‘My experience, an indispensable asset’

Tajudeen Oladipo Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo is the new National Vice Chairman (South West) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In this interview with Festus Ojudun, he speaks on the outcome of last Saturday’s convention and his vision for the party.

How would you assess the just-concluded national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?
We thank God that it was a peaceful one. It was well planned and articulated. I think that the PDP is coming of age. Many people were pessimistic that hell would let loose at the convention but we thank God that maturity and divine intervention came into play. Actually, I think it was one of the best conventions the PDP ever organised. It was a nice and peaceful one.

As the new zonal chairman of the PDP in the South West geopolitical zone, how do you intend to maintain harmony among PDP leaders in the zone?
I want to take you back the memory lane. When the new democratic dispensation started, PDP had no state in the South West. It was during the time of Chief Olabode George, that the PDP won five out of the six states in the zone. I was one of his team members then, I was part of the team because I was the South West zonal financial secretary. When it was the turn of my predecessor, Chief Yinka Omilani, there was a sort of consolidation because we were able to maintain discipline and cooperation. He displayed maturity that justified his position as a distinguished senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. He is well experienced.

So, we want to toe their lines, but in addition, we want to ensure that we win all the six states in the South West geopolitical zone. That means in addition to the five we have had, we will add Lagos State to them. By the grace of God, come 2011, we will achieve that. All those political juggernauts in the South West are known to me. If we have some bickering among ourselves, I know what to do. It is my intension to bring the warring factions together and this will come into play especially in Lagos.

It is our task to make sure we win Lagos by 2011. I want to assure you that we will not say because we want to win Lagos and leave the states we are controlling now because our political opponents are not sleeping. They are trying to get these states out of the control of PDP. This will not be possible.

Apart from consolidating on the states we are ruling now, we will add Lagos to them. I want to plead with all PDP members that we belong to the same family, we should not allow for bitterness and have the interest of the party at heart. When we do this, we will have enough to go round. We will be able to serve to our fullest capacity. I want to assure my people, especially in the South West, that we are in the mainstream of Nigeria’s politics. So, we must thank God and thank our leaders such as former President Olusegun Obasanjo because he, alongside other party leaders, made it possible for the Yoruba people to be in the mainstream of national politics. I say kudos to all of them. I want to say that we should not do anything that will move the hand of the clock back again because losing any state in the South West to any of the opposition political parties would mean that we are getting ourselves out of mainstream politics in Nigeria.

Let me quickly add that from every indication, Yoruba people have made up their minds that forward ever and backward never in terms of being in the mainstream of national politics. The pull-our-leaders-down syndrome in Yorubaland must stop. Our leaders must be respected; some of them have performed very well. We will always remember the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Asiwaju of Yorubaland. He has contributed in no small way to the progress of the Yoruba race and the country as a whole. So many legacies that he left have not been surpassed and I think that it is time for us to appreciate that fact that when Chief Awolowo was premier of the defunct Western Region, the kind of political system we were practising allowed the opposition to thrive because then it was the regions, whatever revenue you got that you would spend. This time round, we gather all the revenue from the states to the centre and after that, you still redistribute.

When you are not in the mainstream, you are not in the party that controls the Federal Government, apart from the constitutional allocation you will not get any other thing. That was why it was not possible for governors elected on the ticket of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) in 1999 to perform better than they did. You can see the difference between the PDP governors that we have now. Lagos State was lucky because it was buoyant economically; it can stand on its own even without support.

Many people have said that the Action Congress (AC) is a threat to the PDP in the South West. How do you intend to handle the opposition?
As soon as we finish with the election tribunals and they lose out, they will all come back to the PDP because if the AC could not win in other geopolitical zones, then why should it win in the South West? Why should we not join hands in the PDP; whatever posts you want to vie for why should you not do that in the PDP? You can see some people that have just been reabsorbed into the PDP, they were given positions. Look at the Attorney General of Osun State, he contested the last governorship election on the ticket of the AC but lost. When he came, he was appointed as the state Attorney General. Other people can also come like that because we know that his contributions to Osun State will be meaningful. Such good hands will not just be thrown out, we will absorb them. We will allow them to serve in different capacities. Other people too can join hands. If Engineer Rauf Aregbesola, governorship candidate of the AC in the last general election, joins us now, we know the right place to put him. PDP is not a party that will ask you to go and queue; when you come, you are put in the right position. So, I want to assure you that AC can never be a threat to the PDP in the South West because the Yoruba people have become wiser. That was what happened in 2003 and it was repeated in 2007. We will keep moving forward like that; we can not go back again. We can not afford to be in the opposition again because it does not pay.

During the time of Chief Awolowo, it paid, but today, the kind of politics we are playing will not allow us to be in the opposition. Otherwise, the Yoruba will suffer for it.

Some people have said that you are relatively new in politics to become a national vice chairman, is this true?
I was the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) candidate in 1983 elections into the House of Representatives. It was Chief Awolowo that came and showed me to the public that this is your candidate for the Federal House of Representatives at that time. So, I am not new in politics at all. I have been the chairman of Osogbo Local Government during derailed Third Republic. I contested the local government election at that time on the ticket of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and I won overwhelmingly.

Some people say I am new in politics, but in the current dispensation, I have served in numerous capacities that have equipped me with necessary skills. I was once the Commissioner for Works and Transport, Commissioner of Finance and Economic Development and Commissioner for Special Duties. I was the South West zonal financial secretary during the tenure of Chief Olabode George as national vice chairman, South West, of the PDP. So, I am not all that new in politics as some people have said. I believe I have occupied some positions that have endeared me to the people. I do not need to be shouting about that I this or that, but I need to you assure that even if people say I am a political dwarf or whatever they call it, with experience, will I not become a political giant?

Definitely I will be, so I want to appeal to our people to show support. They have been trying to do that, but I want to assure them that with God on our side we will not fail them.

Do you think Chief Vincent Ogbulafor is the right candidate to lead the PDP?
The decision we took, especially the party leaders, is divine. In fact, it is the best decision the PDP has taken in recent times. Rather than pick a candidate that would end up polarizing the party we settled for someone neutral and today the PDP is better for it. I believe Chief Ogbulafor will live up to expectations and we will give him the support he needs to take the party to a higher pedestal.