Barr. Adebayo Shittu is a notable politician and the former minister of communications between 2015 and 2019. In this exclusive interview, he spoke extensive on the inspiration behind his ambition, his 7-point agenda for the people of Oyo State, and areas that the present administration has failed and many other issues. Excerpts.
You have come out to say that you are interested in the governorship race in Oyo State. What inspired your decision?
My interest in the governorship is not new. I even contested for the governorship of Oyo in 2011. I lost. It was under the CPC at that time. In 2015, I contested for the governorship under the APC. In 2019, I made an attempt, having bought a 20 million naira form.
I was unjustifiably disqualified by the then governor of Oyo State, the late Abiola Ajimobi, through the former National Chairman of the party, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, on the baseless ground that I didn't do national service.
Interestingly, Ajimobi, who got me disqualified, also didn't do national service. And yet he was given the ticket to contest for the senatorial election, which he lost. The governorship candidate they disqualified me for, so they could impose him, Bayo Adelabu, also lost the governorship.
That was how the PDP became prominent in Oyo State. So, consistently for the past three or four election cycles, I have been contesting. In 2023, I also attempted, but Senator Teslim Folarin somehow got the ticket. So I had to withdraw for him.
This will be the fifth time, and the reason is my conviction that I possess something other governorship aspirants in Oyo State do not. And what is that? The training I got from the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the greatest Nigerian politician, regarding a more abundant life for citizens.
That was the philosophy with which Chief Obafemi Awolowo engaged in politics at that time.
He wanted to ensure that people saw the benefits of good governance. I trained directly under him in 1978 to 1983.
At that time, we had four cardinal programs: free education, free health services, integrated infrastructure and development, and full employment.
I still believe in these four cardinal programs. I have actually improved upon it, expanding it to seven cardinal programs, which I have produced as my current governorship electoral manifesto. If you look at it, no other aspirant has any such ideas. In fact, nobody has a manifesto other than me.
A lot of people just want to be a governor. It's a ego of being governor that inspired them. But I am inspired by the principles of life make abundant for the people. People deserve free education at all levels. They deserve free health services.
They deserve full employment, and they deserve a government that cares for them in real terms. These are the issues. So I'm not new to aspiration for governorship.
How prepared are you now that the governorship race has become more competitive with the emergence of younger aspirants, compared to 2011 when you first contested?
I'm fully prepared to compete with everyone. If you talk about younger ones coming on board, I also came on board when I was much younger. I was just 26 when I came on board, but my experience has been like old wine in new bottles. I am telling you about the things that will benefit society: seven cardinal programs. Who else is talking about it, whether old or young? And who else is capable of doing it? Who has the experience to bring all these to bear on society?
A lot of people are interested in political office to foster their ego. They think it's a thing of enjoyment. We have not made all the new ones could make in politics.
I'm not in politics to aspire to make any new name because I'm already well known, thank God. All over this country, I'm well known. Even in the press, I'm the most press-savvy. I'm the only one who is always at home with journalists because there is no question that I don't have answers to. I'm very plausible in that regard.
Has your years of experience in politics changed your perspective about governance in any way?
My perspective about governance has not changed because society remains the same.
You are aspiring to contest under the APC; have you resolved your past issues with the leadership of the party in the state?
The greatest issue I have had in the party was with the late former Governor Abiola Ajimobi. He was the only one I had a problem with. And what was the problem? Unfortunately, the man is dead now, and as a Muslim, I am not supposed to talk ill of the dead because he is already with God and he will account for everything he did. But whatever I'm saying now is only of historical value.
In 2011, I was contesting under the CPC; he was contesting under the ACN at that time. I'm told that after our debates in press houses, he used to tell his followers that 'Olorun lo yo wa ti Shittu ki se omo Ibadan, bi beko ko ba yo wa lenu' (thank God that Shittu is not an Ibadan Indigene; if not, he would have given us a tough time).
This means he appreciated the quality of my delivery in press conferences and debates. Because I was always ready, coming from the Awolowo background. He had to, with due respect, get somebody to write speeches for him. I mean, I didn't need such a thing. When I'm going for interviews, a lot of people will say, 'I hope you have known all the questions to be asked?' I tell them I don't need to know. I have answers to all questions.
So, with all sense of humility, since he left, I don't think I have a problem with anybody in the APC, in Oyo State, or at the national level.
