Olusola Oke
Olusola Oke, the Peoples Democratic Party governorship candidate in Ondo State in the 2012 election who has now defected to the All Progressives Congress tells OLUWOLE JOSIAHabout his electioneering campaign experience
As a former National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, why did you contest the governorship election in 2012?
When I completed my tenure as the National Legal Adviser of the Peoples Democratic Party, I took time off to come home and spend time around for about one or two weeks, visited friends in the localities, especially in the riverine areas. That exposed me to the situation that Ondo State was degenerating rather than improving. I discovered that new projects were not coming on stream and the old ones were depreciating. I looked at the entire landscape, it was wearing an abandoned look and I tried to consider what it was four years before I left for Abuja. I found out that we were not progressing despite the huge accruals of funds to the state as a result of the oil windfall. That was why I christened my campaign, “Rescue Mission.” These were my motivations to contest the election.
How was the campaign experience?
It was quite challenging and energy sapping. It was also very costly. For instance I visited all the 203 wards in the state and campaigned.
How much did you spend on your electioneering campaign?
I did not keep a financial account of what was spent because that itself could give one some mental torture. I did not keep record of every expenditure. All I know is that money went out of my pocket and it was surprising to me that to occupy such a position one would have to spend so much. The cost of transportation of people going out with you, billboards, and posters is there. Also, when you visit communities, you show appreciation for their coming out to receive you. It is quite expensive; maybe it was the size of my pocket that made it look like that. But I know that a huge amount of money went from my pocket.
How did you raise funds for the campaign?
I did not singlehandedly fund it but I had to bear the major burden. To start a campaign you have to make efforts. The party will not give you money until maybe a few days to the election. But you have to start huge to be able to generate the interest of others. Before your friends and associates will bring out anything, they would have to see that you mean business. Hence, during the campaign, the major part of the expenditure is borne by the candidate. Usually one’s party can come to one’s aid for election purposes.
Did you attempt a fund raiser?
Yes, but it was not a formal fund raising. I talked to friends. I had serving governors as friends whom I called and they responded and that actually relieved me greatly.
Most political successes are often attributed to the role of godfathers, who is your godfather?
I don’t have a godfather. I never had a godfather, but I had a role model. Somebody whose public life I admired and in whose style I aspired to do things was Dr. Olusegun Agagu. I loved his candour, simplicity, vision and thoroughness and his transparency in public office. I don’t have any godfather.
You eventually lost the governorship election…?
I did not lose the election, but I did not win.
What accounted for your not wining?
The people of Ondo State demonstrated a desire for change because my aspiration was warmly received and supported by the people. The first thing was the equivocal position of the national leadership of the PDP towards that aspiration as a result of their unholy romance with the opposition party in the state as it then was. That continued to put doubt on the campaign we were holding. Everybody was asking questions. The enthusiasm of the people of the state was much but they were doubting the signal that was constantly given by the double and confusing attitude of the leadership of the party. Another reason was that the election was fundamentally compromised by the Independent National Electoral Commission acting in collaboration with the incumbent governor. So much money was pumped into the election and the voter register was compromised. After the close of registration of voters, over 120,000 voters were injected into the register and of course, we went through tribunal and all the courts found out that that was the right position. The register that ought to be used for the election was not the one that was used. Also, the security agencies were largely compromised. The security was literally handed over to my opponent, who used the opportunity to bring in thugs who were snatching ballot boxes and stuffing the boxes. These are things you cannot easily establish in a law court because, first, you are guillotined. They give you a very short time to be able to call witnesses. There are 3700 functional polling units in Ondo State. For this to be established, if the irregularities occurred in 2000 units, it means you have to bring 2000 witnesses. The date allowed may not be more than seven days. They knew this was very difficult to do, hence they went ahead and rigged the election. But you will observe that it was a keenly contested election when you look at the percentage of voting. The PDP and the ACN scored about 60 per cent, while the Labour Party scored about 40 per cent. That means the incumbent did not have 50 per cent of the support of the people of Ondo State. Another factor was the splitting of the votes between the PDP and the ACN. If I had been the only one or the other challenger alone, (Dr. Olusegun) Mimiko would have lost that election.
You have just moved to the APC, would you say that you still have a strong support base politically?
Yes, I have moved to the APC, I will be exaggerating if I say that I have succeeded in moving my entire political base. Some of my supporters in the state today are still held back in the PDP. First, the time is short, two, election is behind the corner and the government is dangling a lot of money before the people. Hence, some will still want to wait to see whether or not money will flow; thereafter they can take a decision. But fundamentally, I have moved a greater part of my structure to the APC. I am not likely to be in a better position to assess my popularity. I think my admirers and supporters are in a better position to speak about me but one thing that I have tried to do is to care about the people.
Do you still nurse a governorship ambition?
I still do at all times and will continue to until maybe age makes it impossible for me. I want to contribute my quota to the development of this state. But I do not have inordinate ambition. I believe that I can be a good governor. I believe that I can turn around the fortune of this state if given the opportunity.
Some have described your defection as selfish and that you left the PDP because it lost the presidential election. What do you say?
I did not leave the PDP because it lost election, after all when the PDP lost the government in Ondo State for six years, I was mobilising and investing my time and resources in building the party and the party was well built. I left PDP not because it lost power at the centre, after all PDP is still at the state level. The reason I left is because I can no longer find the enabling environment to operate as a politician.
Some of your admirers had moved earlier on, they expected you to move with them, why did you choose to leave the PDP recently?
I chose now because I have always been a nationalist. My enabling environment had been at the national level, but I am not also afraid of being in the opposition. For instance, if we had won at the national level which is my common terrain, I would have been able to navigate the terrain. Now we have lost at the centre, the state is in anarchy and so I have to free myself from the bondage and delusion. I could not move earlier because I had to work with others to prevent the failure of the party. I had been in the party for 16 years. I am not one of those jumping around from one party to another.
How would you assess elections in Nigeria, particularly the recent ones when compared with those held in the past?
I think we have recorded a lot of progress in our elections in Nigeria. I think we have to give it to President Goodluck Jonathan. He has made a remarkable achievement in this area. We were all here in 1999 and 2003 when elections were won not by the dictates of the people. Votes did not count; ballot boxes were snatched and stuffed under the barrel of the gun. Rigging was very massive. A lot of vices corrupted our election. Our image internationally was embarrassing. We were not regarded as a country practising real democracy because our elections were characterised with all these malpractices. The 2011 elections showed remarkable improvement, and the 2015 elections, revealed a fundamental improvement. There are still some flaws. It shows that our democratic system is evolving and maturing. We must also salute Prof.(Attahiru) Jega for the innovations he has brought. These days, the moment ballot boxes are snatched anywhere, the elections are cancelled. You don’t benefit from it. Though, there are still some sad commentaries, if we go at this rate, by the time democracy is 40 years, we will have near perfect electoral system. In the last elections, people wanted a change and their votes counted. This is not suggesting there were no places where the elections were less than good.
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