Former governor of Oyo State and governorship candidate of the Labour Party, Chief Christopher Adebayo Alao-Akala, speaks with select journalists on why he wants to govern the state again; the chances of his party in the election and the candidate that he and his party will support in the March 28 presidential election.
Sir, You are in the governorship race on the platform of the Labour Party, which came into the political equation of the state about a year ago; how will you describe the structure of the party in Oyo State. Do you think it is strong enough to win the election?
From the outset, the Labour Party structure has been very solid, because we laid a very good foundation. Don’t forget that the party is a merger of two parties; the APC and the PDP. A majority of people in the PDP came together and teamed up with the foot soldiers in the APC; and together we laid a good foundation for the party ab initio. We do not have a problem about the structure; we have a very good structure and we have also fielded good candidates for all elections. So, in all wards and local councils, our presence is well felt and we are solidly on ground in all the wards of the 33 local governments of the state.
Two former governors, you and former Governor Rashidi Ladoja and the sitting governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, are in the race for the governorship seat. The three of you are prominent; why do you think you stand out?
Without mincing words, among the three of us that have served in the office of the governor, I am the most experienced candidate.
You are more experienced than your oga, Senator Ladoja?
I am not saying that he is not my oga; he is still my oga and he will forever be my oga, because I served under him as deputy governor. But what I am telling you is that I am the most experienced candidate among all of them, if you try to distinguish between seniority and experience. What I am saying is that nobody has the kind of political antecedents and the kind of political experience that I have got. None of them has gone through that. And that is what makes me excel over and above them and it is going to tell when the election is held on April 11.
What kind of experience are you talking about?
When you talk about politics, experience is very important and I will give an example. My boss, Ladoja, never won any election without me. I was there as his deputy when he won in 2003 and my running mate today, Alhaji Sarafadeen Ali, was also there when he won election; he became Secretary to the State Government when I was deputy governor. After that, Senator Ladoja has never won any election. But without him, I have won elections. As a grassroots politician, I was once a local government chairman and by the special grace of God, we started the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) and I was its vice chairman in Oyo State. I also became a deputy governor. Today, I am the only deputy governor in Oyo State that has ever become a governor; these make me to be over and above other contestants in this election. I remain the only person since the state was created, who has two photographs in the Secretariat Building; as a deputy governor and later as a governor.
When you contested election in 2011, you had a good showing in other zones of the state except Ibadan, which controls 55 per cent of the votes. What do you think will go differently for you this time round?
Don’t get it wrong. I had good showing across the state, including Ibadan. In fact, what I polled in Ibadan in 2011, I did not poll up to that in 2007. Go and look at the records. Also, I want you to forget about what you called controlling 55 per cent of the votes in Oyo State, because I know where you are going. You are going to say that the 55 per cent votes belong to Ibadan indigenes.

The 55 per cents you refer to does not belong to Ibadan alone. When people say that, they try to bring up what they refer to as Ibadan indigenes and I can tell you that many people who live in Ibadan are not Ibadan indigenes. This is a cosmopolitan city. I got enough votes in Ibadan; I got more than the constitutionally-required votes in Ibadan, more than what I got in 2007. And about what will go differently for me this time round, that will be proved on April 11 when we have the election.
Going by your campaigns so far across Ibadan, do you think the people of the city, either residents or indigenes, will vote for your party?
This time it is not only about the party; the election will not be about the Labour Party. Yes, I am in Labour Party but it will be about individuals who are tested and trusted. The people are going to vote for individuals, they will not vote for parties. If the election were to be about parties, then we will be making a lot of mistakes. Many people will not vote for parties; if it were to be about parties, I will not be where I am today and I will not tell you that I am on top of the situation in Ibadan and the state. If it is about parties, anybody can just come up and he will win. If you want to know, our democracy has grown to the point that people want to know the person they are voting for. They want to know his pedigree, his antecedents and so on. They want to know if it is someone that is going to give them problem or someone that will listen to them. People want to vote for character. They want to vote for integrity and not political parties. But you just have to use a platform and from what we have seen so far, Labour Party has been able to gather men and women of integrity; people that have been tested and trusted. Look at it from the example of myself and my running mate. You are aware that he was once a local government chairman and once an SSG. So, we know what it takes to govern Oyo State. We know Oyo State quite well and it is when you know a house well that you can move around in it and know where to go and where not to go. We know this state and that is what we are putting before the electorate to let them know that we have been tested and trusted. Let them look at our records and we are very proud to let them know that we have such records.
You have been going around with the message of amazing restoration, while the incumbent governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has been marketing his achievements in terms of roads, peace and security. What are you planning to restore when you become elected?
I have a lot of things to restore. You may talk of what Ajimobi has done; I will not tell you that he has not done anything. There is no governor that will come and will not do something. But let me tell you something, my dear brother. If you come to meet me as a doctor and you do not tell me what is wrong with you, if I administer a drug, am I helping you? I should know your ailment, know what is wrong with you before I prescribe a medicine. If you say that Ajimobi has been touting his achievements, the question is has he taken his time to know what the people want? Is he giving the people what they want or he is just dishing out what he thinks they want or what he thinks they should have? That is one of the things we will restore. I will feel the pulse of the people; I have always done that. I know what they want. If your back is itching and someone is scratching your leg, is he helping you? That is the amazing restoration I will bring back.

