2023: Osinbajo Is Best For Nigeria – Ex-Osun APC Gov’ship Aspirant, Ayoade Lawal

He breezed into Abuja recently for another meeting, unknown to him, AYOADE LAWAL, an engineer and alumnus of prestigious Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, walked into AbujaCityJournal’s Editor, REMI ADEBAYO. The Iwo, Osun state-born chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) shares his thoughts about state, party and national politics.
In the last Osun state governorship elections, you indicated interest to vie for the office of the governor. Are you still interested in 2022 contest?
Well, I'm not interested in the 2022 governorship election. I would rather peach myself up for the incumbent.
Why are you supporting the incumbent?
He is currently doing well, from my own view, the salaries are being paid with the little resources that the state is earning, and I see him driving the state forward. Giving a second term, I believe he would be able to do better than he is doing right now. But so far so good, managing a state with little economic viability like Osun and still sustaining the salaries and other little projects that he is doing, I would commend his efforts.
Some people are worried that your party may not have good outing in 2022 due to unresolved internal crises. How will the APC handle that in Osun state?
Disagreement is part of human interaction; the tongue and the mouth also fight their own war. There is always dispute within parties and this would be resolved before 2022.
Recently, the National Assembly that is controlled largely by your party passed a bill recommending direct primaries as modality for recruiting candidates of all political parties in an election. What is your view about this?
Direct primaries will test the popularity of a candidate. If you are popular, direct primaries will reveal the true and best candidates, but in indirect primaries, they can have compromises from the delegates. Direct primary is a better form of primaries to elect party leaders.
But we have dissents from the APC seeing this signal that some governors are not comfortable with that?
Each governor with their different views, and each individual with their own views, which is the way they see it. There is nothing wrong with direct primaries.
What will you want to tell President Muhammadu Buhari on his assent?
The President should assent it; there is nothing wrong with it.
A number of people are not comfortable with this government, they’re complaining about hardship. How would you rate this administration?
Well, right from the time this administration came in, there have been issues about revenue, especially coming from our oil, and you know that oil is going up and we expect better delivery from the government; but so far so good, the government has other areas where it has shortcomings and where it has done well. I believe that insecurity is the main issue, so we need to look at how we can make the country more secure. The moment we can do that, I believe that the hardship will also go down.
One of the cardinal promises of this President is to provide security for all Nigerians. Why is this still diminishing its achievement?
I would look at it from the point of using the right resources. When you talk of security, that is the primary role of government to its citizens. So, I would rather advice the President to scout more for the people that are highly capable to assist with intelligence gathering. We have not been really doing too well when you talk of intelligence which is the foundation for security.
With the situation in the country today, do you think the APC stands a chance to retain the presidency beyond 2023?
Yes, definitely by the special grace of God.
Beyond God, what will the APC bring to the table to convince Nigerians?
So far so good, ruling a country like Nigeria is not an easy task and we know that we have the resources to make this country great again, irrespective of our security challenges. I want to believe that we have the candidates, and the materials within the party that can go beyond what we currently have, even after the end of this regime.
When you are talking about candidates, I'm sure you are talking about those within the APC, who amongst them do you think has the capacity and acceptance that can make the APC retain its seat?
Definitely, PYO! Professor Yemi Osinbajo. He is a great man. You can see his leadership capabilities and qualities; you can see his simplicity in leadership. If someone like Prof Osinbajo reaches the helm of affairs by 2023, I want to believe that this country would move to greater heights.
But some people believe that the Vice President and President Buhari have been together for six years …
Well, we must also understand that the President is not only surrounded by the Vice President, he has a lot of other people with different responsibilities and you and I know that there is a limit to what the Vice President can do because of our law. So, being the president is also different from being the Vice President. I want to believe that Prof Yemi Osinbajo is gaining a lot from this government experience-wise, and when you have someone like him, you will know where the faults of this regime is, and where the loopholes are; so, having someone like him can only help us for continued improvement in governance.
There are other candidates that are warming up in your party, not just Prof Yemi Osinbajo, and some people are talking about a godfather in Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. If you put the two of them side by side, would you still say that you want Osinbajo to be president?
First of all, we must understand one thing, these are men that love good governance and are experienced; they are also friends and have been friends for a very long time. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu is a good candidate to rule this country, there is no doubt about that, but what we currently have is a situation whereby a professor who we know is highly intelligent, highly skilled, who is younger and more energetic and has been in the walls of this power for six years. He will definitely know the nooks and crannies, the areas that need padding and the areas that do not; that is why Prof Osinbajo is a good fit for this, and for Nigeria in 2023.