Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, is a former governor of Osun state as well as a former National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The former Military Administrator of Lagos state in this interview with TEMIDAYO AKINSUYI, speaks on developments in the nation, clamour for restructuring, 2023 presidency and other sundry issues. Excerpts:
As an elder statesman who has contributed immensely to national development, what is your perspective on the state of the nation, especially on the issues of growth since 1999?
I believe we can do better. An average Nigerian today cannot be said to be happy with how the country treats its citizens. 60 years after independence, we should be where our contemporaries like India and Singapore are. India got its Independence in 1947; that was just 13 years before we got ours. See where it is today.
You once said that the crisis that led to the ouster of the PDP as the ruling party started when you were removed as the National Secretary of the party. What did you mean by this?
When we were to elect the National Working Committee (NWC) in 2013, there was an understanding between the then President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, and the Governors Forum to the effect that ‘Mr President would give us the chairman and we would supply the national secretary’. Jonathan declared that Bamanga Tukur was the one he would want to be the chairman. The chairmanship was zoned to the North-East. A shadow election was held where Shehu Babayo, my predecessor in office as the national secretary, won but his emergence was not meant to be because of the understanding between the governors and the President. Rotimi Amaechi who was then Rivers state governor told him, ‘don’t worry, it is not only the North-East that will elect the chairman, it is the whole nation.’ That was how, through the Governors Forum, everybody was brought onboard for Bamanga Tukur to emerge as chairman and for me as the National Secretary of the party. We started working peacefully, harmonising things for the progress of the PDP. Then the issue of Mr President running after the first four years he had came up. And the feeling was that Oyinlola would not come along in that project. And anything that is not based on sincerity, I would not because of what I want to gain support it. If I know it is not just and right, you will not find me there.
