Interesting Q&A session with Femi Falana. I also believe that the APC should desist from going to court over the verdict of the Ekiti election. They should learn lessons from it that will enhance our democracy. As Falana stated, Fayose will be under massive pressure to deliver and will face the same issues that made Fayemi appear 'disconnected' from the needs of Ekiti folks. Let us hope, for the sake of Ekiti folks, that Fayose has indeed changed and that he will deploy a people-centred approach to governance.

http://www.punchng.com/news/fayose-ekiti-people-back-to-egypt-says-falana/

Fayose: Ekiti people back to Egypt, says Falana

JULY 15, 2014 BY OLUSOLA FABIYI 146 COMMENTS
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Mr. Femi Falana
Mr. Femi Falana


In this interview with OLUSOLA FABIYI, Lagos lawyer, who is also an indigene of Ekiti State, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), speaks on the outcome of the June 21 governorship election in the state.

Were your surprised with the outcome of Ekiti governorship election?

I was flabbergasted by the outcome of the results. Based on several projections in the media I thought that Governor Kayode Fayemi was going to win the election.

Why did you say so?

Going by some development projects executed by the government, I had hoped that Fayemi would defeat his opponents. I never knew of the decision of the vital stakeholders in the state to vote him out of office. That decision was taken before the emergence of Mr. Ayo Fayose as the PDP governorship candidate. The loss of the election by Fayemi has nothing to do with ‘stomach infrastructure’ or the popularity of Fayose.

You think so?

On a critical analysis of the political situation in Ekiti State, Fayemi is a victim of the ideological crisis of his party, the APC. Of course, the arrogance of some of the governor’s aides who were allowed to wield enormous powers equally contributed to the loss of the election.

Sure?

I have read very interesting but diversionary commentaries on the election results. Some of them have deliberately denigrated the Ekiti people. Most commentators have forgotten that the Ekiti people felt relieved when Fayose was impeached in October 2006. In fact, his removal was celebrated by the Ekiti people. Most of the commentators have also forgotten that Senator Babafemi Ojudu defeated Fayose with over 45,000 votes in the election to the Senate in the Ekiti-Central Senatorial District during the 2011 general election. Rice and money were also distributed by Fayose then.

Was this the basis for the gang up?

That was the basis of the gang up against the Fayemi regime by teachers, civil servants, local government staff, undergraduates and their parents . Whether they are right or wrong, time will tell. Those who have reduced the ideological crisis to what the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has erroneously referred to as ‘stomach infrastructure’ are merely begging the question.

People thought that Fayemi’s achievements would speak for him during the election?

From 1999-2003, the Bisi Akande administration in Osun State was rated one of the best in the country in terms of infrastructural development. But it lost the election because it did not carry the people along. Fayemi has just suffered the same fate. He assumed that the Ekiti people understood the programmes and policies of his regime. Not much was done to explain the basis of the sacrifice they were asked to make. Can you imagine that the closure of miracle centres by the regime was opposed and misinterpreted by those who were profiting from examination malpractice?

Is it right for the APC leadership to proceed to court after Fayemi conceded victory?

With respect to the validity of the result of the election there isn’t much to contest in court. Apart from the case filed by the E-11, a socio-cultural group which is challenging the competence of Fayose to contest the election in court in view of his impeachment, I do not believe his victory at the polls should be challenged in an election petition tribunal. To that extent, the APC ought to build on Fayemi’s concession speech and reorganise its affairs. However, the APC should sue the Federal Government in a Federal High Court to justify the restriction of the movement of some governors, the arrest of a serving commissioner in Fayemi’s cabinet and 14 other unarmed protesters at Ado Ekiti who were later transferred to Abuja and charged with terrorism, the arrest of 25 party members on election day, the militarisation of the electoral process, the imposition of curfew and other incidents of impunity carried out by the army, the police and other gendarmes before and during the election. A government which cannot maintain adequate security in the North-East region which has been overrun by insurgency ought to justify the deployment of 36,790 soldiers, police and civil defence personnel, all bearing arms and terrorising people including those who have no business with the election.

