Adeniyi Adegbonmire (SAN) is the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for the Ondo Central Senatorial District in next year’s general election. In this interview with OSAGIE OTABOR, he talks about his aspiration and why he is likely to win the election next year in the district that used to be a stronghold of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
How long have you been in politics?
If you are asking how long have I tried to be on the ticket of my party, it is since 2015. I have been active in politics since I was an adult. My late father was a politician. I was born into politics and was very close to my father. I used to attend political meetings with my father. I was a member of Chief Olu Falae’s campaign organisation when he vied for the presidency in 1999.
From what you can recall from your father’s days as a politician, how does present-day politics compare with that of yesteryear?
It is not the same. I was a teenager in the days of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN). I was already an adult during the days of the defunct Social Democratic Party (SDP). Then, party supremacy was the bedrock of political parties in those days. The party decided who represents them. People abided by the decision of the party. There were no groups within the party. That is not so now. Today, even when the party takes a decision, those who do not agree will form splinter groups and begins to fight the decision of the party. It never happened in the past. In times past, people have a sense of belonging. They saw the party as their property. They did everything to sustain it, including payment of membership dues. They paid dues to belong to the party. They are the ones funding the party. The party had a structure to sustain its members. The way political parties are run these days is different from the way they were run in those days. I used to attend political party meetings with my father. The orderliness in party meetings is not there now. There was orderliness and there was respect. Gradually the leaders of the various political parties are beginning to realise why we need to go back to the way parties were run. That is why we are having problems now.
Why do you choose to go to the Senate?
I had always wanted to do public service but I wanted to equip myself professionally before venturing into it. One of the banes of public service that I have seen is that it is considered an escape route. I believe that you should have proven yourself in your endeavours before venturing into politics. I needed to prove myself in my chosen profession. I wanted to prove myself. I didn’t want people to say because I was not successful as a lawyer I ventured into public service because I am an Adegbonmire. In 1999, I was offered a seat in the House of Representatives in Lagos State and not Ondo State where I come from. A leader said if I don’t want to go to Ondo State, I could run under the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Lagos, but I declined. I declined because the law firm where I am a partner had just started in 1993. We were trying to grow an institution and I felt we were on the right path in terms of developing that practice. We were just six years old and I could not have abandoned it. Apart from that, I wanted to attain the zenith of my career which was becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). I said to myself, when my law firm has grown in leaps and bounds when I have attained the zenith of my career, then I can go into public service. I am now a SAN and my law firm is one of the biggest in this country; employing over a hundred lawyers. If good people don’t get into governance, it is to the detriment of all of us. Whether you say your governor or lawmaker is a stupid person, you must obey them because they have the powers. You cannot sit back and be complaining. It is good to get involved. The only way to effectively help the public is through government no matter how wealthy you are. It is impractical. It is the only government that can create roads, and provide shelter, health care, education and security. Dangote is the richest black man in the world. He cannot use all his wealth to develop Kano. It is only through the government you can help people. You must get into government to change the fortunes of the less privileged.
I have proven myself in my legal practice. I am not going there for self-aggrandisement. I have a passion to help. I have helped a lot of people but I do not need to say it. I realised that true representation is to carry out the ideas of the people you represent and not your idea. In the UPN days, when there was a law introduced in the Senate or the House of Representatives, lawmakers representing the UPN will take the law to a meeting of the party and it will be debated extensively. A position will be taken and the lawmakers both in the Senate and the House of Representatives will then go and pursue the position of the party. That is a true representation of the people. Today, lawmakers take their position without consulting the people they represent. We must return to those days. That is why I want to contest.
But, people do not believe in such ideals. It is always a question of what have you done…
That is the error people make. When it comes to the building of schools, and the construction of roads, those are executive decisions. A lawmaker has no executive powers to construct roads, build hospitals or do any projects. These are appropriated items based on the budget presented. The executives are the ones that take policy decisions. A senator or a member of the House of Representatives has no power to award a road contract but because I represent them, I must go to the appropriate authorities to lobby for the road in my district to be constructed. I can push and push but whoever is responsible has the final say. That is the role I can play. I can go to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and also push for projects our people want. We must lobby and influence road construction and other projects.
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The PDP has always boasted of winning elections in Akure. What do you think of that view?
I do not expect the PDP to say they will lose to the APC. Their opinion is inconsequential. That is what they are expected to say. Political permutations are in my favour as far as winning next year’s election in Ondo Central is concerned. The political permutations favour the APC. We will take advantage of those political permutations but I cannot expose those permutations now. The candidate of the PDP and me are both from Akure. We will battle it out in our town. There are six local government areas in the constituency. Akure South alone will not determine who wins the election. It will not happen the way. They think.
