Hon. Bimbo Daramola is a former member of the House of Representatives and Director-General of the Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation for the 2014 election in Ekiti State. The governorship aspirant spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU in Lagos on his ambition, the cracks in the Ekiti State All Progressives Congress (APC) and how the opposition party can bounce back to power in the Fountain of Knowledge.
Why do you want to be governor of Ekiti State?
Why do I want to be governor? I give you an illustration. Somebody wants to send his family to Lagos from Ado; his wife and kids. Someone has to drive them. Somebody goes ahead to get a driver for him. Somebody who is present at that point when the decision is to be made intervenes and says he knows the person you are putting behind the wheels to drive your lovely wife, precious kinds and the car you cherish to Lagos. The person begins to warn you not to let this man drive your family to Lagos. You ignore the advice. You agree to let the man you have been advised against to drive the car. Before they get to Ilesa, there was an accident. A person has been calling persistently. You pick the call. You were informed that, unfortunately, you lost your family. The first thing that will come to your mind is: you were warned. You lost your family, investment and vehicle. That’s the scenario we are in today in Ekiti. I liken Ekiti to that precious family, much adored children, that adorable wife. I am saying you should not entrust the adorable family into the hand of a drunken sailor. Ekiti cannot afford to go by the way of uncharted water by now. We have seen the best of Ekiti in the past three years. I warned Ekiti people. And here we are today. Am I going to keep quiet and wash another four years of Ekiti to be consigned into the dustbin of history. The future of Ekiti is very precious to me now. If we consolidate on the past years of Ayo Fayose, his political philosophy, what he exemplifies, it will be the darkest period of our history. I am crying to the stakeholders and delegates and others who will make the critical decision as we go into the election to look at the aspirants, our pre-gubernatorial aspiration history and let it be a pointer of sorts. The past could also be the key to the present and the way to the future. The future of Ekiti is very precious to me.
It appears that the governorship aspirants on the platform of the APC in Ekiti are building their aspirations without building the party….
I believe strongly that I have utmost respect for the likes of Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, Asiwaju Segun Oni and my brother and senior in Christ School, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi. But, the truth of the matter is that there is a hierarchy of leadership and what leadership should do is to point in the direction that the followership should go. The followers are coming after them. They are older than me by age. They have been governors before. But, the truth of the matter is that we are all obligated; we are all at different levels of leadership. They are at a level of leadership. I am at a level of leadership. All of us who by circumstances, design, default, providence have been given an opportunity to have a voice in the politics of Ekiti under our party, we have much to do. We can do much more. This is a time everybody should come together. If we are to take the state backs, restore and recover, we need to work extra hard and I am afraid we don’t have too much of time.
Does the high number of aspirants not portend disaster for the party, ahead of the primary?
Without doubt, it does. Yes, they have the political liberty to vie. They have constitutional privisions backing them. But, if there are 40 people running around in a state that has 16 local governments and 177 wards, and one year before the election, the party is divided into 40 units, at what time should we begin to separate the weed from the wheat? Some of the people running around today are also planted into the party. They are not sincere people. How many of them have the credential and the DNA of the APC? How many of them are die-in-the-wood APC people? Some of them have been panted into the party to divide us and tear us apart? They look like angels on the face, but they are devil within. We want our leaders to quickly look at Ekiti APC at this point in time. If we must get Ekiti State back from Governor Fayose, who is popular, we will need a man who can galvanise enough support base. Forty people go to primary. People will be desperate. No, we don’t even have one united communication. Fayose is putting a kind of food in people, which may not be the best and they are used to it. I urge our leaders to look at the dynamics that will unfold as we prepare for the primary. We have 40 people running around and saying different things. The other time, one aspirant was saying bad things about another aspirants. How do you now galvanise their supporters together? In the process of saying that they have constitutional guarantee to aspire, we should be able to evaluate those aspirants whose DNA reflect the APC.
Is zoning likely to be an issue during the electioneering?
I doubt that. I respect people’s sentiments. I respect people’s feelings. We are at a critical junction where whoever that will be the governor of Ekiti will not parade just one credential and that credential is that he is from the South. You really need more than that to convince us. You need to know where we are. This is a party that has history. Nobody can come to us that this is just another party. We ere coming from somewhere. AC hd its trajectory. We must carry on with the institutional memory of where we were coming. Where did we fall? There must be an appraisal. When a child falls, he looks at the front. When an elder falls he looks at the back. Why do we urge people to look back? You have recourse to history because you want to be guided into your future. If we ignore our past and feel that the present does not matter, how do we proceed, knowing that we cannot entrust Ekiti into the hands of unsteady people at this point in time? The very critical situation in our history as a people is that our values, identity has totally been taken away from us. Anywhere you go as an Ekiti man, once they know, they make out at you. When people say stomach infrastructure, Jesus was the first person to do stomach infrastructure. But, Jesus didn’t do it with manipulative and exploitative intention. Jesus did it constrictively; before he have them the food of life, he gave them the food of the flesh. He fed them, and afterwards, he gave them the food of life. Jesus did not do that to manipulate them. He did not do that to denigrate them. He didn’t do that to demean them. If Governor Fayose does that and he still build schools, roads, and we will know it is not manipulation. In one breath, you are giving N200 to everybody on the streets, eating ponmo with them, lets us see tangible developments that go with that.
