Adetokunbo Philip Wahab from Ketu in Epe Local Government Area of Lagos State, a lawyer by profession, is one of the gubernatorial aspirants in Lagos State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). In this interview with ZEBULON AGOMUO, Wahab says he is not relying on any moneybags to bankroll his campaign as he has made provisions for all that. He says his youthful age and energy to withstand the rigors of office put him ahead of other contenders. He also pledges to sustain the tempo of infrastructural development in the state, among other issues. Excerpts:
You are talking about change, as a gubernatorial aspirant in Lagos; by the estimation of many people the incumbent governor has done excellently. Why do you still talk about change?
Let me put it this way; in 1999 when our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, was voted into office as governor of Lagos State, he met heaps of refuse, bad roads, insecurity and many other infrastructural challenges, but he was not deterred, rather he gathered the best of hands, professionally, to come on board. In the course of doing that he was able to build a template. That template was from the progressive platform of Alliance for Democracy (AD). Now, don’t forget that the law of the land does not allow for independent candidacy, which means you must believe in the vision and programme of a party so that you can align with it. The template of Alliance for Democracy is what the incumbent, my senior colleague, both from the University of Benin, and also as a lawyer, has come to actualise. So, what we are bringing on the table is to continue to consolidate on progressive governance. We believe that Lagos of this century and as a ‘Centre of Excellence’ must be taken to the next level. We set the tempo for other states to follow. We believe that Lagos State needs a clear-cut ‘visioner’ to take it to the next level; we believe that Lagos will achieve the Mega City status in the next few years, and as a result there must be full scale infrastructure to drive that project. We believe that the population inflow into Lagos needs to be catered for; we believe that after all the trainings given to us professionally and otherwise, we must get to a point in our lives when we must live our comfort zones and offer ourselves for service. If we don’t, nature itself abhors a vacuum, those who have nothing to offer, those who lack the calling will take over power. You should know that those that fought for democracy, most of them were very skeptical to join the fray after the military left. And that gave opportunity to those who did not mean well for Nigeria to occupy important places; that’s why we are where we are now 15 years after. We are just trying to edge them out. We should not continue to be on the sideline watching as things go wrong by the day. We cannot continue to say politics is dirty, giving the wrong people the opportunity to hijack power and use it the way it pleases them. It is high time we prevent our worst eleven from going into power; we must begin to present our First eleven. We must start to build momentum to take our people where they deserve to be, by offering quality leadership.
I have looked at the array of aspirants for the governorship, I have a lot of respect for them, but I have a clear-cut vision of what I want to do there. I am in a better stead to connect with the new generation. This is because I understand their needs and aspirations. I believe it is not also enough to say that at 40 or 43 you are not fit to aspire for the highest office in the state. The demography of our country has shown that those from the age of 40 and below constitute about 75 percent of the entire population of Nigeria, so why can’t we have a voice? We cannot continue to be foot soldiers to politicians. We cannot continue to wait for that future that is being expected, the future is now. Our national leader always says that power is not served à la carte; you must come out and contest for it.
There’s a lot of imposition of candidates going on in the system. We learnt that the powers that be in Lagos State have anointed somebody for the post of governorship. Where, if true, does that leave your aspiration?
Anybody can go about and drop names that he has been anointed; it is a political season. I can come out now and say the leader of the party has endorsed me; it is my words against yours. APC represents change and if our slogan is change, that change we must reflect. Assurances have been given. There was a meeting of all the aspirants recently, at the instance of the national leader; he made it very clear to everybody that people should desist from dropping his name, because the party cannot afford to go into any crisis of confidence, that there is a level-playing field for every aspirant, and that we should go and work. You see, people should desist from creating crisis and tension in the system. So, I believe strongly that APC has not anointed any gubernatorial candidate and I believe none will be anointed. The primary will determine our flag bearer.
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These days, people are not focusing on issues but attacking personalities and opponents; do you think it is the best way to go?
