Former Communication Minister, BARRISTER ADEBAYO SHITTU speaks with GBENRO ADESINA about his governorship ambition in Oyo State, expresses his fears on regional government, resource control, and state control
Q: Barrister Shittu, you said you had aspired to be the governor of Oyo State and contested twice and failed, will you still contest 2027 governorship election?
A: Very well. I’m still hoping that in 2027, I will be given the ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC), to contest governorship election in Oyo State. My hope is as a result of many factors. First, regarding aspirants, who had the privilege of learning politics from our late sage, late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, I’m the only one, who has had direct training and orientation from Awo, the greatest political leader, who has ever lived. Secondly, in the case of Oyo State, we have about seven regions. In Ibadan, we have two regions: Ibadan and Ibadan less city. We have Ibarapa, Ogbomosho with five local government, Oyo with four, Oke Ogun where I come from, with 10. Ibadan have 11 local governments and it has produced six governors over the last 30 years. Ogbomosho has produced one governor. Oke-Ogun with 10 LGs has never had the opportunity to produce a governor. Yorubas has the adage, “Ajoje o dun, bi enikan ko bani.” If Ibadan with 11 LGs has produced six governors, and Oke-Ogun with 10 LGs has not produced a governor, I think, it is proper for Ibadan to concede governorship to Oke Ogun in 2027. This is more important, particularly, because, we have had the similar situation at the national level. At the national level, the president has always come from the North. But in 2023, appeals were made to the North and they conceded to Yoruba. If the North has not conceded to the Yoruba, it wouldn’t have been possible to have Tinubu as a president today. If the North could do that for the Yoruba, I think, Ibadan should also concede to Oke-Ogun, so that we will continue to enjoy political stability, and continue to enjoy unity. This is my appeal and I am hoping that wisdom and good conscience will prevail in this matter. I am also ready for competitive bidding. But what will strengthening our unity as a cosmopolitan state is to make concession for ourselves.
Q: What about if Ibadan refuse to concede the governorship to another region?
A: Then, we will compete for it, but there will be bad blood, because, other regions want to have a sense of belonging. It shouldn’t be a situation of the mightier you be, the exclusive the position is to you. The importance of unity can’t be over-emphasised.
Q: You have held many political positions like a state commissioner, a state legislator and a federal minister. Why not leaving the governorship contest to the younger ones?
A: It is not about age, wisdom, knowledge, and dynamism. The experience can’t be purchased from the market. With the experience somebody like me have acquired about governance, it will be wrong for an inexperienced person to come and start experimenting with the lives of our people when people like us are still alive. In the past, Babangida introduced the young shall rule kind of philosophy. And many of the youths entered government at that time and ended up in the security custody because of greed for money. When they got to power, it was about the acquisition of wealth. At my level now, I don’t have any new house I want to build. I don’t have any new acquisition. What I want is the re-engineering of life abundance structure that Awolowo established, which nobody has thought of re-establishing after Chief Bola Ige. My aim is to benefit the society with the knowledge that I have acquired for 47 years so that poverty can get either completely eliminated or reduced to the barest minimal level. It is about service to humanity.
Q: Do you have the required money to contest for that position?
A: I know that a lot of ‘money miss road’ people are trying to bastardise governance and election, but I believe that our people should not mind taking money from ‘money miss road’ elements and still work for their own interest, which is getting somebody who has the necessary experience to establish better governance in the society.
Q: Why do you think you are the right person that Ibadan should concede the governorship position to?
A: I am the most experience in terms of political experience.
Q: Apart from experience, what other qualities do you have?
A: I am also an incredibly honest person. We need experience. I will remain an honest person. Why do we abandon morality in governance? Governance is about trust. There is nothing that will make me steal. I will not allow anybody to steal under my administration because the project that I want to do for the society are too important and too expensive. So, I can’t afford people to start stealing money. I want to do free education at all levels, up to university level. I want to do free health services.
Q: Are you talking about partial free education?
