‘New government in Kwara has to be innovative’

Architect Lola Ashiru is the senator-elect for Kwara-South Senatorial District. In this interview with Fredrick Adegboye, he speaks about the politics of Kwara State, lessons to be learnt from the O to ge slogan cum movement that swept the PDP out of office in the state and what he expects of the in-coming APC regime in Kwara. Excerpts

YOU were almost killed during the campaigns. What do you think is responsible for this kind of vicious politicking in the country?

It’s the way politics is configured in Nigeria. I’m bold to say that more than 85 percent of politicians today who are in elective positions are not representatives of their people.  They’re not there because they love the people. They are not there because they understand their people. They are not there because they know what they want to do for their people. They are there as job engagement. When we go to typical political meetings and you do an assessment of those people who are in the meeting, you will come to this my conclusion.  They have least knowledge of the people they are representing.  They have least knowledge of aspirations of their community.  And unfortunately, Kwara State went through a process  in the last 15 years where the leadership of the ruling party then did not even know the people they were representing. That was the desperation that led to the opposition party wanting to eliminate me and to eliminate the people who were campaigning for us. People had recognised the fact that they were usurpers; they are interlopers. But I thank the Almighty God we escaped it by His grace.

I could remember in an interview you granted us in 2015. I think you wanted to be governor, if I’m not mistaken that time. In the said interview, you said Saraki (the current Senate President) was a kingmaker, and that he could not be discountenanced. What has really happened that has made you fall apart with him?

I didn’t belong to Saraki’s party then. I belonged to ACN and because I know the story and the history in Kwara State, because I have deep understanding of the people of Kwara State in general, then I opted, as a matter of raising awareness, as a matter of creating a surge for the party ACN, as a matter of advertising ACN at that time, as a matter of mobilising people to join the party because I love the party under our able leader, the Jagaban. At that time, there was virtually no ACN in the north of Kwara. ACN then was a strange name. I was the one that took that party to the north: the whole of the north. People in Ilorin at that time, I mean the central, Kwara Central, they were not in love with the party. So, I did this great job to bring ACN into the forefront of party politics in Kwara State. And as I said, we are coming from a long range of a sectional representative of governorship representation now in Kwara State and I thought that the other people of Kwara State deserved a run for governorship. I’ve slept with a lot of strange bed fellows in politics but all is a combination of rich political experience that I think I have today.

You are going to Abuja as the senator and it’s clear that the whole House of Assembly seats here in Kwara State were won by APC. Some are saying that because the deputy governor is from Kwara South and the person who his people are actually tipping for Speakership, for his loyalty, (since he refused to defect when all other current members defected from the APC to PDP), is also from Kwara South. What’s your own position on this?

I won’t say it’s pathetic, but it’s a very nasty situation. The only thing I can say is that knowing Saheed Popoola very well and being part and parcel of my political apparatus, I can tell you that he has competence to become the Speaker of Kwara State. He has the experience and I think politically he is bold enough. He’s intelligent enough to be the Speaker of Kwara State. And as you said, he has sacrificed. When we were all taking decisions on whether to remain in PDP or to go to ACN, everybody took a decision that was favourable to his future and I think he was right to take that decision to go to APC because if he had stayed in PDP, he could have been swept off. Speakership is a service point. Being a Speaker is just like saying you’re one among equals. You cannot represent more than your constituency. And a Speaker cannot be dictatorial. He cannot do his wishes; he has to do the wishes of the people of Kwara State and the wishes of the other members. I don’t see it as a special elevation for him. And as a leader in Offa here, the most duty I hold is that if an Offa man is looking for something, the best I can do is to give that support to him. So, when you think about his speakership, he has my endorsement. People that are saying that this thing has to be zoned, they are not honest because if it is zoning we are depending on, we are living on Ilorin man today will not be the governor of Kwara State. Abdulrahman Razaq will not be there; it is a measure of what is auspicious for us today, that is why at Ilorin, we didn’t mind the fact that the present governor-elect is from Ilorin and everyone supported him.

As one of the three senators of Kwara, what would you expect from the governor-elect, or what actual programmes and policies would you expect the governor-elect to really implement as many Kwarans are claiming it’s one of the oldest states yet, perhaps, the least developed?

You know, there are so many reasons why I’m happy with Kwara of today. Let me start by the senators-elect we have today. I’ve seen senators from other states and I’m bold to say that we have best of materials for the first time in Kwara State today. There are all very competent and they are all very exuberant about the new situation we have today in Kwara State and they’re ready to work even beyond their capacity. They are ready to be exceedingly supportive of the executive arm in Kwara State today. And then I’m happy that it’s somebody like Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq that is there today. Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq had given a lot to the struggle where we are today. For the last 20 something years, he has been very contributive to make sure that we have the freedom we have today. So, you discover that we are blessed with what we have in Kwara State today. And he knows the problem and he’s empathic. One is to know the problem, the other is to feel it. He feels it more than any of us. And he knows that he has to be innovative. That’s one great point. He knows that he has to be very, very innovative to move forward.

Not too long ago, incoming senators had a retreat in Abuja. What is your major take-away from that retreat?

The major take-away is that for anybody to be in the senate, Nigeria must be his major concern. He must respect the system. He must respect order. He must be very, very selfless. It’s a call for service. It’s not a place where you’re probably thinking that I want to make money, I want to do this. It’s a place where you can change the template. I’m happy for the retreat. And I was there 100 percent of the time and I listened a lot.

Do you think that what Senator Shehu Sani said some time ago that a senator earns as much as 12 million, 13 million naira a month is not an inducement for many to want to go there?

You know, most senators that go in there come out poorer than when they are going in. Most senators that go in, they come out poorer because the task of building administrative apparatus around you is more expensive than whatever you get from the senate. The task of getting your work done and the resources you need is more than what you will ever be compensated with. The task of being a senator, the social responsibility itself, is so big to the extent that you see many senators running around, I mean trying to dodge their constituency because of the pressure from their constituency. This money you’re talking about, in terms of figure, it looks big. In reality, it’s not money that goes into the pocket of senators but the money that goes into the apparatus of governance through the senator. But one must be very careful with the way you play about those figures because people will always get it misinterpreted.

In Nigeria, it’s believed people defect from one party to the other for selfish reasons. What do you think can be done to really make defection illegal, especially when you are still in office?

Is defection a bad thing? Is it a crime? It’s not. It’s not. Is it a bad thing?  It’s not. It’s a choice and its freedom. People who are defecting, they have good reasons for defecting, a lot of reasons for defecting, just as divorce is permissible. Why do you want to legislate against defection? Can you legislate against divorce?

So, what would you say is or are the main reason(s) for the defection of the current Senate President from the APC?

Even from the beginning of his tenure, it has been problems and problems and problems with his party. I don’t want to go into that. While at our determinant end, he discovered that his political career will be terminated if he remained in APC.

But has it not been terminated now that he has been defeated roundly?

That is God. That is God. Maybe it could’ve been worse for him if he’s still here.

In APC, you mean?

Yes. Maybe, I don’t know. You get me. But by his own calculation, he felt that ‘I can’t sleep, I have to divorce my wife.’ So, it’s freedom. It’s freedom.

What do you have to say about the O to ge movement that swept PDP out of power in Kwara?

O to ge is a lesson. It’s a very big lesson not only for the PDP in Kwara State, but it’s a lesson for all politicians who do not cherish their constituency, who do not understand their people. Because what happened with PDP in Kwara State is that they were disenfranchised from the people of Kwara State. They were just carrying a clique along. They failed to appreciate the power of the people. They failed to understand the fact that there is big strength and power in the ballot paper.