Date: 2018-04-29

Saheed Popoola, former Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Kwara State, is lucky to be alive today following a miraculous survival after a vehicle driven by a Youth Corp member serving in the state, rammed into him while standing beside his car last October. He is still recuperating from the wounds sustained in that incident.

A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and member of the State House of Assembly, he is seen by many as the Wiz-kid of Offa politics given his penchant to always win elections in the area irrespective of his political platform. In this interview with Dare Odufowokan, the lawmaker speaks on the factionalisation of the APC in Kwara State, the forthcoming elective convention of the party and the 2019 general election. Excerpts.

Not much has been heard of you in the last couple of months. That is unlike you given your place in the politics of Kwara State.

Yes, you observed rightly. I have been indisposed since last year October. I had an accident that nearly claimed my life. But I thank God I am here today able to talk to you. My right leg was badly affected and I was hospitalised for months at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and National Orthopedic Hospital, Igbobi, Lagos State, for months. Even now, I am still recuperating from the wounds I sustained.

I have been away from the House of Assembly all these while. I am saddened I am unable to represent my people adequately but I thank them for their understanding and support. I thank the leadership of the House and my colleagues too for their solidarity. It was a strange accident. A vehicle driven by a Youth Corp member serving in the state, rammed into me and my brother, Femi Agbaje, while we were standing beside our cars last October. We could have been killed but God spared our lives. He is also hospitalised till now.

Another election year is approaching. How ready do you think APC is in Kwara State?

APC in Kwara is always ready for elections but at this point in time, we need to urgently manage some situations well to avoid a divided house during the polls. We cannot continue to pretend that all is well. There are some differences we need to address in order to perform optimally at the polls. Once we do that, APC will as usual defeat any opposition in Kwara State.

Are you subscribing to claims in some quarters that the party is factionalised in Kwara State?

These are not mere claims. There are facts. I won’t be part of those pretending. The truth is that APC in divided into camps in our state. I believe you have heard of those in Caucus for Progressive Change (CPC), which is a faction within the party. We cannot continue to sweep this under the carpet, otherwise the crisis within the party will continue. And if that is the case till the next election, it will affect the performance of the party. We must address the issues involved.

During the last election, we all worked as a team under our leader, Dr. Bukola Saraki, the Senate President, and it paid off. We got 100 percent. We need the same unity and togetherness to repeat that this time around. That is what is lacking as we speak. The party in Kwara is not united because we are refusing to address the grievances of some chieftains and members.

Some chieftains of the party are blaming Saraki for the crisis within the party. Do you share their positions?

I will not blame him as such. Rather, I will blame those in positions of leadership at the state level within the party. Saraki cannot be everywhere and do everything. That is why they are party officials in the state to see to the effective running of the party. If they have failed, they should stop hiding under the name of the Senate President who should ordinarily have little to do with running APC in Kwara State.

For example, I have been hospitalised for seven months, yet the leadership of my party is yet to come and greet me. Is that Saraki's fault? Or is it that I am so unimportant within the party? Even leaders of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state have been here to see me and pray for me. That is why I am saying the state chairman of the APC in Kwara State should wake up to his duties and call a meeting with all aggrieved members of the party to discuss modalities for peace and unity.

But what do you think are the major grievances of these people?

Majorly, they complain of not being carried along. They desire more inclusiveness from the leadership of the party and the leader himself. They are not aware of many things. Appointments were made with no input from them. None was extended to them both at state and federal levels. Sincerely, many things are happening without those outside a particular group knowing.

If not for the good people of Offa who elected me a state legislator, with my input into the formation of the APC in Offa, I would also have been in the dark. That is what some people are kicking against. These are the things that need to be addressed by the leadership for things to return to normal. And I insist the way to go is to call a meeting of all stakeholders and resolve these issues like a family.

