From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
The governorship candidate of the Young Progressives Party (YPP) for the June 18 election in Ekiti State, Debo Ranti Ajayi (DRA), in this interview spoke on his ambition and various issues.
You used to be in APC but left earlier this year to join the Young Progressives Party (YPP) and are the YPP’s candidate for the June contest. Why did you leave and why did you choose to go with YPP?
I exited the APC because I was observing things that were not really in agreement with my own principles about democracy, about caring for the people, about making decisions in the interest of the people not in the interest of individuals. I saw leaders that don’t really care about the people, that don’t really respect the people, so I was not happy. I have invested massively in APC. I ran in 2018 expecting democracy which we didn’t get but I stayed in there because I thought the only other option was PDP. When you consider APC and PDP, there’s really no ideological difference, only different people. So I remained in APC until I was forced to start to consider other parties. We waited for the president to sign a bill into law that will force direct primary. When he didn’t, I knew we were not going to get democracy and it was obvious that we weren’t going to have a fair primary and in Ekiti we know very well the governor controls all the APC structures; everything was under his control and if primary was going to be by indirect (delegate) system, there was no chance for anyone other than his anointed candidate. At the same time, it became apparent that the people are disenchanted with APC, disenchanted with PDP and recycled politicians. The people are yearning for a fresh leader and fresh party. People who know me and my track record in Ekiti since I came back in December 2011, expressed their readiness to support me in becoming the next governor but also told me that they cannot vote for me if I remained in APC. So they demanded that I look for a fresh party for them to use. I went looking at all the other parties and then narrowed down to three and eventually chose YPP. I chose YPP because they have manifestoes that resonate with me, they focus on young people, they focus on women, they focus on serving the people. In fact, their slogan first caught my attention “Service to the people” and even as a young party they have national structure, they have structure in Ekiti even though not in all the local governments. So, YPP became the natural option for me and my team. In fact, right from my first meeting with the state chairman, you would have thought that I was there when the manifesto of YPP was put together. It is a good match. Given my track record of promoting organizations that actually cater to young people, getting involved with a young progressives party was a logical thing for me. So I feel very much at home. As an innovator and trail blazer, it doesn’t matter to me whether they have all the super structures in the world or not. We can build and with the goodwill of the people that would be no problem. Those were the circumstances and the process that I went through to transition from APC to YPP and I am happy with the choice. In fact, many people commended me for the foresight and courage of exiting from APC when I did. It is the only way the people of Ekiti can get to know that such a person as Debo Ranti Ajayi exists to provide the kind of leadership they need.
You said YPP has structure in Ekiti though not in all the local governments, with your knowledge of this, how do you want to actualize your ambition?
The YPP structure is not enough but there are substantial pressure groups that are ready to use their structures to actualize me becoming the next governor of Ekiti State. Those structures added to YPP structure are more than enough for us to win the seat. Otherwise, YPP alone cannot withstand the structures of those two large parties.
You were a governorship aspirant on the platform of APC in 2018 and now the candidate of YPP for the June poll, why do you want to be the governor of Ekiti State?
I want to be the governor of Ekiti State to lead Ekiti to realize potentials for better lives which have eluded them since creation of the state. With my decades of international exposure, developing Ekiti and providing better lives for our people should not be rocket science. We just need a leader that cares, a leader that has the passion for development, that has the capacity for development. A leader that is well exposed to how other communities around the world have responded effectively to the same socio-economic challenges as Ekiti. I have the deep convictions that I can help to realize the needs of Ekiti people. I see the potential also of Ekiti becoming a reference state in Nigeria; Ekiti as a model for modern day transformation that can inspire the rest of Nigeria. Since I came to serve Ekiti in December 2011, I have lived among my Ekiti people even at substantial financial loss to me and family. I know their pains. I know where the shoes really hurt. Unfortunately, since her creation, Ekiti has been underserved by leaders that come to Ekiti to advance themselves and not the people. They have no pattern of personal sacrifices for Ekiti before becoming the governor.