Have you discussed your aspiration with your former boss, Dr. Fayemi?
Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Ilufemiloye I, Asiwaju Segun Oni and Otunba Niyi Adebayo are my leaders. I hold them in high esteem. Yes, I have discussed with Dr. Kayode Fayemi. I have met Otunba Niyi Adebayo. I have discussed with him. I have discussed with Dr. Fayemi twice on this matter. So, I am sure I have met with them and discussed with them. They have not told me to back down. Up to this time, none of them have told me not to do it. I am too sure that all these leaders know that I have paid my dues in this party and I say that very humbly. I am coming into this election with the institutional memory of what we have done, rightly and wrongly. I am in good position to consolidate on the good works of Asiwaju Segun Oni, to advance the god work done by Dr. John Kayode Fayemi and I am in a good position to deepen the meaning of what all of them have done together. I have been a part of the processes that brought these leaders to power. I have the institutional memory and energy to drive Ekiti to the horizon of progress. I have tremendous respect for them. What we need to do at this time is to heal the wounds, mend the cracks with the party. Our people need a fresh diet, not only stomach infrastructure, but progress across the sectors. This is the reason I am contesting. I am bringing equity. I was the Director-General of Kayode Fayemi Campaign Organisation. I have not lost equity till today. Once your equity in an enterprise increases, it gives you much responsibilities to do.
If tomorrow Dr. Kayode Fayemi now joins the governorship race, would you still slug it out with him at the primary or step down for him?
I honestly believe that, going by what he told me, having not told me anything besides that up to now, even when we met last year, I will continue with my ambition to serve Ekiti. Yes, he told me something about Ekitigate and I agree with him. I have the picture of all that is going on. Like him, I am one of the people still looking for explanation and solution and answer to what happened in the last election. For a man who did so well in office, for a man who serve the people well, we believed that he needed four more years to consolidate on what he had done. But, he couldn’t get it then. When we are still busy seeking solution for June 1, 2014, I think we should also prepare for June 21, 2018. We were committed to Dr. Kayode Fayemi’s aspiration to get a second term in June 21, 2014. It was a collective struggle. He was the symbol. All of us who were in the struggle are interested in the solution that he is seeking. I personally do not understand the fuller understanding of what is going on. While he is still looking for answers to those things, we should also prepare so that we are not caught pawns down; so that June 2018 does not come without being prepared.
The issue of stepping down does not even arise because, up to now, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has not told me that he wants to run. I was his DG. I was part of his strategy team for eight months. He is my brother. I have tremendous respect for him. I put my life on line for what I believe him, for the struggle, for what Dr. Fayemi exemplified. I am too sure I enjoy his confidence. If he is going to run, he will tell me. Asiwaju Segun Oni who does not owe me anything has said that he wants to run. We will entertain that when we get to the bridge. The delegates will assess his aspiration to return to the Government House. If he is going to run and he has not told me up to now, I will abide by what he had told me before and continue with my aspiration.
What are the mistakes APC should avoid or avert to get to power in Ekiti?
We need to be clear about what is the political philosophy of our party. Who are the people who can connect with the philosophy of our party? Many don’t realize that one of the things our party stands for is to be able to impact on the lives of the people, not by tokenism, but in tangible terms. For instance, that he is tarring the roads outside, not the stomach. I am not saying that people should not take momentary succour and support from government. But, what distinguishes our party from others is how much of impact we have made in education, in health, infrastructural development, sports and other areas. We must identify the fact that we are not seeking power for the sake of getting power alone. We should look at who did what and how. In the run up to that election, the election that did not go our way on June 21, 2014, there were some issues people raised. The way I sold my candidate at that time, I felt he was the best choice. I was prostrating and begging people to bear the pains. Some people didn’t show up at the election. Some were harassed. Those of us who put our lives on the line, we were standing by our conviction. We should as a party realize that the past four years have not added value to our party, our state and to the lives of our people.
How will you convince Ekiti people to vote for the APC, in the light of the fact that the economy has not improved under this administration at the centre?
That’s one of the reasons I said if we are to change the philosophy of Ekiti people, we need to work hard to do that. We understand that the economy is struggling to get out of the recession. But, the truth of the matter is that people have to endure the transient pain for future pleasure and prosperity. Sometimes, adversity can be very beautiful. Prosperity may have the potential of destruction. Adversity has the potential to unite. We are at the valley of adversity at this time for us to climb up the mountain of prosperity. So, what will I be using to campaign to the people? Look at my years in the House of Representatives. That was four years of humble service. From my pocket, I built a 32-bed hospital, American standard, and I handed it over to Ekiti Sate Management Board. I want them to know that people we provided work for, the motions that we moved. I was in touch with the people. The same Bimbo who was in the struggle from 2006, through through 2011, to 2005 that we left pwer, is the same Bimbo that is coming out now, even more determined to defend the value sna d integrity of the Ekiti people. We will also point out to the people the 16 years of wastage under the PDP. Look at the revelations today about corruption. The government is fighting corruption. We can talk about anti-corruption. We can talk about focus. I plead with delegates and leaders should forensically look at the aspirants, what we have represented in the past, what we represent now and what we can represent in the future. If we do that, the ticket will be handed to a steady person, who has the capacity to chart a good course and he will led the party to victory.
