Adelaja Adeoye, real estate developer, was a former national publicity secretary of the Action Democratic Party (ADC) and currently a chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
In this exclusive interview with Iniobong Iwok, he spoke on several national issues, saying that President Tinubu must consider a multi-layer approach in solving the nation’s security challenges. Excerpts:
What is your assessment of 2023 for Nigeria?
This year 2023 has been an eventful year for every Nigeria, ranging from our political and economic survival, the true Nigerian spirit and DNA of resilience has helped us to navigate the year against all the ups and downs, and I believe that we have all drawn valuable lessons, which should help us love better in the years to come in terms of the decisions we’ll be making for the political and economical foreseeable future.
What are your expectations for 2024 for Nigeria and the Bola Tinubu’s administration?
I am an optimist, who will not want to predict a doomy 2024. I believe every government will want to do their best for the citizens, and the citizens also have a role to play by voicing out where the government is failing, to create a government to governed relationship for the betterment of every one of us.
I am hoping that the government’s fiscal, monetary and micro-economic dynamic will change for the better in 2024, when they are able to stabilize the economy.
I am also expecting that Nigerians should start feeling and experiencing the dividend of democracy, by benefiting from the result of the removal of fuel subsidy, since the funds will be used to cushion the effect of the removal, in various sectors such as agriculture, education, formal and informal sectors.
So, the federal government led by President Bola Tinubu should be aware that our expectations are high in 2024, the hardship Nigerians are facing due to cash crunch and price of fuel is much and the government needs to do something urgently to relieve the pressure on the citizens in 2024.
Where do you think the administrations should focus pron in the new year?
The focus of the government should be on the economy generally, the prices of food items, which is the first basic needs of our survival must be attended to, by investing heavily on agriculture and make food available at cheaper rate, they can partner with farmers and food producers, so that abundant food is available, then the government needs to work on our monetary and fiscal policy.
Exchange rate is outrageous and scarcity of FX for foreign based transactions needs to be worked upon. I think the pressure on FX is as a result of the weak Naira, once the Naira gains tremendously, people will have no fear of doing transactions in naira.
What is your reaction to the death of two prominent politicians, Governor Akeredolu and Ghali Na’Abba?
It was a rude shock, as we all know, we all come from God and so shall we return to him. I condole with their families and Nigerians in general. These are fine politicians who have contributed to the development and stability of our dear country.
In the case of former Speaker, Ghali Na’Abba, he led the National Assembly that stopped the third term agenda of the former President, who wanted to violate our constitution, while Former Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu stood with the people in the creation of Amotekun Security network, when the South West was being ravaged by terrorism.
The peace in the region today was as a result of his co-operation with his fellow and brother governors from the region, so his name will forever be remembered.
How can the Bola Tinubu administration solve the spate of insecurity, we saw the massacre in Plateau State some days ago?
Few days ago, I Tweeted on X handle @adelajaadeoye that “I think President @officialABAT should as a matter of urgency, consider a multi-layer security system, having federal, state and local level policing to help curb the security issues in Nigeria. Look at how Amotekun has helped a great deal in the South West complimenting federal Police”. I believe this is the way to go for us as a nation.
Your real estate firm was recently ranked one of the fastest growing in the businesses; can you tell us the secret to your success?
Fendini Homes, the developer of Rayfield Gardens City Estate Christopher Adebayo Alao Akala GRA Ibadan started from scratch, and worked its way up by serious focus, hard work and passion to succeed.
We have not even reached our goal or potential in any way, we are still working very hard, and going to break many more grounds in 2024 and beyond. We told ourselves from the start that we will only be involved in quality infrastructural developments in all our project sites.
For instance, Rayfield Gardens City Estate Ibadan is one of the fastest developing modern estates, with modern amenities and Architectural masterpieces, which are smart and contemporary. Our roads are paved, with quality stones, drainages, beautiful and imposing Gatehouse, smart Duplexes, Terraces and Duplexes.
A neat, and well secured estate in Ibadan we have, and we will continue to do more in order to give our subscribers a beautiful and world class living experience.
At Rayfield, we designed it to have both residential and commercial properties such as schools, hospital, supermarket, amusement park, hotels, banking hall/ATM gallery, and we are talking to other investors who will build and run all these commercial properties. The estate is first of its kind; those who have been there are stunned by the estate layout.
The Bola Tinubu’s administration is seeking direct investment to Nigeria, as an entrepreneur, what would you love the government to put in place to encourage businesses to grow and survive here?
I am particularly thrilled by some of the early efforts of the President going round to seek foreign direct investment from around the globe, this shows that the President has seen the problem and is willing to fix the economic problems we have.
For our country to be a preferred investment destination, issues such as Power and Security must be fixed.
Alot of businesses that have packed up in Nigeria complain about the cost of power, which impacts on production and sales cost, so when the margin is too small, and they cannot generate enough dividend for their shareholders or investors, what is the point of engaging in business?
So, power and security should be fixed, and give tax concessions to new businesses and entrepreneurs. The Government can also come up with a programme similar to YOU WIN by President Goodluck Jonathan, where entrepreneurs are trained then given some grants to start up their business under guidelines so that they fail. This will create a chain reaction in terms of job creation, and likely create export of products for us to earn more FX.
The government should also encourage local manufacturers and technical companies producing machine parts, agricultural equipment and so on, so that our quest for the importance of machines, and other things will reduce the pressure on FX thereby leading to a stronger naira.
