Independent 20170816-readme.ng

INDEPENDENT WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 16, 2017 /<strong>Independent</strong>ngr @independentngr www.independent.ng D5
‘Politicians Must Not Be Jobless People’
Politics
•CONTINUED FROM D4
before he remembers he is
from Texas or Dallas. The
disaster we have in Nigeria
is that we didn’t form nationality
citizenship whereby
you are first a Nigerian
before you remember your
tribe. It is that disaster that
is still hunting us till date.
How come that my children
who didn’t grow up in Ekiti,
but in Kaduna, cannot have
same rights as others in
that state? Our systems are
designed in such a way that
even when they were going
to Armed Forces Primary
School, to even get that form
filled, I needed to first get a
local government chairman
of my state of origin. By the
way, I was born in Ile-Ife.
But, these leaders who are
doing these would get their
own wives travel to London,
New York, deliver there and
claim all the rights of those
countries. But, here, we
cannot do that. This is what
has led us to where we are,
where people have the gut to
be calling other Nigerians by
their tribes. It is because all
of us have not first formed a
nation where we have a common
citizenship that we are
Nigerians. The only exception
is maybe when we are
playing football. We should
be a Nigerian first and that
is what Chapter 2 of the Nigerian
Constitution says. We
need to put it into effect.
How far have you gone with
your desire to rule Ekiti State?
I am not one of those who
wait to be drafted because
that is not leadership. I
have been fully trained, prepared
with the wisdom and
the knowledge necessary to
serve any group of people,
even the entire country. But,
I want to start from Ekiti
State. In the whole of my
town, there is no electricity
in this modern world. Look
at those children, their libraries
are on the internet.
Even to get forms for exam
purposes, they are on the
internet. Have we not sentenced
the next generation
to destruction? This is my
own passion and motivation.
I am not here for the love of
power; I am determined to
recognise that the only legitimate
and lawful ways
is to have a democratically
elected government with a
leader with good character,
who can develop the entire
land for peace and progress
of the society.
We are blessed. Ekiti State
has the capacity to be the
food basket of the whole of
West Africa. I know when
President Buhari was campaigning
in Ado Ekiti, he
made a promise of an airport,
which we plan to make
an agro-airport, just like
Kebbi State. Even now, some
good leaders in the North,
Kaduna State for example,
Owolabi
Reasonable people
should within the
authority support
each other. I must
support Fayose
even though we
are in different
political parties. He
too must support
Buhari because
he’s the head of
the country today
has been able to key into the
Federal Government plans
and their own leadership
acumen to get the people to
be enjoying travels from the
state to all over the world
now. We shall also ensure
that from Ekiti State, people
can go all over the world.
But, that require leadership.
This is why I tell my followers
that my political party
is Ekiti State. But, Ekiti
State is part of Nigeria. I do
not believe that we should
make the mistake of the
past where the Yoruba leaders,
for example, were more
of regional politicians. This
country belongs to all of us.
Until it is restructured, power
and resources reside with
the Federal Government.
Those resources are for all
of us.
I am telling my people
through this medium to understand
that the basis for
choosing the political party
to support is that which
controls the Federal Government.
We need to tap into
our resources as a nation
to develop Ekiti State, too
just as they are developing
other parts of Nigeria. It
would be a suicidal mission
for anybody to do otherwise.
Anything sectional, it can’t
stand. The state can’t pay
workers’ salaries now. It is
the Federal Government
that is bailing it out. It is
a shame. So, we have to be
reasonable, not because I am
a retired military man who
was schooled in patriotism.
Quite frankly, Nigeria as a
nation is great. If I had my
way, it would be like China
where we have only one national
party. But the focus
should be to develop the nation
and not the pockets of
individuals. That requires
people who can think out of
the box, people who are leaders
and have the strength
and courage of the Biblical
Joshua because the job at
hand is very difficult. The
road may be very complex,
but leaders must have the
courage, strength and character
to ensure that we succeed
in this nation.
What is your assessment of
the present government in the
state?
There are seven dangerous
character traits that are
responsible for failures and
disasters even in politics.
Anybody who has anti-authority
attitude is a disaster
waiting to happen. Every
one of us is to support whoever
God puts in a position.
Whether he’s a David, Herod
or Nebuchadnezzar it is irrelevant.
I tell everybody
around me that anybody
who abuses Governor Ayodele
Fayose would leave my
camp because you are indirectly
abusing me too. I am
from this state and as at today,
he’s the number one citizen
of this state. Also, anybody
who abuses President
Buhari is insulting himself
and also insulting all of us
because Buhari is the head
of the country today. So,
people with anti-authority
attitude are very dangerous.
Reasonable people should
within the authority support
each other. I must support
Fayose even though we are
in different political parties.
He too must support Buhari
because he’s the head of the
country today. We are in a
nation where we don’t support
people because they are
not in our camp. We must
communicate with each other.
We must respect each other
even though we disagree.
We once had a President in
this country that drove away
his Vice-President, just because
they disagreed. Those
are not the good traits of
leadership. It’s like a pilot
who drove out his co-pilot.
Of course, they are going
to crash. They must work
together, they must respect
each other.
Also, we must educate
each other. A political leader
or a governor should not
be the one who sits on a seat
and be collecting salaries,
cheating people. You are
supposed to educate the people.
That is what we call the
leader. Also, a leader must be
assertive. We now train our
co-pilots that they are not extra-tyres.
The captain may
be better than you, but he’s
not the deputy God. We are
prone to errors, but we can
only be safe if we operate as
a team. That is what we are
lacking here and that is why
we are failing.
Politicians should not
be jobless people, you must
have a second address. That
is why we have this buying
and selling of votes. We
should have seen you succeed
in something before
venturing into politics. A
man who has not succeeded
in anything, why are you
surprised that he’s crashing
your state or country? They
are disasters waiting to happen.
In my own situation, I
am fully prepared by God.
What I am saying is that
leadership is what we should
take very seriously. That is
why I coined my political
movement ERA (Ekiti Restoration
Agenda), which is to
restore the political dignity
and honour of Ekiti State,
the Fountain of Knowledge,
but has become the butts
of jokes all over the world;
home of Professors being
ruled by people who hardly
know their left from right.