I heard that some people are saying those complaining are unimportant people in the party. This is a very reckless statement to be made by anybody. People like S. Y Yammah are not pushovers in Kwara State politics. People like the CPC chairman, Alhaji Samari Abdullahi, people like Hon. Olabanji, who represented Apapa Constituency of Lagos before coming to Kwara.

I can mention names on and on. I think these people should tell Saraki the truth so he can take appropriate steps to end this crisis. I know he will never say some people are not important in politics. Even a mad man who can still manage to vote is very important.

The APC has resolved to hold a convention to elect a new leadership after the brouhaha over tenure elongation. What is your take on this?

Tenure elongation is a dangerous proposal. Those who advised President Buhari against it have done the party a great help. There are also challenges in APC at the national level. A lot of things also need to be addressed. But all we just need to do is to go back to where we started from. Buhari needs to ensure that the party is returned to those who midwifed it before the next election. We must return to where we were in 2013/2014 while APC was being mooted and formed.

That is no other place than Lagos. For 2019 to be easy for us, the President must finally acknowledge the real architects of what he and APC are today. Buhari needs that same structure and permutations that gave him victory in 2015 if he wants to win in 2019. He contested in 2007 and in 2011 but didn't win until 2015 when Asiwaju Tinubu brought in his structure and permutations. That is where we must go back to. If he loses the support of Asiwaju and his people across the country, 2019 will not be easy for APC.

But there are talks about another attempt to procure tenure elongation for the current executives by another means.

Oyegun and others must not do anything that will jeopardise the chances of APC and President Buhari in 2019. They have tried their best and it is time to leave the stage for others to do same. They must submit to the wishes of party which Mr. President re-echoed. APC needs to move forward as a party that formed the government and is willing to remain in power.

What have we done as a party in four years under their leadership? Thank God we have a President that is performing and the people are happy. Our party has been retarded for four years under this leadership. No progress whatsoever. Imagine, no single convention in four years! It is terrible. If not that this one we are preparing for is compulsory, they will not bother to do any.

If you are saying Oyegun should go and rest, what type of leader are you recommending for the party? APC needs a more active chairman. The party has said the zoning arrangement remains. No problem, even if it is from the same zone, give us a forward looking, capable and active leader as we go into the next election. We need somebody who will rejig and re-energise the party. And we have such people aplenty in our party even from the South-south. From Edo State, we have the likes of Oshiomhole available to serve the party. Let us consider these people and position them where they can move the party forward. And do you still think Nigerians will still vote APC in 2019? I am very sure of that. Nigerians are not daft. They can see the difference between 16 years of PDP and four years of APC. They are happy with the tremendous changes this administration has effected towards a better Nigeria. Yes, the party may have had some challenges, the government has performed to the admiration of Nigerians and they are ready to vote APC again. I have no doubt about that.

Nigerians are willing to be patient with us, knowing quite well that it is not easy to repair. They are pleased with the efforts so far and they have strong faith in this administration. Go round the country and you will hear sincere Nigerians appreciating the effort of President Buhari and his team. There are many things to appreciate this President for.

I will like to have your reaction to the Offa robbery incident as the people's representative.

That was a very sad incident and an avoidable one for that matter. For the purpose of information, this is not the first time such a thing will be happening in Offa. One would expect that successive administrations would have made effort to curb such. It happened just like this in 2011, when I was the council chairman. People were killed and money carted away. I think it was the UBA bank that was robbed then. In 2013 December too, it happened again. Several people were again killed.

As 2019 draws closer, what is your next political aspiration?

My people will determine that. They have always determined what I aspire for. When I became chairman, it was because they urged me to. Now that I am a lawmaker, they agitated for it. So, whatever they desire that I do is what I will do in 2019. Already, they are talking about me going to the senate as it is time for Offa to produce a senator for our district which is Kwara South. The agitation is on and I am waiting for them to decide. If that is what they desire, that is what I will do.

Ordinarily, I would have said I want to go to the House of Representatives, but if my people feel I should move up and represent them at the senate, I will heed their call.