The member representing Ibarapa/Iddo Federal Constituency of Oyo State in the House of Representatives, Mr Yemi Taiwo, speaks on the 2023 general elections, among other issues in this interview with BEN OGBEMUDIA and TOMIWA OKUNADE
2023 is an election year and it is particularly important for your party, the PDP, which has coined a slogan, “Let’s rescue Nigeria”, what will you use to rescue Nigeria?
My party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is trying to do things differently this time around. Differently in the sense that they want to put the round peg in the round hole. Like our national convention, we go for the best.
We go for those people we believe can pilot the affairs of the party and in doing that, we believe we’ve laid a solid foundation in the party to give Nigeria the best candidate for the next election. So, that I believe, is what my party is doing. We are doing things differently now and we are trying to do it correctly.
In the South-West, some stakeholders think Governor Seyi Makinde is monopolising the party structure. Do you think so too?
There is bound to be disagreement in every sector. Even in an organisation, you can’t have everybody on your side. You are bound to have some people that will not go along with your idea or go along with your vision, so it is not a thing that is unusual to happen in a party as big as PDP and in Oyo state. Yes, some people are maybe angry with the governor and I believe most of these divisions, can I say most of the displeasure by some people are born out of personal interest rather than collective interest.
If you are in the position of a governor, you tend to go along with popular programmes that are good for the people. So, for the governor to go along with the people is like saying he needs to rule with the fear of God, he needs to give back to the people, that is a democracy, I think the governor is getting it right. I am not saying that those who are angry with the Governor are wrong, they may have one or two grievances against the governor but I believe it is not too strong to the extent that it can harm the governance of the state and I believe soon, all these issues would be resolved in the interest of our party and the interest of the people of the state.
The opposition APC in Oyo State has accused your party and the governor of embarking on cosmetic projects. Is that the reality on the ground?
You know if you are embarking on a project, that project is there for the people to see and assess, so those that are accusing the government of doing cosmetic projects are free to go to the state and see for themselves if the roads the governor is constructing for them are cosmetic projects, if the street lights or urban development of the urban centres of the state are cosmetic projects, so the decision is theirs and lets them come back with their report if all those I’ve mentioned are cosmetic projects.
If you see the level of road construction that is going on in the state now, you will marvel. I marvelled at myself because I believe funds are scarce in the country now, but I don’t know the magic the Governor is using in doing all those projects. It is a massive development that cuts across all the zones in Oyo state. We’ve never had it so good. So, for me, let’s leave politics apart, let’s assess the man called Seyi Makinde.
We know that the governor is trying his best in changing the face of Oyo State. If you get to Ibadan now, you will be comparing Ibadan to Lagos in terms of massive development – urban integration. So, I think, it is one of its kind.
Do you see this governor or the PDP winning re-election in 2023?
In 2023? Yes. That question is interesting. You know politics has gotten to a level now that even the younger people that are coming are interested in who rules them and in working your way into the hearts of the people, it takes some level of work. I can tell you categorically that yes if my governor decides to run tomorrow, I don’t think we will have any problem.
I can’t even see that person that can challenge him as of now in Oyo state even in the other parties. I can’t see because he has performed beyond people’s expectations. Yes, nobody is perfect, he might have failed in some areas, maybe political integration, I mean those politicians, and he might have failed in that area, and they are complaining that he didn’t carry them along in so many ways but give it to him. If we are to judge him by his level of performance, I think he has worked his way into the hearts of the people of Oyo State. Therefore, I don’t see any miracle that anybody can do in defeating the current governor in 2023.
Are you saying that APC is no more on the ground in Oyo State?
Well, I can’t say they are no longer on the ground. As far as I am concerned, 2023 is a no-go-area for any other party in the state because of the performance of the Governor and the performance of those that were elected to serve the people of Oyo state, like myself. We’ve done so much in giving back to society. Visit our various constituencies, you’ll see the level of work that has been done. I do not see any party giving us headaches in 2023.
Where do you think your party should zone the presidential ticket to?
You will see that my party, in its wisdom, has left the zoning open for every zone that they can canvas to become the president of this nation. That is the first major and right thing to do because you don’t gag people, you don’t keep them in a zone perpetually, so by leaving the ticket open to all zones, my party has done the right thing. Now, the next thing is to look for the best hand wherever in the country. To look for a person Nigeria can have faith in, not that they are gagged into a zone.
So, I believe the party will do its job by giving us the best candidate, wherever the candidate comes from so far he comes from my party, he becomes my candidate and I believe in the leadership of those that are piloting the affairs of the party that they will do the right thing in making sure that we give Nigeria the best candidate that can move this country out of this present problems. So, I don’t know where the candidate might come from but I’m praying that my party gives Nigeria the best of the best candidates.
Do you agree with the current campaign by the youths that Nigerians should not elect an old man as President in 2023?
Well, I may not go along with them per se because if you look at developed countries where we are copying the act of governance from, those that are ruling are those that are vast in experience, those that have served in various capacities, giving their best in whatever they do. These are the type of presidents that those countries elect and you will see that they always perform optimally because they’ve seen it all.
There is no way you can just hide anything from them because they have vast experience in virtually every sphere of life, so, I do not support those that are saying the President should be within a particular age bracket but in so far you have something upstairs that you can give to add to the development of this country, I’m with you.
If that’s the case, how do you assess Buhari’s government?
Let me tell you one thing. Those that gave us Buhari, they gave us Buhari based on his antecedents, but you see men change and age catches up with people in different ways. We can’t say because age caught up with Buhari and he didn’t perform up to the expectations of those that supported him then, we can’t use Buhari as a barometer to condemn all other people in his age bracket. No, we can’t handle that. When Obasanjo was in power, he was aged too.
They were just telling us the age they want us to believe in. Nobody knows their exact age and Obasanjo performed optimally before he left office. He performed optimally so don’t let us use Buhari as a barometer to condemn others because those that do not tap from the experience of the aged people, those countries cannot grow, those societies cannot grow because we need their experience, we need to tap from their experience.
You cannot just say you are young and you are blessed, God gave you money then you know it all. No, it is not by wealth or by heritage, it is by experience age. So, I don’t subscribe to those who are clamouring that “it is the turn of young people to rule” Yes, we’ve seen some who are not too young to rule. You see some young people that are in positions of authority that have messed things up completely and beyond repair and we see some older people that are ruling with the fear of God, so what do we say about that? I am not condemning the young people coming up but I believe it should be a gradual process
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