Chief Oladeji Fasuan, an elder statesman and rallying point in the struggle for the creation of Ekiti State, has had the privilege of serving as the chief executive of the largest government-owned business conglomerate in the old Western Region. He has also served as a permanent secretary in the old Ondo State as well as a federal commissioner of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) and Chairman of Ekiti Council of Elders, among other high profile positions. Fasuan, who will clock 86 tomorrow, shares birthday with Nigeria as well as Ekiti State. The octogenarian spoke with ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA on the striking coincidence of his birthday with state and country, the struggle for creation of Ekiti State, the performance of the Buhari administration and the current cries for the restructuring of the country, among others.
First of all, congratulations on your birthday, as you will be clocking 86 tomorrow. How does it feel to share birthday with both your country and your state?
I thank God that I am alive and in reasonable health, because there is nobody in perfect health. As for my birthday, which comes up on October 1, it is a wonderful coincidence. I had thought that I was born on September 6, 1931 until a few years ago when I saw my father’s handwritten diary that I was born, according to him, on ‘1 Oktomba 1931’. He wrote it in his diary in Ekiti dialect.
It is so coincidental. It is the work of God. As you said earlier, I share birthday with Ekiti and with Nigeria. It is a coincidence I never dreamt I could have, and it is the work of God, because God has a way of paying back or rewarding honest and conscientious commitment in our environment.
Can you share with us some of your notable experiences whether at school in Christ’s School, Ado-Ekiti, Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone or in your distinguished public service career?
There are so many things I cherish and some of these things have been highlighted in two of my books. My life has been one of positive accidents. For example, I went to Christ’s School by accident. It was sometimes in July 1945 when I was in Elementary Four at St. Andrew’s School, Are-Ekiti that my teacher forwarded my name to (Archdeacon) Dallimore of Christ’s School to write entrance examination to Christ’s School in July, 1945. And he sent it not out of goodwill or best wishes for me. He wanted to punish me, according to him, for being at all times frivolous in the class. But the punishment turned out to be a direct blessing. So I wrote the examination in July and by August, the result came out and I came out in a unit among the Ekiti contestants. I could have ended up in Standard Six and come out as a pupil teacher but I veered off to secondary education by accident.
Throughout my life, there have been positive accidents, so I remember them. Secondly and most importantly, I was a Director in what was then called Western Nigeria Development Corporation (WNDC), which later became Industrial Investment and Credit Corporation (IICC), Cocoa House, Ibadan. It was the predecessor of the Odua Investment that we have today. I was the number two in the hierarchy of the IICC. I was the Director of Investment, next to the Chief Executive Officer. When (Major General David) Jemibewon came in 1975 as the governor of Western State and Gen. (Olusegun) Obasanjo was in Lagos as the military head of state, he had a policy to shed what they called “excess load” in the public service, civil service proper, the parastatals, the judiciary and even the academia. Many people were let go. The criteria were old age, incompetence or lack of integrity or overstaffing.
Jemibewon asked the chief executive to name who should go at Cocoa House, using those four criteria. And to be fair to him, he did not send my name. But later when they insisted that there must be some people who missed some of the four criteria, he then decided to send my name. But he forgot that barely six months earlier, I was promoted a director. So, Jemibewon asked him in another letter why I should go, having regards that I was promoted a director barely six months earlier. He recanted, saying that it was a mistake; that Fasuan should not go, that Fasuan was honest, that Fasuan was diligent and that there was no overstaffing. Jemibewon became violently angry and wrote that the man must go now, that the man was dishonest and Fasuan must take his place now. That was how I became the chief executive of the corporation.
It was the first time in history when there would be no interview or no competition. For somebody who wanted to denigrate me and put me to shame, he was not only reprimanded, he was sacked and they asked me to take his place. So, I went through that kind of thing in life. The only thing I didn’t become by accident was permanent secretary because I was overdue for it. I received more than 50 telegrams, all of them saying, ‘congratulations for this belated promotion,’ because I was already on Grade Level 17 as General Manager, Ondo State Investment Corporation, which was number the one corporation by performance.
And finally, the Ekiti State project. I started that idea in this living room in May 1991. I had retired in 1986 when I reached the statutory age of 55. But I thought what would I be doing for the rest of my life? When we got to Ondo (State), so many questions arose that made me believe that there should be a new political entity in this area. I collected a number of friends and collaborators and I was struggling for the next six years. We engaged the leadership of the Obas, led by the Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, who was barely three months old on the throne. We gave all the leadership that was required. We were six in the Western Region asking for states. Six requests, and we were going to be given only one slot.
There were requests for Ijebu State; for Coastal State, a state along the coast from Ikorodu to Agbabu; we had requests for Ibadan State; Oduduwa State; Oke Ogun State and Ekiti State. In terms of material wellbeing, we were the least. But in terms of sheer brilliance and commitment, none of them surpassed us. So out of six, the then Provisional Ruling Council (PRC), chaired by Gen. Sani Abacha, approved our status among five other applications on the 1st of October, 1996.
