Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Debo Ajayi spoke with some reporters in Lagos on the party’s primary and why progressives should win the election. MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE was there.
Why are you in the race for Ekiti governor?
Many people acknowledged the intellectuality of Ekiti State, but there is no evidence of proportionate development to match the level of intellect. I came to realize that one unique asset that Ekiti has which no government in the past had taken advantage of, is the intellectual gift of the people. We know that knowledge rules the world and if Ekiti has that knowledge why don’t we convert it to wealth creation. Why don’t we convert it to providing good governance? Having been out there, working in foreign lands, I saw development first hand. I saw what could happen when nations have visionary leaders. We have seen what good leadership had done for Lagos State, what vision had done for Lagos and we will like to see that happens in Ekiti State. One of my key inspirations is that the fate of Ekiti, being derided and deprived would have to change. Any measure of development in Ekiti will inspired the rest of Nigeria. People have come to expect too much from Ekiti which energizes me. We can transform Ekiti and show the rest of Nigeria what is possible. All the intellectual assets of Ekiti that are abound world over could be tapped into. We can rally them, provide the enabling environment for them to prosper and show the rest of Nigeria what is possible.
So, I am interested in the position of the governor because I see the potential of using Ekiti to showcase to the rest of Nigeria good leadership. This is possible because I have the development background that prepares me to provide good leadership for Ekiti State.
This is not the first time Nigeria would have intellectuals in position of leadership, yet nothing substantial was achieved…
Let me emphasise that policies in every area of human endeavour and even in the corporate world need intellectualism and political skills. When you are dealing with people, you really need to have the political skills. The problem really is not about intellectualism versus political factualism. The problem in Nigeria is that the process of producing leadership is very faulty. That is really where the problem lies. The issue of assessing potential leaders on the basis of tract records, credibility is not there, rather the emphasis is money. For instance if people want to talk about Debo Ajayi running for governor, the first question people will ask is does he have the money? And that breaks my heart because that tells me that people don’t even care about the vision, plans and programme. They don’t want to know how you care about the people, but about money. I know there is need for money in politics because running advertorial, publicity and providing logistic for supporters, cost money. The end result is that the leaders we produce are leaders that perpetuate the terrible system. So, we have bad leadership producing bad followership and bad followership sustaining bad leadership. The circle goes on, but to break it, that is where you need technocrats in politics combining intellectualism and political sagacity. And that is part of what I represent, I am among people that know what they are doing, people that are propelled by their own empathy for the people. That is when we will have the real democracy. So, if you go to Ekiti today, the clamour is that they need someone fresh. They are saying they need someone with clean records, not somebody who had gathered the political experience from the past that comes under scrutiny.
The present governor rode to power on the promise of stomach infrastructure, is the APC towing the same line?
I want to say that stomach infrastructure actually started under the government that I served as commissioner. When people started to think beyond physical infrastructure and trying to deal with their own vulnerability, we recognize that there is need for stomach infrastructure. And if you really understand stomach infrastructure, it is nothing more than care for the immediate need of people. In other words, when you are talking about development, you have to realize that there is a transition between now and that future that you envisage. Every responsible government needs to care for the people; it is when you politicise stomach infrastructure, that you become a manipulator of the people. For example, if you go to Ekiti today, you ask them, was the expectation of stomach infrastructure actually met under Fayose? The answer you get is a resounding no. Governor Fayose popularizing the concept was to win votes but, in the actual situation, the hopes of the people were dashed. When you have financially vulnerable people the concept become so important to them, I am looking forward to providing a government that care for the people now and at the same time plan for their future. So, sustainable development is going to be very important.
The APC has many governorship aspirants . Is this not worrisome?
We don’t have an abnormal list of APC aspirants yet in Ekiti. So, it is not really a major concern. The list is long because it indicates that the trend is in favour of the APC. So naturally, that would attract quality aspirants to contest on the platform of the party. This of course is good for democracy. I am not particularly concerned about that, but what is really important is the process that would generate who emerges APC flag bearer. The process has to be free and fair. It has to be a credible process, so that the chances of APC will not be in endanger by having the wrong candidate. As long as the APC has the right person, that will be good for Ekiti because right now people are so disenchanted with the present administration. They are looking for credible alternative and are hoping that the right governor will come in 2018. That will set Ekiti on the course of leading the rest of the nation in terms of development. I am very positive that if things are properly done, APC will have a good chance, but God forbid if APC loses this chance, that could be the end of the progressives in Ekiti. The next governor will probably want to do everything possible to run for eight years. We are having the current one almost running for four years. That will be 12 years APC will be out of government. This is very critical to the APC, but I am absolutely confidence that will force us to get it right.
Ekiti people probably do not want to support a government that looks too elitist. How will you fit in?
With the level of connectivity that we have with the people and having served under Dr. Kayode Fayemi led administration, I have learnt about what is good about the administration. Therefore, we must make sure we don’t lose. I have equally kept a tab on what we need to amend and what is wrong about that administration that we have to put everything to avoid. I happened to have that privileged, so in terms of elitist which I believe is perception and how we carry people along. There is a school of thought that says if you call a round table in Ekiti of any programme to make the state better, that programme will never get done because of the intellectual debate that it will generate. That school of thought says if you know what is good, go ahead and do it, hoping that at the end of the day people will see what you have done and appreciate you for it.
You may also get it done and people still don’t appreciate. I saw firsthand how hard you can work and people still don’t appreciate. I feel compelled to carry people along in whatever that I am going to be doing. So, if elitist, that is not going to be my style of government and I going to be involved with my people. I do that right now because I know the local joints the people meet and I assembled. There is no leader that can be effective if you are a stranger to your people.
Fayose has anointed his deputy for Ekiti governorship position, has this not push the APC to a tight corner?
Governor Fayose anointing his deputy is within his right. The problem is that sentiment is against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti because Fayose has not delivered on the expectation of the people. There is the overwhelming belief that anointing his deputy is a continuity of Fayose in power. This is what the people are going to dwell on in the coming election. He is entitled to do whatever he wants to do, the people are equally entitled to elect whoever they want to elect. So, what he did is not of serious concern to us. What I have working for me, is that I am the only governorship aspirant that had prior working experience in Ekiti. I am very familiar with legacy of issues that we need to continue and familiar with the people and putting some innovative projects in place. So, as long as the APC gets it primary right, the PDP will never be a threat because it is a spent force in the state.
