Mashood Mustapha is a governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara State. In this interview with SINA FADARE, Mustapha argues that the time is ripe to bring the people of Kwara State out of the woods.
At what point did you decide to contest for Kwara State governorship?
Yes, l have seen it all as somebody from the private sector, a legislator, a former commissioner and a Senior Special Assistant on Legislative Matters and Inter-government to the Senate President. I have gone through the phases of governance. With the experience garnered as a successful entrepreneur, one is better placed to serve as governor. The intention is to lift my people from poverty and see how we can actually change the narratives. The only way to do this is the combination of what you have just said. One thing that cannot be bought with money is experience. You can use it for the betterment of the people. I am contesting because l am strategically placed to do this for our people.
Kwara State has been left behind in terms of development, compared to other states created at the same time. What are you bringing to change this narrative?
I would run an inclusive government. If you notice, the people are showing that they are really tired and yearning for a change in whole system. Kwara used to be in the conservative side, which has led us to where we are now, but what is important is a determination to have a change. However the change will not come until the time is right. To me and my colleagues, the time is ripe for that change and that was why the responses from the people are very overwhelming. To those of us who are very close to the grassroots, l can see the cry of agony, neglect and frustration written all over our people; they are all yearning for the time the suffering will be over. That is why l took up the challenge, as somebody who has seen it at all. I want to be an agent for the needed change. When l saw that the powers that be want the oppression to continue, l resigned my appointment as the Special Adviser to the Senate President last January, realising that the only way we can return confident to the people is to remove that barrier. The barrier has created a dichotomy between the government and the people. There shouldn’t be any line of demarcation between the government and the people. Anything that accrues to the government belongs to the people. It is a common patrimony. The era has gone where the government will just decide to do whatever it likes for the people; it should be what the community desires to have that should be provided by the government. By so doing, they will have a sense of belonging. A community may need portable water, but if you fix their roads, it may not be valued at that particular time.
A particular dynasty has been in control of the affairs of Kwara for some time. How would you break this syndrome?
There is nothing that lasts forever. In the recent past, there was a paradigm shift in the system, where the late Dr Abukakar Olusola Saraki, a philanthropist per excellence, did a yeoman’s job in the political space of Kwara and he was appreciated. But, the situation changed since 2011, when the father and his son, Dr Bukola Saraki, took separate paths. Now, the situation has changed; we cannot extend to the son what we did to his father, because time has changed. An individual cannot continue to dictate the political space of Kwara. No way! Nobody will tell the people of Kwara to eat when they are not hungry or to sit down when they want to stand up, or to keep quiet when they are being oppressed. That is why we have gone to this level. We are bringing freedom not only to the polity of Kwara, but quality and a sense of belonging to all, where everybody who is aspiring will be free to exercise his or her fundamental rights without intimidation or threat.
What are you going to offer the people?
I am an advocate of direct primary. If you have gone round the state, they will tell you that l believe in the people and their participation to elect their leaders. I left the other camp, because they are not thinking about how to empower the people but how to enslave them. No, l will not be a party to that; in all my interaction and daily operation, service to humanity has been my watch word. That is what dragged me into politics. I am always happy when l wipe tears from the eyes of the people, by providing a succour for them. I am not desperate to be governor, so I will by the wishes of the people. Anybody that wins in the primary, let others support him. Let everybody know that there will always be another time. This is our state; all hands must be on deck to make it a place where all will be proud to live. The people have seen it all and know the person that can take them to the promise land.
What will be your priority, if you become governor?
We want to introduce what is call practical governance. The governor will not seat down in the office, expecting monthly allocation from Abuja. We are going to use our contacts, both within and outside the country, to create job opportunities for our teaming youths who are presently roaming the streets. We will try to leverage on the support of the Federal Government, to attract needed projects for the state. l was Commissioner for Agriculture. I know the potentials that agriculture can bring in the area of empowerment and job generation to the people of Kwara State. l will go all out to do this, so that within a short time we will get to the promise land. Instead of sitting down in the office, enjoying the paraphernalia of office, l will go out to see how much investment l can attract to the state. We do not have any other place to go; that is why I have invested heavily in this state.
Are you not scared by the level of decadence in the state?
Yes, l am. Recently, l travelled to the nooks and crannies of Kwara South senatorial district, the level of infrastructural decay is scary. The poverty on the faces of our people is even scarier. So, if l tell you l am not scared, it is an understatement. But, l believe that with God and the experience l have l will take Kwara away from the woods.
How did you transform from being a conservative to progressive politician?
It is possible because in life nothing is static. Life is very feasible on its own, even religion that is sacred people still change from one to another. If you believe in one ideology and you feel such ideology is not working for the common purpose of the generality of the people, you can seek a new platform to effect a change. The bottom line is the result; the ability to render service to the people, so that their lives will be positively transformed. The problem with most leaders is that they do not look back to ask the question, why a particular action was taken and to realize that there is a limit to every human endeavor. No matter what you do, there is always a life limitation that you cannot cross, no matter how powerful you are. The moment you know this, you must set your target and priority right and put things together with all zeal, so that politics is separated from governance. Kwara was created in 1976. Some states that are created 20 years, after Kwara was created, are better than Kwara today, in terms of infrastructural development. This is so, because everything was politicised at the expense of the interests of the people at the grassroots. A governor should go out of his way to look for technocrats who can build a virile and dependable system that will be like an umbrella for all to take cover. We should not be too scared about the situation on ground, but the hope for a better tomorrow which we would all build together. I know the time we introduced commercial agriculture which was a laudable initiative, but along the line we derailed and that landed us to where we are today. We are not coming to rubbish anybody, but to take Kwara to the next level. I am saying enough of dancing on a spot without movement; the time is ripe to take Kwara State to the promise land.