As a governor, you don’t just have to do things that will make people know that there is a government; you cannot just carry out what I will call window-dressing or propaganda. If you are telling me that your car is beautiful, who told you that a car is my priority, that you want to give me a very beautiful car? You have to get my priority first and ask me the order of my needs and not order of what you perceive to be people’s needs. I think you must be in this state when I was governing between 2007 and 2011; I was solving people’s problems on radio and television. I had that popular programme called E pade Gomina, a phone-in programme designed for people to tell me what they felt about my government; what they thought I should and what I should not do. They told me what I did wrong and right and where I did right, I would continue and where I did something wrong, I would reconsider. On that programme, I would ask people ‘what do you want government to do for you’. I visited a place today [Wednesday] and I felt proud of myself; I didn’t know they had named a street after me. I was invited there to speak to the people. The place is around Idi Ape/Yidi area of Ibadan. When I was in government, a big man just woke up one day and blocked the road leading to the street, saying it was for security reason and the people took him to court. One day, I was on the programme, E pade Gomina and people called to complain about the rich man’s action. After leaving the programme, we went there to demolish the barricade the man erected. I didn’t even know that they had named the place after me until I went back there today.
Are you getting feedback from the people you are governing? How are you getting the feedback and what are you doing with it? Are you afraid of the people you govern? Can you move freely among them or you are afraid of being attacked?
Since I have been coming to Ibadan and since I have known the Oyo State Government Secretariat, nobody has ever blocked the flyover to the secretariat. It is meant for everyone’s use; it has always been a thoroughfare. But Ajimobi blocked it the day he became governor, because he is afraid that he might be attacked. It is only he and his wife that pass through that place now. These and many others are the issues and these are what we intend to restore when I get back to office; it will be amazing and you will enjoy part of it. It is a message of amazing restoration, because it will be better than what I have done before. You see, when you are passing through a road or terrain you have passed before, you will not be afraid, because you have been through that road before.
You have tried to paint a picture of disconnect between the incumbent government and the people.
Serious disconnect. There is serious disconnect between the government and the governed.
But you lost election in 2011. If you were to cast your mind back, have you taken care of the factors that made you lose?
At 60-something years, I think I have done that. A Yoruba proverb says that if a small child falls down, he would look forward but if an adult falls, he would look behind him. So, I have done that and what I have discovered, as I usually tell people, is that Ajimobi did not win the 2011 elections, he only outsmarted me. Incidentally, outsmarting is also part of the game.
Are you sure he will not outsmart you again?
We are prepared for him and we have all it takes. Unfortunately for Ajimobi, those people he used that time are now in my camp. Are you aware that those people he used in 2011 are now with me? At least, 75 per cent of those people are now with me.
Some people have begun to ask if it is not possible for the opposition political parties to team up and defeat Ajimobi instead of all of you working separately, which could give him victory? Is an alliance possible?

