Ayoola Falola is an IT Expert, born in Ibadan in 1988 and graduated as an Architect from Federal University of Technology Akure FUTA. 34 years old chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP in Oyo State is aspiring to be the president of Nigeria. in this interview with Remi Oladoye, he spoke extensively on his mission in politics, approach to economic transformation which he says will make Nigeria a model Excerpt;
You are aspiring to be president of Nigeria come 2023, what gives you the audacity to throw your hat into the rings?
When leaders lack the capacity to move the people forward, it’s a call for new leaders to arise. I am not comfortable staying in the pack of complainers when I have bold ideas. I am running for president because I don’t have confidence in the Calibre of people who are currently running the affairs of this country. I believe I can do better to take our people out of abject poverty we have created for ourselves.
There are a lot of opportunities that can be opened up to Nigerians. I know I have the capacity to harness this for the betterment of our people. So why would I have this so much value and sit back? I’m so determined to serve my people in this regard.
Money is a factor in politics, so you think you have the resources to run the race.
It’s true that money is a factor in politics and project for that matter. I am aware of the need of funding and I have ideas on tackling that challenge. The mistake I think we all make when we reference to money as a factor in politics is to think one person should have enough money to run for office. No! It shouldn’t be. If truly, I’m not going there for my personal gain, the financial burden shouldn’t be on me alone. So I am reaching out to fellow Nigerians both home and abroad to join me on this quest to reclaim Nigeria for those who have held us captive in poverty for so long. To answer your question, I am putting in a lot of my personal money in this and it’s a big deal for me, though the money is definitely not enough to run this project, I have the confidence that this cause would attract the kind of funding it needs.
Considering your age and experience , do you think it will be easy if at all you are elected
No leadership is an easy task, regardless the age and experience.
Experience ought to make it easier to handle some part of the tasks, but it doesn’t remove the fact that it’s a difficult thing to lead people.
Meanwhile, experience is good. But it’s not the fundamental thing. What’s fundamental are three things I’ve always emphasized as important things any leader should have to lead his people to greatness.
Which are: The genuine love for the people, A personal skill that is relevant for the people and an unmistakable identity that shows the leader has chosen to stick with the people whether in success or otherwise. Many of our current leaders don’t possess these things. In fact, the experience they claim they have is mostly that of embezzlement of public funds. Or the experience of keeping their people stagnant. If we want to move forward, we need people who have vision and possess the qualities and traits I mentioned above.
Meanwhile, being a young and vibrant person. It’s an advantage for the nation. Young leaders have proven to be able to inspire their people to look into a better future. Many older folks here today are unable to see beyond their grave – such people should not be entrusted with the future of Nigeria.
What do you want to do differently to ensure Nigeria is stable economically
I like the Chinese model and how how the recent sets of Chinese leaders have been able change the story of their country for the better. I like the story of how the Dubai prince held the economy of the middle East nation in steady growth. Nigeria have a huge population, which ought to be to our advantage, but now it’s more like a curse. I hope to change that.
How is it a curse? Well, when there are too many poor people in a space, they would cannibalize the system. It’s hard for the hungry person to listen to a message of hope – this person just want food for now!
My strategy will be first to lift our people out of poverty by ensuring we identify areas where Nigerians can engage to make a minimum of $10000 every year. We will invest in ensuring we put our 200m heads to work. Increasing our collective productivity and our international relevance is a way out of poverty. When our people are productive and are no longer living in abject poverty, Nigeria will comfortably make money from taxes and no longer dependent on oil revenue. My idea of economic recovery is about drastically changing how we handle the economy by making sure Nigeria makes money majorly through Nigerians making money. I’ve seen this system work in many countries of the world and I hope we enjoy it in our lifetime as well in Nigeria.
Do you think the not too young to run project can work for Nigeria
Not too young to run is a good initiative and we should encourage youths to engage in politics and participate in how they are being governed. I appreciate all the work the Not too young to run movement have done so far. Working together (even when it seems it’s in isolation) is still getting us some advantages. For instance, the achievements of Not Too Young to Run project in the last election that got the age requirement of presidential aspirants reduced is what makes my candidacy possible today. So the project is a great one and I am appreciative of everyone who has contributed to it.I look forward to a Nigerian where all the barriers youths currently face when they want to run for office is no longer there
Let’s have an insight into your background
Born on Sunday the 24th of January, 1988. My father is one of the finest legal practitioners in Nigeria and my mother served as a secondary school teacher. She taught at Methodist Secondary School Elekuro, Ibadan. Adifase High School, Apata Community School, African Church Grammar School, Apata. She also served as Vice Principal and Principal of Oke Ado High School, Ibadan.I was trained as an architect in the prestigious Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State. Before then, I had attended Omolewa Nursery and Primary School, Oritamefa, Ibadan. I’m also a proud old boy of the prestigious Government College Ibadan.
My experience in IT dated by in when I was JSS3, when I got exposed to the computer for the first time. That has helped me to explore a lot about the computer that’s helping me sustain a global relevance in Information Technology today.
Why do you think PDP is the best party to flag your ambition knowing the mind of the people that People rule for 16 years was a short of unproductive years for Nigeria
You see, in reality, we have only two parties in Nigeria that have the capacity to win presidential elections. And anyone who is really interested in being president (and not just testing popularity) should be in either of those parties. Proudly, PDP is number 1 of the two parties in Nigeria today.
So why did I choose the PDP and not the other? I read the manifestoes of PDP and the other parties and also reviewed the ideas of the founding members. I found that the founding members of PDP had good intentions for Nigeria. But along the line, the party derailed and that’s why for the 16 years, the people needed to look elsewhere.
But now, Nigerians also have seen that the option they opted for is not any better, in fact it’s a lot worse. The people of the ruling party only dwelt on the vulnerability of Nigerians in 2015 to lie to them about what they would do. It is evident now that the leaders of the current ruling party APC have nothing to offer Nigerians. They lack the capacity to move us forward.
I’m here in the PDP to give the party the opportunity to restore hope and greatness in the people of Nigeria.I’m positioned as the candidate that will not only win elections for PDP but also help restore the confidence Nigerians have in PDP and government generally.
