Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) is a chieftain of the All Progressives Party (APC). He was the governorship candidate of the then defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Ondo State. Akeredolu plans to contest the November governorship election. In this interview with SEGUN AJIBOYE, the former President of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) speaks on his experience in the last election, the proposed primary and other issues.
Why are you running again?
It is necessary to have a change in the leadership of Ondo State. Governance in the state has in the last seven years, which will now culminate into eight years before the election, been a waste of resources and one is convinced that the time has come for us to make meaningful in the lives of our people and for them to at least have the impact of meaningful governance. To give the people the benefit of good governance so that they can derive the most which you can get from any government.
The PDP has maintained that the APC is not on ground in the state. How confident are you that your party can displace the PDP in the election?
What we need to do is to look at statistics. You see, my confidence is based on and backed by statistics. In the last election, in which you had widespread manipulation, even if we take the figures declared as being right, the LP scored about 35 percent of the votes, we were given 30 percent plus and Olusola Oke was given 30 percent plus. now that Olusola Oke is now in APC, you would agree that the votes that the two of us can gather is enough sign we are not bragging. The defeat which we were able to wreak on the PDP in the presidential election, which of course we won fair and squarely, is fair enough to say that the APC is not bragging. We have members of the House of Representatives and two senators. Can you call that bragging? Sure, that cannot be bragging. We are on ground in Ondo State and we are sure of winning the governorship election.
How would the APC manage the crowd of aspirants that have shown interest in the ticket?
Our party, the ACN at the time, did not fall victim of the crowd of aspirants as you put it. The party adopted a method to pick its candidate. Well, a number of people reacted to it and raised objection, which I believe have been taken into consideration by the party to have a full-fledge primary. With this method now, I believe that there cannot be any form of trouble that the party cannot handle. We are all members of the same family, and by the time of getting the nomination form, we would begin to understand what to do. I am also sure that after the primary, every other person would come forward to support whoever wins. Don’t forget that I have always said that primary is an essential part of party politics. All of us submit ourselves to the process, and for me, if you submit yourself to a process, you have to abide with the outcome of that process.
You’ll agree that Governor Mimiko is one shrewd politician. How do you intend to beat him at his own game?
Mimiko believes he is strong, but he was bruised and battered in the last presidential election. He was there and he campaigned for Jonathan, but he lost woefully. Mimiko’s time has come and gone. There is nothing like Mimiko again in Ondo State. I think what he is trying to do now is to see if he can have a situation whereby he would set, maybe Akure people, against other people. He wants to set the people against one another.
What particular lesson did you take away from the experience of 2011?
The major lesson that I took away from the last election is that, on the last day, particularly on the day of election, you need a core of dedicated people to serve, whether as agents or representatives, or to do things for you. You cannot afford to leave that important aspect of electioneering in the hands of people who are not committed to your cause or the party. people are simply after money. When you have people who are more or less traders, then you are in trouble. So, we would try now to win the primary. After that, we would go ahead to get people who believe in our cause. Any dedicated party man would be will to sacrifice anything for the success of his party. That is one particular lesson that I have learnt, that you don’t go around with people who don’t believe in your cause.
What would be your main goal as governor?
You know that the major responsibility of government is to provide security for your people. And in the light of the problems that we have had, job creation is key to everything. And there is no way that we can continue like this without creating jobs. These would be my major goals. And when I say that Mimiko has failed, let him point to one thing or one major outfit that he established that has created jobs for a thousand people. He claimed he was doing something about agriculture, that he had Ore. But the place is now totally abandoned and has been overtaken by bush. The boys came to complain that they were not paid, and they left the place. H also claimed that he had a ranch, there is no single cow there now. He and I know that agriculture is key, because of all the value chain that it will bring and the employment that will follow it is very important for everybody. We made a lot of money. Aside from Lagos, Ondo State is about the only state that has received the largest allocation. Why is that for eight years, he abandoned a state university, and just at the last hour rushed back there to say he is doing something. Meanwhile, he established a new university. You don’t have to abandon the university in Okitipupa because you want to have a university in Ondo. I am not against establishing anything in Ondo, but you don’t have to cripple the other one because of that. I expect him to build on whatever infrastructure that he met on ground. A number of us have thought that we should have a harbor today, but we don’t have it, despite the fact that we have the longest coastline. We have the Olokola Free Trade Zone project. We had Dangote who showed interest in it, and I think he should made sure that Dangote builds his factory there.
Looking at the financial status of the states, what is that thing that is motivating you to run?
When the going gets tough, only the tough gets going. I am somebody with absolute confidence in my capabilities and capacity. I am never afraid of anything. I often guided by a song by Fela Anikulapo Kuti that says ‘Na goat dey run. A man will stand’. I am a man and I am ready to face anything. That has been my approach. If you recollect my message when I was running for the presidency of the NBA, my campaign mantra was ‘prosecuting our conviction with courage’. So, for me, whatever the problem may be, it is one that a courageous person can tackle. A man who has a vision will see beyond today. And I can see beyond today, the economy of Nigeria will not remain like this forever. I am a man of faith, and in my time, I believe the economy will be good. Even if the economy nosedives, the best of a good leader is to manage the affairs of the state within the resources he has. There are many things that the governor can cut down on. All these we would take into consideration when we get to office. I tell you, the problem is that our people spend too much on frivolities, which they have refused to cut down.
What would you describe as your achievements as a technocrat?
You are asking me to blow my own trumpet. But, why not blow it? I have not been a technocrat all my life. I had been the attorney-general of my state, which means running a ministry. I was the Chairman of Legal Aid Council of Nigeria. And my records are there to show. As the attorney-general, we laid a foundation that other states are now trying to follow. The governor then, Onyeregbulem was riding a 504 car, but we made sure that the chief judge had a Mercedes car. It was after we did it in Ondo State that the Supreme Court judges were given Mercedes cars. I did all that because I believed that we needed to enhance the status of judges. All my life as bar activist, I have fought for improving the status and remuneration of judges.
How do you intend to resolve the quagmire in Owo and Akoko politics, particularly considering the number of aspirants from the senatorial zone?
We are where we are today because of our disconnect with history. You see, a number of us contesting do have a disconnect with history. I take the north senatorial district, comprising Akoko, Owo and Ose, and I try to trace the history of our political relationship. There has always been this relationship among us, so there is no need for any conflict. But, I know that we are going to resolve it at the end of the day. You see, our sense of equity will help us to resolve it. When you talk of a sense of history, we have had Baba Adekunle Ajasin from Owo/Ose, who had been governor. We had Baba Adebayo Adebafarati from Akoko. He too had been governor. When he was governor, we had the senator from Owo/Ose. But now, we have a second term senator from Akoko, so why do we have this problem. In the last eight years, we have had two deputy governors from Akoko, it has produced senators. So, with this, I know that the people will reason, even if the aspirants refuse to reason. The people’s sense of history and equity will prevail at the end of the day. We are all part of the same family, and we cannot afford to alienate a section of the family. We have had a governor form the south for six years. We have a governor from the cntral for eight years. So, naturally, our sense of fair play, equity and history would prevail.
