By Omoniyi Salaudeen
Senator Ayo Arise is one of the aspirants for the Ekiti State governorship election holding in July 2018. In this interview, he speaks on the politics of re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, the coming gubernatorial primary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), among other issues.
People are speaking with discordant voices over the issue of whether or not President Muhammadu Buhari should go for another term. How would your party deal with this dilemma?
I don’t know where the dilemma is coming from. It is natural that some people will be interested in the contest just like he was not the only candidate that ran for the 2015 presidential primary. For me, I think it is given that any time a party has a President on seat, people give him an opportunity to run for a second term. For the little I know of this president and the little Nigerians know about him, if he feels that he is not fit to come back in terms of age and other challenges, he won’t insist on running for another term. But having gone through the worst ailment of his life, according to him, and survived, I don’t see anything wrong if he wants to run for a second term. Every day you see him on television, you see him waxing stronger and healthier even better than any other time in the last two years. So, if the man says he wants to run, I can assure you that I will be one of his greatest supporters. And at the end of the day, those who will want to capitalize on the issue of his challenge to campaign against him would be shocked to see a renewed determination to build a new Nigeria of our collective dream. I am one of his supporters who want him to continue.
There is an unfinished business in this country. We have not been able to tame corruption. We have only been chasing those who stole us blind. We have not been able to put in place what will deter people from engaging in corrupt acts. President Buhari has all the goodwill to put in place the structure that will reduce and minimize corruption. The way we are going, if we do not have a sustainable policy on corruption, we won’t get anywhere. People are living as parasites on the country. They don’t talk about what they can do to build a nation; they are only interested in what they can get from it. You can imagine the poor state of our infrastructure. It will continue to deteriorate if something is not done. People have been complaining that there is no money. But the government has been releasing money it is only that people who do not want it to spread have not relented.
Yes, Buhari is fighting corruption, but as you did say some people around him are stealing money. How would you reconcile these variants?
(Cuts in)…. There might be, I don’t know. I don’t work under him but I read what is in the papers.
But it is evident from the recent happenings like the case of the former SGF, Babachir Lawal and Maina that some people are not on the same page with the president. Isn’t it?
When I look at the way many of us in Nigeria are quick to pass judgment, I get alarmed. I know corruption is evil. This government has put policy on ground to ensure that there is proper bidding before contracts are issued out. But these officers are the ones bidding for themselves. They own the companies either directly or by proxy. How does a minister know about that much less a seating president? It is just like what Babachir Lawal did by awarding contract to a company in which he was a director. But what did the president do? He first removed him from office, ordered investigation into the allegation and eventually removed him and appointed another person. Also on the Maina saga, he immediately ordered the man to be dismissed because of how charged the atmosphere was. You know how long it took former President Goodluck Jonathan to relieve Stella Odua of her job for allegedly buying bulletproof cars worth millions of dollars. Now, with the new policy put in place, you must name the directors of companies participating in the bidding process. These are parts of corrective measures being introduced by Mr. President.
Besides, the president cannot throw everybody in jail on just mere allegation. We don’t want to run that kind of country because you will not know when abuse of power will come in. Yes, we want to fight corruption. But we do not want to fight it in a draconian way. Even the Maina case, some people are saying that the president does not have the powers to sack anybody under the civil service rule. But what would have happened, if he had not done what he did? It is these same people who will be saying the President knows about it. It is not everything that is happening that Buhari will know or see.
How would you then react to Col Hammed Ali’s comment, saying PDP in government are responsible for derailing the programmes of this administration?
I want to say that PDP was at the helms of affairs for 16 years. By virtue of that, they have more number of corruption cases than any other party because those who are not in power cannot definitely be charged for appropriating government’s funds. Again, because of the need for change, a number of people moved from PDP to APC. May be those people came with baggage. When you buy an asset, you also buy the liability. I don’t know the number of PDP in the corridors of power. But Col Ali will know better than I do. If he has evidence, he can name names. It could also be that the problems in the National Assembly informed his statement. Some people can get frustrated and angry with some of the things coming out of the National Assembly. It is now clear that civil servants, political appointees, legislators are now competing effectively with business men. Once this continues, there is no way money can spread. It can only remain in the hands of very few, while the larger populace continues to suffer. You either choose to serve the country or be a businessman. Corruption is an institutional problem. So, it is something that requires support of everybody. That is why I welcome the whistle blowing initiative of this government. It’s great. Let people begin to expose those doing wrong in our midst. When you blow the whistle and things are done correctly, the children of the have not will stand the chance of leading this country. If we do not change it by ourselves, it is only a people-revolution that can change it. What is the luxury of riding in expensive cars when we have created an army of kidnappers, armed robbers and so many unemployed youths? And people are still saying we should continue the way we are going. We need to wake up. Let us give it to this man who can tackle corruption now. I am one of his supporters who want him to continue.
Economic experts have raised an alarm that the rate of borrowing is getting to an alarming rate. Don’t you think so?