What about people’s attitudes towards the APC?
The people will vote for the APC. We cannot dispute the challenges of insecurity. Is APC doing what it should do? Yes, but may not be enough. I believe the APC has been trying to curb the security challenges. There is economic hardship all over the world. It is emotional to have economic challenges but the present escalation in the cost of energy is worldwide. Prices of fuel are escalating worldwide. The crude we rely on is benchmarked against the world price. It is not a Nigeria decision. If we decide to give ourselves free crude, the free crude will be a loss to the Federal Government. That will lead to a drop in revenue. What we are experiencing today is not peculiar to Nigeria. Payment of subsidies is one of our greatest challenges. People do not want to hear the truth. Revenue is dwindling. Do you know what a trillion naira can do in terms of development?
What will be your area of focus if elected?
Three things: number one is employment. I have to focus on employment. As the country expands we need more qualified personnel to run the country. One of the ways is to de-emphasize paper qualification. We will develop those with skills. The education policy should be changed. If you look at this local government, 65 per cent of the population is under the age of 40. Fifty per cent of those are not employed. They are the future of this state and Nigeria. As the country expands, we need more qualified personnel to run the country. It is not only about paper qualification but experience gathered in working. We have to think outside the box to see how we can help the youths. One way is to de-emphasize paper qualification. Some people have skills but have no way of developing the skills. The education policy should be changed. Let everybody be encouraged to read and write. Many accomplished individuals today didn’t go to secondary school. I will pursue an educational policy that will uplift those with skills. What is the point of having a worthless certificate? I will pursue setting up vocational training all over the country. Let people learn the trade in a modern way. A scheme will be set up and provide support for the beneficiaries. We must think outside the box to give new skills to people. We need to take our youths off the street. I will push for a bill to be passed into law to ensure a change in the way the education system is run. Ondo State is exceedingly endowed. I intend to work with the National Assembly which allows for the decentralisation of power generation. We must decentralize electricity generation. We will make laws that allow the states to develop at their own pace. Look at bitumen in Ondo State but the Federal Government is laying down the criteria for exploiting it. If we are allowed to do certain things at the state level, some of the challenges the states have in terms of revenue will not be there. We need to start pushing for that. We must have policies that encourage farmers. Food being consumable will always have a market. As we increase in population we need to encourage people to embrace farming. Some of the laws are relics of the colonial past. Some are from the military past which has no place in a democracy.
The argument is that we already have so many laws to put the country on a progressive path. What is the problem?
That is erroneous. Law is dynamic. The law is for society and not society for law. When there are changes in society, the law must change to keep pace with such changes. Law is not meant to be static. It is meant to progress. Look at the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has now been passed into law. There were laws before but the PIB is to take care of certain areas, the loopholes in the existing laws. That is why people do not understand what lawmaking is all about. Kidnapping was becoming a menace and that was why various states amended the law. To deter people, you must increase the punishment.
What difference will Adegbomire make?
I am a lawyer. I have practised since 1998. I attained SAN in 2015. I am a man that wants to give back to my people. I want to uplift my people. I am a man that wants development for my people. I believe some laws compelled those in the executive arm to do these things. I want to properly represent my people. I want to be the people’s servant. I am not a deceitful person. I believe my constituents will find me worthy to be their servant.
Some persons are not comfortable with the same faith ticket opted for by the APC. What is your view on that?
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is the next president of Nigeria. He will win the election with a wide margin. I have looked at the three candidates but Tinubu is well ahead. There is nothing wrong with a Muslim-Muslim ticket. I have asked those who cared to listen. Is it because they are both Muslims and do we believe they are fundamentalists and therefore will oppress those who do not share their faith or run a government that will not benefit the masses? We should then look at the persons and not their religious leaning. The bucks will stop on the president’s table and not that of the vice president. Tinubu didn’t marry his wife for political gain. His wife is a Deaconess. She holds vigil in the house and he has never driven her out. After he left office as governor, he brought in Babatunde Raji Fashola who performed excellently well. Did Fashola perform because he is a Muslim? No. You cannot take Lagos State politics from Tinubu. He has promoted several people, not based on religion. Flip it to one of the contestants who married Christian women and converted them to Islam. What about the other contestant that divided Christians in the state between Catholics and Anglicans? Religion has nothing to do with performance. We should interrogate the person’s ability to perform and not his religion. It is the elites that are weighing in on religion. A political party is formed to govern. We, in the APC, have made our decision; people should wait for the ballot to decide. I have done the political calculation; Tinubu will win a landslide. Social media is a strong tool but not enough to win elections. Democracy is a game of numbers. Tinubu is working assiduously. He is not making noise on social media.