Abdulkadir Oba Aluko, a member of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in Kwara State, said parties not in power should play their role of objectively criticising government. He told ABIODUN FAGBEMI in Ilorin that it is sad that parties not in government rely on handouts from the ruling party. Excerpts:

DO you think it is appropriate to say that there is no party in Kwara that can break the continued dominance of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

If people say the politics in Kwara is lopsided, they are not far from the truth, but I refuse to subscribe to the assumption that it is a one-man show.

It is lopsided because majority of those pretending to be 'opposition' members are mere agents of successive ruling parties in the state. These pretenders often lead the way at the formative period of other parties, offer a sense of direction and give the people a false belief of sincerity in their struggle to oust the ruling party. Many of them would even lead rallies and campaigns in which members of the ruling party would be lampooned. But they will back out when it matters most. They would cross over to the ruling party at the 11th hour divulging the plans and strategies to their sponsors. This is one of the reasons the other parties are weak even before the election opens. But despite the high level of betrayal and rigging, the members of the other parties in the state are still slugging it out with the ruling party. In the last elections in the state, unlike the previous one, the other parties snatched one out of the existing 16 local government areas from the ruling PDP and that is Offa council.

Do you regard the capture of one council out of 16 as an achievement to be celebrated by the other parties in Kwara?

We are aware  that politics in our clime is driven by money. The order of the day is still patterned after the aphorism of he who pays the piper dictates the tune. So, I am saying that anyone with money can still buy the votes in our electoral system. But we shall soon get to the point where voters will value manifestoes above crumbs and carrots from the mater's table. They will know that only a party with a credible manifesto would guarantee their future. It is happening elsewhere and it will soon occur in our politics. We need to end this aspect of gratification. The underling factor is that another party won in the Offa council because the people have developed politically and we believe that others will follow suit sooner than later, it is all down to proper education. There is no law that says a ruling party must win all elections, every time there is an election.

How do you feel then with the recent decamping of some politicians to the ruling party, few days after the polls?

No credible member of a party will just wake up and decamp to another party because of the outcome of an election. The late Obafemi Awolowo loved the country and the people but the ruling cabal ensured that he did not emerge the nation's President. If he had joined forces with the ruling party, he would never be viewed as a sage today. He created a credible alternative and the results are there for all to see.

In Kwara, I believe that some of the people that decamped did so because of frustration and poverty of means and the mind. Some of them probably saw the state as part of the national cake and queried the wisdom in distancing themselves from the cake. But if truly they are democrats with an ideology, it is certain they are not enjoying themselves in the ruling party irrespective of the appointments they were given. They are those to be addressed as round pegs in square holes. Many of them will re trace their steps and start afresh their political journey when they fill their stomach. Hunger can make a man do things.

What do you think of the request by the state Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed for N10 billion to fast track the completion of some abandoned capital projects in the state?

The House of Assembly where he made the request is dominated by the PDP. And so, I will be surprised if they turn down the request. Ahmed's predecessor, Senator Bukola Saraki went to the capital market shortly before the expiration of his tenure to borrow about N24 billion for the same capital projects. So of what need is another borrowing when the state is yet to re-pay the old loans? I had thought that we should have embarked on the projects one at a time rather than attempting a holistic completion of them. But I know someone will give an account of how the money was spent. It is a matter of time.

What will it take for the CPC to make an impact in the polls in Kwara?

What we are doing is not a noise making. We are trying to sensitise members of the public especially the youth to some of the unpopular policies of the ruling party. it is true that the PDP in the state has done some credible things. We cannot remove that from them. However where we have a better idea and solution to the PDP, we will present that to the masses. It is a pragmatic approach to politics. It is not a newspaper talk but I am assuring that we are working on improving our presence at the polls in the future. Not too parties are alike and we can never adopt similar methods to issues unless there are reasons for that.

How would you rate the PDP then in the state and where could another party make a difference?

To do an objective assessment of the government, anyone would want to see the papers for the monthly allocations from the Federal Government, and the Internally Generated Revenue capacity of the state. The present government has sustained the peace of the state and this is a good thing. But I know that we all contribute our quota to the maintenance of peace and order in the state. It is not only the PDP government that gives the peace.

I think the idea of the winner takes all in the nation's democracy should stop. For example, if the issue of security is the responsibility of all, why can't the Federal Government be conceding some funds to the other parties under the security votes rather than giving all the money to the ruling government? This will help to make security more effective. For instance as a member of another party, if I receive security votes as at when due, I will not want anything that will tarnish the justification of the votes.

Do you advocate for a fusion of the other parties as a way of strengthening them?

Since democracy is a game of number we are not ruling out other people joining us in the CPC. Talks are ongoing and in due course we all be made public. However, I will rule out CPC going into any other party; it is not possible for now.