By Emmanuel Aziken
Hon. Oladipo Olaitan, the National Financial Secretary of Afenifere, the apex Yoruba socio-cultural body was at the inception of the Fourth Republic, the leader of the Alliance for Democracy in the House of Representatives, a prime position that gave him opportunity into the affairs of the nation at that time.
What does the defeat of the APC in the Osun West Senate contest mean to you?
I am from Osun. We have been badly treated; we have not been governed properly by the governor.
Sometimes, I shudder and ask could this be deliberate? Could this be intentional? This is because I happened to know the governor and knew him growing up as a child.
I also knew him in Alimosho, nice young man and he rose up to be a commissioner in Lagos State. But are you now telling me that a man who served as commissioner for works in Lagos for eight years will not know the rudiments of running a government? Will such a person be in charge of a state and refuse to conduct local government elections? Will such a person be in charge of a state and refuse to appoint commissioners? Is that not even a constitutional aberration? For somebody to be a governor and refuse to appoint commissioners, what is the difference between being a dictator and being a democrat? A democratically elected governor who refuses to appoint commissioners, is he not a sole administrator? That is a dictator, whatever name you call it. So, what could have made this man to think that that is the best way to run Osun State?
Of course, when you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind. For almost eight years he has been sowing the wind and now, he must reap the whirlwind. I am sure that he is not surprised that he is losing.
Are you telling me that you don’t need commissioners to make inputs into what you do? It is unbelievable!
It beats my imagination. He is the lord of the manor, no commissioner, no person to ask him questions, nobody to make inputs and so he wakes up one day and says, I want to build an international airport!
Under normal circumstances, who did the quantity surveying? There should have been a lot of underground work before you say you want to build an international airport and commit several millions which are all gone into the drain now.
Why?
There is no airport there. I have the picture of the airport; there is only one dilapidated building standing there.
Then you wake up one day and say you want to build an interdenominational something? Have you had of government building churches? It is because he is alone, he is thinking for himself. He is thinking for himself and talking to himself. He is sowing the wind, and he is reaping the whirlwind.
How does this affect the 2018 governorship election?
He will lose(He meant Aregbesola’s candidate as he is in his second tenure).
So you think the APC will lose?
If he doesn’t lose, I will be shocked. No salaries paid, pensioners are not paid, you go and buy a helicopter for Osun State, and nobody sees the helicopter, except occasionally when you want to go from Oshogbo to Ipetu-Ijesha. By road, it is less than one hour, and you are taking a helicopter there? So, why do we need a helicopter for? What is the size of Osun State in any case?
Have you heard about the educational system in Osun State? You have heard about the opon-imo, not one single one available anymore and we spent billions on it.
All the students in Osun State must wear the same uniform. It is unfair, completely unfair, totally unfair. It is not right. I think he is not being fair to Tinubu. He has done great damage to the man.
I feel sorry for Tinubu, and I am sure he believed in him, and I don’t know what will be going on in the mind of Tinubu now. He fought hard to get him there and at a point in time, during the struggle, he gave Aregbesola his bullet proof vehicle to use just to protect him. What then can a leader do?
And now see what he is getting. Remember when they were about to do the last general elections, Tinubu had to physically go there just to rescue him. So, would they have expected him to have gone to campaign for him for the Osun West senatorial bye-election?
Or would you have expected Bisi Akande to go and campaign for him? So they left him to his own and now he can see himself. He cannot win. There is no way he can go about it. Teachers are not paid, pensioners are not paid, no roads, nothing! Let him point to one thing! He has been trying to build one bridge at Gbongan.
Social Media Links
Facebook – www.facebook.com/osundotlife
Instagram – www.instagram.com/osundotlife
Twitter – www.twitter/osundotlife