What you don’t know about this state is this, with due respect to Ajimobi, he is gone already. How will you form an alliance against somebody that is weak already? Do we have to use a sledge hammer to kill an ant? We don’t need to use hammer to kill an ant; it is when you feel that someone is stronger than you that you have to form an alliance. Ajimobi is gone already. I can tell you that as I am talking to you; he is no more living in the Government House. He has not been living in the Government House since September 2014.
But you cannot say if that is as a result of fear of losing the election.
Oh. Okay. It is because his house is better than the Government House.
Again, some people might want to ask those things you will do differently from what you have done before.
I have told you these; I told you that there were things that I did wrong and I have taken my time to consider and take stock of what is happening to our people now. I have been going to different communities, seeking to know what the people feel and promising to do these for them. I have catalogued all the complaints and demands of the people while going round; I was asking them ‘I need your votes, what do you need from me?’ And they have been telling me that they would give me their votes if I would do this and that. These things are what I will do differently.
Let me give you an example, when I was governor, the state government started the construction of a road from Iganna to Ayegun in Oke Ogun area of the state. In that area, the road has never been asphalted; the people have never seen coal tar on that road. The construction got beyond halfway and when I got there to campaign recently, the people told me that ‘Alao-Akala, since you left office the road has been abandoned; where you left the project is where it is now. Please, we need you to come back and complete the road. We are all voting for you, because we know that when you come back you will finish the project.’
Ayegun is to Oyo State what Idi Iroko is to Ogun State; it has a Customs and Nigeria Immigration Service barracks. It is an established border control by the Federal Government but because of the nature of the road, people don’t pass through that road. My government was the first to tar that road and I told them that I started it and I would complete it for them. So, I have taken the pain to go round and ask the people and there is even someone who is in charge of cataloguing people’s demands and complaints and whenever we come back, we would discuss and fine-tune them. Let me not tell you about my ideas and plans so that other people will not steal them and start implementing them. You know that I started the market-to-market campaign but others have begun to copy that now. They are now going to markets. When I started my campaign, I said I was going to go from community to community not on a local government basis; I said I would go from market to market but they have begun to copy it.
Sir, as part of the things you might want to do differently, it is discovered that the incumbent governor has been brandishing his achievement in terms of peace and security. The APC has always been quick to link you with violence as clashes of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) were common in Ibadan when you were governor.
Don’t say when I was governor; When you say that, you are not being fair to me. I inherited that situation from the Ladoja administration; be fair to me. It was inherited by my government but I will still want to admit, because I was part of the Ladoja government as deputy governor. But Ladoja too is a very peaceful man. Those violent clashes were not about him or me. It was the modus operandi of the NURTW whenever they wanted to change leadership in the union. You don’t see NURTW changing their leaders in peace; they do it in a chaotic way and that was what I inherited when I was there. So, if that is no longer occurring, it is not enough for anyone to say there is peace.
What type of peace? Where did he get his statistics from to tell me that there was no peace when I was there? That he imposed [Taofeek Oyerinde] Fele as the leader of NURTW does not mean there is peace; what he did when he came was not palatable to workers. Before I left office, I proscribed the NURTW and so Ajimobi inherited a peaceful transition; I proscribed the NURTW and you are aware of that. So, what is he brandishing as peace? The peace he is talking about is even relative; when people are changing their leadership and they fight, if you are not a member of NURTW, they will not trouble you. NURTW crisis is not peculiar to Oyo State and the clashes that the APC is mischievously using to rubbish my government were limited to Ibadan. Did you ever hear of anytime it happened in Ogbomoso, Oyo or Oke Ogun? So if that is what he is brandishing as achievement, is that not stupid?