A: It must be to the university level in the government institutions. It is only those who opt for private institutions that freed education will not cover. We have universities and by the grace of God, we will establish more universities to take care of all our citizens. I am guidedby what Awolowo said that if you fail to educate the children of the poor, they will not allow the children of the rich to sleep with their two eyes closed. This is the reason we have bandits in the North. These bandits are the children who are born into the society and abandoned from being educated. When they grow up and realise that they don’t have a future, they will rebel against the society. So, I have to prevent bandits from sprouting in Oyo State. For me, this is what I want to do. It is left to the public to make their choices. If they feel that they don’t want these laudable projects, it is up to them. For me, I am offering myself, offering my services, offering my knowledge, wisdom, and experience to re-establish Awolowo’s era of life more abundant for citizens and residents.
Q: Do you think the government of today can finance education the way Awolowo did?
A: We will. Let me tell you why it is possible for government to do it. I can assure you that as somebody who is so passionate to get everybody in the society educated, we will run free education, successfully. And let me say, when Awolowo was doing his free education, there was no oil money. It was only cocoa money. Now, we have the added advantage of oil money coming from the federation account. So, why would we not be able to prioritise expenditure and get everybody benefitted from free education. Free Education and health are basic necessities and rights, which everybody must enjoy.
Q: What is your view concerning technical education?
A: It is part of the general education that we must provide.
Q: Do you have any connection with Ibadan?
A: Yes. I have been in Ibadan since 1979 and that is about 47 years consistently. Secondly, I am married to three Ibadan daughters. The three, combined, have given me 13 children. Thirdly, I am the Agbaakin Afiwagboye of Ibadanland, which the late Oba Saliu Adetunji gave me. Most of my political supporters are from Ibadan. I have only one house in Saki. In Ibadan, I have two; my residence and my office. So, consistently, I have been an Ibadan person. I am very proud of my relationship and association with important people in Ibadan.
Q: How many children do you have all together?
A: I have 26 children. 10 are already graduates. Another eight are currently in the universities. By the grace of God, I would be having four medical doctors; three of them are females and one male, and two lawyers. My first son works with the Islamic Development Bank. He once worked with the African Development Bank, before getting a better position in Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia and moved there. I am happy and fulfilled. I have children all over the world.
Q: How many males?
A: I have about 10 males and many grandchildren.
Q: As a governor, what do we expect from you?
A: First, I’ll be the humblest governor in the state. I would be having quarterly ward meetings in all the zones of Oyo State. I don’t want a situation where after the election, I’ll not be seen until after another election is coming. In a year, there will be four series of town hall meetings, where people will come, meet with governor, meet with all commissioners and we will give reports and get feedbacks from the masses as to what they expect, to rate us and to know what else they are expecting. If any commissioner had misbehaved, it is in such meeting people will have the opportunity report him publicly. Secondly, I’ll be meeting with the traditional rulers very well. They will be better involved in the day-to-day governance. Thirdly, local government executive will have a very free democratic right to government and no kobo of their finances will be touched. I will ensure that democracy is trending at the local government level. Local government will be able to perform much better and will be protected from the regular intervention of both the state house of assembly and the state executive. In an environment where there is free education and healthcare services, people will know they have somebody who will continue to protect their interest. I’ll be a governor who will be with the people at all time. There will be unhindered communication channel between the government and the governed. Anybody who has any complaint will have the opportunity of getting his complaint to the governor within 24 hours. My government will be people’s government.
Q: What is your opinion concerning regional government?
A: Honestly, this will sound very unpopular. I don’t believe in it. The reason is this. In the early 70s, while I was growing up, when I was in school, we used to have Western States governors. We had the current Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti, Ondo having one governor. At that time, the song in my area and in the current Oyo state was “Awon Ijebu n re wa je’ (Ijebus are cheating us), Awon Egbe n re wa je (The Egbas are cheating us). Then, Ogun State and Ondo State were created. The song changed to Awon Ijesa n re wa je (The Ijesas are cheating us). Then, Osun was created, today, the same song, Awon Ibadan n re wa je (Ibadans are cheating us). There must be a stop and a limit to all of these. When you have the so-called regional government, you are saying that the current state will become less independent than they are currently. And you super impose another structure between the people and the national government. As far as I am concerned, we should ensure that democracy as it stands today is strengthened so that there will be independence of the current states and its residents, rather than creating another hegemony of a bigger government, which will intercede between the state and the federal government.
