Ondo Deserves Pragmatic Leader As Next Governor – Akinfolarin
Former member of the House of Representatives Mayowa is one of the aspirants seeking the ticket of the All Progressives Congress ( APC) ahead of the November 11 governorship election in Ondo State. In this interview with ADEWALE MOMOH, he spoke about what he will do differently while commending the reformative decisions taken so far by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Akinfolarin,
Why are you interested in the governorship race? I have been holding public offices for a while, and in all the elective positions I have occupied, I have always advocated for policies, projects, and programmes that directly and positively impact the ordinary man in society, especially in Ondo State.
I know every administration in Ondo State inside and out. So, I can tell you that over time, there seems to have been a lot of gaps between the government and the people of the state, and please don’t get me wrong. I did not say those who governed before now did not have their own impact, but I am a practical person.
I relate well to the grassroots, young and old people, and even high flyers across the state, and I know where shoe pinches are. I have some home- grown solutions to our problems. What works in Lagos, Abuja and Rivers may not work in Ondo State because we have our own peculiarities and I speak the language of the masses.
What are your chances of winning APC ticket, considering the number of aspirants, including the incumbent?
You and I know only a very few of them are serious. APC is a progressive family, and so it is within the fundamental human right of every individual within the party to vie for any office, but we know those who are serious and those who want to run just to show that they were once aspirants. Of all the people jostling for the number one seat, I can tell you that I am the most experienced and the one with the strongest grassroots appeal.
Like I said earlier, I have been a political player of note for a while in this state. I was twice deputy speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, and for two consecutive terms, I was an Honourable member representing the Ile- Oluji/ Oke- Igbo/ Odigbo federal constituenn cy of Ondo State in the national assembly, ly, among others, and the records are there in the he public domain for everyone to see. I am a peoople’s politician, and I have earned the trust of my people over time.
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What is your blueprint for developing the state?
My approach to governance is quite different, nt, and those who are familiar with my trajectory ry will tell you this. I believe in a bottom- up p approach to governance.
My plan will be to assemble a creative team of technocrats and politicians, and we are going ng to be delivering programmes that address ss businesses at the local level - call it micro- ecoonomics, you are right - because those smallllscale businesses that are often neglected are re the bedrock of every developing society, and d ours is no exception.
We will be focusing especially on farmers, rs, artisans, traders, entrepreneurs, and the like. e. When elected, our government will create the he enabling environment for them to thrive. We are going to deliberately empower our young ng people to be job creators and not job seekers; s; our market women will be given access to loans and grants in a very coordinated way. ay. Let me also say that young people are like the he driving force behind every one of my projects. s.
They will take ownership of my governorship project from day one. So, I am familiar with their thinking, and for the first time, the government will be attending to their needs in practical terms, not just on paper. The civil service will be repositioned for productivity, and the welfare of all workers will be the best you can get anywhere in the country. We are in a hurry to make our people trust the government once again. Under my watch, education, healthcare, and infrastructure will flourish.
Every aspirant talks a lot about young people during campaigns only for them to forget them once elected. How will yours be different?
They forget them because some of them just go on Google to copy ideas from all over the world and probably say a lot of things during campaigns that are not realistic. Talk is cheap, they say. I have walked the talk before, and I will do it again.
I feel so worried seeing Nigerian graduates roaming about the streets after NYSC, and that was why I sponsored a bill to establish the National Youth Service Corps Trust Fund to ensure that these young people who have acquired one skill or another during their service year are able to get enough resources to stand on their own and become employers of labour rather than looking for jobs.
Ondo State is known as an agrarian state. What are your plans for farmers?
Food security is key to my agenda. I am the son of a farmer, and I am also a part- time farmer. Most of the farmers at the grassroots in the 18 local government areas of Ondo State are people I relate to regularly, and I know their plight. I know what they need to grow and produce in large quantities and quality. We must be able to feed ourselves before talking about industrialisation. The government must be deliberate and invest massively in agriculture. As a matter of fact, America, which happens to be one of the greatest countries in the world today, has millions of people who are farmers, and they contribute greatly to food production.
We cannot do the same thing every year and expect a different result. This time, we are doing it differently, with the common people at the heart of it. I am a practical politician, and I want to do things that will have a positive impact on the lives of our people.
Are you saying industrialisation is not part of your agenda for the state?
First things first, we must prioritise agriculture in all ways and find a better way of improving the techniques through partnerships and exposure. We are going to do agri agriculture on a large scale and even export. We must critically take a look at infrastructure, security, education, healthcare, and even power, among others. We don’t want to pay lip service to indust r i a l i s a t i o n .
Those before us had failed in this regard because they also failed to answer the critical questions before jumping into industrialisation. Are we going to industrialise?
Yes, but we are going to take it one step at a time and definitely get there.