Vanguardngr:
I am going back to the classroom – Fayemi
Governor Kayode Fayemi did not give the impression of being
the anchor of an administration on its way out when the team
of visiting journalists met with him in the late hours of last
Friday. As the team motored up the treacherous hill to the
new Government House, Ayoba Villa, commissioned just
yesterday, Fayemi was apparently still engaged in the duties of
state.
The governor has been busy in the last few days with activities
mainly focussed on commissioning what the administration
has styled as legacy projects. Dressed in a dark grey buba and
sokoto, with white embroidery, Governor Fayemi took out one
hour to respond to questions on his exit strategy, the lessons
of his four year stewardship among other issues.
By Emmanuel
Aziken, Political
Editor
There has been an
influx of notable
personalities to Ekiti
State in the past few
weeks to
commission
projects by your
administration. Why
did you keep it till
the tail end?
First, let me say that it is just a co-incidence that you are
seeing the galaxy of stars in Ekiti at this particular period.
If you recall, you would also confirm that consistently in the
last four years, every October we commission a whole series
of projects and people come here. We have had even
international personalities visit us to do one commissioning or
the other. And it is always taking place around or about this
period.
It just so happened that for this particular fourth anniversary
we also had to showcase what we have been able to do in a
much more comprehensive manner in the last four years.
Particularly, in the last two years because the projects we are
commissioning now are the projects done in the last one year.
Last year we commissioned Ikogosi Warm springs Resort, we
also commissioned most of the road projects; we haven’t
really commissioned roads this time around except the local
government roads. And we have projects we refer to as legacy
projects, one of which you are currently inside (The Ayoba
Villa). They are mostly the projects that we have
commissioned in this current phase.
But I think it basically seeks to demonstrate that for us it has
been a legacy of service and sacrifice to our people and on
that whichever way you want to look at it, this was not the Ekiti
we met. The Ekiti we met was in many ways different from
what we are today. We didn’t have the kind of facilities we
have now. Not just on government’s side. What is often not
mentioned is that there is a great measure of growth in the
private sector activities that we didn’t have then.
I always cite the increase in the number of available hotel
room space in decent hotels as a measure of the economic
growth and investment in the state. We used to have just two
decent hotels when I became governor here; Fountain Hotel
and Pathfinder Hotel.
But now, less than four years after, we have had an upsurge of
at least ten very decent hotels and an increase from 500 to
2500 rooms and they are still not enough. In fact, some of the
hotels are doing extension of their facilities now. If you go to
Prosperous or Midas, you will see the extension being built by
the hoteliers, not to mention The Jewel, Queens and Delight.
With the olive branch you extended to your incoming
successor, Nigerians were expecting a smooth relationship
between you two but at what point did things get bad?
One thing I always say is that I’m not given to playing to the
gallery. I’ll not denigrate this office. As an occupant of the
office, I hold it in high esteem. That is why I sought the
position and I also hold high anyone who has either held the
office or is coming into the office. And I’m not going to get into
personality issue. Suffice it to say though, that the record
speaks for itself.
There is no place you will find me or my Chief Press Secretary
cast aspersion in the last three months. Instead, what you will
see are people who cast aspersions and then withdraw the
aspersion.
For me, there is even nothing wrong in pushing the frontiers
of debates but push it on the basis of facts. The steps I took
which many saw as unusual, I didn’t see as unusual. I’ve given
you the context. I knew the machination behind what
transpired in Ekiti and I knew the next phase they were about
to move to. I chose to rescue our people from that because I
felt it would be double jeopardy. And there is no apology for
doing that.
Institutional manner
This was why I then called the governor-elect; listen, I think it
would help you to – since you said you have changed-
behave more maturely. To approach this in an institutional
manner, put your team together, send me a list of people that
you want in your transition committee. Let your team meet
with my team and work through a process.
If there is anything that is confusing to you ask me questions.
You have to be patient and also conduct yourself in that
manner with a brother and a successor-in-waiting and you
start reading statements contrary to what decorum dictates.
I’m not someone who will say don’t ask questions. As matter
of fact, I do not expect you to come into any government and
not review the activities of the past government. It’ll be
irresponsible of you not to review what transpired, how did it
transpire, are there gaps that you need to give us information
on and if there isn’t we move on.
But if you choose not to do that, if you choose to play to the
arena of public media because you are either soliciting
sympathy in one form or another and creating the impression
that what you are coming into is a failed state so to speak;
then even if I don’t want to do it as a person, the institutions of
government will not have a choice than to respond to say that
you are just laying a foundation for the failure that you are
going to be when you get into office.
So, take that away from it there is no breakdown. It’ll interest
you to know that up to two days ago I was still signing up
some papers for the government coming in. And as you all
now know, there is a regular signing for support that has gone
to the governor-elect since he won the election. Now that it is
public information because THISDAY reported it today and I
can confirm it to you. Well, I don’t know where they got their
information from but they did. These are documented facts.
There is no big deal in that. It did not happen in other
transitions but I cannot claim to be civilized and exposed as
much as I’m and not also borrow a leaf from other places.
Structural support
If you have a person
win an election in
America today,
automatically
certain structural
support base comes
in to effect. It is
unofficial here. It is
not even something
that can be
defended because
I’ve no budget line for it. So if I choose to do that out of the
contingency funds of the government, it is not because I’m
afraid of anybody and it is not because I owe anybody that but
for me, I wanted the transition to be smooth, however, if
someone coming into office prefers brickbat to reason, then
clearly we will also have to respond to that.
