Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Rauf Olaniyan, recently announced his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). He spoke with WALE AKINSELURE on what informed his move and his stake in the Governor Seyi Makinde administration.
How did you arrive at the decision to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC)?
I am bold to say to you that, as from this moment, I have defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC). Before I announced this decision, some parties called me that their ticket is there for me to contest with. I won’t mention names; I am not here to de-market any party because we part to meet and to meet to part. Not less than three parties spoke with me this morning alone. If I add that to the existing ones, a total of eight parties asked me to come and contest governorship on their ticket. But, is that what I want? Am I looking for governorship at all means? No. Do I want to contest governorship just with any party? No. If that is no, my aim remains the same. I am into politics because in the society of today, if you yearn to make meaning to a large number of people, you do this through political process and by joining a political party. Some people will say you do not have to join a political party but if you don’t join political party, you should not complain when some people are ruling. I have considered the pros and cons. I have seen it all. I was elected as deputy governor on May 29, 2019 to run up to May 28, 2023. As you have seen, people are going for Senate, House of Representatives, even governorship but I have said ab initio, let God show us the way to go. A journey of 1,000 km starts with a step. First and foremost, I, Engineer Rauf Olaniyan, have ported to APC. I am not resigning as deputy governor. I am the deputy governor of Oyo State. Engineer Seyi Makinde is still my governor but there is no aspect of the constitution that states that the governor or deputy cannot part ways politically. For the art of governance, I am still the deputy governor of Oyo State under the leadership of the governor of Oyo State. It is only in party matters that there is a change. I am not going alone. I am going with my teeming supporters in all the 33 local government areas of the state. Prior announcing the decision, they were asking me what is next and I kept on telling them to wait. I said before I joined the PDP, you all decided that we should join PDP; so, if I am going to do anything otherwise, I said they should decide and let me know. Then I had meeting with my supporters across all zones of the state and some elders in the state and we decided that I should move to APC. In political parties, we have free entry, free exit. Using this clause of free entry and free exit, I joined the PDP freely, I am leaving freely. I have carried along my supporters. I have tied them down more than enough. I kept telling them to wait. They said they are tired of waiting and kept asking me to take a decision. They said I should take the decision to go to the APC.
Did you inform your principal, Governor Makinde before announcing this decision?
If I want to resign as deputy governor, I am obliged to inform the governor. But, I am not resigning as the deputy governor, I am still his deputy. So, nothing changes as far as governance is concerned. We ran on the same ticket to govern Oyo State between May 29, 2019 to May 28, 2023 as governor and deputy governor, so nothing changes regarding that.
Does this decision have to do with the report that the governor has dropped you as his running mate for his second term campaign?
That has no bearing. If he picks another running mate, it is for the journey of 2023 to 2027 and I am not resigning my position as deputy governor. I can be a member of PDP without being a running mate. It is not a condition that when you remain a PDP member, you must be a running mate.
There are instances in states like Kogi and Ondo, where when deputy governors move from the ruling party, there is usually that threat of impeachment hanging around them. Have you given this a thought?
When you get to that river, you cross it. In the Ondo case, when attempt was made to impeach Ondo deputy governor, when he moved to the PDP, was he impeached?
Will you be contesting a position in the 2023 general election?
It is one step after another. As of today, I am in the APC on my own volition and that of my supporters. One of the leaders of my supporters was here minutes ago for final consultation and I called my people in Oke-Ogun and they said they cannot wait any longer floating. So, we are in APC. I have taken a step now and I can’t say where it will lead me to. For governance of Oyo State, Governor Seyi Makinde and I are on the same page.
It seems you had you made up your mind some time ago as you were absent from both the governorship and presidential primaries of the PDP.
Was I supposed to be there? I am not a delegate. Before now, there were statutory delegates, but that has been removed. I was not a contestant; I was not a delegate; why should I go there to gate-crash? Why should I go there to make the place rowdy? Should I go there to hang around when I do not have a function to perform? I was not a member of the committee.
But with your status as a deputy governor, you could have attended as an observer.
We do some things out of having nothing to do. If you are not invited, are you supposed to be there? That is the reason why such events look jam-packed, rowdy. Why should I go and contribute to the rowdiness of the place? Why should I take a flight to Abuja when I could sit in front of my television set and watch proceedings in Abuja? We should learn to do things the way they should be done. At that event, I do not take the toga of deputy governor; the toga of being there is either I am a contestant, delegate or committee member. If I am none of the three, I am not supposed to be there.
Prior you announcing your defection, there is the notion is your grievance is that the governor has sidelined you in the affairs of government?
I do not believe that. What does sidelining mean? I am the deputy to the governor. If he is around, am I supposed to be seen? Will I be struggling with the steering with him?
Overtime, the governor is known to put the deputy governor in charge of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Were you given such supervisory roles?
I am supervising some MDAs. I have been in the system for long and I know how it works. There is a Yoruba adage that: “Oba mewa, igba mewa”. There is no need to compare how things are done before and how they are done today. You cannot expect yesterday to be like today.
Officially, as deputy governor, you are supposed to be the closest to the governor in terms of working relationship. How would you describe your relationship with your boss in the last three years?
The constitution is the holy book of Nigeria and it ascribes to me what exclusively should be my role as deputy governor.
