Be wary of praise singers, Mustapha tells Buhari

BY CHARLES ADEGBITE

Olabode Mustapha, a chief­tain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State and former House of Representatives member, was the na­tional auditor of the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP). He later became a senatorial aspirant on the platform of the party before he defected to the APC last year. He was made the director-general of Senator Ibikunle Amosun Campaign Organisation and succeeded with the re-election of Governor Amosun for a second term. In this interview, he explains why President Muhammadu Buhari should be wary of praise singers and gave reasons he left the PDP among other issues.

You contested for senatorial seat before defecting from the PDP to the APC, why did you drop your ambition after defection?

I didn’t surrender my senatorial ambition. You see, at my age and my level I should not be seen to be struggling for positions. I’m the Bobagunwa of Egbaland, and if within the same party I have a younger one who aspired to the same office that I aspire to, and I believe he has the competence and the ability to deliver, I should support the person. To me, it is not a matter of life and death. It is about service. If I am sure that he will also render the service to the community, then, it is my responsibility to support him to get to that office, as long as he has the capacity to deliver. If he was somebody who did not have the capacity to deliver I would have stood my ground. But he has the capacity. Prince Lanre Tejuoso is a well trained medical doctor. He is educated and accomplished. He had been a commissioner in the state, so he knows where the shoe pinches. I believe he would be a good ambassador of Egbaland in the Senate.

You were a notable PDP stalwart during Governor Gbenga Daniel’s ad­ministration, what led to your pitching political tent with Governor Amosun?

I had to leave the PDP because of the injustice in the party. I couldn’t stand injustice. I ran for the position of the national auditor of the party, while Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola ran for the post of national secretary. We were both validly nominated, elected and voted for at the national convention of the party, only for us to be removed and replaced by people who did not even obtain nomination forms. And all efforts to get Dr Goodluck Jonathan to intervene and address this issue as a leader of the party failed. Then, to me it was time to move on.

All of that is now history because I am sure that Jonathan, when he goes to the corner of his room, will look back and realise that he made fundamental mistakes which he should not have made. Secondly, I don’t see myself staying in a party where people of question­able character are now leading the party in the South West, not to talk of Ogun State. Sorry, with my years of experience, with my exposure, my age and thank God, with the good name God has given me, I cannot be seen assembling with people of question­able character. I am sorry. I may not be rich but I have a good name that I must protect . As a result I pitched my tent with theA PC. And I thank God that I did that. I also thank Governor Ibikunle Amosun for the opportu­nity he gave me to be the director general of his campaign. That gave me opportunity to be closer to him and to know him better. It made me know that he is a workaholic, and a person who appreciate people who serve him and who are loyal to him. So, I’m happy where I am today.

For the first time in the history of Nigeria, an opposition party defeated an incumbent President, what do you have to say on this kind of develop­ment in the country?

It is a welcome development. That tells you that Nigerian politics is coming of age. As it happens in the developed countries, it means if you are not performing, people would vote you out. We have Professor Jega to thank, especially with the innovation he brought into the politics of Nigeria with the issue of card readers and the Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC). Hitherto, when there were no card readers, votes would have been churned out as if people were going to market place to buy votes. But those days are gone.

As it is, no one should try to rig, because if you try to rig you won’t get anywhere. This is because the card readers will let you know the number of accredited voters and you can’t go beyond it. So, I think we have got to the stage now, where if you don’t perform you will be voted out. So, I think with that, you see politi ­cians would now know that if you want people to vote for you in four years time, or I want people to vote for the candidates that I spon­sor I need to do the needful. And what is the needful? It is not about distributing money. It is about performance. So, it is a very welcome development to the Nigeria politics.

What is your advice to the new Vice President, Professor Osinbajo, considering the enormity of the work before him and the fact that he is not a politician?

He should continue to be who he is. He is a straight forward, honest person with impec­cable integrity. And he should maintain the integrity he has. He should not allow people who go about deceiving people in high offices to lead him astray as some people have been led astray in this country. How many friends that started with President Jonathan four years ago are still with him today? That is enough for anybody to know that in life, you have to be extremely careful. Let the friends he knew before still be his friends. Let him focus on the assignment that Nigerians have given to him and our president in changing Nigeria for bet­ter. Let continue to give his total loyalty to the president. And all will be well.

Recently, former President Jona­than asked those who he might have offended in the course of carrying out his duties as President to forgive him, what do you have to say on this?

Well, I don’t think we should discuss that. To err is human and to forgive is divine. He has asked Nigerians for forgiveness, and I am one of those people he offended. But I have forgiven him. If he had listened to me at that time when I was being hunted, probably we would not be where we are today because it didn’t happen to me alone, it happened to several other people. But all of that has come and gone. We have put that behind us. He is a human being. He has made the mistakes and I hope he would learn from the mistakes. We should not crucify him for that because we must appreciate the fact that there are other good things he did. He couldn’t have been 100 percent bad. If that is the case we should put that behind us and let bygone be bygone, and move on. I wish him well in the future.

What are some of the mistakes you would not want the new government to make?.

First of all, the new president should not allow corruption to get to the level he got to in the first instance. Secondly, there must be a high level of discipline. Fortunately, he is a military man and a disciplined person. He is also a somebody who I believe is very allergic to corruption. Those two, to me are the things that brought Jonathan down. I cannot advice my new leader of the party, but can only suggest that he should watch praise singers, people who have been winning and dinning with heads of states since the days of General Ibrahim Babangida, late General Sanni Abacha, General Abdulsalam Abubakar, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, late Umar Musa Yar’Adua to Jonathan. He should please be wary of them. They have no other intention than to satisfy their own interests, pecuniary or otherwise, and wanting to be around the corri­dors of power. He should watch out for people like that because when the ships are down the bucks stop at his desk. And he would take full responsibility for his actions and inactions in office.