Engr. Oyedele Hakeem Alao, popularly known as Allow Alao, is a gubernatorial aspirant under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State. In this interview with Rukiyat Ogunwade, he speaks on his ambition and vision for the state. Excerpt:
What is inspiring to seek the mandate to govern Oyo State, given its trajectories dating back to the second republic?
If you recall that I contested in 2017 for governorship under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in Oyo State and what inspired me then was the way and manner those in government then were governing the state. These are people who have travelled outside the shore of Nigeria before and it is believed that they must have seen all that is happening in other parts of the world but the reverse was the case in terms of their performance in delivering the dividends of democracy to the people of the state.
Secondly, I used to work in Shell in Nigeria before my relocation to Oman where I worked with an oil and gas company where I handled project worth over two billion Riyadh. I sincerely believe that the experience garnered there has put me in a better position to turn things around positively as governor of Oyo State.
What do you think is new that you are capable of bringing on board that others have failed to deploy since 1999?
I am more than capable to serve as the next governor of the state because I have the experience and other endowments to govern for the development of the state. I have worked in various capacities as Project Engineer, Facility Engineer and Project Manager in the oil sector in Nigeria before travelling overseas. In January 2004, I joined the Tebodin and Partners in the Sultanate of Oman and was later seconded as a Project Construction Coordinator. My experience at Oman exposed me to how countries like Oman use their resources in the development of their country. If I emerge first as the candidate of our great party and then elected as governor, I promised to use both human and natural resources available to leapfrog the state such that it will be the envy of other states in the country. I am committed to the ideals of progressive politics.
Do you envisage a level -playing field in the Oyo APC in who picks the governorship ticket of the party?
Let me first state this, few months ago, there was electoral review which gave rise to another electoral guidelines in which you now have candidates been chosen either by consensus or direct primaries. During the time it used to be indirect, one can say that things would have been very difficult given what usually happened.
Also, I want to take a step backward a little bit, in the last one month, everybody must have seen what has happened in the rank and file of the APC in Oyo State where we had a ward congress, a local government congress and state congress that were devoid of any acrimony, violence or any form of problem. I am sure our opponents are still shocked on how Oyo APC without a governor was able to achieve that harmony. I spoke to some of the leaders on how they successfully achieved it and I want to give kudos to all the progressive leaders in Oyo State they have done very well.
Thus, based on what the party has been able to do with the congresses, I could see a better future in Oyo State as we are the pace setter. We will always create the pace and this time around we have shown the whole Southwest that we are the pacesetter because the congresses in Ekiti and Ondo States had skirmishes as we heard that people died while some were injured and we don’t have such in Oyo State despite the fact that the party did not have a governor and at the end of the day the congress produced one of the best Chairman. For the first time we have a former deputy governor as the Chairman of the party at the state level, so we have someone who is well-experienced as our Chairman. So, I cannot but give kudos to the rank and file of the progressive and conservatives who formed the nucleus of the party in Oyo State.
Are you confident of benefiting from the crisis rocking the PDP at the national and state levels despite the coming of the ADC?
There is an adage in Yoruba which says, “Saturday ti o da Friday la ti ma mo”, with what happened during the congresses it is already clear that there would not be crisis in choosing the right candidate for the party for the coming election, however for me what I know is that there will be slim chances for those who I will describe as political prostitutes.
As a loyal and committed party man, I stood back in the party and campaigned for the gubernatorial candidate of the party despite my loss to Senator Teslim Folarin in the primary election in 2023. I did that because I am a progressive to the core as I take that after my grandmother who from 1957 till she passed on was a progressive. So when you have progressive blood you will not move about but stand fast and that was what made me stand fast during the 2022/2023 election despite that I lost the governorship primaries.
Do you share the view being expressed in some quarters that position of governor should be rotated across the state?
Well, there is nothing bad in rotating but in the circumstance of Oyo State, the party has to be strategic such that it has to look at what other parties will bring on board most especially where their candidate will come from. For instance, should APC pick an Ibadan or Oke Ogun person what will Accord and other parties bring on board. And will the parties agree on such, since it is not in the constitution but an unwritten agreement?
Even in Lagos and other states that are practising rotation, it an agreement, so it’s difficult to say we’re going to be rotating it in Oyo State, but if it’s like in Lagos, where APC has been in government since 1999, it is easier to rotate it there because it is the same people who have been ruling. For me, there is nothing bad in it but the party has to look at it very critically.
But in the present instance in Oyo State when the APC has left government in the last seven or eight years, it requires strategy such that the party needs to look at the pros and cons of rotation and one must not forget that the APC does not want to lose any election.
What do you think the people of Oyo state should look out for when deciding the candidates for parties in the coming election?
Unfortunately, the masses do not know how to choose their representatives, for example why will the people choose a leader who doesn’t believe in local government autonomy?. Meanwhile, the society needs an experienced leader, someone who has gone round the world. It is important that a leader must have leadership skill, for example a lawmaker may not have the necessary leadership skill than to make law when governance is beyond making law. So people have to choose their leaders based on the qualities that a leader is supposed to possess.