That was the climax of my public service to date and I thank God for it. It was the grand finale and not ante-finale.
October 1 marks the 21st anniversary of the creation of Ekiti State. Have the dreams of its founding fathers been realised?
I must be frank, there were many things that we had in mind, the first being development at our own pace, using the raw materials that abound in Ekiti State, especially human and material resources. We thought we were monolithic and homogenous; all of us were a sub-clan of the Yoruba nation. From Ikere to Efon Alaaye on this side, from Ikere to Imesi Lasigidi on the other side, no majority, no minority. This is quite different from other parts of Western Nigeria where there are four, five or six sub-ethnic groups. The Ekiti people consist of one sub-ethnic group. We had high hopes. Unfortunately, in many areas of life, our hopes have not been realised. I must be frank with you, as of today, the thing we mostly thank God for is that Ekiti is in being and that as long as there is a country called Nigeria, there will be a state called Ekiti. From that imperative, we can thank God.
But for the records, I need to say this: one of the things that one can be proud of in the new political entity called Ekiti is the commitment of certain elements in our society in the development of the environment, and one outstanding personality in that category is Afe Babalola. The university which he built here by whatever definition and qualification is one of the rarest investments by any single individual anywhere in the world. I understand Afe had options to site it in Ibadan with free land and other beneficial variables, but he opted to install that institution in Ekiti. I think if we were still part of the old Western Region, Western State or old Ondo State, he wouldn’t have the heart or the audacity to install such a multi-billion naira institution here. So, this is one of the successes of the idea of Ekiti State, apart from himself being a substantial part of that struggle.
The Muhammadu Buhari Administration is more than two years in office now. You are apolitical and whatever view you express now people will tend to believe you. What is your assessment of the performance of the Buhari Administration since May 29, 2015 when it came into power?
I think one has to be very, very fair. Before Buhari came in, there was a lot of rot. There were no physical bouts; people fighting themselves rather than Boko Haram. But the Nigerian nation was on the brink. The corruption in this country had no precedent. Of course, the revelations in the last 12 months support this. The mud, the filth and everything bad is so much that it would take an angel to clean them in few years. Certainly, Buhari is not an angel just as you and I are not angels. The only thing he has above many people is commitment. Many people have high integrity as he does but few people can achieve his level of commitment. So it was the wonderful work of God that Buhari came into office at the time he came. You can see the revelations: people locking up billions of naira in kitchens, in makeshift toilets, offices, everywhere. Apart from the money they steal out of the country, only three days ago, I read in the papers that many of the property that has been seized or assessed or being proposed to be seized from the former Minister of Petroleum Resources was N70 billion. Now, there has never been a time that Ekiti has more than N2 billion as its monthly allocation. Variously we got between N1.2 billion and N1.5 billion. Imagine N70 billion traced to a single person. That is all the allocations put together for two to three years for Ekiti State. That was where we were coming from and how do you expect a human being, Buhari or whoever, to clear that rot within two years, elevate the economy, orientate Nigerians and re-orientate them again? It takes time.
When you want to achieve something either as a politician or ordinary Nigerian, you have a list of priorities. You re-examine these priorities from time to time. What was number one yesterday could be number three today and vice versa. That is what the man is doing. I appreciate him and God will give him life to lead this country even more.
There have been clamour for in many quarters for the restructuring of the country, especially since the Buhari Administration came to office, with some observers noting that such clamour did not arise during the immediate past administration. The question is how do we go about this issue of restructuring?
You have raised an issue which is very germane; that why are people now raising it during the current administration? Critical question. The people who lost out yesterday are in the forefront today. Restructuring has many political interpretations, the main one being we have been marginalised, let’s weaken the Federal Government; let’s take more from the centre to the state. Two, let’s manage our own resources, for our fortunes and misfortunes; if we have some fortunes left, we donate to the centre. This is self-serving on the part of our people across the Niger.
But our people here, they have been indoctrinated. The people in the West have become artificial socialists. When we were part of the West, development was not even; it was concentrated in what now constitutes Ogun State because we were led in large measure by technocrats and politicians from Ogun State. There was a period we had 12 permanent secretaries in the West, eight of them came from Ijebu and Abeokuta provinces. So, Ondo and Ekiti had been marginalised for all time. I repeat, Ondo and Ekiti had been marginalised. And the people crying for restructuring now, they want us to revert to regionalism. That in itself is not bad. What is bad is that they want us to knock at Ibadan before we could go to Abuja; create an intermediary administration.
On the other side of the Niger, the reason for restructuring, which is barely one year old there, is that they think, quite wrongly, that they are being marginalised. I did my research in the last three years and I knew that prior to two years ago, clearly 72 per cent to 75 per cent of all political appointments, of all senior management appointments in all federal parastatals, particularly in finance institutions, were from South South and South East. Less than 20 per cent went to the North and less that 5 per cent to the West. There was no cry of marginalisation for six years; no cry of restructuring. Now the grapes are sour. Let us be honest with ourselves.