How do you see the performance of the current administration, because by next year it will be eight years old?
I must be fair to him; he has done well in two areas that I can remember. First is the abolishment of the one thousand naira terminal fees for secondary school students. That is a very commendable thing because, even though that one thousand naira was small, a lot of parents couldn't afford to pay it. As a result, people had to be driven out of schools and all of that.
The second area for which he should also be commended is infrastructure development. I recall, unfortunately, that when he came on board, the road from Ibadan to Iseyin had been abandoned after being awarded.
So, people from my hometown, when coming to Ibadan, had to pass through a longer route via Ibarapa to cut through Iseyin, Igbo-ora, Eruwa, and Ido before getting to Ibadan. He constructed that road. Even in my hometown of Saki, a 10km stretch of road within the town had also been abandoned after being awarded. He completed that road as well. So, I must commend him.
But having said that, I want to say with all due respect that his best is not the best for Oyo State. There is still so much to be done, and so much that ought to have been done has not been done. Let me tell you, we are in Ibadan, which is the capital. That is where he concentrates a lot of his work. But in areas like Ona-Ara, Oluyole, and Ido local governments, there are so many community roads that remain unattended to within town.
In fact, there is a particular one in Ona-Ara which is being maintained by Engr. Dotun Sanusi, the owner of Ilaji Farms and Hotel. Ilaji is the one doing that, maintaining the road—a government road.
My answer to all that, by the grace of God, if I become governor, is to set up a Greater Ibadan Developmental Commission to speedily attend to the infrastructural deficits within Ibadan.
I promise to do that. I want to do that to accelerate the rate of developing Ibadan. Because Ibadan is our capital, everybody from everywhere in Oyo State lives in Ibadan. So, one evil done to an Ibadan resident is also done to every other Oyo State person.
I mean, I have been in Ibadan for 47 years. I'm lucky that I live in the central part of the town. But there are many people who are not as lucky as I am, who live in the peripheral areas of Ibadan.
I would also tell you with all sincerity that I once attended a political meeting in Akinyele Local Government, and the community people told me that they are made up of more than ten communities with only one secondary school, whose roofs are dilapidated, whose infrastructure is dilapidated, and the government ought to have given them more schools, but the government has refused to do that. These are very important issues. Roads are very bad in Oke-Ogun.
Again, if you look at how the governor has treated the local governments: Local governments, who are supposed to be independent, just like the state, now depend solely on the state government. Local governments, who are supposed to use their monthly federal allocation to maintain their communities, find their monthly federal allocations being pocketed by the state government. And I'm saying it publicly; I have said it on several on several radio stations.
So, it's not about blackmailing anybody, but about telling the truth—a truth that nobody has come out to deny. If you have that type of situation where local government councils are 'incarcerated,' as it were, then you cannot praise Governor Seyi Makinde unless you are completely ignorant of governance issues in the state.
As a fair-minded person, I will acknowledge the areas where he has done well. But I want to say, as I emphasized the other time, his best is not the best for the state. The state deserves much more attention.
If I may also tell you, perhaps because you don't live in Oyo State, we have a situation where the governor wants to spend 63 billion naira to renovate a government house where he has not lived for six and a half years since he's been governor. Renovate, not reconstruct! How do you explain that? Who is calling for such expenditure on a place he has not lived as governor? Which future governor will not be able to stay in the government house as it is today? And why does it require money that ought to have been spent on infrastructural developments throughout the state, including roads and schools and all of that? You know what that money can do. So, these are the issues."
Don't you think this perception of the governor's performance is political, because some people who felt you didn't do enough also said the same about you when you were a Minister?
Let me tell you, as a Minister, I didn't have the responsibility to build roads in Oyo State. As Minister, I didn't have the responsibility to build schools in the state. These are the duties of the elected governor of the state: to build roads, to build schools, and to manage the resources of Oyo State from federal allocation, from internally generated revenue, and all of that. So, you can't compare a governor with a minister.
And all these facts I'm saying, you can go and find them out if they are not true. I am a public figure; I won't just talk carelessly. I want to be taken on the record, and I challenge anybody, not just the governor alone, to come and meet me in a debate on the way Oyo State is being badly managed. It's only ignorant people that will think that 'Seyi n se bebe, bebe ki lo n se' when poverty, joblessness, and underdevelopment are still very rife all over the place.
