In 2015, there ‘ll be calamity if… — Tobun

9 years ago

In 2015, there ‘ll be calamity if… — Tobun

MR Tobun Abiodun, represents Epe Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly.
In this interview, he expresses concern over the state of the nation and declares that calamity may befall Nigeria in the absence of free, fair and credible elections.

Excerpts:
By mrchris

His assessment of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, performance
in the conduct of recent governorship elections.

INEC was able to live up to its expectation reasonably in the
just concluded elections because it had no choice. INEC can only manipulate where the presence
and interest of the people do not count. It had no option than
to dance to the tune of the people.

For the just concluded elections, there was no room for manipulations despite the victimisation. The people fought for their rights and they got what they wanted. They were mobilized, they were ready to stand by their votes and defend the votes and that was what happened. If we want this country to move up, we should be ready to defend our votes.

On the chances of the All Progressives Congress in the 2015 polls.

Yes. If you go by the will of the people, the APC would win, this
is because people are tired of the government at the centre.
The lackadaisical attitude of the Federal Government has put
most people off the track. With due respect to Mr. President, the principle of good governance is lacking in Nigeria and everything is in shambles. The education sector, health, communication, power, absence of good roads, many things are not working. The PDP has been there for about 16 years now and nothing is working, so let us try another party.

Do you think the APC has the right candidate for the
presidency now?

We have credible candidates, with respect to the party and the stalwarts of the party, I am not canvassing for anybody but Gen. Muhammed Buhari (rtd.) is a good candidate. He is an
incorruptible person having served as Head of State of Nigeria. How many Nigerians
would head the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) and not be corrupt?
Someone once said, he has no house in Abuja, and that he has
only one house in his home town, he has no other house anywhere in the world. Even President Goodluck Jonathan attested to that, he commended
him; he is not a corrupt person.

Also, people like Governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwakwanso; Governor of Rivers State, Mr.Chibuike Amaechi; Governor of
Lagos State, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu are good materials and
can rule this country effectively.

You mentioned Muhammad Buhari, but some are of the
view that the old guard should give way to the younger
generation. What is your take on this?

Of course, that is what the youths of this country are clamouring for. They say youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow, but when will the time of the youth come? The question now is have those elders provided an enabling environment for the youths to grow? The answer is no.
So, if they are the ones to put us back on track, then they should do so. In some states, where youths have been governors,
they were corrupt, so it is neither here nor there, let us look for the best candidate that would take this country out of the doldrums.
The future of Nigeria is in our hands. We must look for a credible candidate, either male or female that would salvage
this country. Let us all sit down and restructure this country because, the sovereignty belongs to us, let us agree that
this person is credible enough to lead us and put him or her there.
How do you determine who a credible person is?
President Jonathan is leading us now, is he leading us well? To
me, the answer is no. He is not credible to go ahead. Gen. Buhari
has led us before, did he lead us well? To me, I would say yes. He can go ahead. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was the Governor of Lagos State, did he rule us well? Yes. Governor Raji Fashola is ruling Lagos State, is he doing well, yes, Governor Rotimi Amaechi is ruling Rivers State, is he open to the people, yes. If you look at it, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State and Governor Liyel Imoke of Cross Rivers State, they are in the PDP, but they are doing well.
Let us look for credible people, from their antecedents, we can know credible people.

Do you think we should vote for
a party or candidate in the elections?

We can vote for the party whose candidate is credible. This is why every party must look for a credible candidate, who would do the bidding of the generality of the country, not a self-centered leader.