“To overcome this challenge, the onus is on INEC and the Federal Government, if truly they are interested in conducting a free and fair election, to provide adequate security at every polling booth.”
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13 years ago
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Abdulfatah Agunleti is the Vice-President, Yoruba Peoples association and also South-West President of Goodluck Ambassadors, in this encounter with Eminent Leaders (EL), he bares his mind on various issues:
EL: Assessment on INEC preparation for the 2011 elections?
– What INEC displays so far signifies there would be free and fair election come April based on the. I’m still impressed with the ways and manners they are handling issues. But the challenge will be on the issue of security.
Looking at the conduct of primaries of various political parties, one discovers that many Nigerians were disenfranchised and rubbished of their ambition and by so doing; candidates are decamping to other political parties where they are sure of getting a ticket to contest.
Many of them have many scores to settle and the election may see them battling with their opponents and godfathers, who wants their candidates to win at all costs.
To overcome this challenge, the onus is on INEC and the Federal Government, if truly they are interested in conducting a free and fair election, to provide adequate security at every polling booth.
EL: On Ogun politics?
– Godfathers are getting it wrong. To me, most of them don’t carry out enough background checks on the candidates they push forward and that is the major reasons their candidates are rejected at primaries.
I am a Goodluck Ambassador and I advocate for Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in the forthcoming April election and ‘Insha Allah’ we have a strong belief he is going to win the Presidential election.
Coming to the issue of Ogun State, the original members of PDP were rubbished during the primaries and a lot of us felt our intelligence is being challenged and we felt enough is enough. You can’t leave a good leader and start following a bad one. NO!
What the majority of Ogun people want is Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka. That was why he was massively voted for during PDP primaries conducted and supervised by INEC official and he won.
After the conduct of the primaries, their names were forwarded to INEC and suddenly, the so called power that be exercised their power and his name and some others, like our own representative, Hon. Daisi Akintan, were removed from the list.
EL: Situation now in Ogun?
– If INEC is really committed to conducting free and fair elections as pronounced in different for a? There won’t be a single problem. It will be a test of acceptability.
The people of Ogun knows those they desire to rule them and I can say without mincing words that the majority of Ogun people wants Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka, irrespective of the efforts of some individuals to impose candidates. April will determine who is in control.
EL: Assessment of General Obasanjo and his role in the crisis?
– Ogun people know him as an ex-President who cannot point out what he did for the people of Ogun rather than displacing us. He is a man we have a lot of respect for, as permitted by our tradition. He is elderly and in South-West, we don’t disrespect our elders but this time we’ll disagree with him.
The game in Ogun now is not a game of power but a game of majority.
EL: The place of youth in the present political configuration, Nigeria, Ogun State and Sagamu?
– As a matter of fact, the Nigerian youth cannot be removed from Nigerian politics because the youth constitutes over 60% of the population, so majority of the vote expected in the next election comes from them.
This time, they are more enlightened. They know who they want and why they want them. The song of no-to-violence is on their lips because the power is in their hands, which is the voters card.
And in Sagamu, we have Hon. Daisi Akintan contesting as a Member of Ogun State House of Assembly Constituency 1 and Segun Kolade Okeowo in Constituency 2, both contesting under the platform of Peoples Party of Nigeria. They both won their primaries in PDP before the wrongful removal of their name by some powers.
These two youthful individuals moved to PPN with thousands of their supporters. They are good candidates that will see to youth empowerment and development, especially if one puts into consideration the records of Hon. Daisi Akintan when he was the Chairman of Sagamu Local Government. Hon. Daisi had done a lot for Sagamu, that we can’t just forget in a hurry. He opened up the economy of the town, in fact, the revolution in Ogun State right now in the form of PPN and Sagamu being the stronghold of PPN in Ogun State is a reflection of how much the people he served loves him.
It is in view of these that I strongly felt that the chances of moving Nigeria forward lies in the next election and our youth must be convinced and ready to educate others on reasons to reject those candidates and their godfathers who have placed us in this precarious situation and accept a fresh breath of air in the polity by voting right.
Agunleti is a Member, Institute of Chartered Economics of Nigeria and also a vibrant young Nigerian with passion for accelerated development.