Talking about your party, the APC: How do you always tell when you read in the media all the criticism on how the APC has run the country at both the federal level and in all the states?
Let me tell you, regarding the national level, I have an answer, but not for the states where I don't live and where the APC is ruling. It would be difficult for me to know the facts.
If you are talking about the national level, the greatest problem which people criticized in Tinubu's government reform is the fact that they removed oil subsidy, which has its own consequences. But remember that before the elections, the three foremost presidential aspirants at the time—Tinubu, Atiku, and Peter Obi—all said in agreement that when they got to power, they would remove oil subsidy. This means that was the only sensible thing to be done.
When you inherit a dilapidated structure, you won't say, 'Because some people are living there and they won't be happy if you try to resettle them, you will leave the structure as it is.' At some stage, the thing will collapse and fall on them, and they will be affected negatively.
So, you must have the courage to do the needful. I'm happy that Tinubu had the courage to remove oil subsidy, just like other co-contestants agreed they were going to do.
Having removed the oil subsidy, now look at the extent of monies (or funds) through federal allocations that come to the various states. Governance is not a one-way thing. Our federation is a federating system; it's not a unitary government. So, monies that accumulate as a result of the removal of oil subsidy are being shared with all states, the federal government itself, and local governments. And all those who receive these monies are supposed to utilize them to reduce the consequences of oil subsidy removal, to build roads, to build schools, and to implement all policies that can reduce poverty in the country.
If the federal government is using its own funds to do important structures, and states (because when they talk about people suffering, they are in the states) refuse to do the needful and instead pocket these humongous monies coming into their pockets, you don't blame the federal government. For the federal government, we know what it's using its money for, and I can say with pride that for the first time in this country, we have a government building a 750km road from Lagos, called Coaster Road, to Calabar.
It has never happened. Calabar is one end of the country. Lagos is the other end. 750km of fantastic road—we have never seen it. From Badagry, another end of the country, to Sokoto, 1,050km of fantastic express roads. You know what that means for national integration and what it means for economic development for the whole country.
Again, we have the NELFUND. Billions of naira are being spent to ensure that people have access to funding for education. It has never happened. There are so many economic programs which the federal government is undertaking now. And we have evidence that the situation in the country has improved. The economy is being reset. Over the years, nobody could—maybe out of fear of the public, maybe people would criticize them—they kept postponing the evil day. Now the President says no, enough of postponing the evil day. Let us do the needful. If we have to sacrifice, we sacrifice up to a certain stage, but at the end of the sacrifice, we'll all laugh. That is what is happening.
You are one of the contenders for the governorship in the state, but the incumbent governor keeps insisting that he is going to put in place a successor?
He just gasses. You know what it means? What you don't have power to do, but you blow your trumpet that you will do it. Number one, he's not INEC. Number two, he is a member of one political party, not a member of all parties. Within his party, you will have his candidate. He can only manipulate for his chosen candidate to come up. But we are ready for them. As APC, we are taking over. You see, Governor Seyi Makinde is one person who cannot be your friend from morning till night. I mean, he is as bad as that.
Half of his party members in PDP have already left, joined APC willingly. So what they have in PDP today is a ghost of the former PDP we used to have. Which magic is he now going to use to have a governor of his choice in 2027? I can't see it. We are praying that in our party, we have the right candidate.
The biggest topic right now is the controversy surrounding the transmission of election results, and that has also led to demonstrations recently. What is your view?
My view is there must be immediate transmission of results. We are democrats, and we don't want anything which will tarnish the image of our party or be seen in any bad way. The law is clear, and fortunately, the House of Representatives agreed to that. So that must be reinstated into the electoral bill. I support those who are demonstrating.
Their demonstration is on behalf of the whole of Nigerians. That what is good is good, and we must not leave room for suspicion. As a party, we are all democrats, and we want the best for our President; then we want the best for Nigeria.
You are a member of the ruling party APC, and there are lots of alignments and re-alignments in the opposition. How do you see all these?
Everybody is free to aspire. But aspiration is not a conclusive thing. And if you look at the political trend in Nigeria, you will just laugh at the so-called opposition. Laugh because when we came onboard, how many states did we have? We had maybe 22 or thereabouts. Today, we have 29 and still counting.
