Yayi Agbara is an appelation well known among politicians in Ogun State, especially the youths. The young man, whose real name is Wasiu Agunbiade, is the convener of the popular West-to-West group, with a view to mobilizing supports for the Lagos West Senator, Olamilekan Adeola, in Ogun West. In this interview with OLASUNKANMI AKINLOTAN and DARE OLAWIN, Yayi Agbara spoke on the chances of Adeola as the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate in Ogun West.
Excerpts:
Can we meet you?
My name is Prince Agunbiade Abdulwasiu. I am a politician and also, the State Chairman of Tricycle Owners and Riders Association of Nigeria. I am popularly known as Yayi Agbara.
How did you come about that name?
I came about that name during the second time Senator Olamilekan Adeola (Yayi) ventured into the politics of Ogun State. He once came in 2015 when he aspired to be the senatorial candidate of our party then. He went back to Lagos, returned again in 2019. He aspired in 2019 to be the governor of Ogun State. I was a member of the APC under the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration then. We had this beef, it’s like a community issue then. It made me become an opposition within the party. So that was when they now approached me as an opposition within the party APC. I was aggrieved by some some members under Amosun’s cabinet. Let me try to be straight, it was the issue of Obaship in Agbara. I’m a Prince as I said. So, we were talking of occupying the vacant stool of Alagbara of Agbara then. So in the process of picking the candidate of the family, another Uncle that belongs to the Amosun led faction, who was going against the family wish, tried to use the government in power. That was when the opposition within the party now approached me as the son of the soil that I should come and lead the Yayi movement for them. Most of them that led the Yayi team in Agbara then were nonindigenes, so they approached me that I should be able to front that campaign. When I started, I scaled the first hurdle, the second hurdle; we now started having Yayi meetings. That was when they gave me that name that I deserved to be given that name.
Who is Yayi? We heard about this controversy surrounding his indigenship because he has been in Lagos for a long time. What truly happened.
My boss Solomon Olamilekan Adeola Yayi, in whom I am well pleased and I took that name after, and taking that name after him, I’ve not regretted associating myself with him. He is a very humble boss. One thing I cherished about him is that he appreciates hardwork. He would not take your efforts for granted. That’s why most of the leaders in politics today lack followers. When people are dying for you and you don’t appreciate them, at the end of the day they would see a better offer and they would go. But my boss, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, rewards loyalty. People always think the money he gives us is much. No, it’s not about money. But, once he sees you in the middle of hundreds or thousands, he will recognize you. Sometimes when I was with him, he himself called me Yayi. So, one day I asked him why he called me Yayi, he patted me at the back and said, ‘I want them to know that you are my son’. With that alone in the middle of hundreds of people, I was so honoured.
Talking about his indigenship, well I don’t see any controversy about his indigenship. In my family, I have members that have not stepped their toes in Agbara, what if in the nearest future they now decide to come home those that don’t know them will now start asking them about their indigenship. It’s normal. There’s no controversy about his indigenship, though what led to that was just a political gimmick when they were looking at ways of sending him back the. We now asked them that they should refer us to his family lineage in the state they claimed he came from. They should be able to attach him to a family in that particular state. They’ve always said he’s from Ekiti, where exactly in Ekiti?! It’s one of those things but it’s normal. My boss is from here in Pahayi, his mother is from Abeokuta here.
Let’s talk about his chances in 2023.
One thing about politics is that there will always be controversies and crises. That’s why it’s politics because it’s a game of interest. Serving the people, you have to use a platform and the platform is political party, and there’s no political party in Nigeria that is crises free. Even in a zero party. Since it’s human beings that are there, crises will always be there. So, the fact that you are saying there’s crises, it is fine; it’s a political party. It’s an APC affair. I will tell you that there’s no party that doesn’t have crises. PDP has crises as we are talking. So I won’t say there’s controversy but crisis. There will always be an aggrieved member in every political contest. If they are not well satisfied, I think the party has mechanism for them to lay down their complaints. If they are not still satisfied they can go to the national body and If they are not still satisfied then they can go to the court of law. That is the law. So all those ones are part of the game.
Let’s talk about preparation. How prepared are you guys for Ogun West 2023?
If you look outside, you can see a branded bus or a space car, that is one of the vehicles that I branded, even before he won the primary. That means I’m so sure that he would win. This is one of the numbers that I branded at the first phase for the West2West youth group that I represent in Ogun State. That’s one of the formidable political group in Ogun State. West to West for DA youths is one of the formidable youth political group that everyone wants to look up to. When they are talking about political group in Ogun State they will mention West to West for DA which I am the convener of. We were so confident of our winning because we have the delegates who sympathized with my boss and I was able to play the political game within the youth circle and 60% of the delegates are youths. I’ve been able to convince them to our side reasonably with facts. So they key into the agenda and that’s why we had a landmark winning at the primary.
Since you became the chairman of TORAN, what have you done differently from your past predecessors?
The slogan of our tricycle is Up TORAN, Empowerment! Empowerment to eradicate poverty, and this has been my area of concern as the head of TORAN. I’ve been able to empower members from the executive to the state to the branch level to common tricycle users. My boys can say that once I’m driving along any axis, if I see any tricycle parked on the road, I will have to stop and ask what the problem is. If it has to do with the security or law enforcement agents, I would have to make sure he or she (because we have females amongst our operators) I attend to the welfare or needs of that person at that time. That’s one of those things I’ve been doing. Right from the time we’ve done empowerment and we are still doing it and we will keep doing it. I’m always happy to see my people employed.
What will you like to change about your riders?
The major thing is to sensitize them about the use of road signs. Most of them are ignorant of the road signs. So I think that is what I’m doing presently and within a short period, you will see that the compliance of operators with the road signs will change.
What is your revenue generation into the Ogun State economy like?
Well, let me not just call figures, but I can tell you that we are 200% above what the last administration was getting from the tricycle association in Ogun State. If I say 200%, that means we’ve had more than double of what the past administration did. That means we are making a difference and we thank the Gov Dapo Abiodun led administration because we are seeing value for what we add to the economy.
So does that means you will be happy to welcome those coming from Lagos if they want to come?
Yes, in the tricycle sector, we would; because of the areas where they should operate, we are having good roads to complement their coming. If you can take a trip to Agbara-Lusada-Atan road, you will wonder where all the people are coming from. The tricycle on the ground cannot even meet the demands of the people because those areas are areas that bound Lagos where people are now coming in and Dapo Abiodun-led administration is constructing that road, the most expensive road in this administration and that road leads to the industrial hub of Nigeria, let me not call it hub of Ogun State, but Nigeria as a whole.
What will you say is the chance of Dapo Abiodun in 2023?
I don’t see any opposition in Ogun State as far as I’m concerned. With my experience, coupled with the work this government has done across the state, not a particular region but across the state. Just stand anywhere in Ogun State and look forward, you will see yellow, if you don’t see it then look back, you will definitely see it. That is the symbol of development in Ogun State.