Did the election not reflect the wish of Ekiti people?

Frankly speaking, I don’t know about the wish of the people. Out of a population of 2.3 million people in Ekiti state 1.6 million people are qualified to vote but only 750,000 were registered to vote. Out of that figure only about 50 per cent voted. Fayose, who won the election scored only 203,000 votes. In the circumstance, you can only talk of the wish of the registered voters.

Fayose said he’ll not embark on industrialisation of Ekiti, what does this portend for the state?

Fayose is perfectly entitled to his views. I wish him well. As I said earlier, the Ekiti people have gone back to Egypt with Moses firmly in the wilderness. I can only wish them luck. In fairness to the governor-elect he says that he has changed his old ways. Let us wait and see.

What does ‘stomach structure’ phenomenon portend for Ekiti?

It is not fair to insult Ekiti people for voting for the candidate of their choice. Did Americans not vote for Mr. George Bush instead of Mr. Al Gore? Did they not pay for the consequences of their decision? Is the world not paying for that choice with the rising wave of terrorism all over the place? Even in the Bible, did the Israelites not ask for Barnabas who was a well known criminal in place of Jesus Christ? For goodness sake, can you blame a people who have been traumatised and pauperised for years for collecting bags of rice and money from politicians once in four years? Governor Fashola knows that the concept of “jeun s’oke” did not originate from Ekiti State. It has its origin elsewhere. I am sure that the governor is not unaware of the celebrated case of Olu Falae v Obasanjo in which the petitioner alleged that rice and salt were distributed by the PDP to entice voters during the 1999 presidential election. Even though the allegation was proved beyond reasonable doubt the Court of Appeal held that there was no evidence that the beneficiary, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, authorised the criminal action. Since then, rice and money have always been distributed by political parties and candidates through proxies during elections in Nigeria.

Do you think the Ekiti election was actually rigged?

The election in Ekiti was not rigged. I witnessed it. I spoke to people before and after the election. Fayemi gave a good concession speech.

But the APC has raised the possibility of photo-chromic ballot papers being used in favour of the PDP.

I have been told by many APC members that photo-chromic ballot papers were used. I think the allegation is bunkum. Unless the party is ready to confront the reality of the election it is not going to draw the vital lessons from it. There were protest votes against the government. Instead of questioning the credibility of the election the APC should engage in a critical review of the verdict of the electorate.

What do you foresee in Ekiti during next year’s general election?

Many states today have to take loans to pay salaries because of shrinking statutory allocations. It would soon be clear to Ekiti people that the ruling party has no solutions to the crisis of infrastructural decay, unemployment, falling standard of education, corruption and abuse of office confronting them like other Nigerians. Having raised the expectations of the people, the Fayose administration will be under serious pressure to perform.

The PDP said if the election was rigged, Ekiti people would have revolted. Do you believe this?

No doubt, there would have been a violent eruption if the election was rigged. It happened in 1964.

What do you foresee coming up in Osun election?

Ceteris paribus, I am convinced that Governor Rauf Aregbesola will win the election in Osun State. Even the PDP members admit that he is a grassroots politician. So, you cannot accuse him of being disconnected or alienated from the people in any sense. In spite of the crisis of relevance that the APC is going through, Aregbesola’s socialist background has influenced his policies and programmes. Those programmes have endeared him to the people. Even the World Bank has taken officials from 12 states to Osun State to learn about job creation in the midst of massive unemployment caused by the neo-colonial capitalist system. Through the school feeding programme, the Aregbesola regime has boosted the rural economy in his state. No doubt, there are limitations in view of the dwindling statutory allocations from the federation account but he has engaged the masses in a pedagogical relationship. In 2011, he made sure that the presidential candidate of his party, the former ACN, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, won the election in Osun State. That was based on ideological commitment of some sort. But that was not the case in the other states in the South-West region.

What’s your assessment of Nigeria’s democracy from 1999 till date?

For the majority of Nigerians the democratic experiment has been an unmitigated disaster. While President Goodluck Jonathan recently measured our prosperity on the basis of private jets owned by less than 150 people it is better to rely on the evidence of the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics that 113 million Nigerians live on less than $1 a day.

