Ogun State APC: Inside Jimi Lawal’s 2019 Train

Ogun State APC: Inside Jimi Lawal’s 2019 Train
By Wale Adedayo
Given the popularity of other aspirants in the mass media, one could be tempted to believe Otunba Jimi Lawal is a neophyte in politics. In most of the analyses done, so fa,r by the media on aspirants jostling to replace Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, in next year’s general elections, Lawal is either not mentioned, or if at all, the Odo Esa, Ijebu Ode-born renowned investment banker, is often placed at the bottom of the table.
He is mostly not bothered. His usual calm response has always been, “Let the others be making all the noise they want in the media. I am not the party’s candidate yet. It is the party members, who should know me, for now, along with my programmes, not the general public. We need to convince our members about these programmes so that they can buy into it, and run with the ideas towards the election, after I must have emerged as the party’s flagbearer. The general public cannot elect me during the primary, it is our party members. So, don’t be anxious about the general public, because we will cross that bridge in style when we get there.”
True to his words, till date, Otunba Jimi Lawal remains the only Governorship aspirant in Ogun State with clearly spelt out programmes to be done if given the ticket of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in next year’s general elections. And, since early last year, he has been moving round the state to sell his programmes and person to party members in the 20 Local Government Areas and the 236 Ward chapters of APC across the Gateway State. At another level, he has met with all the Women and Youth Leaders of the party throughout the state. He has also been having regular monthly meetings with Councillors elected on the party’s platform.
Lawal picked former Local Government Chairmen as his Coordinators, and these have been on the field for him since early last year, rubbing minds with elected and appointed leaders of the party in the state. And, despite his preference to work only within the party, preaching the gospel of his programmes to members, Lawal has occasionally been involved in assisting needy communities and organisations outside the APC. Electricity transformers were donated to some communities recently apart from his assistance to social organisations, select needy individuals and other philanthropic clubs.
Always insisting that his vision is “to make Ogun the most prosperous state in Nigeria in terms of Income per Capita within five years,” Lawal’s quest to be Ogun State Governor in 2019 is anchored on five key programmes, Economic Development; Human Capital Development; Infrastructural Development; Security & Justice; and Good Governance.
His major concerns remain women and youths with an argument that once these two segments are properly taken care of, being the engine room of any society, almost every other challenge would have been tackled. In his words, during a recent consultation visit to Ifo Local Government, “For instance, not many people will understand what the poor among us, especially the womenfolk, go through to bring up their children. It is always tough, as they want their children to succeed. And, that is why I felt very unhappy after reading news report that Ogun State will no longer be responsible for paying the WAEC fees of final year secondary school students. It will not happen under my watch, because we will pay. Nothing can be more saddening for parents, who have put children through secondary school to have the same kids back home after 12 years without the final year examination certificate. My administration will run free education and all that it entails.
“We’ll not run things just our way, as all of you, our people will be involved. You will constitute the School Boards in your area. You’ll be responsible for renovation of schools, maintaining discipline of staff and students. You’ll be involved in filling vacancies, because you are better placed to know the teachers the schools need. There’ll be no dilapidated public school during my administration. We will concentrate the best of efforts to ensure that our public schools are regularly maintained with a team of teachers and administrators, who have high morale.”
Primary healthcare, a quality micro-credit scheme along with skills development for women and youths formed part of his message too. “Every Ward in Ogun State will have a functional Health Centre within our first six months in office, and we will not leave out the General Hospitals and Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital. It is not just enough to go to school, our children must have skills with which to fend for themselves in today’s world. So, we will create skills acquisition centres in all our 20 local governments to be backed with a quality micro-credit scheme for our women and youths, who might want to go into full business but are being held back by lack of funds. And, don’t say, we cannot do it. You only need to look back at my record as a private person and public servant, because I have paid my dues and has never failed before,” he explained.
An Ijebu from Odo Esa, Ijebu Ode, Lawal was until his foray into public service an investment banker, who had a rough deal with late military dictator, Gen. Sani Abacha, after his bank, the defunct Alpha Merchant Bank acquired the majority shares of the then Afribank. Abacha had shown interest in acquiring Afribank through a surrogate, but failed to clinch the deal. He later went after Lawal and his directors after he became Head of State in 1993 deploying state power to haunt Lawal out of Nigeria. Abacha’s death and the subsequent democratic dispensation, which began in 1999 brought relief with a court quashing all the indictments procured by the late dictator against him. Currently, Lawal is one of the most senior members of Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el Rufai’s cabinet, as the Senior Adviser and Counsellor to the Governor.
Chairman, APC Ifo Local Government, Hon. Saheed Ariyori, may not have put it better about Lawal’s aspiration during Lawal’s, “With the enviable place Ogun State occupies today in terms of development, we will ensure that persons, who might take us back to the past and cause retrogression for our state, are not allowed near the Governor’s office. It is for this reason I welcome you on behalf of all our party members in Ifo Local Government and to let them know that your quality background and experience have sold you to us.”
The recently ended Ramadan fasting period for Muslims presented a unique opportunity for Lawal to interact with party members at a personal level. Scores of Ward officials took turns to break the fast with him at his Ijebu Ode country home, a stone throw from the popular Obalende Motor Park. Each visit was organized on a senatorial basis, with Ogun Central, Ogun West and Ogun East Senatorial Districts taking turns to listen to the aspirant on each day they were there to break their fast with him.
Early this month, Lawal began another round of consultative visits to the 20 local governments in Ogun State. He was at Ewekoro and Ifo Local Governments last week, meeting with elected officials of APC, who were usually encouraged to ask questions and make inputs into his programmes and add any, which they might be interested in as specific needs of their areas. It should be the turn of Ijebu East Local Government this weekend.
• Wale Adedayo is the Special Adviser (Media & Strategy) to Otunba Jimi Lawal.