I said it on Channel TV programme some years back that the solution that can lead us out of depression is through borrowing. When an economy is depressed, how do you walk yourself out of depression? You have to borrow. You borrow not just to pay salaries, you borrow to create and develop infrastructure. In the process of developing infrastructure, you will be able to create employment. Once people begin to have purchasing power, the traders will begin to prosper. It is a cycle. Economy is not a rocket science. A number of nations have also found themselves where we are today. How did they get out of it? The last time I listened to Kemi Adeosun, Finance Minister, she said we are doing extremely well with the level of our borrowing compared to many nations of the world. We need to develop infrastructure. When this money gets to us, the challenge to every Nigerian is to be sure that this money is channeled to the appropriate projects. If we monitor these projects effectively, there will be no more cases of abandoned projects. It goes beyond corruption; there is inefficiency in the civil service. There are people who are completely inept, people who don’t know why they are sitting on the positions they are occupying. These are problems we have to watch out for and shout it out because the president cannot see all.
Time table for the Ekiti State governorship election has already been announced by the INEC. How will your party achieve victory against the incumbent Governor Ayodele Fayose who has become a political godfather in the state?
I can assure you that Fayose is not a political godfather in Ekiti. Of course, he has his share of the populace, especially those he has been deceiving. He has already owed up to seven months of salaries. And you know these people have no other means of survival. When you owe civil servants and the teachers, they will be the first to start looking for a change. So, already he is no longer as popular as he was when he came into office. As a matter of fact, he has lost over 60 percent of his popularity for so many reasons. Many of us think he will continue to embarrass us. I had to leave PDP solely because of Fayose as well as the attraction of the character of our president. I am 100 percent supporter of Buhari without dilution. In fact, it took me a little longer than I should have to move from PDP because of the fact that Jonathan located a university in my home town. And that was all I asked from him and he did it. So, I felt I would be an ingrate if I abandon the party. Other than that, I have no regret at all in moving to APC because we told him (Jonathan) that Fayose would not honour any agreement. And I am a living proof. Let him continue to make all the noise he is making, we are going to drive him out of the place. He is not as popular as people think. That is the truth. Apart from salary issue, there are many of us who have good names in the state and we are going to dislodge him in the state. I don’t even see how a PDP person will win in Ekiti State now. I don’t see the possibility unless there is problem during the primaries of APC.
Already, APC has no less than twenty powerful aspirants for the governorship election.
(Cuts in)…not all the twenty are powerful. There are people who are trying politics for the first time.
The question is: how are you going to organize a rancour free primary?
As long as everything is done properly and there is free and fair election, there will be no rancour. I believe there are some people who should not run at all, though everybody is entitled to it. But their coming into the race will bring more controversy than peace. Once we have a free and fair election, I think there will be a smooth ride to the Government House in Ekiti. I think the issue of twenty or so aspirants is a show of relevance for everybody. As a politician, you must constantly remain relevant. If you are not, people will forget you. Some are trying politics for the first time. And it is not impossible for them to win. Nothing is impossible. I am not going to say anybody cannot win because I was one of the greatest opposition to Fayose.
When we were in the same party, I said this man cannot win anything because he has been indicted in this and that. At the end of the day, he won. So, I am not going to say anybody cannot win because of that experience. But we want to see a clean and clear process. I have a feeling that ordinarily, the party should cede that position to me. That is my honest assessment of the situation. The other strong candidate is Segun Oni. Oni is very strong on ground. If Fayemi comes out, he will be very strong too.
He has already said that he is under pressure to run.
(Cuts in)…who is giving him pressure? He is probably giving himself the pressure, what Yoruba call ojumole okuo loti-(meaning: an acclaimed Islamic adherence still savours the taste of beer). Nobody is giving him pressure. I have had one-on-one talk with him because I know if I will be able to win in Ekiti, I will need his support. So, I have gone to speak with him. If he says they are giving him pressure, who is giving him pressure? Is the president not satisfied with the work he is doing? Or are Nigerians complaining that he is not doing well in the Solid Ministry?
But he is also entitled to a second term. Not so?
It is not about entitlement. The fact is that no Ekiti son has been as lucky as Fayemi. And he should understand that. If anybody is saying that he is the only person who can do it, that is an insult on all of us. That means we must keep him there in perpetuity. I am sure he is not going to be thinking that way. I think the most honourable thing for him is to remain at the federal. I am sure, as close as he is to Mr President, he can never lose out. Why will he want to run under an uncertainty? As far as I am concerned, Kayode is my brother and I am very proud of him any day. He is a highly cerebral person. But I think he should not take it to a level that he will be thinking that he is the only person who can do it. There has been no Ekiti man who left as governor and became minister immediately. And again, his job is not under threat at any time. If he says somebody is putting him under pressure that is a political talk. It is what he likes to do. I am the one looking for the position now and the people of Ekiti are ready for me. I have a large acceptability across the state.
Why do you think the party should concede the position to you?
First of all, I am the only one that was in AC who went to PDP and back to APC. So, I have followership in APC and also in the PDP as a senator. By virtue of that, I will be able to amass the entire support base to become governor easily. Two, Segun Oni, my friend, has been governor before. So, I am the one now who wants to be governor for the first time. And because of the way we are wired in Ekiti, anybody that is going there should go with a mind set to do his best within four years. And I believe these people have had the opportunity to do their best for the state. So, others are entitled too. I know if Kayode comes out, certainly nobody has his kind of money. I know the only thing he will come and do is to buy the election. And that will not be a testimony to his popularity. But it will be a testimony to the amount of wealth he’s been able to amass. So, we can only use moral persuasion and appeal to him to stay on his job. Because he is much younger than the two of us gladiators, he can remain on his ministerial job for four years and still come back to be a governor if he still wants. I don’t think he needs to take a gamble to come and contest an election that is not certain. Moreover his job is not threatened.