Dr. Olusegun Abraham is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State. He spoke with Group Political Editor EMMANUEL OLADESU on his chances at the primary and preparations for the election.
How are you warming up for the primary?
I am warming up very well and things are turning out positively. The whole state has been receptive to my ambition. The response from the grassroots, right from the ward level, has been positive. We set out some months ago. I started my tour of the wards some months ago. No aspirant has traversed the length and breath of the state as I have done. There are some of them that have not been able to do what I have done. The response has been very okay. I am popular in the party at the local, state and national level and people look forward to my emergence.
What transpired at the screening of aspirants?
We were informed about the guidelines for the screening. They looked at what we submitted, our credential and they asked some few questions. They asked from us: apart from you, who else do you think can be the governor? These were some of the questions they asked from us.
Could you shed light on the rumours and denial of rumours of endorsement, in respect of your ambition?
There have been endorsements in Akoko. In fact, the endorsement cuts across the state. Many things are responsible for this. The Akoko youths realised that, in the last 15 years, I have been assisting them educationally, in terms of school fees, meeting their educational expenses, giving them scholarship. I have been setting up small businesses for the less privileged in the society. I have given scholarship to over 200 people. I have assisted some people to go to school overseas and paid their school fees. Youths and their parents have benefitted from these programmes. When the university authority in Akungba actually sent people packing; some of them were to lose a session or semester for not being able to pay N15,000, I came to their aid. I assisted those who could not pay across the local governments. The endorsement by the Akoko youths is gratifying. When the youths begin to do that, you will know the result. people are happy that somebody is coming to this state who will not steal their money.
What are your core plans for the state?
When you look at the problem of Nigerian and Ondo State in particular, you discover that they are two and the two cannot be separated. These are the questions of economy and integrity. Because people don’t have integrity these days, we have lost virtues, we have lost values, we have lost conscience and this has led to corruption. Ondo State is becoming a desert. All the monies that came to Ondo State have been siphoned. They only have cosmetic projects. That is because there is no integrity, and because there is no integrity, there is no value, there is no virtue. You can see that the problem has become more complicated. They can’t add value and the money from Abuja, they siphon it.
On the economic problem, the state has not been privileged to have a businessman in the saddle who can use business discipline, business acumen and international connection to turn its economy around, to turn the opportunities into productive activities, so that we can earn more revenue, so that the state can be bouyant and prosperous.
These are the two goals. Other things flow from them. When we are talking about the economy, we are talking about industrialisation. Every local government should have at least on small scale business that will engage the youths and women. The infrastructures in Akure are completely dead. There is pressure on the infrastructure. They cannot cope because everybody moves from the village to the urban centres. Every village is associated with a particular industry in a country like China. The same thing we are bringing to Ondo State. These industries will be set up with the raw materials there. We will train the youths there so that they can be productive.
The world is now a global village. Our local areas are part of this global village. Whatever is produced here can be used in America and other places. If a cleaner in America works in three hours, the salary is more than the eight naira minimum wage that Nigeria is taking. We must develop our economic activities. A professor in Nigeria may not be able to earn what it takes to feed a dog in America. This must be reversed. The only way is to develop our economic activities and return to values, virtues and good leadership. If I say yes, it must be yes. If I say good morning, it must be morning. There are some people, if they say good morning, yiu must look at your wrist watch before you answer.
You send your driver to buy fuel, he tries to shortchange you. You get to the filling station, the attendant wants to shortchange you. You can’t develop an economy like that. So, integrity and economy are interwoven. The two are inseparable. Today, Buhari is fighting corruption. Thirty years ago, he fought corruption. When he left, nobody to talk about value and virtues again. That’s why anybody can come to Ondo State and divert half of the money meant for education, health and road and think that he is smart. Today, we are a laughing stock across the globe. That’s why Trump was talking to us like that. people are always stealing in Nigeria.
What are your plans for education, health and other infrastructures?
