Fashola’s Successor: Oba Has No Reason To Endorse Anybody – Senator Durojaiye Speaks

Senator Olubiyi Durojaiye was a presidential aspirant under the defunct SDP and a staunch NADECO activist incarcerated for almost two years during the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s iron fist junta. In this exclusive interview with OLAYINKA AJAYI, he speaks on the rationale for regionalism demand by the Yorubas as the only condition for them to continue as part of the Nigerian state. He also clears the controversies surrounding the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu’s endorsment of Akinwunmi Ambode as Gov. Babatunde Fashola’s successor, among other security things. Excerpt:




What do you make of the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akinolu’s endorsement of Akinwumi Ambode as Raji Fashola’s successor as governor of Lagos state?

The Oba of Lagos announced in a broadcast that he did not endorse anybody. Moreover, traditional rulers are not in the position to endorse candidates. He only expressed an opinion because he happens to know the young man as one of his responsible subjects. If he said he would be happy if he becomes the next governor of Lagos, you cannot ask for his crown to roll off his head. He only expressed an opinion.

Leaders of All Progessive Congress (APC) came out to say only the party could nominate candidates. So I don’t see the controversy there. The party determines who will be the candidate.

But reports say he was quoted as saying Elders of Lagos met and have endorsed Akinwumi Ambode as the next formidable governor of Lagos State?

What precedent has that? How many governors in the past were endorsed by Elders of any community in Nigeria? There are ways of doing these things. This matter is guided by the constitution which the party’s constitution must comply with, and there is a government umpire provided by the constitution of the country. That is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which can say this process has been properly done, or has not been properly done. Although the elders of communities are entitled to have their preference, but the process of nomination is the responsibility of the political party as laid down by the rules? Like I said earlier, if there are no serious controversies, the party organ will nominate a popular candidate through consensus.When the late Otedola’s incidence occurred then, the progressive party, SDP, had two powerful contestants and the party did not resolve the issue of who was to be the gubernatorial candidate before the third party won. From that, we learnt our lesson, which is that political parties are to nominate a preferred candidate by consensus. Where that was not attainable, there will be an open contest. A congress would be called and card-carrying members would be asked to nominate whom they prefer out of two, three, or more candidates. So there is no cause for anybody outside the political party to endorse any candidate. They can only express whom they prefer.

What would you say about the criticism that the APC chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Hammed Tinubu, is foisting his personal wish on the people of the state?

Even Tinubu knows that anybody who is a leader is bound to be criticised. We have rules that we follow and sometimes we have disagreements; there is no doubt about that. It is impossible for someone to foist his will on people. The fact is that Bola Tinubu who people are criticising has been achieving success for the Yoruba race as an individual. When every one of us was booted out, he was the only man standing of which you cannot deny him credit. Although there was a controversy about three years ago as to whether Gov. Fashola should re-run or not. I was one of those that said he should because people alleged that Tinubu did not want him to run for second term. But I never heard the Asiwaju say that Fashola should not run. We made our inputs by saying that a man who has made such a good record should be allowed to continue. The four more years given to him by the electorate to complete the good work. he started is almost complete now.

Why did the Yoruba leaders say that only true Federalism will make them stay in Nigeria?

I was part of the Yoruba conference in Ibadan which finalised and agreed on what should be the Yoruba agenda. And that agreement was in the best interest of Nigeria as a country. We have always believed in fairness for the best interest of Nigeria, although there are some younger elements who feel that being part of the federation is a burden on our neck; that we are the largest unit with about 40million people in this country, bigger than Ghana and many other African countries. We, the elders said there is benefit in number. For instance Europe, after many centuries of war among the states, at last built on the treaty of Rome in 1970 which gave birth to the European Union. They knew the benefits of large number. America comprises 50 states. Some of them are bigger than Nigeria, but they form one country. The reason we got independence was for us to run a true Federal Republic when we were three regions. What the Yorubas are saying is that at the time our founding fathers fought for our independence in 1960, we were about 35million people. Now the population of the country is about 160 million people of which the Yoruba unit is about 40million people. We have six regions, the six geopolitical regions should be the region provided for as in the constitution in 1960 and let residual powers be in the Federating units of these regions. It will be in Nigeria’s best interest economically.

