The Former Secretary to the Oyo State Government and the Labour Party Gubernatorial running mate to Otunba Adebayo Alao Akala at the 2015 general elections, Barrister Sarafadeen Abiodun Alli, have described politics as an avenue through which you impact lives and not just being there for personal reasons.

Barrister Ali made this assertion in an exclusive interview on the programme “Community Today” on CEOAfrica Television where he discussed about his journey into politics, the state of politics in the country and the much talked about absence of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Explaining how his political career started, the ex-SSG who is currently the Asaaju Balogun of Ibadan land said “It all began in the 80s when General Babangida came into power, which got me interested in politics. I was invited by some friends to form an association called Liberal Convention. Although the association was not registered, it eventually led to two-party system. That was how we started. After all, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Today, the rest is history.”

Speaking on his political achievements so far, Barrister Ali stated that he has been able to impact a lot of lives positively, adding that “the most important thing one should try to do in politics is to impact lives. It’s not about the amount of money that you have; it is about how many lives you have touched.”

The astute politician while comparing the present day politics to the politics practised in Nigeria ten years ago; lamented about the negative role that money is playing in the political sector. He warned that the emphasis placed on money in the current political domain may lead the country astray.

He noted that “the rate of poverty has gotten to a stage that anybody would just wake up one day, look his bank account, and because of the huge amount, he wants to run for a particular office, without the competency to run for that office.”

The former SSG explained further that, “running for an office is not just about money, and the poverty level worsens when the person gets there, he tries to take back the money spent before emerging into that office, although, money is important on any logistic, but the motive behind the spending should be discouraged.”

While sharing his opinion about the insurgency challenges and the Niger/Delta crisis the country is currently dealing with, the legal practitioner said that the approach the current administration is applying to the menaces are drastic. However he noted that the approach ought to be gradual.

Barrister Ali stated that the best way to tackle insecurity and insurgency in the country is to create employment opportunities, empower and engage the youth in profitable ventures. He added that once people are engaged in profitable means of livelihood, they will not have the need to get involved in kidnapping and militancy which is becoming prevalent in our country.  

Barrister Ali who also bared his mind about the continued absence of President Muhammadu Buhari due to health issues stated that “the private life of a public office holder is of public knowledge.”

He added that there’s nothing wrong with the president’s absence because he put someone in charge to run the affairs of the country. He however noted that speculations arose when some people were picked to go and check on him, but despite pictures going around, the speculations keep arising every day.

Barrister Ali while assessing the present government noted that although the current administration is yet to achieve all it proposed to do for Nigerians during campaign, he hopes that the promises will be fulfilled.

On whether he would contest for the governorship post in 2019; the elder statesman made it known that nobody knows tomorrow because everything is in the hands of Almighty God. He said he would continue his political journey and that if there’s need to aspire for any post, he would. But that the best thing for everybody now is to be alive and healthy.