There is nothing wrong with restructuring. My own idea of restructuring is that certain things that are being done and certain functions that are being done, certain constitutional issues that are attached to the Federal Government should be given to the states to handle. But to create intermediary administrations again or to try to put together two or three states ought not to happen. In the past, our eyes have seen ‘red’ in the West. Those of us from Ondo and Ekiti States, our eyes have seen ‘red’ and we don’t want to see red again.
What of the agitations for self-determination? How do we address them, especially the latest Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) uprising and the likes?
Well, this again emanates from selfishness. Some people have suggested that the young boys and guys clamouring for Biafra Republic are now in effect asking for separation. They are looking for balanced appointments in the Federal Government. That’s all. If Buhari today arranges a table to be surrounded by the contestants and re-divides positions among the ethnic groups, there will be nothing like that again. It’s a subterfuge, a blackmail to say we want more positions from the Federal Government. Although one has to admit that the appointments are more lopsided in favour of certain areas in the North. Taken together, all the time, it is the West that loses. The South South and South East had their days. The North is now having its day. When Obasanjo was there, he distributed things evenly, despite that, the Yoruba were not better off. Obasanjo has conscience. He didn’t concentrate appointments and resources in one particular region. That was the only interlude we had. T the others were self-serving regional administrations.
Another issue that has occupied the public domain of recent is the issue of the National Assembly. A good number of Nigerians believe that the National Assembly is taking so much resources of the country and that the nation does not need a bicameral legislature. What is your take on this as an elder statesman?
This is very interesting, not only do I share the view that we don’t need a bicameral legislature at the centre, I will even advocate a part-time legislative arrangement. Today, there is a gulf between what they say they earn and what they really earn. I was very much disturbed last week when I saw the Acting Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC). I was once a Federal Commissioner there. I was one of those who sat down and devised salaries and allowances of all political office holders, from councillorship to presidency and judicial officers. There was nobody in any position that earned more than N1 million per month, all allowances put together.
The acting Chairman of that Commission went on air last week. You could see his body language because he was talking through his nose. Excuse my language, stating the approved and recommended one by the Commission to the National Assembly. But nobody asked him, ‘Mr. Acting Chairman, these are your recommendations, but what is on ground?’ All he said, nobody earns more than N2 million, but in actual fact, the papers say they are earning more than N14 million. Some people say it is between N21 million and N24 million per month. Okay, if these figures are not so, if they are not correct, why is it difficult for them to lay their cards on the table? I keep on wondering.
I think the President of this country or the Head of the Public Service of Nigeria honestly have the right to call on the Clerk of the National Assembly and say ‘come with your pay slip or pay sheet.’ Call the Head of the Public Service of the Federation or the President of this country should call on the ordinary Clerk of the National Assembly, lay bare on the table what your people earn. It still agonises me that is it beyond the President of this country or the Head of the Public Service to do that? I hope one day, somebody will do it. I have a fear, and it is as we move dangerously towards the brink, the number of the educated unemployed is increasing progressively. I fear that one day, one million unemployed graduates will just march on the National Assembly and sack it. That will be a tragic day for Nigeria. I hope it doesn’t happen. But the solution lies within.
Nobody seems to be honest about it. You cannot say you are honest with the fact that the legislature is so independent and now constitutes a government within government. You cannot say it is another country by itself that cannot be held accountable. What kind of Constitution is that? That is not right. It means some of the people in the Presidency, I mean the executive, are not honest themselves. If they are honest, they will be able to say no. Let’s call this thing by its name. You this people, open your books, let us see what you earn, full stop!
Then how can we get it right in governance in Nigeria, either in the executive, judiciary or legislature from the grassroots level to the Presidency?
You must have been reading in the last few months what happened to the executive, prime ministers, presidents of many countries in the Americas, in South America, the Carribbeans, even the Europeans where heads of state and governors have been jailed or have been removed or impeached. A tragedy that is called Nigeria is the impunity created by presidents and governors not being accountable. What do you call it? Constitutional immunity. If a president or a governor goes about with a cutlass, cutting everybody’s head around him, nothing can happen to him. That is day one of our restructuring. Remove the immunity. Let everyone be equal under the law, then I as president or governor will know that I am not superhuman and that I am not a special creation. That I am as ordinary as every other creation on the street. Until we do that, Nigeria is not going anywhere. We are going to jump up and jump up without moving forward, because when you see what some people are doing in the North, in the East and even in the West, squandering money on the imponderables, things that are not important. So we have to re-order and rewrite the Constitution and remove the immunity clause which breeds impunity.
As a respected elder statesman in Nigeria and in Ekiti State, you are full of experiences here and there. What would you like to be remembered for by the time your Maker calls you home?
Broadly speaking, I will like to be remembered for what people think about me. But as far as I can see myself, I say things as they are. If there is a dispute between my own biological child and somebody from Kaura Namoda or Port Harcourt, whichever, I say things as they are. I have no double standards in my life. I am trying to raise my children in that way and I try to put it into my family members. Go straight, walk straight and talk straight. I leave it to the coming generations to decipher my life pattern and then give it a name after me.
