Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, erstwhile Military Administrator of Lagos State and former governor of Osun State, is a lawyer and party leader. In this interview on Eagle 102.5 FM monitored by SOLA ADEYEMO, he x-rayed the flaws in the implementation of the 1999 Constitution, described President Bola Tinubu’s ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ as ‘Renewed Agony’, among other sterling revelations
What is your view about the current review of the 1999 Constitution, as amended?
I think a Constitution is as good as the operators of the same Constitution. If you write a new Constitution, and the practitioners don’t live up to the letters of the Constitution, the same result we are having now is what we will get. So, the fundamental thing is for the operators to have faith in what we have all subscribed to as our Constitution. Minus that one, we will continue to be writing Constitution upon Constitution till, maybe, Jesus returns. That is my opinion.
But that the Constitution itself is a contraption of the Military in 1999, which did not enjoy the consent of the people of Nigeria?
I think the Military people that gave that Constitution were not from Jericho and they were not from Gaza. They are Nigerians. The Military put up eminent Nigerians to write that Constitution, and it was those eminent people that wrote it. It was not the Military men that wrote it. Unless you are now saying that the eminent men that wrote it were not competent, then we can say another thing. The people were the best of Nigerians that wrote it, though during the Military rule. So, whatever is wrong with it, with the advent of democracy, we should be able to panel beat it to make a working Construction. As I said, even if we write a new one, it cannot be that perfect that there won’t be flaws, and that there won’t be areas that some people will exploit. That is my thinking.
Does the Constitution itself encourage federalism or unitarism much as people are crying for a change of government?
Well, if what the Military had done is not good, and it is not effective, we have been running democracy in the last 26 years. What has stopped us from changing it? The National Assembly is there. They should have noticed the pit holes in it. Why can’t they change it 26 years ago or thereabout. I believe they have the avenue to do that; make amendments to those that are not standing right; reject the areas that are not dignifying the people of Nigeria; remove those that will not serve the Nigerians well, and inject the right ones. After 26 years, we are still talking of the Military.
At least two third approval of the National Assembly and the 24 State Houses of Assembly as requirements for the amendment. Isn’t that a hindrance?
That is not a hindrance at all. Whatever is good for Nigeria should be good for any component parts of Nigeria. If this were to be debated, there is no House that will not pass it. So, let us put it through them and let us say this is what will be good for all Nigerians. And let us see any component that will say it is working against the interest of Nigerians.
How do you see the issue of the proposed state creation and its hindrances?
There are no inhibiting processes on the way of the creation of states. The laid down procedure is there and it can be made simple if it is difficult. It boils down to the duty of the National Assembly too to amend the process. But one thing that makes it difficult for the civilians to amend the Constitution is that there is too much room for sentiment. And that is what is causing the road block. Yes, I will want as many as possible to be created for my area and the other man too will want the same. At the end of it, we will end up with about a hundred states within the federation.
Agitation for State creation, a product of marginalization or access to jostle for power through political offices All these are the causes of inability to create states. Military has done it to that level and I noticed that there is a sort of imbalance where some zones have seven states constituting the zone while others have five, others six. It will be necessary to balance it up if we are talking of equity. I think the South West has five states while the North West has seven states. So, when we are talking of balancing the states, let us ensure that we are on the same platform first.
Land mass should not even be the yardstick for creation of states, though it has its own advantage to any such state. Population, I think, is a defining factor in the creation of states. And for those who have land mass, it has its own dividend in the sharing of allocation because those who have large land mass take advantage over and above others with small land mass. But population is one of the driving factors for the creation of states. We are creating states for human beings, not for land. Imbalance will continue to cause worry and resentment. So, let us look at that and correct it. The fact that today, we have 29 states in the North and 17 states in the South, that is a permanent plus or minus for whoever has the larger number in the case of any debate on national numbers in the National Assembly. This is because more votes will come from such a zone that has 29 than 17. That is why there is need to balance that aspect.
There have been defections and realignment, signing of a communique on behalf of Osun State governor and PDP, endorsing President Bola Tinubu for a second term in 2027. Your view?
It is an open secret that many a governor are under pressure for them to roll over to the ruling party. Let me say the PDP’s endorsement was a collective decision. If it were an individual, I don’t see myself joining that party. No. I was pressured to sign the document on endorsement of President Tinubu for the second term.
In the last six months, the state has been denied its share of local government allocation. It means, the 30 local governments of the state in Osun State are being without resources to run the affairs of the local governments. And you have to think to do the needful to achieve your goals. With your resources being seized, what do you do? In the past six months, the elected officials of the local governments in Osun have not been doing anything. What is playing out in Osun State now is a matter of ‘might is right’. The SAN, Okutepa challenged anybody to underline where the judgment says the APC officials should take over. I may be a baby lawyer, but I have been at the Bar for 13 years now. I didn’t see it anywhere. The legal luminaries have not been able to pinpoint that area. There are two judgments and none of them said that APC should take over.
What is your assessment of President Bola Tinubu’s achievements in the last two years?
When he was campaigning, he promised us Renewed Hope. By my own assessment, what he has given us is complete bad governance. And I come to that conclusion because of these issues: One, we have a very bad economy that is affecting the life of every citizen in this country. We have a bad security situation that is making life unbearable for citizens. We have a bad, biting poverty that makes it difficult for common man to get medication to take care of his ailments.
