Ekiti Will Benefit From Homebased Govt. - Kole Ajayi 47 years old Lawyer and Politician, Barrister Kole Ajayi contested the Ekiti State June 21 election on the platform of Accord Party. Kole Ajayi completed his primary education at the St. George’s Catholic Primary School, Ado-Ekiti from where he attended the famous Christ’s School, Ado Ekiti from 1977-1982. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in October 2011. Elected National President, University of Ado-Ekiti Alumni Association in 2000: Member Ekiti State Government Advisory Board in 2004: National Public Relations Officer, Ado-Ekiti Progressive Union: The founder and National Coordinator of ‘Ekitikoya’ Group pressing for the actualization of a home based government in Ekiti. Honorary award of Ekiti Exemplary Leadership by the Federation of Ekiti State Students’ Union (FESSU) in 2004: Honoured by Confederation of Ekiti Students in the United Kingdom (Birmingham Chapter) in year 2004: Eminent Personalities Award of UNAD’s Faculty of Law in 2009: Ambassador of the United Nations’ Environmental Programme. In our exclusive interview with Barrister Ajayi he talked frankly on a number of issues, including why he believe the last Ekiti gubernatorial election was free and fair, his thought about the newly created LCDAs, his relationship with the governor-elect, his opinion about carpet crossing, politics of ‘stomach infrastructure’ and much more… You represented Accord Party in the June 21 gubernatorial election. Do you consider it a free and fair election? Thank you for that. Please let me first correct the issue of Accord Party which is not how people say it. The Party is accord and not Accord party and the synonym is A, and that is why it is indisputably the number one on the ballot. Coming back to the issue of the election, I want to say without any ambiguity that the June 21 governorship election was free and fair because it was one man, one vote on the day of election, the security, though, they were overzealous in some cases but at least, they did a good job. What happened on the election was that people narrowed their minds to PDP and APC because they wanted Fayemi out at all cost. Hence, they decided to vote one way so that a clear winner would evolve at the first ballot. We all saw the outcome as our victory because we know where we are coming from. You are probably aware that I started Ekitikoya almost 2 years ago to alert Ekiti people on the maladministration of the Fayemi’s government and we are happy at the outcome. What do you think about the fact that many candidates now distribute food and other gift items during campaigns? Thank you, this is an area that is very worrisome to me personally but I think the problem is systemic and also a reflection of a poverty stricken society. In fact, I still continue to ponder on the future of our country when I flash back on my helpless experience in this regard. The issue is that the majority of the electorates themselves consciously and unconsciously called for inducement because there is the dangerous believe that it is only the inducement they can benefit from the candidate and when he gets to power, he is going to feed his belly alone. You can see that this area is very worrisome and demoralising for anybody that means well for the society and it is even a major factor that enhances the recycled poverty we are witnessing today in this country if somebody has to go and borrow millions of naira to distribute rice and other items and of course, the resultant effect is that when he gets into office, his first major concern is return on investment (ROI) which will definitely takes its negative toll on the economy of the state vis-à-vis basic service delivery to the people. Section 130 of the Electoral Act is very clear on this but I think INEC has been overlooking things because it seems to be part of the system. On the last election of all the four major parties that contested election, it was only Accord that did not induce, even we did not have the resources to do that anyway but we put up a stout campaign style that was novel and indigenized and the public appreciated our message which was very clear; I wish to state that every household in Ekiti knows Accord and what Kole Ajayi A.K.A. “Aberekolokunludi” stands for which is home-based government and I was probably the only candidate that was always available at every debate organized to shed light on our manifesto and other various issues maybe because I am relatively green or may be because I didn’t see it as a do or die affair. Hence, the accusation of inducement raised by APC against PDP is like the pot calling the kettle black because they all induced and APC even induced more than any other party. We have seen many instances of politicians decamping to other parties. What is your view on this? I think the problem in this country is that there are no clear cut political ideologies amongst the various political parties. Hence, the system gives room for this incessant cross carpet by our politicians. To me, there is nothing wrong about it as it conforms to the principles of Fundamental Human Rights vis-à-vis Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Association. But I would have preferred a situation where our laws and constitution would be on 3 party system where people of this country would have the opportunity of choosing between 3 parties with clear distinct ideology. If we won’t deceive ourselves, Nigerian politicians make mockery of themselves