You can’t but notice Hon. Moshood Oshun. He stands out where ever he is. His tall frame and good look plus the fact that he dresses ever so we’ll give him a presence many find compelling. But that is not all there is about Honourable Moshood Olanrewaju Oshun. He is also an incredibly brilliant mind. When he speaks, people listen to him. You cannot dismiss the substance he’s got upstairs. Hon. Oshun is also one of those few politicians who do not exactly cut the picture of a conventional politician. For instance, he carries himself with as much humility as he possibly can and relates with people without airs or chips on his shoulder. He also does not go around with an entourage of hangers-on following him about. From the distance, he cuts the picture of a quiet and unassuming person. It is only when you get pretty close to him and he is comfortable with you that he lets down his guard and allows you a firsthand feel of the substance he’s made of. He is regarded as one of the brightest members of the Lagos Assembly and an easy-going gentleman. He is also easily one of the most compassionate and kind-hearted Legislators in the state who finds it difficult to turn a blind eye when members of his constituent are in dire need of his help. That is one of the reasons why this amiable honourable who represents Lagos Mainland Constituency II is hugely loved by his people. They just don’t joke with him. They have been very pleased with his performance as their Legislator.
It is his humility, the accessibility and the quality representation he’s given the people that have, more than anything else, earned him their love and mandate. And they know that you can take him for his word. Unlike several other politicians, he is one man who will not promise you what he cannot deliver. Everything he said he will deliver, he has delivered, even far beyond the expectations of his people.
City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) spent some time with this brilliant Lawmaker and got him to share his thoughts about the unending call for the national leader of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to contest for presidency come 2023. And he revealed a lot about the Jagaban that many don’t know and explains why Asiwaju is by miles ahead of others when it comes to experience, credentials and capabilities. Enjoy excerpts of the interview.
How do you feel about the intense clamour for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to run for presidency come 2023? How does it excite you?
Well, the truth is, if we want the best for Nigeria, if we want Nigeria to be one of the best countries in the world, if we actually want Nigeria to take its place of pride in the comity of nations, then we need to put our best foot forward and field the best candidate. We need to put forward that person who has a clear understanding of what governance is. Somebody who feels what the people are going through and can bring a human face to governance. Somebody who is a grass rooter. Somebody who is not isolated in his own world because he’s rich. Somebody who interacts with all classes of Nigerians on a daily basis, the rich, the poor, the artisans, the young, the old, aristocrats, kings, servants, the technocrats, somebody who interacts with them on a daily basis.
We need somebody who understands world politics. Somebody who is well connected. Somebody who is not going there to steal money because God has blessed him and he is contented. In fact, what he does on a daily basis is that he spends his own money on people, he is so philanthropic. And sincerely, looking at all of these, I don’t see anybody who is more qualified than Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Let’s look at what he did as governor of Lagos State. Lagos State is the only state in Nigeria that you can actually compare to the whole of the country. In fact, Lagos State is Nigeria because there’s no tribe, no religion, no indigene from other states that you will not find in Lagos. And if that is the case, then anybody who has successfully ruled Lagos can rule Nigeria. Anybody who successfully transformed Lagos from a dirty looking city into what it is today, anybody who increased the IGR of Lagos from about N600 to about N7b by the time he left office can actually rule Nigeria. Anybody who was able to plug all the loopholes in Lagos, financial, administrative and what have you, can actually rule Nigeria. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed laid the foundation for what Lagos is today. It was his foundation that Fashola built on, Ambode built on, and Sanwo-Olu is building on today. All that these people may have achieved today was made possible by the solid foundation laid by Tinubu. For me, I think it’s high time we have the best. Asiwaju is qualified. He has the integrity, the tenacity to rule Nigeria. That’s number one.
