Why the PDP will win the presidential election, Kogi Guber poll, by Bolufemi
Dr. Olanrewaju Olarotimi Bolufemi, a member of the Popular Mobilization Committee of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council and candidate for Governor on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform in this interview with RALPH OMOLOLU AGBANA, offers insight into the PDP's chances of regaining power after eight years in opposition. He also explains his race to occupy Lugard House Kogi State, in the governorship primaries scheduled for March/April 2023 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
As a member of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, what is the pillar and goal of your campaign? Our campaign is issue-based. We will simply remind APC that in 2015, how much did a bag of rice cost? Maybe N7,000, maybe N8,000. Now after your seven or eight years, how much is a bag of rice, I think it's N50,000. How much gasoline were we buying per liter and how much does it cost now, even with the billions you've invested in grants? So how much was a dollar to a naira when you said you would make a naira par with a dollar in exchange? To date, it is already N800 for a dollar. The problem is that we really don't need too many arguments about it. It is very simple. These are the students who have been at home for eight months and when they are asked to resume, they are made to pay new tuition fees. Is it the fault of the students? Is it the fault of the parents? Is it the fault of the speakers or the fault of the APC government? Our director, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said he would decentralize power and return it to the states.
How would you rate your chances in the race for Governor of Kogi State in 2023, knowing that you are from Kogi West, an axis known to be disadvantaged in terms of population? For development to take place, our dreams must be bigger than our fears. Our mission should be how to achieve an industrialized Kogi State, where our young people will find gainful employment. To develop the Kogi, we must move away from the politics of ethnic numbers.
During one of my consultations after deciding to run for Governor, I met former Governor Ibrahim Idris and other political juggernauts from Kogi State in Abuja. Then a group of politicians from Igala called me to come talk to them. When I got there, as I started to address them, one of them asked me if I was an Igala or if I was talking about Igala in the state part of Kogi. Normally, I should have answered him "yes or no".
But knowing why he asked that question, I have now used that same question to tell him why I want to be the next state governor. In my answer I asked him and the rest; I said "which tribe is the development?", "what language does the development speak?". No one could answer. When they couldn't answer the question, I now said the answer to your question was very simple; I am a developer and this is what we need in Kogi state, not tribal politics. For 18 to 19 years, one tribe, the Igala, by the magnanimous ways of God, ruled Kogi State. Late Prince Abubakar Audu has done six years; Alhaji Ibrahim Idris has done nine years; Capt Idris Wada, four years old. Can you point to a skyscraper, a nice highway, or a good, well-equipped hospital; learning environment conducive to primary education; regular well-packaged payment of salaries of local government officials you have in Igalaland during your 19 years of rule? They said no. I have now said that means the development has no respect for the tribe. I then asked them the second question; I said in the last 31 years that Kogi State was established, the office of Governor has been male based, not even a female Deputy Governor. I said does this translate into the development of the state? They said no. So, I said that means the development we're talking about has no respect for gender. Apart from that, I said that during the 31 years of existence of Kogi State, all the governors belong to a particular religion, Islam. Does this translate into development? They said no. That is to say, development has no respect for religion. Then I said that for seven years now, Nigeria's youngest Governor has been at the helm of the affairs of our dear State. And I asked; how does this youth measure up or translate into the development we aspire to, they said they did not know. This means that development has no respect for age. I have now said what then is the development of which we speak. You see, development is when you can translate your age, your education, your tribe, your religion, whatever is about you into a commodity and the commodity is called development and we see it physical, not abstract, and people profit from it. This is what I want to mix and translate into development in my quest to become the Governor of Kogi State, to change the discourse on poor development.
What motivated me to aspire to the position of governor was the nu...
Dr. Olanrewaju Olarotimi Bolufemi, a member of the Popular Mobilization Committee of the Atiku/Okowa Presidential Campaign Council and candidate for Governor on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform in this interview with RALPH OMOLOLU AGBANA, offers insight into the PDP's chances of regaining power after eight years in opposition. He also explains his race to occupy Lugard House Kogi State, in the governorship primaries scheduled for March/April 2023 by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
As a member of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council, what is the pillar and goal of your campaign? Our campaign is issue-based. We will simply remind APC that in 2015, how much did a bag of rice cost? Maybe N7,000, maybe N8,000. Now after your seven or eight years, how much is a bag of rice, I think it's N50,000. How much gasoline were we buying per liter and how much does it cost now, even with the billions you've invested in grants? So how much was a dollar to a naira when you said you would make a naira par with a dollar in exchange? To date, it is already N800 for a dollar. The problem is that we really don't need too many arguments about it. It is very simple. These are the students who have been at home for eight months and when they are asked to resume, they are made to pay new tuition fees. Is it the fault of the students? Is it the fault of the parents? Is it the fault of the speakers or the fault of the APC government? Our director, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said he would decentralize power and return it to the states.
How would you rate your chances in the race for Governor of Kogi State in 2023, knowing that you are from Kogi West, an axis known to be disadvantaged in terms of population? For development to take place, our dreams must be bigger than our fears. Our mission should be how to achieve an industrialized Kogi State, where our young people will find gainful employment. To develop the Kogi, we must move away from the politics of ethnic numbers.
During one of my consultations after deciding to run for Governor, I met former Governor Ibrahim Idris and other political juggernauts from Kogi State in Abuja. Then a group of politicians from Igala called me to come talk to them. When I got there, as I started to address them, one of them asked me if I was an Igala or if I was talking about Igala in the state part of Kogi. Normally, I should have answered him "yes or no".
But knowing why he asked that question, I have now used that same question to tell him why I want to be the next state governor. In my answer I asked him and the rest; I said "which tribe is the development?", "what language does the development speak?". No one could answer. When they couldn't answer the question, I now said the answer to your question was very simple; I am a developer and this is what we need in Kogi state, not tribal politics. For 18 to 19 years, one tribe, the Igala, by the magnanimous ways of God, ruled Kogi State. Late Prince Abubakar Audu has done six years; Alhaji Ibrahim Idris has done nine years; Capt Idris Wada, four years old. Can you point to a skyscraper, a nice highway, or a good, well-equipped hospital; learning environment conducive to primary education; regular well-packaged payment of salaries of local government officials you have in Igalaland during your 19 years of rule? They said no. I have now said that means the development has no respect for the tribe. I then asked them the second question; I said in the last 31 years that Kogi State was established, the office of Governor has been male based, not even a female Deputy Governor. I said does this translate into the development of the state? They said no. So, I said that means the development we're talking about has no respect for gender. Apart from that, I said that during the 31 years of existence of Kogi State, all the governors belong to a particular religion, Islam. Does this translate into development? They said no. That is to say, development has no respect for religion. Then I said that for seven years now, Nigeria's youngest Governor has been at the helm of the affairs of our dear State. And I asked; how does this youth measure up or translate into the development we aspire to, they said they did not know. This means that development has no respect for age. I have now said what then is the development of which we speak. You see, development is when you can translate your age, your education, your tribe, your religion, whatever is about you into a commodity and the commodity is called development and we see it physical, not abstract, and people profit from it. This is what I want to mix and translate into development in my quest to become the Governor of Kogi State, to change the discourse on poor development.
What motivated me to aspire to the position of governor was the nu...
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