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His decision to go into politics

I have been in
politics for a while, but there was never a time I was really
interested in elective office. But in the last one year, I have
reflected on the events in the country, especially in Ekiti State, and
also my career. I now feel that if all of us that are critical of the
way things are going in this country stand aloof, if we allow the
people with no vision to rule over this country, things will continue
to be the way they are. That is why you find me doing what I’m doing
now.

Criticism of timetable for 2011 elections

I think the time
line is too close for the elections. If, by now, we have not done
registration, parties have not nominated their candidates, ballot
papers have not been printed and a lot of things have been left
untouched. There is no way we can do successful elections in January.
They have argued that the electoral act has specified a time. My
argument is that law is made for man, not man for the law. Those laws
are going to be impediments to free and fair elections. We could amend
those laws that have been passed. We could call the National Assembly
members together again to review, instead of hindering our election, or
we can suspend those laws for this election.

Challenges facing Ekiti State

If you look at
Ekiti State over the years, you will find that there has been a
collapse in the education sector. We have always seen education as an
end to needs, not as a means to an end. We have not used that education
to build industries and provide employment for our people. You can just
be acquiring degrees without adding to the value of the lives of our
people. People believe that to go to school and acquire degrees is the
end of the world. That is the kind of rebirth we want in Ekiti State.
We want to recreate and change the perspective of our people. It is
when other states see us from a good perspective that we will begin to
attract people from other states and these will bring good tidings to
our state.

His plans if elected senator

The problem facing
Ekiti State is the re-orientation of our people. We need to call
ourselves to the problem facing us. For example, all the roads in Ekiti
are not in good shape. We are going to vigorously call attention to all
these things.

If I get to the
National Assembly, I am going to network with my colleagues and lobby
those that can be lobbied. Because of my working here, I have also
discovered that there is so much ignorance, people not knowing what is
going on outside the state and people with degrees don’t even know
where to go for jobs. They don’t know that a lot of government
agencies, especially at the federal level, hire people annually on a
contract basis. They don’t have the knowledge of what is due to them.
We would organize seminars for our businessmen on where and how to take
opportunities of loan facilities. So those are the kind of things I
will do differently.

ACN’s chances in the elections

If you drive around
the town, opinion polls will show that ACN is the most popular party in
Ekiti State and you can also feel the popularity.

We shall be
vigilant and make sure that there is no rigging so that we can win our
elections. PDP do not love our people. We do not need to deceive
ourselves. At the national level, we will try as much as possible to
present a good candidate that is going to be well accepted by the
majority of Nigerians. If INEC will keep to its promise to conduct free
and fair elections, then why can’t we win? We can see the future is
bright for the party and we are waiting for it.

His confidence about his chances

I am not arrogant
and I’m always at home with the people. I am not a wealthy man and I am
not a silver spoon person. People have helped me in the past to be what
I am today. So why will I be arrogant? I could be self confident and if
that is what some people see as being arrogant, then I can’t help it. I
am self-confident and I don’t allow people to push me around. You can
accuse me of self-confidence and self-sufficiency, but not being
arrogant.