Opposition against Gov. Abiodun’s second term, sheer empty barrels — Engr. Sosanwo
In this interview with Bankole Taiwo, the Executive Secretary of Ogun State Security Trust Fund, Engr. Adeola Sosanwo, speaks on varied topical issues touching on governance under Governor Dapo Abiodun in the last three years insisting, among other things, that the Governor has done so well to continue his good works beyond 2023
For sometime now, you have been in charge of Ogun State Security Trust Fund, can you tell us what this organisation has been doing to shore up security in the state?
Yes, Ogun State Security Trust Fund (OGSTF) was actually an idea that came into being in 2017 during the tenure of the immediate past administration of Sen Ibikunle Amosun. However, after some time it lost its steam and was redundant until 2019 when Gov. Dapo Abiodun came in and restructured it to make it more transparent and efficient. Its primary duty is to provide resources to strengthen the security of the state.You can see the influx of companies and investors into the state. This is definitely due to the peace and tranquility the state has been enjoying. The Governor doesn’t want to leave any stone unturned and that is why the issue of Security Trust Fund is very dear to the heart of our Governor. What we basically do is to manage resources both in cash and in kind for all our security formations to ensure a seamless operations.
How will you describe the journey so far?
It’s been great, though I came on board as the Executive Secretary of the Security Trust Fund in March but the record shows that from 2019 till date, the State Government through the Agency has distributed over 200 patrol vehicles with sophisticated communication gadgets as well as over 200 motorcycles, bulletproof, helmets among others to security agencies like the Police, the Army, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Immigration Service, the Customs, the So-Safe Corps, the Amotekun and so on. All of them have felt the impact of our donors and support of the administration of Gov Dapo Abiodun.
It should be noted that the State Security Trust Fund is a collaboration between the government and corporate bodies, I mean the business operating in the state including the banks. To ensure transparency, out of the six board members of this Agency, three are Directors from these Banks. We have one each from First Bank, Wema and Access Bank. They represent the interest of the donors and therefore ensure that these funds are judiciously managed.
What is your take on security situation in Ogun State?
Well, we have been having it very fine, though sometimes we have challenges but whenever this happens, the Governor who is the Chief Security Officer has always risen to the oçcasion, mobilising all the resources to combat such cases. The Governor is so much concerned with the security of the State that he wouldn’t spare any efforts to combat whatever is capable of threatening the peace of the state.
It’s been a while we heard of clashes between herders and farmers…
(Cuts in) …The credit goes to God and the fact that our dear Governor will spare nothing to ensure that peace reigns in every nook and cranny of the state. There are series of measure that had been put in place like the special task force involving joint operations by the Police, the Army, the Amotekun, So-Safe Corps and the likes. There’s this Peace Committee too that drives series of engagements and peace talks in some of these areas that are prone to issues of farmers-herders clash. Above all, our security agencies; the Police, the Amotekun, all of them have also been given the marching order to go after any criminal masquerading as herders and so far, God has been helping us.
What is your take on State Police?
That’s a fantastic idea because with how our locally arranged security outfits like the Amotekun, So-Safe Corps, the Vigilante are collaborating with the Police, sharing intelligence with them to fight insecurity and given the success recorded, the idea of having a state police is long over due. Although, some are of the fear that the State Government might turn such apparatus to instrument of oppression, this could have been taken care of by the law that will establish such structure. In the US, we have the federal, state and even county police. May be we still have to bid for more time but definitely we can’t run away forever on the idea of state police. And I must say that our Amotekun are doing a great job..
Let’s look at the second term bid of Gov Dapo Abiodun. The opposition are already mounting up and just like it was in 2019, Sen Amosun, the immediate past governor is leading the pack with his recent comment that he would ensure that the governor doesn’t return in 2023, what do you say to this?
There is a saying in Yoruba land that the empty barrels make the most noise. The truth is that Gov Dapo Abiodun has done so well within this three years that he deserves another term. He has been doing great jobs across the sectors. Look at what he has done in the area of road construction. Abeokuta-Siun-Sagamu is completed, same goes for Ijebu Ode-Epe road, the long abandoned Ilaro-Owode Yewa, Lusada-Atan-Agbara, Ilisan-Ago Iwoye roads among others are nearing completion. Many access roads like Fajol-Elite, Abeokuta, Vespa, Ifo, Navy-AIT, Adigbe roads, and several others including those abandoned by the immediate past government have been done. You can also see the Governor’s good works in the education with over 1000 newly constructed classrooms supplied with furniture. Same goes for health, housing, agriculture and so on. All of these, the Governor has done with the shrinking resources. This is in addition to the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic that grounded global economy. The Governor has done fantastically well to deserve another term. Look at the International Agro-Cargo Airport that will kick off operation by the grace of God in December, I can’t imagine thousands of jobs that this bold initiative will create for the state. Fortunately, our people are wiser, they can see what the Governor is doing, so these days you can’t buy their votes, they will collect the money you want to dole around and still vote for their choice. The opposition is just answering to their names – opposition – so they must talk and make cacophonic noise. These are just empty barrels making noise. Let them keep jumping up and down upon nothing. The Governor, by the grace of God will continue his good works beyond 2023. The people of the state loves the Governor’s commitment to making life a lot better for them and so are eager and ready to return him to power come 2023.
I even heard the opposition saying that over 10,000 members of APC defected to PDP last Friday, what a blatant lie? Can the place they use accommodate such huge number of people. I saw them on that day at the programme, it’s all lies.
Don’t you think the controversies trailing Muslims-Muslim tickets of the APC presidential candidate will affect the chances of your party?
I don’t think we should bring the issue of religion to politics or governance. The most important thing is to have fear of God. Don’t we have many Christians who are even more terrible than the devil himself? We should rather focus on people who are God fearing and competent to do the job. If God says that is how He wants it, who can say no? We should de-emphasise the religious issues and focus on whether these two individuals have what it takes to further take the country to greater heights. This nation is beloved of God and His counsels will always prevail irrespective of whatever anybody thinks or say. I am however of that strong opinion that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu/Shettima presidency will redefine governance in Nigeria. I equally call for the unity of all in the Southwest. We should all rally support for the success of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s presidential aspiration. We must not be part of any ploy or plot to make Southwest lose this presidential bid again. It’s our turn in the Southwest and all hands should be on deck to get this job done pretty well.
What are the challenges and what are your expectations from the people of Ogun State?
The challenges are not much because of the huge support we are getting from the Governor. We also want to thank those corporate bodies for their support and plead for further cooperation in our determined bid to ensure that every corner of the state is safe. As touching our expectations from the members of the public, we want them to be more willing to share intelligence with the security formations. All these bad boys live among us, and just recently, the Governor has signed a law that says that landlords harbouring these criminal elements would be arrested and even get such properties demolished. This is an important area the residents of the state could be found very useful; they should be ready to form a partnership with the government to fight these undesirable elements. We should ask these 18-year old, 20-year old what work are they doing that they are riding in big and exotic cars? As parents, let’s go back to the basis of training our children in such a way that they will not become burden to the society.