Was he not governor when my driver, Beyioku, went to bank to collect money and he was shot and killed? Is it not under Ajimobi’s government that a kidnappers’ den was discovered at Soka. Mind you, Soka is in Ibadan and not in the hinterlands of Oyo State and it was even discovered that the state government awarded the contract. Is it not under his government that several cases of armed robbery attacks have been reported? What about the killing of a police officer at an APC campaign rally at Liberty Road and the violent clashes among APC members? So, what peace is Ajimobi talking about? It is only people that are ignorant of what he means by peace that can buy that kind of lie.
But when you get back to government, what plans do you have in terms of peace and security?
Don’t ask me that. When you do that, you are insulting my intelligence. I worked as a security officer for over 20 years; so he cannot be better at securing the state than me. I was well-trained as a security person. I know what it entails and I know how to motivate the security operatives so that they will work. The more a city is growing, the more crime you will have in that city; you cannot have a big city without crime and it is for government to encourage and motivate the security operatives to be able to operate. I bought vehicles for them when I was in government. I was the first in this country to buy Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC) for the police to combat crime I bought six APCs then. I bought over 40 pick-up vans for the security operatives and I know the subventions I give the police to make sure they perform optimally. I know what to do as a former security operative, because my first calling as a young man was security. I was not only trained with the police, I also trained to work with the army; I went to Jaji. So, what is a bloody civilian like Ajimobi trying to tell me?
Sir, right now, most of your allies and those who served in your government are no longer with you. Your former commissioners for health and local government and chieftaincy matters, Dr Babalola Owolabi and Senator Hosea Agboola, among others, are now in opposing camps. Isn’t that a challenge to your style of leadership?
Owolabi is now with me. Hosea Agboola cannot be with me, because he wanted to quickly become an oga. And if you don’t finish your apprenticeship and you want to be an oga, you are cursing yourself. You have to finish your apprenticeship, if not, you will just crash. You know that I made Agboola a senator and, now, he thinks he has arrived, that he can now stand on his own. Let him go. What do you do to that kind of situation? In every 12 disciples, there must be a Judas. People betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ. When you talk of people like Agboola, his electoral value is not something I will feel in my camp. Political value, yes; maybe one or two but in terms of electoral value, how valuable is he? Do you know where Agboola is from? He is from a village that, with due respect to him, if you bring an exaggerated map of Oyo State, you will need a microscope to discover it.
Still on the issue of making peace with people, what have you done to broker peace between you and the Alaafin of Oyo and other royal fathers?
I am at peace with all royal fathers. I do not want to involve the Alaafin in politics. There are three paramount rulers in Oyo State that I do not want to involve in politics: the Olubadan of Ibadan, the Soun of Ogbomoso and the Alaafin of Oyo. I do not want to involve them in politics, because I do not want anybody to think that by doing that, I am scoring some political mileage. I am very much at peace with all of them. I have a cordial relationship with all of them. That I did not visit them does not mean that I hate them.
Click bellow link to see Alao Akala achievement as Oyo State Governor:-
www.nairaland.com/2075357/photos-alao-akala-achievement-oyo

Alao-Akala is a lesson on seizing an opportunity when it presents itself.

It still confounds PDP apparatchiks how an Akala was dozing off while the rug was being pulled from under his feet in 2011.

This man had almost everything going for him in 2011 but allowed pride, unnecessary antagonism, short-sightedness and over-confidence get the better part of him.

Whether he would get another chance in 2015 is entirely another matter.

akala is nothing to write about in Oyo politics .ajimobi av revamp every sector in Oyo state ,ajimobi touch every sector in Oyo state kudos to ajimobi oooooooo even alaafin of Oyo av endorsed him since hmm akala is an empty bleaching barrel politician he won't score 20% votes in Oyo state.

Johnnyessence:
akala is nothing to write about in Oyo politics .ajimobi av revamp every sector in Oyo state ,ajimobi touch every sector in Oyo state kudos to ajimobi oooooooo even alaafin of Oyo av endorsed him since hmm akala is an empty bleaching barrel politician he won't score 20% votes in Oyo state.

No dull yourself Bro, OYO guber race is between Akala and Ladoja. Ajimobi is going nowhere

haykay2005:

No dull yourself Bro, OYO guber race is between Akala and Ladoja. Ajimobi is going nowhere

wake up bro....this is not PDP primaries, neither is this about NURTW elections....Oyo State is strongly behind APC. Ajumose gbogbo wa ni o

ladoja played the wrong card with the party's primary and has given Ajimobi a better deal, most accord supporters now work for seyi makinde or ajimobi truth be told. Akala can keep on dreaming

BiHung:
wake up bro....this is not PDP primaries, neither is this about NURTW elections....Oyo State is strongly behind APC. Ajumose gbogbo wa ni o

Time will tell my brother

haykay2005:

No dull yourself Bro, OYO guber race is between Akala and Ladoja. Ajimobi is going nowhere

were u dey live. everybody in oyo state knws that the contest is between ajimobi and akala

Some of the journalists in Nigeria are very lazy:they don't conduct enough researches before conducting interviews.When Akala said Ladoja had never won an election without him,I would have expected the interviewer to put it directly to him that Ladoja was elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1992 under the platform of Social Democratic Party.At that time Akala was maybe a Sergeant in the Nigeria Police Force lol...Akala should shut his mouth.He and his boss Ladoja will be roundly defeated by Governor Ajimobi on April 11...

integralng:
Some of the journalists in Nigeria are very lazy:they don't conduct enough researches before conducting interviews.When Akala said Ladoja had never won an election without him,I would have expected the interviewer to put it directly to him that Ladoja was elected a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1992 under the platform of Social Democratic Party.At that time Akala was maybe a Sergeant in the Nigeria Police Force lol...Akala should shut his mouth.He and his boss Ladoja will be roundly defeated by Governor Ajimobi on April 11...

