Whether you like it or not, there would be rain, it is not something that you can avoid, you can’t. Nigerians create the problems for themselves because you will block the drainage where you are expected to have free flow of water, all the trash in their homes are going to be dumped there, where do you expect this water to go? They say water will find its level, even if it is blocked, it will find its level, either it goes straight into your house or finds somewhere to escape, it must move so if we try to cooperate with government and not to put thrash in the drainage the flow will be easier and you can avoid the damage storm can do in the environment. Go to Oshodi, the drainage system has been blocked. We were there. About three years ago we saw that the place was so much prone, a big canal was blocked, tyre, everything was dumped inside the canal and the canal is not something that you can be dredging every year. If you have a government property the community must take over the control, if not, they are the ones that are going to be affected. That’s why we are promoting CDC, CDA now. We are engaging them, whatever you have now, you give it to the CDA, whatever happens to your property, it is your problem, it is no more the government, the government has provided it, you looks after it.
You cannot be in Alausa to know what is going on in Ajagbandi for example, so it is the community. When they are doing damages to the roads that have just been constructed, some people will say they want to pass the pipe and they will dig the road, the road that has been done with billions of naira and you cut it because you want to pass water into your house and again you start having bumps everywhere. If government has spent money on the road, it is not only you, they have to spend money on other projects, we cant be coming to your area all the time to repair the damages that have been caused in that community. And that is why they are handing over these projects to the CDC. CDA, it is now your responsibility to look after it.
And Asiwaju Tinubu can spend his last penny on any poor man that he finds in a situation. I have never seen any person who is overwhelmingly concerned about the poor…. But I believe genuinely that he has the interest of this country at heart and that’s why some of us follow him. You know his age and you know mine but it is not age. God can put a small boy somewhere who is so brilliant and if God says he is the one that is going to do it, so be it. Why should I be jealous of him or envy him? I should rather learn from him in order to enrich my own knowledge as far as politics is concerned.
How will you describe Ambode, is he a party man? Or a technocrat ?
We are all political animals. I didn’t study politics anywhere because politics is practical. It is something, everyday affair, I am a professional, I studied Law and today I found myself in politics. It is not something I went to school to learn, so we are all political animals. Ambode is a chartered accountant and if you want to opt in politics there is nothing wrong, so that question is not something that one can answer straight forward because I am not the man. The man as I know, if he is not a politician he wont be governor, he wont contest and nobody will vote for him and once they vote for him or if he volunteers himself, he must have that confidence that he is going to win, if he is not a politician, he wont have that confidence, of how to mobilize the people for him. For me I think he is both, a politician and a professional.
Many people have accused him of being gender insensitive especially the women, they look at his cabinet and say he didn’t give recognition to women like Fashola
Fashola too started on the second term, he has a job to do. If you look at the permanent secretaries, the judges in Lagos today, majority are women, in the civil service today, majority are women. In terms of appointment, he has been trying his possible best to put women in certain positions, if you have go to the ministry, director this director that, if you go there you find out that majority are women. How can they say the governor is insensitive to women? It is not true. When Asiwaju started, there were only four women but today more than four women in Ambode cabinet, there are special advisers, commissioners, deputy governor who are part of the cabinet. Chairman of the civil service commission is a woman. The committee that was recently created for employment is headed by a woman. How can you say he is a woman insensitive, and am sure the second term if he decides to contest it could be better than what it is today, when you look at it, it is something average. I too support that we should have more, but not necessarily that the woman should take over everything and later on we will start crying that women have invaded our territory! There is no way you can satisfy everybody.
During the election, many people lost out to Ambode, tell us to what extent Lagos state APC has gone to reconcile the victors and those that lost out
You know this game, this politics, the way I see them it is not a do or die matter because I spoke to all of them before the primary. And I spoke to them after the primary and nobody has anything against anybody. When you are fighting for something, in order to win, you have your own group, the other person has his own group but when somebody emerges, that is the end, we always come together.
I called a meeting ad all of them came and I said I hope all of you will extend a hand of fellowship to Ambode. And immediately, all of them hugged themselves and that was the end. They worked for the party after that because they would not allow their party to lose. Many of them have benefitted from this party, many of them have benefited from the past government so why should they now fight against the party?