Given the present tension in the state especially in the
judiciary, do you expect the House of Assembly dominated by
the APC to function after the transition?
Once brigandage and thuggery descend on any society, there
is a problem. What we have seen in the courts in Ekiti is
monumental travesty that really shouldn’t be supported by
any right thinking person. But to think that this is actually
being choreographed and coordinated by elements within the
Federal Government portends serious danger for Nigeria’s
democracy and for the independence of the Judiciary.
Security apparatus
I hope the Judiciary and all of us, all right-thinking Nigerians
would stand up firm to challenge what is going on because the
minute you start using the Military and other security
apparatus to hound Judges, the Chief Judge of this state was
locked out of his own office when he attempted to go into his
own court yesterday.
This is not what was reported in the newspapers, you are
hearing from me, that is what happened to the Chief Judge
yesterday and his brother Judges. And you have the police
commissioner and others who are in cahoots with those
subverting the courts. I think there is no adjective to use for
what is happening now, not even in the days of Military rule in
this country was a court invaded and Judges beaten up.
They may disagree with you, they may invite you, they may
use somebody to go and talk to you before they deliver
judgment, but not even the Military in all of its brazenness
adopted this jungle justice as a vehicle for getting their own
way.
I think you are right if that is extended to the Assembly. Of
course, that is the rumour that is common. We have seen that
before, it is the Judiciary that is the new one. After all, the
Assembly in Gbenga Daniel’s Ogun State was shut down for
more than a year, many would recall what happened. So that
is actually not new, it could happen.
So, what would you do?
Well, I am not going to reveal what we are going to do in a
session like this, but we would cross the bridge when we get
there.
There is a rumour doing the round now that you are being
considered for the vice presidency of APC, my question is that
if that happens, what kind of vice president should Nigerians
expect from you, especially if you are going to be vice-
president to somebody like Buhari who is a military man and
you being a democrat, since all the presidential aspirants are
coming to commission your projects (laughs).
Well, the last time I checked, I am not aware that General
AbduIsalami Abubbakar is a presidential aspirant in any party.
As far as I am aware, I thought he was just a statesman, a
former head of state.
But to your question, let me start by saying that for me, I don’t
even understand this notion of being considered. Do aspirants
consider people for vice-presidency? I think the way it
functions is that you become the candidate of a party and you
look for somebody who could work with you and I think as far
as the timetable of APC is concerned, we are far from that.
If your question is hypothetical, what are you going to do in
the event that you are asked to be vice-presidential candidate
to whoever emerges as the candidate of your party, basically, I
would tell you, one, I am not in the race for presidency. Two, I
am a party man through and through and if that were to
happen, I certainly would give it a serious thought because if
you look at the seat I am occupying, I really did not run for
this seat. I am one of the luckiest Nigerians that you can refer
to in that sense.
Quest towards consensus
I was literally head-hunted for this job and some of our
leaders felt that I had what it took at the time to run for the
position of governor in Ekiti State. And I wasn’t really one of
the frontline people in the party then.
If you see the three of them, maybe it is in the quest towards
the consensus that we are looking for in our party.
After your tenure, are you going back to the classroom?
Oh certainly, I am a permanent student. I have already
received a couple of offers both locally and internationally. I
have a lot of jobs to do now. If I am going to go out at all, it
will just be for a short period to write and reflect on my
experience in Ekiti, it would not be on a permanent basis.
You know, I have an on-going relationship with the University
of Ibadan, the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies. I have
that. And then, we just set up a Regional Institute for Peace
and Governance in the Ekiti State University here, so either
way, I am going back into the classroom, in one form or
another.
If you are called upon by the next governor to come and
defend certain actions, what will be your response?
Why not!? I expect that I would be called to defend certain
actions to clarify actions, to explain what I have done in office
that is stewardship. Anyone who has served must be prepared
to render an account of stewardship, but even before I am
called, I mean I have almost a 1,500-page hand-over note for
the incoming administration and I am sure they would have
enough to chew on and if they are not satisfied, I am sure they
can ask questions as long as the questions are asked in a
manner that does not impugn my character which I hold very
dearly. And there is no reason why they should not be free to
ask questions. It is a legitimate expectation of any new
government to ask questions about what has transpired. They
need not necessarily be negative, they may just be because
there are things I would have loved to do with the incoming
administration, but I wouldn’t be able to do because of the
way the incoming administration has conducted itself.
Clearly, one of the things I promised for instance, I promised
the World Bank, in the course of my tenure, they have eight
projects in this state, so Ekiti became the major focused state
in Nigeria.
Projects in agriculture
And they are worried now, they are very worried, they are
concerned about what is going to happen to their projects and
to things we have been doing. We have projects in Agriculture,
in water, we have in Education. I mean World Bank has over
the last one year put in almost $150 million in this state and
now, they have solicited, they have asked me to bring the new
person so that we sit down, introduce him to them and
reassure them that these things would be handled in the
manner that would not make them regret the fund they have
given.
Of course, their support is not personal, it is institutional. But
in fund raising, we always say it is people that you are
comfortable with that you will support and it is not an accident
that Ekiti did not have that kind of support before I became
governor here. So it is going to be a challenge. He would have
to reassure development partners. They don’t have
particularly nice stories to tell about past relationships with
him. So I hope we don’t lose out, I hope the World Bank
doesn’t withdraw their support from Ekiti. www.vanguardngr.com/2014/10/going-back-classroom-fayemi/ |