Isokay

Cry me a river.

BiHung:
wake up bro....this is not PDP primaries, neither is this about NURTW elections....Oyo State is strongly behind APC. Ajumose gbogbo wa ni o

Abi O, Ajimobi Has Tried More Than Akala And Ladoja Combined.

Failures always have something to say anyway.

haykay2005:

No dull yourself Bro, OYO guber race is between Akala and Ladoja. Ajimobi is going nowhere

everyone knows d race is between ajimobi ,ladoja and Seyi makinde .akala and d PDP candidate should forget it oooo even they won't scored up to 20%votes each .

Who has the geographical spread dat Akala has amongs the rest.Do u think Ibadan is the only yardstick for measuring popularity.Wait & see!

while ibadan votes will be shared amongs all of them.The bulk of oke ogun,ogbomosho,Ibarapa & even part of oyo will be owed by Akala alone.Do ur maths!

Four Ibadan Guber candidates against Akala is an advantage for him.Ajimobi who lost 2 senators & several aides to opposition do not stand a chance in dis election.

following ...by april 12 will b back

You nail it Bro. I don't want argue with anybody here. April 11 is not too far

Dynamo35:
while ibadan votes will be shared amongs all of them.The bulk of oke ogun,ogbomosho,Ibarapa & even part of oyo will be owed by Akala alone.Do ur maths!

Dynamo35:
Four Ibadan Guber candidates against Akala is an advantage for him.Ajimobi who lost 2 senators & several aides to opposition do not stand a chance in dis election.

Leave them. Those who think ajimobi is coming back are just blatantly exposing themselves as political ignoramus as far as oyo politics is concerned. Anyone with sense should know that Akala is the most likely candidate to win due to his popularity outside of Ibadan. And now u can see that the shifting of election date is to his advantage cos now he has the time to penetrate even Ibadan where it is generally believed that he has the least chance. U can see how he has been using the extended time in campaigning aggressively in Ibadan. This means that he would have substantial votes in Ibadan too. So which other candidate would have some votes in Ibadan and majority votes in other places?

BiHung:
wake up bro....this is not PDP primaries, neither is this about NURTW elections....Oyo State is strongly behind APC. Ajumose gbogbo wa ni o

dreamer.
apc is gone is the south west.
we south west people do not suffer fools.
we give you chance
you do not perform
we give you long rope
you hang yoursef.
tinubu has hand apc
we will stone them with change

makeitplain:


Leave them. Those who think ajimobi is coming back are just blatantly exposing themselves as political ignoramus as far as oyo politics is concerned. Anyone with sense should know that Akala is the most likely candidate to win due to his popularity outside of Ibadan. And now u can see that the shifting of election date is to his advantage cos now he has the time to penetrate even Ibadan where it is generally believed that he has the least chance. U can see how he has been using the extended time in campaigning aggressively in Ibadan. This means that he would have substantial votes in Ibadan too. So which other candidate would have some votes in Ibadan and majority votes in other places?

Then if akala win dat mean ibadan indigen are bastard

U are on point bro.I also think labour party is the party to watch in Oyo state.With the young & vibrant members decamping from other parties to labour.They may spring a very big surprise.

Idiataqueen:
Then if akala win dat mean ibadan indigen are bastard

I think we should rise above sectional sentiments.May the best candidate wins.

Except,we want to give a dog a bad name for it to be hang,I think Akala did better than ladoja & Ajimobi in terms of Infrastrustural development.Forget all this Ajimobi hype.

If those pple are not careful, akala will win.. he's gonna get a block votes from Ogbomoso.. Ogbomoso pple loves him because he always put Ogbomoso interest in heart.

as for teslim, hes a story for another day.

Ladoja is just fooling himsef i think.

Seyi Makinde should try contesting House of reps

Ajimobi, He tried his best and I wish he can win again.

Ajimobi might have performed wonders in ibadan but same can't be said of other regions. No meaningful infrastructure development in other places, oke ogun people are the worst hit. I did my NYSC in oke ogun and I can say that there's actually little or nothing to show the presence of this administration.

We should see beyond only credential for aspiring to the highest office in Oyo State is having the good luck of coming from Ibadan, which means competence does not matter, let our son be there, we all knew Akala performed exelently durring his regime