Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, popularly known as GOS, is a member of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC. In this chance interview which ended abruptly due to some unforeseen circumstances, GOS shared his views on the Bola Tinubu he knows, the successes recorded by the federal government and the role of GAC (in Lagos) as a feedback loop. Asked why Tinubu lost the 2023 presidential election in Lagos, he simply said : ‘It will never happen again’.
Excerpts:
You’ve been quiet for some time. What have you been up to?
We have bigger responsibilities now. Aside from one’s local government and our people, we’ve also been looking at the situation in the state. It is not peculiar to one local government alone. And when I say we, I use it advisedly to represent political leaders and actors who you may not be hearing about but who are committed to the development of our state, as it relates to the party and its good governance. Maybe informally, we are also expected to do some participation nationwide now that we have President Bola Tinubu at the helm of affairs. Nobody can say what is happening in some other states is not our business or it does not concern us. Everything that is happening concerns us.
Talking about responsibilities, I want to believe that the ‘we’ you referenced, is for members of the Governance Advisory Council, GAC?
Yes!
Some people have mixed ideas of what GAC really stands for and what it does. If you were to explain to a layman, how would you situate GAC within the praxis of governance in Lagos and the dominance of Tinubu?
Well, the GAC was established by Bola Tinubu while he was in office. I can tell you that it was something that was well-thought of, because the GAC looks at every aspect of governance in the state. Bola Tinubu started it and because he has been the driving force. People tend to believe that whatever that is done there is done by Asiwaju
But he’s no longer the governor, yet, you people still seek his imprimatur on almost everything.
No. For instance, when there’s an issue, you present the issue. Everybody contributes. There is nobody that won’t contribute if you want to. So, after the contribution, he asks: what do we do now? If he has an opinion, he voices it. There is this thing about Asiwaju: if he believes in something and people believe that thing will not work, he would not hesitate to go back on his earlier position and agree with the majority.
Since his departure as governor, GAC’s main brief has been to be very useful and resourceful for our elected officials because we are closer to the grassroots
More like a feedback loop?
Exactly.
Surprising! If you look back at the 2023 presidential election in Lagos, the way Peter Obi routed Asiwaju in the presidential election, would I not be right to say it was partly a failure on the part of GAC members? From your understanding, what happened?
Well, quite a number of things happened. I would say that we are lucky that we could make up votes from our supporters in some other states. There were many things that happened, but I wouldn’t want to use a strong word like failure.
Can we use the phrase ‘loosening of guard’?
You’re just a difficult person. Look, we believe that what happened will never happen again. Quote me, it will never happen again.
(Cuts in) Oh Jide! It’s no threat. We have a lot of achievements that the present government has put into place and it is being acknowledged almost on a daily basis by even those who didn’t vote for APC because they are enjoying the fruits of good governance and deliverable from us.
I prepared for you: The state government has completed the Lagos Blue Line Rail, launch of Lagos Rice Mill (Imota), which is said to be one of Africa’s largest integrated rice mills, boosting local food production, creating jobs, and reducing imports. Look at infrastructure and road construction which we call ‘road revolution’ – go to Pen-Cinema area and see the bridge, Oshodi-Abule Egba BRT Corridor, network of roads across Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry, and so on. Then, let’s look at healthcare and the significant upgrade of healthcare infrastructure, including the opening of New Massey Children’s Hospital (that’s Africa’s largest pediatric facility). What about investments in education? Our security and emergency response mechanisms continue to save lives. The Lagos Ferry Services (LAGFERRY) has been expanded. Lekki Deep Sea Port is already up and running. We are also empowering our women and doing social interventions. Okay, look at the reconstruction of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway! From the feedback we are getting, even those who did not vote for Asiwaju in 2023 are acknowledging what the Lagos state government is doing and improving on. Those areas where these developments are taking place have multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-religious residents who are enjoying the amenities. They are by their own confession acknowledging and appreciating the efforts of the government. They are committing to givingus massive support in future elections. That’s the basis of what I said, it will never happen again. Have you looked at the mass mobilisation of party members going on across the state and across the country?
Okay o. The President is seeking re-election and something strange is already happening in Nigeria. Strange in terms of the gale of defections by governors, by senators, Rep members, even known leaders of thought, who many would have thought would remain in their parties, they are all jumping into the APC. Mind you, some of the reports of the World Bank are signaling danger ahead. While some are complimentary, some are negative. What is in the APC? What is that lure? What is in the APC that is making people jump into the party?
I believe it is the activities of the present administration, headed by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that is making them leave their parties and join the APC. Let us look at the political economy of the states, for instance. Most states are earning money that they have never dreamed of.
But the governors are mismanaging the money?
That is another thing entirely. But they are earning money that they didn’t even dream of while some people were voting Asiwaju.
Asiwaju has done quite a number of things. The coastal road, for instance, if you look at the coastal road, some people asked why he wanted to waste our money on the coastal road? But the moment it started, and they’ve seen how far he has gone, they bought into it. Nobody was muzzled. And he doesn’t say that if you don’t do it, this is what is going to happen to you. They are doing it on their own accord, and they are doing it across the strata. We also even have political leaders in some states fighting over who goes first. That shows how well he is perceived and how well he is doing.
Let us discuss Tinubu. You were talking about Asiwaju and the GAC and the way he accommodates a plurality of views and all that…
(Cuts in) I spoke a lot about him before the election. So, whatever I’m saying now is not because he has become the president, that is how he has been. I have said that for every political office holder like the president, you have your time. So you respond to your time. What is the situation here and how do I respond to it? Asiwaju is almost perfect for this particular era because he knows what the problems are and he’s facing them head-on. Going back in time, as a local government chairman when we first came and he was governor, we had this situation of zero allocation plaguing the LGs. He found a very creative way to support us at the LG level. This was long before the issue of LCDAs came up. He worked it out for the 20 LGAs at that time.
And I have told a lot of people that, look, leave Asiwaju, just permit him to exhibit what he wants to exhibit. I am sure that by the time he finishes his first tenure, you will be asking him to come back for the second tenure. And that is exactly what is happening. I said this before the elections. That is exactly what is happening because I know him inside out.
You are very optimistic. You are saying that by the time he finishes his first term, people will say he should come for a second term..
(Cuts in again) Yes! That is exactly what I’m saying.
Some people are saying they don’t want him for a second term.
Again, there’s something about politics. We have some people that if you do the best for them in this world, they will still say that, no, we don’t want you. So you don’t expect anything positive from them.
Let’s look at some of the things this man has done: The Tax Bill was passed into law; we have increased revenue; our non-oil exports are growing; no more printing money for FAAC and states no longer borrow funds to pay salaries. He has created the Livestock Ministry to take care of the issue of herders/farmers clashes. He is building roads – Sokoto–Badagry & other legacy road projects that are on-going. He has reduced our debts with the IMF. He cleared the backlog of forex debts owed. He has created Forest Guards to tackle the issue of insecurity in our forests. He has also created six regional development commissions. I can go on and on but these are the ones I can quickly remember.