Even in the Bible, did the Israelites not ask for Barnabas who was a well known criminal in place of Jesus Christ?

Classic!!

Trust Gbawe. He will never disappoint.
The best headline you can coin for this interview is what you have just came out with?
Haba Bros, you can do better.

Mind you, Falana had a very good advise for you and your ilks in APC. Read the interview again and take the advise serious.

Were your surprised with the outcome of Ekiti governorship election

I was flabbergasted by the outcome of the results.


Based on several projections in the media (and NAIRALAND )


I thought that Governor Kayode Fayemi was going to win the election - Falana

bUT SORRY, hE lost Woefully

Falana (attorney general of APC)
GEJ till 2019

shift15: Trust Gbawe. He will never disappoint.
The best headline you can coin for this interview is what you have just came out with?
Haba Bros, you can do better.

Mind you, Falana had a very good advise for you and your ilks in APC. Read the interview again and take the advise serious.

Look, I really try to ignore folks like you yet one must ask when people like you will ever grow up and stop your personality-centred approach to everything that marks you out as vengeful simpletons. Did you check the link to see that my thread title is exactly that of the original source of the article i.e the Punch? Imagine attacking another poster for presenting an article here exactly as the original ? What do you think that makes you if not one of the small-minded cretins ruining the politics section of NL?

Gbawe:

Look, I really try to ignore folks like you yet one must ask when people like you will ever grow up and stop your personality-centred approach to everything that marks you out as vengeful simpletons. Did you check the link to see that my thread title is exactly that of the original source of the article i.e the Punch? Imagine attacking another poster for presenting an article here exactly as the original ? What do you think that makes you if not one of the small-minded cretins ruining the politics section of NL?

Gbawe the English master! Too much English in the media but so little impact in the field.

Apart from LGA's election which your sitting govs manipulate to their advantage, your APC supporter of APC has not won a single credible election organised by the national INEC so far.

It lost a Senatorial election in Delta, rejected woefully in Anambra and Ekiti gubernatorial elections. The big big English from you and your mentor Liar Muhammed is obviously not paying off cos come Aug 9, Aregbe-terorist will be sent packing too.

Goddex: Falana is becoming a huge embarrassment to his admirers. Ekiti people have made their choice. Ayo Fayose is the man!

Punch newspaper, Fashola, Leadership, Falana Nations, TV Continental, Sahara Reporters, Radio Continental and all APC agents may go hug a transformer.

"Huge embarrassment" to who? People like you who are not from Ekiti or the SW? People like you are just senselessly feudal 24/7. Due to this, your sense of comprehension and even common snese is always compromised. Where in the article has Falana shown that he has not accepted the choice of Ekiti people? Rather, as a true Ekiti son, he defends his people against the accusation that they are a politically unsophisticated polity who voted for "stomach infrastructure" . Instead you who is not from Ekiti or the SW choose to attack an Ekiti citizen who is saying the right thing, defending his people and actually deepening our democracy with his foresight.

I can't blame you. Mindless hatred of individuals and groups run in your DNA. To that extent you can even be intrusively rude to direct stakeholders (i.e Falana who is from Ekiti) without realising it. Nairaland would be much better if people like you learn to respect others even if you do not like them. Falana is entitled to speak here on what happened in Ekiti as a citizen of the State. A prominent one for that matter who Ekiti folks look up to for wise words and direction. He does so intelligently and graciously and does not need to be attacked by people like you who never know their place and are indeed ruining Nairaland with this offensively intrusive behaviour.

Goddex:

Gbawe the English master! Too much English in the media but so little impact in the field

Lolzz!!

Goddex: Falana is becoming a huge embarrassment to his admirers. Ekiti people have made their choice. Ayo Fayose is the man!

Punch newspaper, Fashola, Leadership, Falana, Nations, TV Continental, Sahara Reporters, Radio Continental and all APC agents may go take a swim in the Athlantic Ocean

You talk as if owning newspapers is a new trend, Awolowo owned Tribune, Azikiwe owned West African Pilot.