Q: What about regional security?
A: We can have as many securities as we want because security is very critical. I don’t have any problem about that. What I fear, however, is the states having state police. It is going to have negative effect. For instance, we have state government who are preventing local government from implementing proper democracy. We had a local government election in Oyo State; and practically, no election was held, despite the fact that there were no state police. Merely having state independent electoral commission, was enough for state governors to compromise the integrity of the local government election such that people were just choosing; election never held. I challenge anyone on this. So, if we now have police at the local government level, you can now imagine the negative implication of governors having absolute control on security forces.
Q: The same allegation you just levelled against the state police is the same allegation levelled against the federal government having absolute power on the police?
A: If the federal government have had absolute control on the police and the federal government is an APC government, it would have been impossible to have the kind of the local government election that we had in Oyo State recently. The national police was never in anyway used against any state government anywhere I know. But the vice versa would be the case if we have governors on top of having state electoral officers also now having state police.
Q: What should be the role of security outfit like Amotekun?
A: Amotekun is okay. They are subservient to the Nigeria Police Force. If they have issue, they have to seek the support of the police. I see them as people who give the Nigeria Police Force information for their intervention.
Q: What is also your opinion on resource control?
A: During Awolowo’s time, there was no finances from petrol. Awolowo did his best to ensure that education was well funded. How many regional governments in Nigeria at that time was able to implement free education. As far as I am concerned, in today’s Nigeria, if resources are fully controlled by the states, some states will be more powerful than the federal government and they could distabilise the federal government. As of today, the law says that all resources underground should reside in the federal government, which will then re-distribute to ensure stability all across the land.
Q: How do we ensure adequate security in the South West?
A: There must be anti-grazing law in every part of Nigeria. You can’t find a single cow on the streets of the developed nations. You will not find a single cow on the street of Netherlands, yet they produce the milk the world is consuming. Why must the situation be different in Nigeria? If I have my way, open or public grazing must be outlawed completely. I am unhappy that during the Muhammadu Buhari’s regime, the minister of Agric, Audu Ogbeh, made a master plan on establishing protected yards for grazing and for rearing cows. Unfortunately, some elements in Buhari’s administration didn’t allow that proposal to be implemented. It will be interesting if the Tinubu’s government will have the courage to invite Audu Ogbeh to assist Nigeria with his proposal that completely outlaw cattle being seen on the streets or inside forest except places carved out for them. Today. I am happy today that government is collaborating with Brazilian cattle industry on the proper way to rear cattle in Nigeria. There is no reason why cattle should be allowed to destroy farms and why Fulanis should be allowed in the forest all over the country. Generally, during Awolowo, he established farm settlementS. If I have the opportunity of becoming the governor, no graduate of agriculture will have any white-collar job. They will all be given 10 acres of land each and assisted with tractors and seed money. They are trained farmers. They must be encouraged to go back into the practical agriculture so that within the shortest possible time, they will be successful and Nigeria will be better off in terms of agriculture production and foods security.
Q: As a minister of communication, what would you say is your biggest achievement?
A: The communication industry is about rules and regulations for the operationalisation of telecommunication companies and services. I am happy that during my period, we had a very stable environment. Nigeria made humongous money from licensing. When we invited the telecommunication companies to come and establish, we charge them humongous billions of naira to buy licensing and till tomorrow, they pay regularly to government. This may not be to the knowledge of ordinary citizens. I am happy to say that AS A MINISTER, I was able to donate about 16 boreholes in the various parts of Oyo State. Ibadan alone had six and I am happy they are still functioning. Saki, Iseyin and other parts also had boreholes. I was able to establish computer centres in The Polytechnic, Ibadan, Saki, and Oke-Ogun polytechnic. The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic cost us about N250 million. In about 15 different locations, we established ICT knowledge centres in secondary schools in Ogbomosho, Kishi, Oke-Ogun and Ibadan. In terms of jobs for the jobless people, we assisted people to get jobs. I also sponsored 12 law school students from Oyo State. About 10 students were sponsored to do their masters at the University of Ibadan.
