Honorable Mudashir Adeleke Aresa, is a graduate of Demography and Social Statistics from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife.
A former chairman, Osogbo Local Government area of Osun State and two times House of Representatives aspirants on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, he spoke extensively on the forthcoming governorship election in the state and sundry national issues with Richard Akintade in Osogbo the state capital.
As the Former Chairman of Osogbo Local Government in 1999, Can you share some of your experience from Military to democratic transition?
My active participation began in 1997, I contested for the position of House of Assembly under the UNCP but I lost to somebody I will not like to mention. When General Abubakar AbdulSalam was about to leave, and allowed registration of political parties, I contested under the platform of All Peoples Party, APP, and lost the primary election; I decamped to Alliance for Democracy, AD, and won as the Chairman, Osogbo Local Government. The administration of Governor Bisi Akande in 1999 was the time the real governance began in Osun, with the exception of Ajiborisa, the then military administrator, after Ajiborisa, the next civilian Governor, Alhaji Isiaka Adeleke only bastardized the economy of the state. He was just squandering the state resources recklessly. He came to power and running the government as if he was running his brother’s business. He relegated governance to street party affairs by moving from one night club to another, he lacked the knowledge to drive the development the state required at that time, he was probably childish. During the gubernatorial debate in 1999, you will discover that Adeleke was confused about his programme for the state.
Governor Akande laid the real foundation for development in the state, he built housing estate in Ile Ife, Agricultural resource centre in Iwo and many others. When he assumed office, the government department and ministries were scattered all over the state but Baba Akande said no, we must build a central structure that will accommodate them for easy administration. He built Abere Governor’s office which is a pride to all of us now. The then President, Olusegun Obasanjo even wondered how he got money to build such structure because he was among the governor earning the least from the federal government, but one of the best in terms of performance . Road constructions were ongoing everywhere, as hard as the situation was, he provided free education and free health services.
This philosophy of Baba which was thinking less of your personal interest and at all time think about your community was a model for me, as a council chairman. We had to rise up in defence of our people despite the little resources, I opened new roads, reconstructed the existing ones, built community health centres in the local government. The first official car to the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, Osogbo was donated by my administration when it was established. Our vision for the state then was to become a leading example in the African Continent and glory is to God, we tried our best. Service to humanity was our priority then.
But despite all these achievements you mentioned, AD lost power in 2003 what was responsible for that?
I think I have to put the record straight. AD never lost power, it was high jacked through massive rigging of the 2003 election, it was a daylight electoral robbery. We saw it physically but Baba preferred to leave them to history and posterity to judge because his intention was to serve the people not to continue to be in power for the sake of being in power and people were also not so conscious of the mandate that was stolen, people did not rise against the broad day light rigging and therefore Baba had to leave and that was the difference between Baba Akande and Governor Rauf Aregbesola, who fought for his mandate from the ballot to the court and proved to the world that truly they stole his mandate. In 2003, that was the reason Baba did not hand over to Oyinlola because he did not win the election, let us put the records straight that PDP rigged the election for the sake of history and posterity.
What is your take on the PDP seven and half years in the State after Chief Bisis Akande?
Their performance was so glaring, they spent seven and half years on the throne with little or absolutely nothing to show for their stay in power,. When you move round the state with the standard set by our administration detailing the resources accrued from the state and the allocation from the federal government, you will find out that their period was a waste of time and the resources of the state. They were just squandering the resources, travelling out of the country and bringing nothing, absolutely nothing. The last thing they did was the dualisation of this Akoda road and it was sponsored by the federal government not Oyinlola. Also look at the University they established that was not affordable by the children of the poor and scattered the campuses all over the state which in the end defeated its purpose. This is the example of perfect ignorance they exhibited while in office because when you don’t know what to do, you do it ignorantly, if you are intelligent enough to rule a state, you will think of the economic effect of your decisions and the multiplier effect, when you put all the university structures in one place, you have one Vice Chancellor, Directors and other administrators in one place but with the arrangement, you have seven provost, seven directors, seven accountant, that is nonsense. Those are few among many things they have done wrongly which required new arrangement, new planning and new direction.
With the political cloud in the state, what is the chance of your party in the 2014 governorship election?
The cloud is very clear for the ACN, I am so confident of the party’s victory because it has delivered the electoral promises even beyond the expectation of the people. In fact any party member who relied on the perception of the PDP that did not give people appointments they desire and for that reason, may not be re-elected, those who may have such impression will lose out, those in ACN who are saying Aregbesola has not considered me for position therefore I will not support him, such an individual will lose because this man has taken the bull in the horn by providing the social services to the communities who actually needed the service, it is even the people that will rise against such a person.
As an active participant in the state politic since 1999, you understand the politics and its gladiators in the state, from the opposition what are the challenges the ruling party should expect?
There will never be any serious challenge, it would just be like the 2011 election where even the PDP were saying just conclude the vote and let’s leave the polling unit, because they were incapacitated, they could not do anything, they are very few and minor, in fact before 2015, all other political parties in the state would have even dissolved to ACN. All other political parties are collaborating with us as a result of the good performance of the governor. Is only PDP that is going around with empty threats, they cannot do anything because when they were in power they failed, if you look at the PDP members, they are not serious about electoral contest. Before the election we are talking about, you will discover that there will not be any serious opposition. For instance, look at Fani Kayode, he is now in APC, because he understands the current political reality, the remnants in PDP are just there to share the national cake, by the time APC come into full force in the state nobody will be in PDP.