Number two, he’s not someone that is tribalistic. He doesn’t care where you come from, as long as you have something to offer, he will give you a place to display your talents. He’s not a religious bigot. Asiwaju was the first person that brought in an Igbo man into his cabinet. So, for me, I’m excited, I’m praying and hoping he will declare his intention so we can all go into the field to ensure that dream materializes.
Looking at the myriads of problems the country is faced with today, from economic hardship to insecurity, what sort of leadership do you think an Asiwaju presidency will bring to the table?
As I said, I think the first thing we need is someone who is decisive. Someone who knows what he wants and who can go for it. Someone who can feel the pains of the people, someone who knows where it hurts. Now, looking at what’s happening in the country today, we need someone who can take decisive decisions, that’s one of the things we’re lacking today. As for banditry, terrorism, I believe all we need to do is to equip the military, they must have something they look forward to in terms of reward for service. If you’re asking someone to go and die for you, he will ask you, what have you done for me? So, if you’re paying the military or the Police peanuts, you don’t expect them to put their lives on the line for you, more so when they know their families will not be taken care of if something happens to them. There are so many things we need to do for them to be able to say, I want to die for my country. Asiwaju did this while as governor. Asiwaju supported the Police to improve security in the state. I am sure that whatever problems we are facing in the country, an Asiwaju presidency will face it squarely, surmount it and make sure we have a united Nigeria. We need somebody who can be decisive and Asiwaju is that person.
You have mentioned some of the sterling qualities of Asiwaju, but which one of these qualities do you think stands him out the most and you hold so dear to your heart?
Well, it’s going to be difficult to answer that question. It’s just like you asking me which part of the body is the best part of the body. Every part of the body is important. They all have various roles they’re playing. So, every attribute of Asiwaju that I have mentioned is very important. Is it his intelligence, is it his integrity, is it his compassionate nature, is it his decisiveness? Every quality about him is vital. For me, I always learn a thing or two from Asiwaju each time I sit with him. If you sit down with Asiwaju for 20 to 30 minutes you must learn something new. The unbelievable part of it all is that he’s an extremely busy person. I have left Asiwaju’s house around 3 am in the morning and there were still people waiting to see him. But even at that, he still finds time to read. And that’s one thing that i9ntrigues me about him. The last time I saw him, he was talking to me about a book he just read and he was recommending that I should read the book as well. I was impressed. He’s so busy, yet he still finds time to read, he still finds time to attend social functions and he still makes you feel important and personally attends to you when you go to see him. For me, these are things you can’t buy, it’s either you have it in you or you don’t. When you go to see Asiwaju, he sits down with you and makes you feel important. It’s going to be difficult for me to say this is the best quality, all his qualities are wonderful.
Right now, Asiwaju remains the rallying point for the Yorubas, yet within the Yoruba race there are some elements who are saying, ‘is he the only one?’ They are urging other Yoruba personalities to contest for the ticket also. How do you think this will pan out for Asiwaju and the Yorubas as a whole if people from within his own camp are contending with him?
I must tell you something, in politics, it’s difficult to tell people to drop their ambition. As you said, there are some people who are thinking, why him, I can also contest. But if you look at the general feeling in the South-west or even in the south as a whole, and the atmosphere in Nigeria as a whole, then you will be able to appreciate Asiwaju’s popularity. Different groups are springing up every day without Asiwaju’s knowledge. People are begging him and pressuring him to contest, he’s not the one coming out to say I want to contest, so that’s a big difference. It’s gotten to a point where even in the north, some groups are saying they will take him to court if he does not declare to run. He has not even come out to tell anybody that I’m contesting, but as of today, we have over 30 groups spending their money. I was surprised when I saw this northern group saying, we will compel him to contest. It’s a new one in politics. It shows Asiwaju is the rallying point. The only person I can remember who had that kind of support was MKO Abiola. MKO Abiola had the support of all Nigerians, not just north, not just the west, not just the south, everybody. Asiwaju is the only person that has that support now. He is the only one people are begging, people are compelling him to contest. Because everyone knows that if there is someone who can change our narrative and make us one of the most respected nations in the world, it is Asiwaju. None of the others can gather such massive support, neither can they boast of the kind of structure he has all over the country.