In line with the dictates of the constitution, what do you make of deputy governors being referred to as spare tyres? Do you clamour for constitutional roles for deputy governors?
Of course. The constitution is not only unfair to the deputy governors, it overloads the governors. If you go to Radio Nigeria, in 2017, I was with them and told them that the problem of Nigeria is this constitution. It is only when a governor does not give the deputy governor his role as specified in the constitution that you can raise hue and cry. It is only a deputy governor that does not understand his or her role that will be struggling for the steering of the state with the governor. As far as I am concerned, if I am deputy governor for 30 years, I will go by the constitution. It is only when the governor feels that he is tired or he has something else doing, that he seeks the deputy governor. The buck stops on the governor’s table, so I do not know why people are insinuating.
Bearing in mind that you also wanted to be governor but as a result of the coalition, you emerged running mate to the governor. Looking back, do you feel you shouldn’t have accepted that offer to be deputy governor?
Looking back, no regret. The bible says, All God has created is good. I am satisfied with my condition. You may be looking at the tangible element of an association, I am looking at tangible and intangible element of the association.
If you had the opportunity, would you do this all over again?
If you went for an exam, you wrote in your answer sheet and submitted; if another answer sheet is returned to you for the same question, will you answer it the same way? It is only a foolish man that will not do things different if given an opportunity to do something again. But, these things are intangible.
Saying you are satisfied contradicts the fact that you were listed in the Saka Balogun committee report as among the aggrieved members of the Oyo PDP.
You can be aggrieved and still be satisfied. Whatever God wants to happen to you will happen to you but you can tell God that you wish something not to happen. When Job was very sick, he took it saying that is what God wants but at the same time, he said he wishes he is not sick but that he submits to God’s will. Everybody wants to improve. There is always an improvement when you learn from your condition.
The report pointed to your grievance about the Chairman of the State Advisory Council, Senator Hosea Agboola being the topmost man in terms of politics of the PDP in Oke-Ogun zone and not you.
No, go and read again, there was never a time I will mention anybody’s name. You or nobody has the power to stop what God says he wants to do and I will be so foolish to ascribe that power to you. The only language you can hear from me is that it is God that is doing wonders not human being. It is what God says will be, that will be. It is either they misquoted or your misquoted the report.
What is your relationship with Senator Hosea Agboola?
Perfect. There is never a time we meet and don’t shake hands. Even when COVID-19 was ravaging, we still shook hands. He will say, Excellency; I will say, Distinguished.
You are deputy governor, yet a lot of decisions are taken regarding Oke-Ogun zone, where you come from, with little or no input from you.
It does not matter. When you put everything to God, he does everything for you. I have committed everything to God.
You seem to have accepted your fate without giving a fight.
Fight over what! Fight that I am supposed to be in charge of this and that! When they were discussing this, I was not called upon! That this was taken in my absence! Is that worth a fight! Beneath the tiles where I am, there might be human beings underneath. What is the result of the fighting? Where does it lead to? Does it elongate your life? Does it serve as certificate to heaven thereafter?
But fighting to take charge is part of politics.
That is not my style. I am an Omoluabi. What God says will be, will be. Everything that God says is mine, cannot be taken from me. It is better to put your trust in God. When you put your trust in God, the bible says he will fight my battle and I should hold my peace. It is practically needless to struggle. You can fight human beings if you are still thinking of how to get the next meal. Then, you can fight the battle of the fittest because you have to survive. If I am fighting anybody, it does not limit a day from being 24 hours. When God has promised to fight your battle for you then you shall hold your peace. That means someone else is fighting my battle.
How would you assess your administration’s performance in the last three years?
Sings in Yoruba: Ara san, ategun fe, iji ja ko gbe wa lo, o ye ka dupe. In those days, I had a leader, General Abdulkareem Adisa, whenever I complain to him, he will say the press should be allowed to say its mind. He said, If they say you are not doing good enough, they are telling you to improve; if they say you are doing good, they are telling you to keep it up. I am not the right person to assess the government. You are asking me to mark my own answer sheet. If you ask me to do so, of course, I will mark myself good. I am not that person to mark our answer sheet. If I am concerned that something is like this, I will say you should look more critically. If you want to assess this government, I don’t think the governor, the deputy governor should be saddled to assess the government they are running. The commissioner is at the mercy of the pen of their employer so you know what to expect from them. So, I admonish you to look at people outside the government to assess the government.
What do you make of the fact that some members of your party, the PDP, are leaving for other parties?
I liken the situation to people getting inside a public bus. People have different bus stops and when people get to their bus stop, they will alight. As somebody is getting down, another person can decide to board the vehicle. In Oyo State, for example, Senator Kola Balogun decided to drop from PDP vehicle, and Joseph Tegbe boarded the bus. But, it depends on the number of electorates that Kola Balogun commands and what Tegbe commands, that will determine the net gain or net loss. It can be gain or loss.
What do the various movements portend for your party in the 2023 election?
Only God can say that. I am not a political scientist.
What is your assessment of the primaries of the various political parties? Are we maturing in our democracy and politics?
The problem with the primaries is money and thuggery. You also ask if the method of picking delegates meets the yearnings of the people.
Where will this lead us as we prepare for the 2023 general election?
Only God knows. But, at the end of the day, I can see light at the end of the tunnel