The question below from the article arises from the utterances of Fayose after winning the election.

Fayose said he’ll not embark on industrialisation of Ekiti, what does this portend for the state?

Below is the appropriate article:

http://odili.net/news/source/2014/jun/23/802.html

My deputy won’t succeed me -Fayose

by Kamarudeen Ogundele and Eniola Akinkuotu, Ado-Ekiti


The Ekiti State Governor-elect, Mr. Ayo Fayose, of the Peoples Democratic Party has said his deputy, Dr. Olusola Eleka, will not succeed him in 2018.


He also said he had no plans to embark on industrialisation of the state because there was no adequate power supply to support that, adding that he will empower the people through contract award to indigenes.


Addressing journalists in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday, Fayose, who admitted that the Constitution did not permit him to take the oath of office more than twice said, “I have taken one and I will take another one in October. After that, I will find my way to my house.


“Again, I have chosen a deputy governor and I have told him from the beginning that the two of us will pack our load and leave the Government House because I don't want a deputy that will start playing politics behind me when we are in government and will be distracting me, I don't want that again.


“So, he is practically here for me to look after certain things for me and ensure that we succeed. When I am going, I will hold his hand and say bye to Ekiti people.”

Falana was right in some ways but to say that chop I chop politics did not play a part is denying the obvious.

lakpalakpa: [b][/b]

Classic!!

bastard

Gbawe:

"Huge embarrassment" to who? People like you who are not from Ekiti or the SW? People like you are just senselessly feudal 24/7. Due to this, your sense of comprehension and even common snese is always compromised. Where in the article has Falana shown that he has not accepted the choice of Ekiti people? Rather, as a true Ekiti son, he defends his people against the accusation that they are a politically unsophisticated polity who voted for "stomach infrastructure" . Instead you who is not from Ekiti or the SW choose to attack an Ekiti citizen who is saying the right thing, defending his people and actually deepening our democracy with his foresight.

I can't blame you. Mindless hatred of individuals and groups run in your DNA. To that extent you can even be intrusively rude to direct stakeholders (i.e Falana who is from Ekiti) without realising it. Nairaland would be much better if people like you learn to respect others even if you do not like them. Falana is entitled to speak here on what happened in Ekiti as a citizen of the State. A prominent one for that matter who Ekiti folks look up to for wise words and direction. He does so intelligently and graciously and does not need to be attacked by people like you who never know their place and are indeed ruining Nairaland with this offensively intrusive behaviour.

sharap

Another supporter of APC lamentation thread. Make una no cry again abeg o

oduastates: Falana was right in some ways but to say that chop I chop politics did not play a part is denying the obvious.

If you say "chop I chop" in relation to how stakeholder groups (Whether students, pensioners or government workers) felt they must be satisfied and settled, come what may and in disregard to the fiscal reality of things in Nigeria today, then I agree you have a point. The reality is that Ekiti did not see this "chop I chop" effect of Fayose rule in his first coming so why vote hoping Fayose will now embrace this mentality in 2014 when his antecedent shows otherwise? I think Fayemi did no wrong. He practised politics how he felt it should be. We must remember that the Awolowos, Nkrumahs, Lumumbas of African politics who are deified today are the very same let down by the people they fought for who did not have the requisite sophistication, at the time, to see what mattered the most when these visionary men tried to make a difference. Fayemi remains no different to those men in that regard and can hold his head high as an intelligent man who should know that political leadership should always be about the people and not 'do or die' desperation to cling on to power.

The aspect of carrying along a sentimental polity was lost on Fayemi because he took it for granted, as many great leaders before him did, that the people understood what he was doing on their behalf and would abide with him because of the concept of 'teething pain'.

This was not the case and many stakeholders, as Falana identified, were waiting to ambush him because, right or wrong, they felt Fayemi did not do his best for their particular group (civil servants, students et al). Fayose, who lost a senatorial election in 2011 woefully, was the beneficiary of this unique situation where anger against the incumbent meant automatic profit for his most viable political opponent which, for Ekiti, was always going to be the PDP candidate whoever that person is.