Do you also share this concern, sir, that some powerful northern cabals are wary of Asiwaju becoming president because they may not be able to tele-guide him? They prefer another Yoruba who they can tele-guide to do their bidding. Do you see this becoming a threat to Asiwaju’s aspirations?
I will be deceiving myself if I say to you that I will expect every Nigerian to support Asiwaju. Politics is about interests. There will be some groups who will feel that an Asiwaju presidency will not give them access to the national cause or an access to control the presidency, so obviously people like that will fight. I don’t expect everyone to queue behind Asiwaju, there will definitely be a few that will say, is he the only one? Some will just be angry that he will not give them access to the national treasury. But at some point, we strike an equilibrium. Just as you said some northern cabal is against him, some other northern cabals are rooting for him, compelling him to contest. And I want to believe that the northern cabal that feel they can’t control him if they truly love Nigeria will understand that they need to work with him for us to have a united Nigeria and a Nigeria that is moving forward.
Some people have also raised some concerns over his health and you just said a while ago that once you had left his house 3 am and there were still a lot of people waiting to see him, so round the clock he’s receiving people yet a lot of people have this fear that can his health carry the humongous burden of running a country as massive as Nigeria?
It amazes me when I hear people complain about Asiwaju’s health. The truth is that I can’t see many young people who have the strength of Asiwaju. I have been with Asiwaju several times and for ten hours and even more, he was attending to people. There was a day he was taking his first meal for the day by 5 pm. And he was attending to people all through. How many of us young men can do that? It’s natural that as you grow older you begin to nurse one ailment or the other. I challenge anybody who is over 60 and without any ailment, he or she is managing to come out. If you don’t have high blood pressure, you will have Diabetes. If you don’t have Diabetes you will have Arthritis. Everyone in that age bracket must surely have one thing or the other but we all cover it with our clothes. You can’t expect him at his age not to fall sick once in a while. I challenge that person who is over 60 and who doesn’t have one health challenge or the other to come out. I want to see that person.
You have spoken so passionately and eloquently about Asiwaju and it’s clear that beyond the fact that he’s your national leader you also have tremendous respect and admiration for him. Share with us one particular moment between you and Asiwaju that has stayed with you till date…
Like I said to you earlier, every time I sit with Asiwaju I learn something new. It’s going to be difficult for me to say this particular experience I had with him stands out. There were times I have been there and he was not even talking to me but to some other person, I still pick one or two things from him and from the way he handles issues. One thing I’ve learnt from him is that if your case is taken to him to take a decision on, he will definitely give you the opportunity to explain yourself. He will hear your own side of the story. I love going to Asiwaju because I know I will learn something. I love taking from his wealth of knowledge. When Asiwaju speaks to you, he will refer to a book he has read, he will refer to something that has happened somewhere, he will refer to when he was in government, so you pick so many things from him. There have been times I have gone to read a book because Asiwaju mentioned something from the book.
Let’s say peradventure Asiwaju says tomorrow that he’s not contesting, if you close your eyes for a moment, can you see anybody from the south-west that can step into Asiwaju’s shoes?
There’s only one person and his name is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. For me, I don’t even want to think about him not contesting.
So, as far as you’re concerned, nobody comes a distant second?
I’m not saying we don’t have good and qualified people in Yorubaland, all I’m saying is that the person we want right now is Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Let him go there and turn things around for us in the country and lay the foundation for others to go there and build on.
Your last words for Asiwaju
Well, I wish him well. I want to thank him on behalf of my constituents, I want to thank him on behalf of Lagosians, and I want to thank him on behalf of every Nigerian for what he has done. God will continue to give him good health, long life and the wisdom to rule this country because I know he will rule this country.
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