We have a very bad ethno-religious conflict with killings all over the places everyday. In addition to all these, we have a situation where banditry, insurgency, kidnapping and every other thing happening. So, the submission from all I have listed so far is that we are having a renewed agony. No hope is renewed. That is my own submission.
Do you support the second term bid of Governor Ademola Adeleke?
Yes, I am in support of Governor Adeleke coming back for second term because I believe he deserves it. He is living up to his promises to the people of Osun State, pure and simple.
Do you think the refund of seven months local government allocation by the Attorney General of the Federation and Justice Minister, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), a pressure technique to force the governor into political submission?
There have been discussions from the presidency together with the governor and what has been emanating from that meeting points to the fact that the presidency is desirous of having him swing over. But the difficulty the governor would run into is that APC is not popular in Osun state. If he rolls over and the people roll him out, that is double jeopardy. That is why he is confronting a serious dilemma because the pressure is on, in fact, to the extent that some officials at the federal level hinted that if he does not succumb to the seizing of the local government allocation, even the state allocation itself can be delayed for one or two months. And the whole state will be in turmoil. That is the rumour making the rounds. So, it is a serious dilemma for him, and I really pity him.
What is your advice to Governor Adeleke on this debacle?
My advice is for him to meet Mr President and beg him. Actually, he met the President in Lagos along with Davido and his father who is uncle to him. He told me that he told the President that people of Osun are suffering from the effect of the withholding of the local government allocation. And that the President promised to look into the matter when he got to Abuja. So, if I were in his shoes, I will go and beg President Tinubu for the sake of his own people. That he should please let Osun government have its fund. That is all.
It is a matter of begging because Tinubu is the President who has enormous power. I don’t think there is any president that is as powerful as the Nigerian president. An arm of the government is not functioning and so the governor cannot sit down and fold his arms. The welfare of the people of Osun is tied to the good governance of the local government. That is why the issue has gone beyond observance of the rule of law alone. If the seizure does not concern him as head of the executive, is he not the governor of the whole state? Should he not be concerned about the welfare and well-being of the whole people of the state? That is why he cannot divorce his concern from any other consideration.
Crisis in the PDP, end result of Prince Oyinlola’s court-ordered removal as National Secretary in the past?
The issue of the National Secretary of the PDP has been resolved. For my own case, it is just sad that sometimes we just trample on the law because we have the power. Somebody took me to court without my knowledge as the National Secretary and said I was not duly nominated from the South-West because that position was zoned to the South-West. That thinking; that submission is completely alien to the Constitution of the PDP.
When a position is zoned to a zone, like the National Secretary, all the interested parties will go to the national headquarters and obtain a form of intention. You fill it; you submit it. After assessment of their documents to qualify to go and contest the position, then at the National Convention you go and try your standing. If you are elected at the National Convention and you become the officer so contested for, you are good to go because that is what the Constitution of the PDP says.
And that was the process I went through. But I must add that the behavior then was what I can liken to a bully then in my school days. Some people were of the opinion that as National Secretary, I would not go along with President Jonathan’s plan to do another four years after six years. But why not tell me first and I say I am not going? They went and got that cooked-up judgment and I appealed the judgment, and I won. And the three Judges of the Appeal Court said maybe the first instant Justice must have taken something that did not allow him to address his mind to the direction of the Constitution.
So, after I won at the Appeal Court, they would not allow me to go to my office. I feel terribly sad today that if you dig deep into the genesis of the problem that beset PDP, my name will feature there and that gets me sad every day of my life. I got the judgment and I went to the extent of writing a resignation letter, and that they should let me sit in that office and put a date in that letter, but they would not agree. That injustice was what led to seven governors saying that if that is what you are going to do, drop your chairman too because the actions rolling out then negated the agreement we had. We thought it was a simple thing we shall overcome, but it snowballed to the point that seven governors had to leave the PDP to join APC. And that was how we lost it and we have been pursuing it since that time. Just to follow simple law matter. Senator David Mark is my witness. Late Anenih also, my witness, that I wrote a resignation letter but they refused to allow me into the office and complete it for future records. My father left a very good name for me and I must ensure I leave a perfect name for my children.
As part of the ongoing coalition, is former governor Rauf Aregbesola trying to court you to join the train with the recent visit?
I am Aregbesola’s predecessor in office. When he came to town, it was he that came to my house to pay a courtesy call. It was not me that went there. He came to pay a courtesy call on me, which I don’t think is an abnormal occurrence. We are told that whatever medicine you are using that is effective, you don’t throw it away. I was the National Secretary of the New PDP that merged with others that formed APC. So, if it worked for us that time, how will the coalition not work again?
I am not part of the coalition and PDP is not. But we know for certain that we need collaboration if we don’t want to deceive ourselves. However, I am not a party to the coalition because my party is not. But my personal opinion is that no single party can wrestle power from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The same way the cooperation and coalition ousted Jonathan is the only feasible way. But if one party is trying to do it alone, I will say it is an exercise in futility because he (Tinubu) is a grandmaster of the game.
The jumping up and down of elected officials cannot be totally removed from his own input because those who are rolling over to the government side now are doing so on the basis of two factors. One, selfish interest. Two, to ensure safe haven having committed some misdemeanor while in office. And the moment he sees one like that, he shows you the picture that it is either you roll over or you roll into prison. The choice is yours. That is the situation.