on daily basis when a politician jumps from one party to the other not on any basis other than personal interests. This has shown that we still have a long way to go in this country but very soon, we shall get there. Having lost in the gubernatorial election how is your party preparing for 2015 general election? Well, just like any other party, a lot of people are indicating interest to contest for various positions under Accord and we are hoping that by the end of November this year, the picture would be clearer on who is who and what and what. Are you fielding candidates in all positions? Of course, we hope to field candidates in all positions. You based your campaign on the idea of forming a home-based government if elected. With hindsight, do you think it can work in Ekiti State? Of course, it can. I want to tell you that the home-based phenomenon is not to cut off people living or dwelling outside the state from participating in the governance of their state but to encourage them to be more interested in what is going on in their state long before they come around to seek for political office. You are probably aware that it was Ekitikoya which I sponsored that came up with this crusade and Accord as a party adopted it. The issue is that over the years, we realized people come in afresh after a long sojourn abroad or outside the state to seek for political office and by the time they get there they started behaving strange. They govern in a way it will be obvious that they don’t even know the values of Ekiti and to worsen it, they cannot even communicate in the dialect that is the most culturally homogenous. Hence, the reason for early hatred for people that found themselves in the position of governance. It was as a result of this that we ex-rayed the situation and we decided to come up with the home-based crusade to safeguard the economy of the state and prevent capital flight. Am happy today that the crusade has achieved tremendous result because at a stage, governor Fayemi had to excuse some of his abroad aides and introduced more home-based politicians. Also, the governor-elect, Ayo Fayose has declared that he would uphold the home-based policy. That is why I have always said it loud and clear that even though I did not win the election but I have succeeded in positively influencing the system with laudable issues that present and future generations will build upon. Hence, I feel personally fulfilled. Have you reached out to the governor-elect? Well, I don’t know what you mean by reaching out but the whole world is aware that I was the first to congratulate him through the electronic and print media and I also wrote a personal congratulatory letter to wish him well in the onerous tackle ahead. The Government recently created new LCDAs which the governor-elect has vowed not to recognize. What is your party’s stance on the issue? The creation of LCDAs by Fayemi after he has been shown a red card by the electorates is to ill-tune and an attempt to set a political bobby trap for the incoming administration. To us, APC is acting like a tenant who after getting quit notice start partitioning the apartment with non -durable materials that can collapse anytime, all done in a hurry to cause discomfort for the incoming tenant. This is very insincere and unfair to the Ekitis who are unfortunately getting carried away with this Greek gift. That is, to us, as a party. If Fayemi feels so strong in creating LCDAs, what has he been doing in the past four years when he had everything within his powers including a rubber stamp assembly to do whatever he likes? What has been happening to Local Government Allocation under his government? What of the welfare of the Local Government staff? Has Fayemi been allowing the 16 Local Government administrations to spend their normal statutory allocation justly? These are questions that would remain unanswered till eternity. If Ekiti people sincerely want LCDAs, let them commence such agitations when the newly elected governor gets there and he would know what and what to do. He will be able to access what is on the ground to know if, in his opinion, it is the best approach to providing the best for the people at the grassroots. In short, it is too dynamic and complex than what we can imagine. To me, I don’t think Fayose has acted out of place to declare that he won’t recognize that hurriedly packaged LCDAs which are administrations units that don’t have a place in the constitution. Why should Ekitis vote Accord? Like I said, Accord is the only Party that believes in the ideology of home-based government and since the election has come and gone, the rest is now history. What are your immediate plans? I am presently having my rest after a 3 year of hectic crusade and politicking and intending to go back to my law practice while partaking in the normal political activities now and the future because power belongs to God and He gives it to whoever He likes at His Own time. What message do you have for the Ekitis? I wish to thank the entire people of Ekiti for their love and support all through the campaign and to wish them the very best in future advancement of our dear State most importantly, in the next four years and to pray that God will always put His fears in the hearts of those in the affairs of governance for the downtrodden masses to reap the dividend of democracy.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 05:21:02 +0000
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