There is no doubt that the race for the apex position in Oyo state has begun in earnest as several aspirants have begun to indicate their interests in steering the affairs of the state come 2019. One of such hopefuls is Chief Adeniyi Akintola, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Human Rights Activist who disclosed to CEOAfrica his reason for wanting to succeed Governor Abiola Ajimobi.

In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, Chief Akintola, who has had a brief stint in politics during the third republic, explained that having stayed on the side-lines of politics and governance for a long time, the current political atmosphere is conducive enough for him to pursue his political ambition. He said “I had a stint with politics for about 18 months during the aborted third republic. I was a Deputy Speaker of Oyo House of Assembly. I was a Speaker that was locked up in the boot of the car during that era and I ran away from politics for a while.”

The Ibadan-born activist and social critic also revealed that although he was not actively involved in politics, he was however instrumental to the creation of many of the present day political parties. He said “The coming into being of the major political parties we have now, I can boldly say that I was part of those that who gave birth to these parties. Prof Tunde Adeniran of PDP, Uncle Yemi Farounbi of PDP, Prof Tola Atinumo of the University College Teaching Hospital and my humble self were the full soldiers of Uncle Bola Ige. Under the tutelage of Uncle Bola Ige, we wrote the full constitution of PDP.

“When the negotiation as to the formation of PDP could not see through, Uncle Bola Ige took us to APP where we also fine-tuned their constitution. Again, the centre could not hold there and Uncle Bola had to retreat for us to form AD. When AD metamorphosed into AC, I was in the thick of it. When AC metamorphosed into ACN, I was also in the thick of it. And I can boldly say that there is no lawyer in this country that has handled AD, AC, ACN and APC cases than my humble self,” the legal practitioner asserted.

Revealing that his major reason for running away from politics then was the un-conducive political climate in Oyo State, Chief Akintola however noted that the current governor of the state has created a more enabling environment for healthy participatory politics which has encouraged many to indicate interest in politics. “Our fear then was the crude method politics was being played before Ajimobi came on board. I cannot stand thugry or hooliganism. But since God has used someone to create an enabling environment, it is high time now for us to stop being arm-chair critics and see what contributions we can make to the state,” he declared.  

Highlighting his contribution to his people so far, Chief Akintola stated that he wrote the memo for the creation of Ido Local government in 1989 and provided the typewriters, tables and chairs needed to work with in the local government. He also stated that the only functional hospital in the local government was built by him, adding that he rebuilt the secondary school in his community, erected and equipped an ultra-modern magistrate court, built an ultra-modern Divisional Police Headquarters and sunk five bore-holes, all in his community without nursing the intention to run for any political position.

On his plans for Oyo state if he becomes the Governor come 2019, the Senior Advocate said “By the grace of God, you will see a new dimension. You will see governance at its best when I get there. Governor Ajimobi has done very well, but there are rooms for improvement. Ajimobi has been able to establish a legacy of class, taste as well as urbane governance and I want to sustain that legacy because we cannot afford to go back to the days of the locust where the thugs were kings. Lagos is what it is today because of the sustained legacy of Asiwaju Tinubu. So if Oyo wants to enjoy the same economic boom, we must sustain the legacy of Ajimobi. That has been my driving force.”

When asked to highlight the three major aspects his focus will be on if he were to be the Governor, Chief Akintola responded “The first is infrastructural development which was started by Gov. Ajimobi. I also intend to take a second look at our educational system and revolutionise it to the extent that people will marvel as to what the magic wand is. And the third is the area of Agriculture. The largest dam in West Africa is located in Oyo state. Oyo has the largest land mass in the entire Southern part of the country. Dangote has over 25,000 acres of farm land in Ido local government and I intend to key into that.

“The moribund dam must be revived. That dam was designed to serve Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Lagos and Sokoto. Gov. Ajimobi has succeeded in attracting foreign investors into the state. About 157 industries are springing up and I intend to consolidate on that. With time, we would be rubbing shoulders with Ogun State in terms of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). Land is our own crude oil in Oyo state and I intend to tap it very well as well as launch aggressively into agriculture using Oke-Ogun part of the state as my foundation in the agricultural revolution.”

Responding to a question on the clamour of Oke-Ogun to produce the next governor of the state, Chief Akintola, who noted that he has the unequivocal support of the people of the state, the traditional leaders and political big wigs in the state, explained that Oyo state is a united indivisible state, as such, every person from Oyo has the right to contest for the governorship position of the state.

Chief Akintola although noted that many members of the All Progressive Congress (APC) have indicated interest in running for Governor of the state, the Senior Advocate however expressed confidence in being selected as the party’s flag bearer in the 2019 general elections, banking on his numerous contributions to the state as well as his consistent legal and personal relationship with many political leaders in the state and across the country.