Dotun Charles Ade Oguntoye, son of the late foremost lawyer and founding member of Egbe Omo Oduduwa, Chief D.O.A. Oguntoye, is a UK-based legal practitioner and aspirant for the Obokun/Oriade Federal Constituency of Osun state on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He speaks with MOSES ALAO on the September 22, 2018 governorship election in the state, his aspiration for the House of Representatives and other issues
Ahead of the 2019 general election, it is now common to see Nigerians based abroad coming home to pick tickets for one political position or the other, prompting Nigerians to wonder why and where they are coming from.
First, let me introduce myself so that you will know where I am coming from. My name is Adedotun Charles Oguntoye, I am a native of Imesi-Ile Osun State, Nigeria and one of the sons of Chief D.O.A. Oguntoye, the first lawyer in Ijesaland. I am also a lawyer based in the United Kindom (UK). I deal mostly in Banking Compliance, Aviation Compliance and all sector compliance in the U K. I was the first FIFA Registered Player Agent from Nigeria and the first person to invite the Super Eagles of Nigeria to play in the UK and Scotland. I did that to prove that I did not forget home and also for it to serve as a way of bringing in new ideas and new things to Nigeria in the area of sport. So, I am not just waking up to show interest in the politics and development of my fatherland.
Politics is in my blood; likewise the idea of helping people is also in my blood, desiring a positive change in Nigeria is in my blood as well. That is the reason I am in politics; I am in politics because I want positive change in Nigeria.
If you desire positive change, are there no other means of making that happen? Why the House of Representatives?
There is no point in me saying I want to be president of Nigeria today, I have to start from somewhere. You see; any little elective position that one may found oneself; it should not be difficult to make positive impact. It is now time for every Nigerian to get involved in developing our fatherland, if not for this, there is no point in me coming home that I want to get involved in politics. By the grace of God, I am comfortable in the UK where I am practising my legal profession but the Yoruba say “ile l’abo isinmi oko.” When you are over there in the Western world, they ask you where are you from and by the time you tell them your country is Nigeria, they look at it as a third world country that is less-developed. Despite all the wealth we have as a country, our people are still suffering and everything is in shambles. That is why we must commend the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, which has been working hard to correct this. The government is making headway and improving the lives of the people. But since a tree cannot make a forest, we have to join hands with the government in order to improve and better the lives of our people.
But why are you pursuing your aspiration on the platform of the APC?
APC is a progressive party that wants positive change for our people and that is why I’m running on the platform of the party to realise my ambition of becoming the representative member for Oriade/Ibokun federal constituency in the National Assembly.
The governorship election is taking place in a few days, with your party calling on the Osun electorate to ensure continuity in government. Do you think it is justifiable for people to vote for the APC, going by what they reportedly faced under the government of Governor Rauf Aregbesola?
Nothing good comes easy; one has to make sacrifices in life. The present APC government under Governor Aregbesola has made a lot of sacrifices. In a state like Osun where industries are not many, the governor has done a tremendous work of building a solid foundation not for today but for the future of Osun State. The Bible says that whichever house that is not erected on a solid foundation will be taken away by wind. The same Bible says the mad people build their houses on sands while the wise ones build their own on the rock. In the case of Governor Aregbesola, he is building Osun State on a solid foundation not for today alone but for the next generations to come. But this will happen on the condition that we improve on what he has built by way of maintaining the schools he built, do more on the roads he has constructed and bringing in new ideas on how we can diversify our state’s economy.
In the area of agriculture, Oyetola will also improve on what the governor has been doing by way of encouraging mechanised agriculture, providing loans for our farmers to improve from subsistence farming to mechanised one. Oyetola has made it clear that he would give attention to stimulating the economy through agriculture to make more money. So, I will urge my people to use Lagos as a yardstick by voting for continuity. Lagos has been having a continuous progressive government since the present political dispensation in 1999 till date. That’s why we see Lagos State developing rapidly more than any other state in Nigeria. So, Governor Aregbesola has been fantastic, charismatic and he is handing over to an equally intelligent and clever man in person of Alhaji Oyetola and the deputy governorship candidate, who is equally a well-known person to me, Benedict Olugboyega Alabi.
