administration and we would also not forget in a hurry, the issue of poor agriculture rewards from the farmers because they could not stay at their farms any longer and also not forget the invasion occasioned by the West African protocols of herdsmen from other countries of West Africa.
And all these issues have confronted the country and that anyone who is not seasoned in public administration like President Tinubu might not be able to do all these and solve all the challenges. And when you look at it when the security is rife like this, it is getting to a point where disillusions have been factored into solving the problems.
If you look at the security for instance, we have a history of Boko Haram, we also have banditry, we have kidnappings, we have militancy in the Niger Delta region, it is not peculiar to a region and this multimillion dimensional security challenges would require somebody who is loved by the people of the country and that is what we are having today,.
The temperature in the Eastern part of the country is coming down fast and even the main thrust of Igbo agenda is getting queued into the federal government agenda for the first time in the past 20 years or thereabout. And the issue of Niger Delta militancy, we thank God, late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua started the amnesty programme and subsequent governments have also followed suits. And if you look at what President Tinubu had done, it is like picking from the challenged areas, participants for his administration so that we can solve the problem in a uniform manner.
So, we have stakeholders from the South- east, from the South- south who are genuine lovers of their regions in the government now. It is not an hearsay for President Tinubu to listen or to detect situation at their regions. If you look at the North, you have former governors who are in charge of the defence of the country. We have people who are first among the 11 of the northern team in this government.
The recent move to publish the names of sponsors of banditry in the country will reduce the pressure on the issue.
If you look at the socio-economic challenges around the insecurity, it is the issue of foreign exchange because a lot of people are making use of insecurity situation to make sure that they frustrate the country so as to continue with what they are doing and the President has taken the bull by the horn to address the issue.
What is your take on the issue of State Police in Nigeria ? Will it solve the nation’s security challenges?
The administration is also tilted towards the state police so as to bring cooperation between the national and sub national governments. It is the agenda of the APC even under the former President Buhari administration. There was a committee set up headed by the former governor of Kaduna state, Mallam El Rufai to look at the possibility of creating state police.
If we don’t review the security architecture of the country, it means the federal government which is unitary in operation would not allow for the review of security situation in Nigeria. Now every state of the federation is yearning and eager to have a state police command and they are going to review that and by the time they have the architecture reviewed, state police, all these regional security outfits like Amotekun of South West, those in the South East and in the North will dissolve into state police in their respective regions. After all, if you look at what the state governments are doing like buying of vehicles and bullet jackets for the Nigeria Police force, among others.
Even the state police command belongs to the Federal Government and by the time there is a state police, every governor will know how to manage the resources to make sure that the security architecture within the state is giving the required dividends to the people of their states. And you will have people from your state in the police and not somebody from Kano who is going to be a DPO or DCO in Anambra state who does not know the terrain of the place.
By the time the review of the security architecture of the state is done, we will have people who know the terrain to manage our security in Nigeria. The knowledge of the terrain is very paramount to solving the problem of any security issues in the country.
What is your general take on the PDP-led administration in Osun state since it assumed the leadership of the state?
It is worrisome that the people of Osun State found themselves in this present situation since the PDP led administration under Senator Ademola Adeleke took over the mantle of leadership. I want to tell you that there are series of absurdities since the administration assumed office. The respect for due process has become an alien in the state. We are alarmed by the way the public funds have been handled in the state.
Let me give you a quick example, when former Governor Gboyega Oyetola was at helm of affairs of the state, an average kilometers of roads with asphalt to construct a kilometer of roads ranges between N100m and N150million in any part of the state because there is no swampy area in the state and there is no terrain that is so challenged. All the roads are there to see, very viable road projects for that matter executed by Oyetola- led administration. You will be surprised today in the state, a kilometre road goes for N2.5 billion under Governor Ademola Adeleke. Without fear of contradictions, under Governor Ademola Adeleke, a kilometre of road goes for N2.5billion aside of jettissioning due process in handling those projects in the state.
Let me give you an instance, Akoda- Ede road was allegedly started even when he has not appointed his commissioners. There was no due process, no public bidding and even you going for selective bidding. What they are doing on that road alone is what we have experienced that allegedly led one PDP chieftain to prison, contract splitting.
