Sodiq Olajide, Director-General, Oranmiyan Group, a socio-political group, initiated by the former Osun Governor Rauf Aregbesola, in this interview with SOLOMON ODENIYI speaks on his group’s readiness to mobilize support for President Muhammadu Buhari, as well as his agenda for the organisation. Excerpt:
OSDF: What do you make of the exchange of words between Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and President Buhari?
Former president Obasanjo is a controversial person and his letters used to be meaningful, but I now see his letters he writes as infamous. How can he say that Buhari is running government the way General Sani Abacha ran his. Since assumption of office, Buhari has been democratic and you can describe him as a democrat. He remains the only president who has travelled and made his vice the acting president so that he can enjoy the full power the president enjoys unlike what played out during the late Musa Yaradua’s tenure when he travelled. I think Obasanjo is being held for some of his misdeeds, that is why he is saying what an ordinary citizen will not say. He is senile; I don’t think he is in the right senses again. Can you rely on a person who asked God to punish him if he supports Atiku and now came back to say the same person is the right leader for the country? He is not a trusted person.
The truth is that the worst ever electoral malpractices that Nigeria has witnessed was under Obasanjo when he openly declared the election as a do-or-die affair and he acted true to his words. He should understand that people know what they want and a thousand of him can’t chage it.
OSDF: Buhari is visiting Osun, how ready is the organisation to mobilise support for him?
We are always ready. We have been holding series of meetings to make sure he get a warming welcome he deserves. As soon as we get the directives from our principal and our party, the APC will go into action. We will give Mr. President a nice welcome and give a good impression of the kind of people we are in the state, just as we are determined to mobilise support for him, because, among the candidates, he is the best we have for now.
OSDF: Any confidence ahead of the general elections?
Progressives are not known to deceiving people, we only tell what we can give. We care for the welfare of the people and that is what we have always preached and promoted. This is in terms of infrastructural development, education, good health and that is why it has been possible for us to have set a new record in this state by having a party in government successively for two terms and installing a new government to continue with the good works. We have confidence because we have men and women of integrity right from the House of Assembly, National Assembly and Presidency. Our president is a man of integrity and honour. We will claim victory not by hook or crook, we are not known for that. We are going to use this election to affirm that the governorship election we won last year was a reflection that the APC is the party of the people and the party that the people love.
OSDF: What are the efforts put in place to be victorious at the election?
In the next 72 hours, we will be flagging off our tour of all local governments. Our organization is made up of people from grassroot as well as those with integrity. Check our records, there is no single person in government that can say he has given us money before, though we are partisan and APC members but we are going to use our structure and integrity to let people know that as we have always been doing in the past, we will continue to do. We are going to live up to expectation. In 2007, when we were campaigning for Ogbeni Aregbesola’s election, we told our people that when we get to office he would make people smile and undoubtedly he did wonderfully well.
OSDF: As the newly appointed DG of Oranmiyan, what new thing are you bringing to the table?
Oranmiyan is a socio-political organization but we have concentrated so much on the political aspect. Under my watch, we will try to promote the socio cultural aspect without leaving out the political involvement which we are hoping it will cut across the south western part of Nigeria. We will also try to break new ground by looking for our people in diaspora; we will try to rally round to bring them home anywhere they are all over the world.