All the duplication and multiplication by having 37 units of government with 37 cabinets in Federal and State levels are complete waste. Our recurrent expenditure is too huge at the expense of our capital expenditure. The Yoruba stand is if we are unable to make head way with the 1999 constitution, let’s just resolve to adopt the 1960 constitution. There is nobody in Nigeria today that I know of who can sensibly say he has no respect for our founding fathers in the likes of late Nnamdi Azikwe, Obafemi Awolowo, and Aminu kano. These are the founding fathers of Nigeria together with the pundits from Britain who agreed that regionalism was the best form of government for this country considering the multiplicity of about 250 nationalities where everyone was living in his own area before the colonial masters came. What we are saying now is let us have six regional groups and every region will now decide what they would like to do, whether they will use provinces or States or even shrink the Local government from 774. Some of these local governments only distribute funds without embarking on any tangible projects. There is too much power in the centre and it should not be so.

On the contrary, it was reported that a document was circulated at the ongoing CONFAB by the northern delegates claiming that the north has about 80% of Nigeria’s population and its resources were used to develop the oil sector, is that a valid argument?

I am yet to see such document and I don’t want to believe that such document exists because they cannot make such claims. But I know it cannot be true. They should not generalise by saying “the north” because in the north we have many tribes that are non Hausa’s like Fulani, Nupe, Kanuries, Birum, Igbira, among host of other tribes. You can’t take them as a unit. There is no unit as large as the Yorubas.

As a unit we occupy the whole of western Nigeria as well as the bulk of Kwara State, a good slice of Kogi State, and also a group in Delta state. We even spill over to the Republic of Benin. If you ask the Yoruba speaking part of Kogi whether they would like to return, they will tell you they would love to be with their kit and kin. I happen to be the Chairman of the Yoruba education fund where we are trying to see how we can enhance our people’s education and culture which basically make us significant in Nigeria. We found that education has nosedived, we want to make it better. By consultation we found out that the Itsekiri of Delta state, some part of Edo state, a group out of Kogi State, and almost the bulk of kwara state want to be identified with the Yoruba people. When we are talking about democracy the people should have a say on how they want to be governed.

Those we refer to as our national heroes in the likes of Aminu Kano, Tafawa Balewa, Anthony Enahoro, and Obafemi Awolowo, all agreed in 1960 on Regionalism as the best system for Nigeria. Then there was no reliance on crude oil. Sarduana was a shrewd administrator and they got along well by building pyramids of groundnuts. The East got along well, and the west was galloping under the leadership of Obafemi Awolowo with revolutionary programs modeled for others to imitate, like free education, the first television network in Africa, and massive cocoa exports which became the main stay of our economy in the west. Alternatively, if we want to use the presidential system, then we must agree on using the six regional zones, so as to minimise the excess spending. The police force should be regionalised, while the Nigerian Army, the Foreign Service and the national currency should remain within the Federal legislative list. The CONFAB is a good opportunity we have and we must not allow it to slip off our hands.

It was reported that you were going to lead the Ogun state delegates to the on-going National Conference. What later transpired?

I was nominated by the Ogun state government to lead their team, as the Lagos State government nominated Femi Okunu to lead Lagos delegate which was published about two months ago. It was all over the media that the west has nominated their best eleven. But when the federal list was published, to my surprise, Femi Okunu’s name and my name were missing.

I found out months later that five governors – Raji Fashola of Lagos, Ibikule Amosun of Ogun, Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state, and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, all inquired why their nominees were changed. They said we were the real representatives of their people. Although I am a Christian, I operate on one Islamic belief that only God can says let it be and it will be. I don’t know the mischief that transpired, but I guess some people, out of fear, knew I may be too outspoken and independent to be kept in a corner. Maybe God didn’t want me to be there, even though I am confident of my good records.