You have a main contactor sign board there and have three contractors on that Akoda- Ede road. The road was not budgeted for, it is not in the budget of the state when they started the road. And when they presented supplementary budget, it was not there also. The Olaiya- Ilerioluwa flyover constructed by the immediate past administration of former governor Oyetola was executed for N3.2billion. The Okefia flyover the present administration is embarking upon now was allegedly given to a company that is supplying urinal fertiliser and not a construction firm. It is not a single engineering construction firm that is handling Okefia flyover and if you look at it, it is over N20billion. From N3.2billion to over N20billion, the one at Lameco is for over N8billion and this is what the people of the state are facing now.
This is a serious departure from the glorious past to the present situation in the state. You have a project that lack the confidence of the people because when you give work to non civil engineering company and give it to urinal fertiliser company and what will be the confidence of the people in such projects you gives to non trained firm after execution?
Go to the site of the project you can see underpinning things to erect such gigantic project. Aside that a km of road for N2.5billion without public procurement process that will call for bids, that would do competitive selection, that will also look at the experience of the company to handle it. A company that supplies and registered as a cyber cafe is allegedly set to handle Ilobu flyover. A cyber cafe in Ede that does not even have a recognisable address in Ede is also allegedly handling an N8.5billion Lameco road project.
These are the situations we found ourselves. A government that will say it has concluded, received a probe panel report and 16months after, it will start to implement it.
Look at Osogbo as a capital of Osun, all the roads are littered with refuse even the Governor’s Office gate, they don’t have people that sweep and clean. Osogbo roads are littered with potholes. From Old Garage to MDS to Baruwa junction to Ogo Oluwa, roundabout leading to the office of the Governor, a lot of potholes unattended to due to alleged non residing of the Governor in Osogbo. Governor resides in Ede, his home town until recently when he decided to move to Osogbo but he is always at Ede.
For the first time in the 21st century, this government has not talked about public utilities like water but decided to drill boreholes in every wards, one per ward. For example, there is a ward in Osogbo that has a population of over 50,000 people, you give them a point of borehole and you are looking at water and sanitation.
The government has not taken care of the environment. Everyone in the state today will say they have taken their “breakfast”. Let me say this, the palliative. Federal Government gave each of the states of the federation N7 billion palliatives. Look at what they are doing in other states beyond N7billion.
Aside the fact that the state government spent N25 million to repair school buses to put them on the road for public service and the balance of the fund, nobody knows what happened. Look what they are doing in Borno, Ogun States, among others.
In Ogun State, the government of Dapo Abiodun bought 75 CNG buses, make available N5billion for people to enjoy, gave N50,000 each to students of tertiary institutions as palliative. In our state, there is increase in the payment of tuition fees of students. Nobody has been given scholarship. Even the programme started by former governor Oyetola for indigent students in the nation’s tertiary institutions that will pay them N33million every year has been stopped. The indigent students honorarium has been stopped.
So you cannot say the state is feeling better under the current government in the state. The government is of secrecy and of recent the state has been taken over by suspected thugs and we are no more safe. Anyone that talks about government has to apply third eye. While Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo state has given farmers incentives for six months not to pay tax and levies, something of that is not happening in our state but instead our governor travelled to UK to do other thing in the name of wooing investors for cocoa industrial development when the government has allegedly failed to support cocoa farmers in the state. Even, Cocoa industry located at Ede cannot see the light of the day up till this moment. The industry has become moribund and needs urgent attention.
As a former Special Adviser on Education to Immediate past administration, what is your assessment on the situation of education in the state?
Let me tell you that presently the education has been retrogressively backwards in the state. If you look at when former governor Oyetola was going, we employed 2,500 teachers. One thousand in the first instance and 1,500 teachers in the second instance. Immediately the present administration came on board, the government took away jobs of 1500 teachers and this is 16 months of the administration, the government is yet to replace the sacked teachers and whether we like it or not teachers do retire every month from the service and you can imagine the gap at the time former governor Oyetola left and how it has been widened by the alleged inactivity by this government. The government has claimed it has set up education summit, the report of the summit has never been submitted till today and not to talk about the white paper of the report. And if you look at the inside of the report, they are talking about the bricks and mortars. When you are talking about the contents and you don’t look at the teachers, there is nothing to do about the contents because it is the teachers that would implement the contents you put together as a government.