We will revive our education system. We will have a productive education system. We now have certificated institutions; academic people. We have a polytechnic in Owo. It should contribute more to the economy of Ondo State. It should be able to design many things. We will have education without walls. We are going to break the walls. Our educational institutions must meet the needs of the society. Education is about knowledge. If you have knowledge and it is not relevant to the society, it is useless. We should be able to apply knowledge in an appropriate manner.
We are going to look at health in a holistic manner. It is divided into two. We are going to look at the preventive health care system. Then, we will introduce curative health care system. What you have in Nigeria today is the curative health system. When somebody is ill, you take him to the hospital and you begin to treat him. We will like to prevent illness starting from the food the people eat, their lifestyles, what they must do to make them healthy. We don’t want our people to go through pain. We don’t want our people to lose the productive man-hour.
We are going to look at the infrastructural system. We will develop our infrastructure, using our local materials. We will reduce the capital flight. Some roads will be done by expatriates. Some roads will be done by our people. We will use the raw materials we have to develop our state. We will invite investors. Investors don’t just come. They come when they know that there is a market for their products. So, we create markets for them.
We will focus on agriculture. We don’t need fertilizers to grow our agricultural products. Our soil is not polluted with fertilizers. If it is not polluted with fertilizers, then, we can produce organic foods. Organic food is three times more expensive than the normal food. We have the cargo airport that is lying idle. We will use it to export our farm produce so that our farmers can earn dollars. Some people in the civil service will even want to resign to become international farmers. We have a big advantage we can explore. I am not a professional politician. I am a professional in politics. I am an entrepreneur in politics.
The spirit of enterprise is in me. When I see stone, I see money, granite. When I see weed, I see money. I see money littered on the way. I see the waste her as an incomplete process that can become money. It can be converted to toiletries, fertilizers. We need to change the syllabus of our universities. I read Technology Management. We will change the orientation of our ministries and promote inter-connectivity. Our civil servants have initiatives. We will drive them. We must wage war against corruption.
The corrupt people have destroyed our youths. Instead of using the money to build industries, they waste the money. We have unemployment and under-employment. We will also try to secure the environment to prevent crime. I am not going there to make money. I am for the upliftment of the people financially and spiritually. If you love your neighbour, you will not steal the money meant for the development of the state. I don’t think people who have stolen millions and billions from the public treasury should have human rights. Do you know how many people have died through that singular action?
It is your second attempt at seeking the position. How would you rate the process now?
In 2012, I was working. I was popular. The thing was not zoned to me. I said it was not yet time appointed by God. When they decided in 2012, I was smiling. People asked why I was smiling. I told them it was not yet my time. I believe that power belongs to God. I said God, if you will give me power, give me power so that I can impact on the people; that God should give me power in such a way that it will not destroy my soul so that I can make heaven. I did not want power at all cost. I want to be the governor who has the attributes of God; patience and love. Nigerians should follow the path the successful countries have followed. All I want is the success of our party and the progress of our state.
Have you been interacting with other aspirants?
We are talking. We are relating. We crack jokes. We talk regularly. God will make us succeed in life and give us prosperity. We are all qualified. It is a big responsibility we want to shoulder. There is a desire to lead. Not everybody can be governor at the same time. But, we can all serve in different capacities at the same time. Everybody is a building block. Each block has a position. In abroad, you see a driver calling the manager by his name. The driver and the manager sit together. They play complementary roles. Everybody has a duty that is essential and special. All the aspirants, we are equal. God has destined for everybody what he will do.
What do you expect the leadership of the party to do to guarantee a hitch-free primary?
The leaders have experienced. They formed the party. They fund the party. They have been holding primaries. Ondo will not be an exception. We should trust the leaders that they will do what is right. We should learn from them. We can only make some suggestions.
Can an APC candidate from Akoko/Owo axis beat a PDP candidate from Akure?
These are camouflages. In Akure, you see the people of Akoko, Ondo, Idanre, Ekiti, and others. It is a wrong calculation and we are happy.
What is your advice to the INEC in respect of the inconclusive elections?
We must look at the causes. I have not seen anybody jailed for electoral malpractices. The laws should take its course. They are not for decorations. The INEC must prepare. They must be upright. They must promote integrity.