We had our problem with the opposition because they were bent on taking over lagos and look at how the president came to Lagos, he was coming to Lagos and sat down in Lagos (like he was coming to become the governor not the president anymore). He was spending money like it was going out of the market tomorrow! But we thank God. We salute the courage of Lagosians, even though some ethnic groups in Lagos that made their money and living in Lagos voted against us but that is politics for you. Eventually we have reconciled even those that voted against us, because like every human being, if they are giving money, if you have conscience you take the money and vote against them, if you don’t have conscience you take their money and vote for them.
The Senate President is currently facing trial at the CCB, a lot of people has said he should resign his position, because his been tried is bringing an odium to the position, do you agree?
I agree with you and you saw the position of the party, the party has announced it has nothing to do in supporting him. That the party is out of it, so it is him alone. If you have conscience you will do what is right, unless you don’t have conscience like any individual too. Left to me I thought he should resign to bring honour back to him and that name but it is just a pity that it happens. Personally I believe Saraki is a nice man but when it comes to this, it is a question of conscience and morality. Morality is very crucial in this case. If I were him, I would have resign but everybody has a conscience. It is left to him to do the right thing.
As the chairman of all the state chairmen of APC, I know that what happens in other states is also you concern, in Ogun state there was a reconciliation that was championed by Asiwaju recently between Amosun and Osoba, how real is that? I ask that because the governor was absent that day? Also in Lagos state, during the last election, your constitutiency , the opposition got your constitutuency, and somebody in Ifako Ijaiye called for your removal as chairman of Lagos state APC, have you reconciled with him?
You see, what concerns me is the.. am the state chairman am not the local government chairman, every local government has its own responsibility for its local government, mine is the totality. My business is to win Lagos for the President and the Governor, and the rest. That is why we have ward chairmen and Local government chairmen. My responsibility is to ensure that we win Lagos and win the presidency for Buhari and the two I did.
So if somebody lost his local government because am from there, there cannot be blame on me. I should not have been crucified for that, what concerns me is what I have done, I have delivered and if you look at the level of spending by Ifeanyi Uba in that zone, it shows clearly that there is no way we can match that spending, there is nothing Ifeanyi Uba did not throw there and because in that area, is where the concentration of his clan members come from, they stay there, they live there. For example, Ajao estate, the population of Ajao estate is about 60 – 40 against the other ethnic groups, Igbos are 60, In Okota it is also the same, in Ilasa, it is about 70 – 30. So when you look at the population of the ethnic group in those areas and with the pumping of dollars and materials, there was no way you can stand that, I can understand that.
You and Asiwaju are close, very close. What is the secret to that chemistry?
Look there is no secret. I told someone recently, if you know your friend there is no way you can quarrel. Asiwaju is a teacher, he is someone who will never betray his friends, he will rather prefer his friends to betray him than betraying his friends- which they did most of the times. To me, Asiwaju is a leader because he is a very brilliant person, that has the interest of this country, if he is another that has money, why should he fight for the common man, why should he fight for the poor man? Bam bam ni mo yo, emi ko mo wipe ebi npa omo eni kankan ( I am full and I do not care about those who are hungry). Why will he go out of his way to risk his money and everything to fight the last administration? Other people that had that money just reserved themselves.
I am not somebody who will follow people like a zombie. I don’t. I’am a lawyer, I was a diplomat and I have served this country in various capacities before I joined politics. It is not because we don’t have money or something to do. When you look at it, if somebody did not say something, in defence of the poor, nobody will do it for them, but you have to encourage them to bold enough to criticize that government that is not caring for them, you must be bold, if not the rich will continue to be richer and the poor will continue to be poor. And Asiwaju Tinubu can spend his last penny on any poor man that he finds in a situation. I have never seen any person who is overwhelmingly concerned about the poor.
But I believe genuinely that he has the interest of this country at heart and that’s why some of us follow him. You know his age and you know mine but it is not age. God can put a small boy somewhere who is so brilliant and if God says he is the one that is going to do it, so be it. Why should I be jealous of him or envy him? I should rather learn from him in order to enrich my own knowledge as far as politics is concerned. We are very close because we have the same attitude. I don’t betray my friends, the worst I can do if I feel your ways are not my ways, I can withdraw. That’s my nature.
But I learnt a lot from Asiwaju, his progress. We quarrel, we disagree on some issues, but that is not for public consumption. But overall, I think he is a good leader. He is someone that the Yoruba and Nigerians can rely on for advice and strategy, how to move this country forward. That’s why we are close.
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