It is the way we run politics here. It is attributable to long years of military domination of power. We are yet to be weaned from that mentality. Our political life as a country is still evolving. If there was no truncation of the First Republic, we would have by now learnt a huge lesson from our errors. Leadership requires you to make sacrifice, go through some level of pain, see things the way they can bring happiness to a whole lot of people. Now, for political campaigns, we in the APC, we have our programme, agenda- employment, security, health, education, agriculture, housing- these are clear-cut programmes we are going to offer to the people. We are happy that APC-controlled states are already implementing the agenda. In all these states there is massive infrastructural renewal, massive injection of education development, employment, and agricultural development. That is the issue, and that is what we are presenting to the people.
Now you are going into a serious project; who are your financiers; will they not hijack power from you if voted into office, because ‘he who pays the piper calls the tune’?
Before making this move I asked myself some fundamental questions to the extent I am ready for it, not just financially, but also psychologically. God has been very wonderful to me. I have resources which I worked for, not stolen. I want to put my resources on the table for Lagosians. That is not to say that I don’t have friends who are willing to assist in this sacrifice. I have always said that if I have a vision, I should have to water the vision first before anybody could help me put manure. That’s where we are now. We are getting support across board- market women are coming to ask what they can do; people of my generation are standing up with donations that are beyond my imagination. They are donating campaign buses, etc. Many of those signifying interest are those who have never even met me. They go through the website and we have been getting calls from all over Lagos. You see, that makes you accountable. I want to tell you that Nigerian voters are getting enlightened everyday and thanks to telecommunications.
Why do you think you are the best from the array of aspirants for the post? What do you think you are bringing on the table over and above other aspirants?
A breath of fresh air. I am bringing a breath of fresh air. Now, let me put it this way, I am 42, the youngest in the race; at my age I believe am bringing my character, everything into the project. I believe looking at the aspirants, with due respect to them, I believe that a state like Lagos needs a man that has that energy, not just youthfulness, the energy to stand the rigors, the challenges of the 21stCentury Lagos.
Why did it take you so long to declare, was it a problem of, you were afraid, or not really sure of yourself?
For me, I believe first in God; I needed to seek the face of God first, I needed to consult Him before making any move. Again, I needed to consult extensively with my constituency, consult with all Lagosians all over the state. I needed to tell Lagosians what we are bringing on the table; tell Lagosians why we are different; that I believe in continuing with the progressive programmes of APC. At least, at 42 I stand in a better stead to continue where the incumbent will stop. And that consultation went on and on, but don’t also forget that by virtue of the Electoral Act, you cannot start campaign until the umpire has given the go ahead, or declare the space open. So, immediately that was done, I picked my form, and we are ready for the race. So, the delay is not a problem because already people know what we are coming to do.
The incumbent administration in Lagos has been accused of being too elitist in its programmes. The other day, community of traders in Lagos addressed journalists on the alleged neglect of their sector by government. ‘Okoda’ riders in Lagos also have some things to say about the government in the state; how are you going to handle these agitations if voted into office?
Let me start from the ‘Okada’ issue and we have to be very objective here. The ban on ‘Okada’ in Lagos is affecting only about 4 percent of the total road net work in Lagos. And those are major highways. Again, it is a known fact that the rate of accident has dropped tremendously; it is a known fact that crime rate has also dropped tremendously, you can verify it. So, in as much as the ban affects some highways, not all; it is only being politicised by the opposition party. Don’t forget that the Federal Government is proposing to ban ‘Okada’ all over the state. Akwa Ibom State government has since banned the use of ‘Okada’; that’s a PDP state not APC. So we don’t throw away the baby with the bath water.
Now, to the market women and men, they are part and parcel of the system, they are in Lagos State. I believe we are going to engage them, visit and listen to them, despite whatever friction. In every relationship, there is always friction, but what makes us democrats is the ability to iron out our differences, by dialogue and superior argument. But I must say that whoever that accuses the incumbent government of being elitist is not being fair, and I will tell you why; the massive infrastructure that has been embarked upon by this government is seen in the areas that are mainly occupied by the masses of the state, for instance, go to Ipaja/Ayobo corridor, go to Okoko/Badagry corridor, Ketu/Ikorodu corridor, Mushin, name them. Are you telling me that elites are the ones staying in Badagry or Okoko, or Ikorodu, Ipaja and Ayobo? Come to Epe corridor too; the dualisation going to Ikorodu, who is it meant for? So, we must put all these in context. There may be one or two things we may need to tweak, we will do them; but not that anybody should say things that are not verifiable.
ZEBULON AGOMUO
