The governorship candidate of the Labour Party in Oyo State,
Otunba Adebayo Alao-Akala disclosed on Tuesday that none of the contenders for
the governorship possesses the kind of experience he has. He pointed this out
while answering questions on Oro Sunukun, a Yoruba programme on Splash FM. While stating that the
postponement of the general elections cannot be described as a bad idea, the
former Governor pointed out that “the foreigners raising alarm, they too
wobbled and fumbled before they got to where they are today. So they should
allow us to get it right. In 2011, elections were postponed so those are things
are part of democratic growth”.
When asked if he would conduct Local Government Council
elections if he is elected as Governor, Otunba Alao-Akala said “the Local
Government is the closest level of government to the people. The present
administration has not fared well by not conducting local government elections.
The Local Governments help the economy. Look at it this way, we have 33 local
governments, we will have 33 Local Government Chairmen, we will have 33 vice
chairmen and 33 secretaries of the council, we will have councilors. We have
351 wards, now look at the number of councilors we will have in the state and
consider the number of people who would be the dependents of those councilors,
chairmen and other appointees. And the traditional rulers too would have people
to represent their interests at the local governments.
It is only a fearful government that will not conduct
council polls. The laws of Oyo State stipulates 90 days after the swearing in
for the conduct of the polls”.
When asked if he was not afraid that four of his opponents
are from Ibadan, Akala’s response was “we are all from Oyo State, I am not
looking at them from the angle of Ibadan indigenes, what I see is that Oyo
State indigenes are vying for the governorship position of their state. We are
not soliciting for votes from Ibadan alone but from every part of the state. Let
me tell you, the Governor can come from any part of the state. They have
qualified indigenes in Agbon Ile, don’t they? The Governor can come from
Okeretedo, 90km from Saki. I am not afraid. Let me also tell you this, none of
the candidates has the type of political experience I have. Experience cannot
be bought in any market and you don’t read it in books. You have to pass
through situations to gain experience and I have done that”.
But did he make any mistakes he regretted while in office?
Otunba Alao-Akala was quick to answer that “only God is perfect. He is the only
one that doesn’t make mistakes. What I’ll say is that I did what was required at
that time. I have no regrets on the actions I took while in office and that is
because there was no step I took that I didn’t put God first.”
Speaking on his plans for civil servants, especially
teachers, Otunba Alao-Akala said ‘teachers are of utmost importance to the
society. Our future depends on them because they are the ones teaching our children.
When we were in primary school, people like us never knew we would become
Governors. As such, teachers have to be happy. When one is happy, his
productivity is enhanced. And not only teachers, it applies to everyone in the
civil service. When I was Governor, I used to call them my landlord because the
Governor’s term is four years and they will remain there till they reach the
mandatory time of retirement. Therefore, you have to motivate them to get the
best from them.
If you remember, there were some entitlements I paid to workers
that the government stopped. Now, I am a member of the Labour Party, it is a
party for the workers so I must take care of workers. My government will work
hand in hand with them. Their welfare is my concern and I will ensure that they
are well taken care of.”
On his vision for the Health Sector, the Labour Party
candidate stressed that “the present situation is saddening. Look at Adeoyo Hospital
in Yemetu, it was commissioned in 1928. From that time, till when I became
Governor in 2007, nobody did anything about it. I then decided to improve the
hospital. I equipped the hospital; I sunk two boreholes because a hospital
should not lack water. I also put a giant power generating set. I found it
disheartening that when I passed through that area recently, I was told that
patients are now being instructed to come with lanterns, while pregnant women
are told to bring water in kegs and even some that have emergencies. Meanwhile,
in my time, I didn’t want the standard to reduce, so I didn’t put civil
servants there, I engaged a consultant who had retired but would be happy that
he was working in a good hospital. Immediately another government came, the
consultant was fired”.
He went further to state that “I had awarded the contract
for the New Adeoyo Hospital in Ring Road, when they got to power they stopped
it. We built one in Ogbomoso that is comparable to the University College
Hospital, Ibadan”. When it was put to
him that he deliberately sited the hospital in his hometown and that even when
he knew that the funds to complete the project would not be available, he went
ahead with it, Akala responded that “you might need to do your investigation
well. Is Ogbomoso not part of Oyo State? I finished that hospital and commissioned
it before leaving office.” Not done, one of the presenters probed further that
only a phase of the hospital was commissioned. The former Governor then pointed
out that “no, I didn’t commission one phase. I would be happy if you could
bring a Doctor from that hospital here and find out from him. The only thing
left there was to fix all the equipment we bought. A Doctor could come from
anywhere in the world without bringing any equipment and would work
effectively. That hospital has ten theaters, all well-equipped. An organization
in Chicago gave us 600 beds, we got mammograms for women, we got 8 dialysis
machines for the hospital; talk of any medical equipment, you would find it
there.”
Otunba Akala also took time to explain why he built the
hospital. He said “that hospital was built to get Osun State to hands off
Ladoke Akintola University. Remember the school’s teaching hospital is in
Osogbo. My vision was to complete that place so that our students wouldn’t have
to go to Osogbo and they won’t be able to lay claim to half of the university
any longer. Osun has their own university which they run almost like a private
university, why then should we have half a university? I wanted us to have a
university of our own. I had plans to locate a campus in Igboho, one in Iseyin
and LAUTECH would belong only to Oyo State. Even the College of Agric in Igbo
Ora, we had plans to make it the Faculty of Agric for LAUTECH. We are big
enough to have our university, which is why I was advocating that each state
should go its separate ways. That was what was on my mind when we built that
teaching hospital and it is that hospital they now used for accreditation for
the university.”
The presenters also took time to ask what led to claims that
he worked hard to ensure that Senator Rashidi Ladoja emerged Governor in 2003.
To that, Akala said “in 2003, my running mate now and I were among those who
worked for my boss, Senator Ladoja to become Governor then and today, we are no
longer with him, and most of us are still together in Labour Party. I became
Governor without any input from him. What I am saying is that I want him to
throw his weight behind and reciprocate the gesture. At least I have helped him
before but he hasn’t helped me in any way”.
On his other plans, Akala said ‘’I plan to do many things
differently, when I was Governor, we did things differently and Oyo State stood
out. We came second in Education, in Agric, we were the best, what we got as
prize was N 400 million, a vehicle and for being good to farmers, Central Bank
gave me a plaque. They came from Abuja to decorate me in my office; these are
not awards you get with money”.
He also disclosed that it is ignorance that makes
administrations jettison the programmes of their predecessors. “I didn’t do
that. How would someone be doing something good and you will refuse to complete
it? The UCH road, I dualised it, the present Governor put street lights.”
He was however taken up on the issue that during his time,
foreign investments were limited in Oyo State. “Go and ask, BAT, (British
American Tobacco) would have been taken away from Oyo State, I prevented it.
The company you are saying is along Idi Ayunre road, I brought it to Oyo State.
Go and look at the plaque there, you will see that I commissioned it. Shoprite
in Ring Road, go and ask Mr. Amusan, I did it intentionally, I shouldn’t be the
one to sign the C of O but I did. If you they didn’t do it in my time, I will
tell you they had all they needed to start and you know it’s a process. What if
we didn’t give them that land? I knew that land could not be used for
residential purposes. I knew what I was doing”.
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