Q: What was the main challenge you faced as a minister and how did you overcome it?
A: The main challenge I faced was the fact that there were some people, very close to the president, who would insist that you have to get their buy-in, before you bring in any innovation. For example, we have a satellite company in Nigeria. We have only one satellite in the orbit. Having one satellite can be compared to a transport company plying Lagos to Abuja with no spare tyre. If there is a puncture on the way, it is too bad for the transporter and the passengers. So, I went to China to negotiate with the manufacturer of satellite for two new satellite to reserve as a backup for the existing one. We negotiated for the two satellites, for $550m. I also went to China Bank to finance it, which they agree to do. When I came back to Nigeria and brought a memo to the Federal Executive Council (FEC). It was thrown out. There were some people in FEC, when they see the memo, they just went to the president and whispered something to his ears and that was the end of the memo. It happened to me about three occasions. I also wanted to establish an ICT university for Nigeria. I took a memo to FEC. By the time I got there, a lot of the ministers have compromised. At the end of the debate, President Buhari, with due respect to him, said Barrister Shittu, I commend you for your hard work but as you can see, this is an over ambitious project. So, we have to step it down. That was the end for the project. Those were very serious challenges which are very regrettable. There was nothing I could do because I was not on the driver’s side. I can’t be on the driver’s side of any government and somebody will tell me that establishing an ICT university is an over-ambitious project. Ever since, more than 20 universities have been established in Nigeria, many of them without serious professional colouration. At the end of the day, they convinced President Buhari not to appoint me. I thank God for the one term opportunity I had.
Q: Are you saying that some people worked against your reappointment?
A: I believe so. Otherwise, I was one of the star boys of that government
Q: What do you say to the poor performance of the internet facility in Nigeria and who protects the masses from the exploitation of the telecommunication industry?
A: Honestly, commenting on this issue is a big sacrifice on my part because Nigerians hate the truth. Let me tell you, farmers who grow rice and other food items, who controls them? The telecommunication companies, Nigeria invited them to come and operate in Nigeria. When we invited them, they were paying through their noses to get licences in billions. Secondly, there is no electricity for them. They have to buy 200kva generators for each mast they install anywhere. Thirdly, each mast, at that time, cost N40m. Imagine how many masts of MTN, Airtel or Glo in Nigeria and multiply that by N40m. Again, they have to look for their own security because Nigeria’s security architecture doesn’t cover them. Electricity does not cover them. Government is not providing anything for them. To say this, a lot of people will feel disappointed that it is as if I’m defending them. The truth must be told. If we are in their shoes, can we be paying through our nose to provide services in a situation that will amount to loses for us? When I was in office, an SMS in Nigeria cost N4. At that time, if you went to Republic of Benin, SMS is N50. In Algeria, it is N150. If you compare all of these, you know in a way, you will also symphatise with those we’ve begged to come. If they hadn’t come to Nigeria, we wouldn’t have had telecommunication services. For me, I symphatise with Nigerians who have to pay that much to access telecommunication services. Again, we also need to know that part of the payment they pay is what government is using to buy services for Nigerians. So, we must also symphatise with them too.
Q: If you are elected as a governor in Oyo State, what are the things that the youth and women should expect from you?
A: Education, first, which is the major benefit youth can have from the government. They will also have skill training in the ICT sector for free. For women, we will extend business resources to them. I am passionate about youth and women getting entrepreneurial training. If I ever become governor, within two years, we will eliminate graduate unemployment from our system. Anybody who read Agric will be provided with resources, land, money and tractors. All the undergraduate students will be taken through three months entrepreneurial training. We will ask them to write proposals for whatever they are skilled in and we’ll sponsor them to start business.
Q: What do you think Barrister Adebayo Shittu will be remembered for?
A: I hope they will remember me as a benefactor of the poor masses.
