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Olooye ADEGOKE, OYO ADC Guber Candidate
Olooye Taofeek Adegboyega Adegoke (FCA) is the Oyo State ADC governorship candidate. And he is highly rated as a leading contender for the position. Some political analysts have even suggested that right now in Oyo State, the governorship contest has become a 3 horse race. And that it is a battle that involves the APM, APC & ADC.
Last Thursday, City People got Olooye Adegoke, who is a respected Ibadan high chief to explain why he is in the race and why he chose to run on the platform of ADC. “I went into the race because I believe, we can turn Oyo State into an Eldorado within the available resources. Not even now that they get Trillions. If you see how much they distributed for the month of July, it is Three trillion among the 3 tiers of government. Three trillion. It used to be less than a trillion. Now, three trillion. So, you can imagine.
So, they have that resources. But misplaced priority is the problem. They don’t get their priority right. For instance, I don’t see why they cannot relay all the water pipes in Ibadan. Because the pipes that are there now, are those that were laid in the 60s and the 70s. And Technology has changed. Those pipes, some people have built houses on them. So, you have to do exactly similar to what the Enugu government did. We had actually started laying different, this thing.
We forget the old one, the existing one. And lay new pipes for water to run. It’s possible. We have Dams everywhere, either in Ibadan or in Ogbomoso. We have dams. So, you just have to know what you are doing. And work with your Team. You are as good as your team. Teamwork. Work with the right calibre of people. Listen to their advice. Because nobody is a land of wisdom. So, listen to them. And get this issue sorted out. Like I said, start giving people dividends of democracy.
For instance, as I told my people, I said, I will announce the list of my Commissioners, SSG and Chief of Staff, immediately after the swearing in. Because the three months that you have, between when the election is concluded and the swearing date of May 29, what will you be doing? Galifanti all over the world or to the place. And you don’t have your list.
And you need to wait for another 3 months or 6 months. Then in the first hundred days, you have nothing to tell them. No! So, that 3 months that I have, I use it to plan. And already started putting team together. Like this morning now, a medical doctor friend of mine has already giving me something on health. I was on the bed. I read through it. I like them. Excellent.
Something on Health. So, I will get somebody else in a different sector. Now, my intention is, I said I will speak with my friend, Wale Adegbite, the son of former Wema Bank MD. I will say, look, give me something on industrialization. Write it. I will speak to one or two other people. Give me so that I marry them together. That’s how to do things. Not that you think that you are an Island of Wisdom and nobody can advise you.
Whatever you want to do, you do. That’s not the way you… Because when you brainstorm, that’s the beauty of brainstorming. Everybody drop your idea. You write it down. Don’t criticize one another. Put them down. Rank them. Pick the first 10 or thereabout. And then before you know it, ideas will come that, oh, yeah, this is what to do. This is how to turn things around. So, I tell you that it’s because of the kind of development of Oyo State that I have in mind, that pushed me into Politics.
And so far, so good. We are making progress. It was tough. I wanted to contest under PDP. I met with Governor Seyi Makinde and I told him. He saw my Billboard was already all over the place. And every time he met me outside, he would say, Oloye e fe se governor e o ti wa ri mi, (Oloye wants to become governor, you have not consulted me). And every effort to see him initially was difficult. Eventually, I was able to see him through someone. And he said, Oloye, what do you want? And I told him that I want to become the executive governor of Oyo State. And with God and yourself, I think it’s doable. And he said, okay.
Let’s wait. Let me take over the party first meaning, you know, because of this Wike fight in PDP. And I know that might not be possible, going by the fact that Wike has the support of the federal government. So, eventually, at the right time, I told my people, I said, wait. At the appropriate time, we will move on to the right party. I don’t rush into things. You see, I strategize a lot. And I say that Strategy without Execution is going to be hallucination. So, when you strategize, you must execute. And that is why you should be able to know whether you need to cross the T here or dot the I or whatever. So… And I said, okay.
I left him. And later, at the appropriate time, I did my research. And I said, oh it’s better I move on to ADC because with the way PDP is going, especially after the Federal Capital Territory local government elections, because the PDP the Wike side, they wanted me. They said I should come and get the ticket. But you see, after that FCT LG election, I called, I mean, federal capital territory local government this year, I noticed something which other people might not notice. Because Wike wanted to prove a point to the President that is in charge. Like he was saying about Osun. He went around and ensured that any local government that he thought PDP would defeat APC in federal capital, he asked them to step down. So eventually, APC won 5, PDP won one.
And the one that PDP won was for a reason. Ganduje, the former Chairman of APC, he pulled someone from Kano as a candidate. And Gwagalada is not like Abuja Central. Gwagalada is full of indigenous people and they said, you can’t bring somebody from Kano and impose him as our Chairman. They said, no. That’s why they voted against APC, man from Kano, and voted for their son in PDP. So, and even after that, immediately after the transition of result, the guy, he ported to APC. So, and I said, why should I contest under APC when, along the line Asiwaju, may decide to say, look, I must get your state. I said, okay, please ask your man to step down. Whatever it takes, just ask him, I want my guy to win. Just like he did in FCT. So me, I always strategize, I think ahead. You see, I always envisage such problems so that I can provide solutions to it in advance. I don’t wait till it comes.
That’s part of being an analytical minded person. So, that was part of why I said no. When they were calling me to come to Wike side of PDP, I said no. I don’t want to be at the mercy of someone that would just wake up one morning and say, hey, Mr. President said he doesn’t want you to contest again. It happened before in Osun, when Aregbe, picked the same Ambo. Aregbe wanted him as Governor, then, while President Tinubu wanted, Oyetola. So, Ambo was already in Abuja to obtain his form, when Aregbe called him that, look, don’t obtain that form again. My friend said, blood is thicker than water.
He wants Oyetola. So please step down. Right there, Ambo called Oyetola. He was in his hotel in Abuja too. He said, okay, I’m coming to see you. He was surprised. He went to his hotel and said, my Oga said I should not pick up the form again, so I’m supporting you. That was it. So, you can imagine, that is why it’s good to also have your own mind. And that’s the problem about this godfatherism, where they can ask you to contest and ask you to withdraw at will. You see? They can throw anybody under the bus at any time. And that is also part of the problem I have with this dispensation because they can say hah, this man, it would be difficult to control. He would be difficult to manage. We would not be able to manage him. They want somebody that, well, he will only do whatever we ask them to do, or ask him to do, whatever development we ask him. So, I can’t work like that, like what is happening in Kogi State.
So, based on that, I decided to move over to ADC. And so far so good. It was tough, extremely tough, because, the other Candidates have people that were backing them. I didn’t have. That was why it was tough. I was just saying it before we started this interview that, ah, someone went to Court again yesterday, Dr. Adeduntan. So, another one went to court. On June 28th, Gbemileke Alagbe. He’s already in court. The case has been adjourned to 15th September. This other one happened yesterday. Because he thought, they would put his name on the list, uptil now. That’s why he now went to court. So, that tells you the problem I’ve been facing.
All of them are ganging up against me. It was tough, actually. So, I thank God, and I thank my Team, that worked tirelessly, and day and night, to make it happen. Because other players underrated me, because, they said, he just joined the party, he didn’t have anybody in the Exco, they thought they owned the Exco, they did this, they did that, but, forgetting the fact that, eh, look, God has a plan for everybody. After God, na God!. So, they don’t know that. So, it’s been very tough. But now, we are moving on.
