Gov. Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State

A PDP Senator, Prince Buruji Kashamu sings Buhari’s praises more than APC members, and he is always attacking you in the media. What is the matter between the two of you?

Senator Buruji is my friend. I won’t join issues with him for one simple reason. I prefer to show maturity and leadership. That he is praising Buhari as a PDP Senator should be seen as his choice.

Is that good for the PDP?

That is not the issue. He has a choice. If he says he wants to dump PDP tomorrow, can you force him to remain in the party? If he chooses to praise Buhari today or even OBJ, I see it as his choice. Personally, I don’t care whether you praise or abuse me. I am very consistent, and I don’t run away from battle. If you challenge me to a fight, I will come and meet you wherever you are. We have signed the date of our death right from the day we were born, so nobody should be afraid at all. People are afraid because they think they will live forever, but who knows tomorrow? Events have shown us that we are mere mortals. The singer and the dancer, the praiser and the man they are praising, will all die one day.

There is rumour making the rounds that you, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu are in a political deal yet to be made known to the public. Is this true?

Rauf Aregbesola is my friend and we are very close. I make bold to say this. We may be in different parties today, but that does not affect our relationship. At our level, we must think above party lines for the good of our people. If Aregbesola is coming to Ekiti tomorrow, I will roll out a red carpet. We might not agree on some issues, but we are not enemies. When they needed me to fight for Dr. Kayode Fayemi, Rauf Aregbesola was part of the negotiation in 2009. History will not be kind to those that forget or pervert history. Aregbesola and I were often referred to as Irin tutu (raw iron).

I don’t want to talk about Tinubu. My references to him are very clear and I am glad that his position in the Yoruba nation is that we must not forget our leaders. Who knows what would happen to Nigeria after Tinubu? Or what would happen, if he were not allowed to play his roles, how many generations will suffer? I speak beyond party lines, and I will continue to respect him as a Yoruba leader. There is nothing he can do for me. I don’t need anything from anybody. However, the little Chief Obafemi Awolowo did is what we call Oduduwa Group of companies today. Yoruba men and women in both APC and PDP are beneficiaries of Awolowo’s vision and legacy.

Are you looking forward to working with Tinubu politically?

I explained to you that when Fayemi needed my support, I made it very clear that we would collaborate, but I wouldn’t join their party. I was in the Labour Party then. What I am saying in essence is that everything is not about party; rather, it is the good man in you.

You mentioned Fayemi now, but why is your approach to political economy diametrically opposite? Is there any personal issue?

There will be many governors after me. If I had issues with Fayemi, how would I have built a Women Centre and named it after Fayemi’s late deputy? A lot of things I did were for posterity. Fayemi removed Engr. Segun Oni’s picture from the Government House and said the court did not recognise him as a governor of this state. When I came, I restored Oni’s picture. That is statesmanship, which goes beyond politics. Posterity will judge me. Even if I say my enemy should die, but God does not kill him, what will I do?

Yes, our economic ideas may be different. I didn’t commit this state to a burden of financial debt in my first tenure and I won’t do so now. I live within my means. God knows I am doing a good job.

How would you explain PDP losing in Ondo State?

They should know better in Ondo. We have major crises, some of which started long before the election. It had to do with the outgoing governor going to the PDP, which split the party. The crisis forced some Senators and big wigs to leave the party. Houses are built on pillars, and when the pillars are challenged, there is a possibility of the house crumbling. Since the candidate and the governor have conceded, what is my own?

What implication will losing Ondo have on Ekiti State in 2018?

Whether they lose or win, we know APC will still come here with their thuggery and rigging strategy, but God will defeat them.

Don’t you see the same crisis manifesting in Ekiti PDP, with the Federal High court judgment, which sacked your party Exco and recognised Sheriff’s faction as the authentic Exco?

Don’t worry yourself about that. A thousand years is like a minute before God. We only see today, tomorrow will take care of itself. People assumed that Governor Wike would be thrown out of the Government House, the same with the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, but God restored them. The G-19 thought I should have been impeached by now, but we do not see by sight. Be assured that I am destined and nobody can stand on my way.

