Former Governor of Kwara State and Senator representing Kwara Central, Senator Bukola Saraki recently spoke with journalists in Ilorin on the just concluded elections. Hammed Shittu presents the excerpts:

How did you see the presence and conduct of security operatives during elections in the state?
I want to commend the Kwara State Government for the proactive action and the way they worked very well particularly as regards reassuring the public on the role of the military. We all know that the public is always weary and scared of the military in their surroundings, but I think the enlightenment the state government put in place helped tremendously on that.

I also want to commend all the security agencies particularly the military for being very professional about the assignment because I know there were attempts by some leaders in the other party to use the military as if they were their personal staff but they resisted that and the people of Kwara State will remain grateful to them for ensuring peace and creating an enabling environment for them to be able to express their wish in this exercise

This election was largely characterised by hate speeches and campaigns, what do you think can be done to discourage such in the future?

Well you can see that the APC despite all the series of provocation from the opposition party dealt very much on issues regarding our presidential candidate when he, his families and others were being attacked about his age, qualification etcetera. That is just a reflection of the kind of government we are running now. We will open a new page in the politics of Nigeria, where things will be done properly and this part will go as a nightmare.

The APC swept the National Assembly seats with a wide margin except in Isin/Oke-Ero/Irepodun Federal Constituency. Didn’t you see this as a challenge in the governorship election?

If you look at some local governments we narrowly lost, I think the sentiment of having a gubernatorial candidate from that axis played out. When I go on campaigns, I tell people that one local government cannot make a governor and in as much as the sentiment of being our son is there, my appeal to our people was to be a bit more objective than sentimental in taking decisions about who they vote for.
They should look at who is a better candidate and who has a better package. So in regards to the gubernatorial election in the state, one local government cannot make you a governor and the people saw where Kwarans were going as regards over 70 per cent of our votes went there.

How was the APC able to pull the winning streaks?
I think our magic is about the people and they have demonstrated this through their votes.  They have come out to make a choice of the people and the party they believe would best represent their interest; that would serve their purpose. Going by the rules, we all had the time to campaign for the people and it's clear that Kwarans have spoken across the three senatorial zones, local governments by the votes of the House of Representatives, Senate, presidential governorship and state House of Assembly.  They have also spoken that it is all about those that will represent them.

I believe it is because over the years we have continued to show commitment to governance and representation; to show selfless service and put the people before us. The choice was always clear from day one between those of us who are truly committed to the progress of our state as against those that see this as a seasonal activity where they only come when it is time for election and after the election you don’t see them again. Kwarans have shown that they are smarter than that and they know the difference. I think all the praises should go to the people of Kwara and that is why I will continue to thank them because they know the difference.

I think for those who have always believed in federal might as against people's might, Kwarans have defined that. I also think it will be a great lesson for young politicians coming up that aside from the God we worship, it is always about the people and not any federal or Abuja might. So those who believed that federal is more important than Kwarans have learnt their first lesson in politics. And until they change, they will continue to learn lessons.

The Minister of National Planning, Dr. Suleiman Abubakar has raised issues about the elections in Kwara, what’s your take?
As for the comment of the minister about the election... somebody who couldn't win his ward, polling unit or local government despite all the paraphernalia of office should know that he should keep quiet. I have kept quiet over some of his utterances. He said he has come to end the Saraki dynasty or politics in the state, I think that is a shame and I thank the people of Kwara that it is not within his power to end it because we are committed to the people of the state.

It wasn't only that the election was free and fair, it was peaceful and more than anything else, the people of Kwara showed that they are patient. They were not ready to be frustrated; they are not easily deterred. Like I said when I went to vote, it is Nigeria that was victorious and everybody everywhere has been commending that resolve. For someone to say the election was not free and fair, I don’t know what he meant.

In most reports that have been made available about the election in the state, there have not been complaints. I think we should all learn now that when you lose election, you accept it and not try to fault the process. This time, people should be commending INEC and Jega for what they have done and the character they have shown, the commitment to the process and in fact they have been truly independent. The card readers they introduced despite the difficulties we experienced, a country like Nigeria in today’s world cannot do less. It is what will bring credibility to the process and show that we are also developing and right up there with others. To do otherwise is going to reflect the kind of country we have.

What should the people of Kwara expect from you?
I will continue to focus on what I believe – the interest of the people which I have shown that I will not sacrifice for anything. It has not been an easy journey for us leaving the government we have established to go into the opposition. It was because of what we believe in that there is a wind of change in this country which has come. I believe what we will do is to build on that wind of change to see that all these sacrifice we have all made does not go in vain.

We will double our efforts to see that the Nigeria we all dream about will come and the process has started. The last six years is a government we want to forget fast, that kind of government or impunity will never repeat itself again in Nigeria. That is the message that will open a new page for us in this country. I have always said for Nigerians, the victory is to be able to remove a sitting government so that even those of us that are coming in will sit up because we will know that the people have the power to vote us in or out. So, I think we will do our best and double our efforts to show that we can even perform better.

How prepared are you for the challenge of your new leadership status?
All I am focusing about is to be able to serve the people of Kwara State. I said it a year and a half ago when people did not understand where we were going that people should know that this government and the party are not in the interest of Nigeria. Our focus has always been how the country will be better. Those that believed in me joined in the journey. We are all where we are now. I am very hopeful of a brighter Nigeria. So the issue is that Nigeria has spoken loud and clear and let every politician hear very well that the people have the power to vote you in and out.

Those others you are talking about are not my focus and I don’t have any problem with them. My focus is how to improve and develop the state. They went on personal interest going to Jonathan to empower themselves and pockets, using federal might to win election. I hope they have learnt the first lesson of politics that there is no federal power but the people's power.

Do you advocate a two-party system in Nigeria?
My view about that is that it should evolve. We had a multi-party system before and before the formation of the APC, we had a lot of smaller parties. What is important is to have a credible electoral process that works, whether two parties or more. This election has shown that the issue of money or resources is dwindling significantly in Nigerian politics.

If you look at the kind of money the PDP under TAN spent in the last one and the half years, nobody should be able to win election against them for ten years. They were everywhere and the fact that despite all that, Nigerians can still decide what we want is what we should congratulate ourselves about. The congratulation should go to Nigerians and I think that should set the pathway for the future of this country; that we have truly come to what I will call matured democracy.