and be condemned in strongest terms by all of us especially those who have the avenue to make themselves heard. When I heard some uncomplimentary things about her, I put it down to male chauvinism! We don’t need to join the men in the hateful practise of political brigandry for us to get there to make a difference. Just be steadfast in showcasing the good stuff you are made of in any public environment, definitely recognition, acceptance and upliftment will be automatic creditably.
What is your perception of the general elections, from the presidential to the governorship, what is your assessment?
now too much rot is in the root.
What do you think about INEC in this whole election?
I think INEC was compromised. I believe from all the evidences, it is either it was compromised or naive, lack of experience because you came out as INEC chairman to assure that the recordings are there that it must be transmitted. BVAS or whatever, and this gave people confidence, then you the same man is now saying, the thing can be faulty, it can’t be transmitted. Haba, something is fishy there and I think if we have a strong checks and balances institution it is very easy to trace bad money. But who is going to do it? When the person who should do are actually the ones on top of the situation. I wish there is a way, where the president doesn’t belong to any political party, I wish we can have that kind of system. So, that you will be neutral, I think PMB has been compromised with this election because how can a president vote and then show the whole world, that I have voted for you? As if there is something, that I have to prove to you that I have thumb-printed for you. So, there should be a kind of you become neural because you are now father to all, you’re father to whether the person is in APC, PDP, NNPP or LP. You should be neutral so that the best person emerges and succeeds you. Especially if also you have tried to be above board on that job. But if you have a lot of cover-ups to do, you will need somebody who can cover up whatever you need to cover up. People are surprised, they say you were there how can you be talking like this, I tell them that I didn’t have any hidden covenant with anybody.
And lastly, you said you want to ‘Japa’ even with this your luxury home in Ikoyi, why would you want to leave your country?
Do you know at what cost we are living in Ikoyi. The electricity bill is skyrocketing, it’s not easy maintaining the lifestyle especially when you are retired and you are not being paid your retirement benefits. So, what you see is just contentment of God. That I am able to have worked in my life and be able to save some things and also from inheritance. I inherited from my father and my mother otherwise people will be regarding me as a pauper on the road. I have worked for over 50-something years ago, I have not received pension or benefits from anywhere.
I thought as a former deputy governor your housing is free, among other benefits?
Governor Bola Tinubu refused to pay our retirement benefits. He said that it is only people who are elected along with him that are entitled, but the Assembly Edit said everyone who was elected, but he said it is only him and those who worked with him. And that is one of the reasons I want to leave Nigeria for him because of what I have suffered since I came out as a gubernatorial aspirant under PDP in 2003, when he was going for second term if not that I have the grace of God, I would have broken down. But I thank God. So, he has not paid. I went to court and won the case that they should pay me instead they went to Appeal Court and hanged the case at the Appeal, not following it up, they just abandoned it till date. I have not been paid. So, it is grace of God that I and my husband did some investment, apart from my inheritance that is what I am falling back on. Anything you see around me is a personal effort. It took me almost 12 years to complete the house. I got the allocation of where I am now when Babangida was military head of state and they were allocating to civil servants in that area. My own allocation of land in Victoria Island, Bola Tinubu revoked it and gave it to UAC just because I said Lagos deserves better treatment, the indigenes deserve better when I went to pay a courtesy call on him as commissioner representing Lagos State and Federal Character and he said that I came to play politics because I was then a gubernatorial aspirant and I said no, I am not playing politics, the data were there and I sent the data ahead. Probably he wasn’t properly briefed before coming to the courtesy call and immediately we left the courtesy call, I understand that within three minutes he revoked my certificate, and I didn’t know he has revoked the certificate of occupancy until I gave the land to developers and they came back to me that it has been revoked that is about two or three years after he had revoked it. He later gave them Abijo something that is not at par with the value of the land that he took. I have suffered a lot of humiliation at state functions; I will not be recognised that I was there and if not for my own personal relationship with people it would have been very obvious but because I have been kind to many people, they couldn’t really reel out whatever they have been told to do against me. So, it has been tough since 2003, this is 2023. In the last 20 years, it has been very tough. That is why this japa thing came about. If he was doing that to me because he has all these people who he has been influencing their being governor. If he was doing that to me as a remote control now that he has the power what then will happen, that is why I said it is better I renounce my citizenship, take the citizenship of another country and know that I am out of Nigeria. Especially, when I now heard it that when people asked him about me, my situation, and those whom I talked to, to talk to him to let them pay me my entitlement, he now asked if I am still around, if I’m still alive? And I called some of those who I believe are close to him, that I heard this, they said they will go and investigate, they go, they never come back. They have nothing to say because probably they found out that it is true that he said it. They never came back. On my pension, I spoke to someone like Pius Akinyelure (who is close to him) who spoke to him, he was very close too to my late cousin, Prof. Gilbert Adeleye Adegite in his lifetime, but he went and never came back. I spoke to Dr. Oluyomi Finnih, Prof. Bayo Williams and I spoke to Senator Anthony Adefuye, Kabiyesi, Oba Rilwan Akiolu (Oba of Lagos) is aware that I have not been paid my pension. Nobody could influence him to let go, so why will I say, I am going to continue to be in the same situation when he now has the almighty power. The presidential power in Nigeria is monarchical power. They can just pick you up in your house and that is it. He is very opaque, no transparency. Everyone is under his pocket, except I want them to kill me. What is to be done when one’s presence and uprightness displease the one who wields power? (Sunday Sun)