Let us see how Fayose manages the reality of 2014 and a period of political uncertainty where we all know, even if no one will admit so, the wealth of Nigeria is currently being used to try and return a President, universally deemed a failure, to power in 2015. How much , for example, are those instigating these 'late hour' impeachment against the enemies of GEJ being paid to do so? Bottom line is that the Ekiti electorate has made it choice and the APC should learn the right lessons. No one is perfect and the APC should work with this spirit to do more in carrying the grass-root along in future even when its elected leaders are comparatively doing well. Overall, it is still not time to panic or give the PDP any undue props. The ruling Party remains a very woeful and universally condemned example of political leadership. Ekiti was more about Fayemi being perceived as disconnected from the 'sufferings' of stakeholder groups when this is not true completely. Fayose is the governor in waiting and we will see what he can do and focus the same attention on him vis a vis his effort to solve the 'problems' stakeholders voted Fayemi out for.

Very apt, Falana dissected the situation so correctly, it was less of "stomachstructure" but protest votes against reforms by the incumbent. The Election was not rigged, Fayemi lost. Fayemi was not a street smart politician, he was a general figthing several battles in a war, he ought to have left some battle for his 2nd term.

With the 18,000 minimum wage to pay for workers, a deluge of promises to lots of disgruntled electorates, and dwindling allocation, Fayose will barely pay salaries, talkless of executing capital projects.

emiye: Very apt, Falana dissected the situation so correctly, it was less of "stomachstructure" but protest votes against reforms by the incumbent. The Election was not rigged, Fayemi lost. Fayemi was not a street smart politician, he was a general figthing several battles in a war, he ought to have left some battle for his 2nd term.

With the 18,000 minimum wage to pay for workers, a deluge of promises to lots of disgruntled electorates, and dwindling allocation, Fayose will barely pay salaries, talkless of executing capital projects.

Indeed. Fayemi is not and will not be the last politician to make this mistake of allowing a disconnection to grow between him and those he leads. In fact, almost all great and visionary African leaders can be accused of the same thing. These leaders see waht others cannot and sometimes fal to communicate their vision effectively to a polity too burdened to understand the need for further patience or sacrifice in the face of what is already 'unbearable' hardship. This concept, to the detriment of Africa's development, has led to the frustration and demise of many great leaders who meant well for the people and possessed the talent to make a difference yet lost the populace via not carrying it along.

APC, especially because it is an opposition Party in a nation where power is concentrated inordinately in the centre with the innate vulnerability of such being exploited by an unprincipled ruling Party, needs to do more to keep the people on their side. That is the main lesson to learn and fuse into future strategy.

Goddex:
Gbawe the English master! Too much English in the media but so little impact in the field.
Apart from LGA's election which your sitting govs manipulate to their advantage, your APC supporter of APC has not won a single credible election organised by the national INEC so far.
It lost a Senatorial election in Delta, rejected woefully in Anambra and Ekiti gubernatorial elections. The big big English from you and your mentor Liar Muhammed is obviously not paying off cos come Aug 9, Aregbe-terorist will be sent packing too.

You just made a grave allegation against my governor. I demand an apology.

I commend the gov for lifting the standard of public sch pupils who are often treated as plagues.
Surely, I will GLADLY vote a muslim who can stop corruption & immunity in Nigeria. The religious antics of the PDP will fail in the SW and the country at large.

Hmmmmmm, APC are confirmed goners in this case, dy should think of how things got wrong and how they can amend it for future elections.

Gbawe:

Look, I really try to ignore folks like you yet one must ask when people like you will ever grow up and stop your personality-centred approach to everything that marks you out as vengeful simpletons. Did you check the link to see that my thread title is exactly that of the original source of the article i.e the Punch? Imagine attacking another poster for presenting an article here exactly as the original ? What do you think that makes you if not one of the small-minded cretins ruining the politics section of NL?

I overstepped my boundary. I am sorry for that.
But trust me we are miles apart.

Really