I have encountered some Ekiti leaders that will tell you that Ekiti people don’t really wanåt development. I disagreed with them. Ekiti people want development as much as any people but they have become cynical and distrustful about development ever happening. They would seem to have resigned to the idea that it would never happen. But I am here to lead the transformation of Ekiti. I was in Dubai in 2001-2007 and I witnessed the transformation of Dubai firsthand. I know the economic development model they used and still using. Full employment of our young people is possible. Economic prosperity in Ekiti is possible. These are the things that inspired me to want to be the governor of Ekiti State and to through Ekiti showcase to the rest of Nigeria what is possible when you have a good leader.
You served as the Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning and later as Commissioner for Trade, Investments and Innovations during Governor Kayode Fayemi’s first term but after the 2018 governorship election you were absent politically, and returned to the stage last year, why were you absent?
Actually, I was never absent. I remained in Ekiti after losing the re-election bid in 2014. It was during that time that I founded Ekitikete Warriors and Arrows International organization. But after 2018 election, I maintained low profile and rejoined Warriors and Arrows team. There was this expectation of a federal appointment for me.
Was the federal appointment meant to compensate you?
Compensation? For what? Not at all. It was a recognition of the value that I can add because of my track record as a Commissioner. I was told that my capacity is beyond state appointment. That federal appointment was what they were going to secure for me even when I expressed preference to remain in Ekiti. So I waited for that to happen at the expense of other offers in the corporate world. Of course, nothing materialized eventually. I was around in Ekiti the whole time but at low visibility since my service was not required at state level even on key projects that I created.
The talk in some quarters is that you joined YPP because you were desperate to fly a governorship ticket, how true is this?
I don’t know why anyone would characterize that as desperation. It is not an act of desperation. I have earlier told you the process and reasons for the exit. A desperate person will exhibit all the traits that will show that he is desperate. If truly the motive is to serve, you cannot be desperate about it. I don’t go about pulling anyone down or engaging in activities of a desperate person. I chose YPP because I realized that APC was never going to undergo a process that will produce the best for Ekiti. When I saw that the process wasn’t going to be free and fair, when I saw that Ekiti people will never get to know that I exist as an option for them, it was purely logical for me to look for a platform that Ekiti people can become aware that they have choices. Ekiti voters are at liberty to reject me. My goal is to make them aware of my plans, my capacity to deliver them and my track record in serving them. If they decide to choose someone else, I would hope for their sakes that it is not on the basis of money or packaging of the wrong person. I am here to serve and that can never be by force. I have a second address even though I have chosen to serve in Ekiti for over 10 years now. I have the highest credentials that any professional Actuary can have in the world, and it is one of the best jobs in America. I have held international executive positions with global responsibilities. So, I do not see how I can become desperate about being Governor of Ekiti. Anyone characterizing my efforts to serve Ekiti people as being desperate is not only mischievous but attempting to rub Ekiti of the best of their options in the current race.
Having given reasons for leaving your former party, rumours have it that you might likely be working for either of the two popular parties, how true is this?
Well, I have heard that before and it’s very amusing that anybody would think that I would go into all this trouble to work for another political party. As I told you before, I have a second address. I am not a professional politician, I am not here to manipulate or maneuver or scheme or jump here and there. I am here for an opportunity to serve the people. Therefore, it is really strange that anybody would think that I am working for a major party or that I do intend to return to a party that I deliberately left. That rumour is unfounded and time will prove it that I do not have anything to do with any of the major parties. Similarly, in 2018, some people claimed that I was working for someone else. I told them at that time that if I was working for someone else, there would have been evidences of sponsorship from that person and funds would have been provided to me. Instead, I ran a modest campaign and covered the entire state without squandering money here and there. When eventually the government came on board and there was no appointment coming to me, it became obvious to those people that I wasn’t working for anyone else. This is Ekiti. You will always have rumours but this is precisely unfounded. I am not working for anyone at all but God Almighty.