Adedapo Lam Adesina is the son of the former Governor of Oyo State, late Alhaji Lamidi Onaolapo Adesina. The young and vibrant politician popularly called ‘Omo Oloore’ was a former Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Oyo State before he won election to the Federal House of Representatives in 2015 when he represented the Ibadan North East/South East federal constituency under the platform of the APC. He sought re-election in 2019 but lost to the incumbent Hon. Abass Adigun Agboworin. In this interview, Adedapo Lam Adesina shed light on some issues relating to the choice of a muslim-muslim ticket as fielded by his party, APC, why Bola Tinubu is the candidate to beat and why he is also seeking re-election to the House of Representatives in 2023. Enjoy the excerpts.
People have been raising issues about the choice of Muslim/Muslim ticket presidential and vice-presidential candidate by your party, APC. What can you say about this?
That is their opinion and they have an entitlement to their opinion. We empathize with people that the Christian will feel somehow but at this point in the issue of our nation we should look away from the issue of religion, ethnics etc, we should start looking at candidates’ capabilities and antecedents which are very important. We know this man the APC has fielded is a fisher of men. We have seen examples of people he has made. Show me another candidate, though they are also good in their own rights, when you look at Tinubu’s antecedents, you can really tell that he is somebody who can put the best things together to salvage the country.
When you were in the House of Representatives, you did very well. Now that you are re-contesting, what do you intend to do differently this time around?
It is for me to improve on what I have done before, there are several mistakes even with the excellent performance that you spoke about, there are other things that I will want to correct and improve upon. I would want to be in the House of Representatives when our leader and mentor is the President of Nigeria so that I can bring more good things to my constituency.
There is a kind of apathy in the way people are turning out to collect their PVCs as announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) . How are you sensitizing the people?
People are like that, I am sure when it is almost getting to the end of the process, they will turn out. So we are canvassing people to let them realize that this is the time to pick their own to avoid not being able to get it. We are canvassing and we hope that people will realize that the PVC is their power. They are not doing anybody a favour by collecting PVC and voting, they are doing themselves a favour.
There are still controversies surrounding the way and manner APC conducted the last primary election in the State, what are you doing about this especially in your constituency?
Our slogan is we keep begging them till the last day to let reasoning prevail and let us come together to work for the success of the party. We are not saying they are not relevant, they are relevant and we need them, they should let us all work together. We are still begging them, especially towards the Asiwaju project, we should all work together.
Can you tell us the qualities that set your candidate Bola Tinubu apart from other candidates?
First and foremost, I don’t attack personalities, I love Atiku, I am very close to him and I believe that Peter Obi has come up to challenge the status quo, I love that as well. But the truth of the matter is, if Peter Obi has done well in Anambra, why are people leaving there to come to Alabama in Lagos, so it is as simple as ABC. I can have my own personal sentiment, Asiwajuis my father, he is a Yoruba man, in my lifetime I want to see a Yoruba man that is accepted by the South West to become the President, I don’t want us to have another scenario of the best president that Nigeria never had. I want my generation to be part of the best president Nigeria ever had which will be from the South West and that is Asiwaju by the grace of God. He has discovered many talents and built lots of people. He has built bridges across the river.
When you even look at the kind of people he has brought up, you will see that this is a man that has something upstairs. It might not even be the leader that will get the job done but it is the team, when you have a strong team it will make things easy. When you have a strong team, it will make the job easier. They get the job done and you take the glory. If you cannot put up a strong team together you can’t get the job done and Asiwaju has done that over and over. People will tell you there are still lapses in Lagos but we should remember that Rome was not built in a day, it is a gradual process. If it is slow, the truth is it is progressing, let it be slow, we also want Nigeria to be progressive not retrogressive. I believe that Tinubu is the man for the job. I might have my own sentiment but sentiment apart for the sake of the country. I will grant an interview in two years time and say to the people of the country that thank God we chose this man.