How would you put into context the fact that whenever a Pastor visits Ekiti State, controversy ensues? You personally foiled an attempt by the DSS to arrest Apostle Sulaiman Johnson on Wednesday morning, Pastor Adeboye’s visit also turned political. What is happening?

Nigeria is under siege. We are as good as a people in police state. I said it earlier that the press will be gagged, and is it not happening now? They will graduate from harassing politicians to the press and the church, to the judiciary. Even lawyers will not be spared. A dictator is like a scavenger, and until God defeats a dictator, everybody must be praying. We are being governed by a dictator. Let me narrate the story of a rich man, who went to buy a lion and kept it in his house. Some cautioned him against it, but he promised to tame it. ‘We will domesticate it, we will not allow it to taste blood,’ he said. But his neighbours were not comfortable. Eventually, the lion grew and developed claws. Before the rich man returned home one day, the lion had eaten his children. But the lion did not stop there; it jumped out of the fence, took over the street and also attacked all the neighbours.

The neighbours suffered because they were not courageous enough to challenge the rich man and say, ‘no, you cannot rear a lion in the midst of people. That is the story of Nigeria now.

As a strong opposition voice in Nigeria, if you meet President Buhari, how would you advise him?

I won’t advise him, because he does not listen. Let me tell you why. In a space of three months, the Senate rejected President Buhari’s Magu; The Senate has APC as majority members. The Senate also rejected the use of Kaduna Airport for international flights. This is the Senate that is largely constituted by members of Buhari’s party, rejecting many things from him, including financial policies, such as MTEF. The Senators represent different constituencies, which means that Nigerians are the ones rejecting what Buhari is doing.

Senate said some people are thieves, but the President said they are saints, flawless. If Ekiti Assembly rejects somebody as Commissioner, and they give reasons and damning reports, since they represent the people from the grassroots, what capacity do I have to go ahead? The President has made up his mind and has proved that he would do anything he wanted to do, whether National Assembly supports or not. So, why bother wasting your time advising him? I won’t cry in front of a person that will stop me and ask why I am crying.

Would you say the implementation of the Ekiti anti-grazing law has finally put a stop to the perennial farmers/herdsmen clash in the state?

The law has shown that we have the will and capacity to face our challenges. You cannot take any major step without having a legal framework, which we put in place. And that is why it is easy to arrest and detain offenders. Where there is no law, there is no offence. Our success did not come only from the implementation of the law, but from a sustained dialogue. We formed various committees comprising representatives of the herdsmen, farmers, government and traditional rulers. We came together to discuss and ensure nobody is oppressed. Laws are not enough. The implementation, orientation, discussions and collaboration to ensure the law is respected and enforced also matter a lot.

How are you coping with criticisms from the opposition APC in Ekiti State?

The APC in Ekiti State is too weak to give me any headache. They are small fries, what can they say? APC in the state would have had the courage to talk, had Buhari been performing or doing something tangible. People are hungry and angry with the Federal Government. Besides, APC members here are hungry, they are like orphans. If they see the yam peels, they will rush to eat them. They are scavengers. Who is their leader? Their situation is so bad. But they have to defend their party, and that is why they are there. There is nothing for them. Where are they holding meetings?

They cannot do anything to me, because I am careful in everything I do. The last time they lied that I diverted the bailout money, but the NLC told them that they were being economical with the truth. I bring everything to the table. Have you ever seen where recession affects Government House? Why should I worry myself? If hunger is everywhere, there will be food in the Government House. What do I need? The truth is that APC in this state cannot pull strings. They are nothing to me.

Ekiti governorship election will hold next year, what is your succession plan?

I can assure you that the Lord will choose for Ekiti people. On my own part, I am considering three or four people for the office, though the party has not decided on whether we are going to zone it or not. Naturally, we are already looking for the best candidate. But let me tell assure you that I will successfully succeed myself.

What does that mean?

I mean somebody from my side will take over from me.