People are moving from the opposition to our party because they know that our party remains in a state of perpetual consolidation. And I don't blame people who are coming to our party. When a governor comes into APC, he knows he has the advantage of APC not fielding any original party candidate in his state. That is one, but more importantly, if they remain in their old party, these are parties which are in disarray.
They are not likely to even have national executives to submit their names to INEC. These are factual things, which unfortunately, they are not able to gather themselves and do things tightly. Democracy is about competition, and we are prepared for the competition.
Some of the opposition parties are alleging that the crisis facing all the other parties is being generated by APC?
They may allege, but there must be evidence. And if there is any evidence which is sufficiently structured, then they can go to court. People just talk without evidence. Was any governor bullied? In what ways? These are the impossible things they allege. But you know, when somebody is failing, he must create an alibi for himself. He must try to give a justification.
Seasoned politicians like you have also come to say that the governors moving to your party doesn't mean it will lead to victory?
Well, it doesn't mean when governors are moving, when their legislators are moving, you say it doesn't mean. Let it continue to not mean. So they don't have cause to fear them. We are preparing for the next election.
Are you also not worried that out of all the parties, only APC appears to be organized?
It's not the fault of APC. Now we have ADC. If they can muster some mobilization, we are proud to confront them.
Is it not worrisome also that just 12 months to the election, a party like ADC doesn't have a presidential candidate?
We too don't have a presidential candidate yet. Of course, we have Mr. President who will be re-contesting. That is the system. It is not our fault. If your enemy is unable to gather himself together, is it your fault?
It's obvious that Ibadan will continue to play a significant role in who becomes governor, but you are from Oke-Ogun zone. Do you think the zone can produce a governor now, and do you plan to achieve that?
Let me start from the national level. Before Ahmed Bola Tinubu, the North was always dictating who would be president. Tinubu had to appeal to them that look, 'the Yoruba says ajoje o dun beni Kan o ni.' This country belongs to all of us. You people have been President for so long; let a Southerner also be president now. And thank God, all the Northern governors accepted that it was a reasonable request which must be supported. And so they fully supported Tinubu at the congress. I'm happy I was there.
In Oyo State too, we are saying we appreciate the role of Ibadan as the capital, our senior brothers, if you like. It's time that thing should be allowed to rotate. You have done it six times. Ibadan governors six times. This time, let an Oke-Ogun man take over. Oke-Ogun has always been producing deputy governor. We are tired of that. And a lot of them are seeing sense in the agitation. I have moved around; we have spoken with a lot of Ibadan people.
Thank God I'm married to three Ibadan daughters. So I'm also part of Ibadan. Besides that, I have lived in Ibadan for 47 years. I live here, I have my house here, my family is in Ibadan. I have been a lawyer in Ibadan for so long, and I have been doing politics. So we are going to achieve our aim by the grace of God.
You said you will implement Sharia law if people ask for it when you become governor. What inspired such a remark?
If I were governor and some people in Oyo State say they want Sharia law, would I say no? Number one, a lot of people don't want hard facts and the truth. They get annoyed. The issue of Sharia is a constitutional right of all Muslims, no matter where they live. The constitution says whenever there is a demand for it, you could have it. Now, this is a thing that has no negative implication on any non-Muslim.
Remember we have a Federal Capital Territory, FCT Abuja, made up of Muslims and Christians. There is a Sharia Court of Appeal there. In Benue State, a Christian state, there is a Sharia Court of Appeal there. There is also one in Plateau. The governors of these states are Chrislams, and they have never thought of abolishing it.
In Oyo State, Muslims are at least 50%. I got married in Islamic rites. You know the 'yigi' that we normally do. If, God forbid, issues of divorce occur, consequences of divorce are maybe who keeps the children, maybe in inheritance issues, and so on. As of today, there is no court which can give a decision over such Islamic fundamental rights issues.
As of today, if a Christian gets married, he gets married under the court law. If there is an issue of divorce, inheritance, and all, he goes to the high court. That is where the Christian law under which he got married is administered. If you are an 'Isese' man, you go to the customary court. If you are a Muslim, the customary court has no jurisdiction over Islamic family matters. So it's like Muslims are being marginalized and are demanding a right that they have.
In any case, even if I'm a Christian governor, if people make a demand which is legitimate, what do I tell them? Should I tell them no because there was no Sharia in Oyo State before? Would that be a democratic governor? Would that be a sensitive governor? It's a very simple matter that people over blew out of proportion.
Credit: City People
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