The issue of out of school children is soaring every day because students get to schools but they don’t have teachers instead they are using quacks and NYSC teachers who will go to schools two or three times a week.
They are the people handling education in the state. In the state’s tertiary institutions, there is no peace. Osun state College of Education, Ila Orangun is bediveiled with crisis between the chairman of the governing council and the Provost of the college. The governing board of the college brought the House of Assembly candidate for Ila-orangun who works at Federal College of Education, Oyo to come and be Provost. And anyone the government will be bringing to the institution must be a former candidate seeking elections that cannot make it. They have been brought to come and head institutions in the state. Also in the State Polytechnic at Iree, the government brought officer who was 14th in rank to replace a PhD holder who was Acting Rector. He was later confirmed as Rector and hails from Ede, the home town of the Governor. He holds a Masters degree to become the Rector of the state owned Polytechnic at Iree. What about Ilesha, University of Ilesha that was established before former governor Oyetola left office, they sacked the board of the University, they brought somebody who was to be chairman of the panel of inquiry looking into issues around the University to come to be Vice Chancellor of the University.
So, if you are not a member of PDP, you cannot be head of tertiary institutions in the state. That’s how they have debased the quality of education and management of education in the state.
What can you say about the internal squabbles in your party, APC, in the state?
The party is coming together and waxing stronger ahead of 2026 elections in the state. Let me tell you to confirm my confidence, sixteen months and we are still counting, no member of APC have defected from our party to PDP in the state. If you look at the structure of the last elections, PDP won by 28,000 votes, APC had 375,000 votes and you cannot say a party that garnered 375,000 votes is weaking in the state.
If you look at the issue that led to the partial victory of the PDP especially the timelessly voting hours enjoyed by the people of Ede town to allegedly rigged the elections. And with our party men not joining boats to another party and realisation of the mess in which the people of the state have found themselves. Political parties are mere vehicle to ride, it is the people that determine who become the government, who formed the government and with what I see here, nobody will be able to say that the APC will not return to power in 2026 because the breakfast has been served. And with the levels of many absurdities perpetrated by this administration, the people would reject them and vote for APC in the next election in the state.
What is your candid view on the recent review of the appointment of some royal fathers in the state?
Let me tell you that, the purported selection and appointment of the affected royal fathers would not last long. What the present administration did is to instigate crisis in the state’s judiciary which led to the strike of the judiciary workers Union in the state and no one can run to the court.
There are two pending cases of the royal fathers before the courts in the state and still in the courts as we speak but the government allegedly using clandestine approach to disrupt judicial functions in the state to put the royal fathers there now. People cannot run to the court for justice.
The chietaincy matter in Iree was to be delivered two days before judicial workers embark on strike in the state ditto Igbajo chieftaincy matter. Igbajo issue is peculiar because they wanted to score a political point in view of the former chairman of the party in the state as the royal father of the town, Oba Adegboyega Famodun and what they did is to instal the PDP royal father in Igbajo town. The government cannot do this in Ikirun town because it has gone beyond lower court as the case is still pending at the Appeal Court. With the resumption of judicial workers in the state, I know that the court sitting on Iree and Igbajo cases would go on as expected and justice will be served.
Is there any hope for APC to retain Ondo State come November, 2023 gubernatorial poll in view of the present acrimonious issues in the party?
We are not losing sleep on the forthcoming Ondo State governorship elections come November this year because the core structure within the party in that state, Afenifere is there, Pa Fasoranti is there, Chief Olu Falae, among others. They have been there for the APC. Whatever the issue we are having around the nomination of candidate is within the party and it will be addressed in a best manner, competitive and transparent. It will be competitive because of a governor, Mr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa who will be in the office for nine months and would also like to go back again.
The opposition cannot challenge the APC in that state during the period because we have instituted good structure, good service delivery occasioned by the professional dexterity of the late former governor Rotimi Akeredolu.
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