Customs shouldn’t toy with blood of innocent people –Adeyanju, Ogun lawmaker

 Adegoke Adeyanju is the Chairman, House Committee on Health and Vice Chairman, Committee on Education, in the Ogun State House of Assembly. The lawmaker representing Egbado-North 1 speaks with DAUD OLATUNJI about an open letter he wrote to the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, among other issues

You wrote an open letter to the governor about the palliatives being shared and your concern that they should get to the young people too, what exactly are your worries about the distribution?

I have no misgivings. In fact, we must indeed commend the governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, for his swift response to the need of our people. Ever since he became the governor, he has proved himself to be a leader that loves his people. What we have in Ogun State is an all-inclusive government. It is not flattery if I say this spirit of comradeship

brought my own revered and highly intelligent leader, Prince Gboyega Isiaka, to work with him. The government has done extremely well in cushioning the effect of COVID-19 in Ogun State. The palliative materials were distributed among the indigent, elderly, the vulnerable and persons living with physical disabilities. However, in my open letter, I called his attention and that of members of his cabinet to the youth. These are people who are able, capable but unable to make ends meet because of the lockdown. I had the apocalyptic foresight that if their quick minds were not constrained because of their economic state, it would lead to an untoward social and civil unrest.

If our views and policies are not well-blended to accommodate the downtrodden and particularly the youth, any success recorded will be similar to a warrior who conquers a town that is already on fire.

So, how would you assess the distribution of palliatives in the state so far?

In Ogun State, for instance, when the governor handed over these palliative materials to caretaker chairmen, the instruction was that they should be given to the aged and vulnerable citizens in our society. He also instructed them to carry members of the Ogun State House of Assembly in the local government areas along irrespective of our political parties. But to our surprise, some of them did not do as instructed. They put indiscriminate sentiments in it because of political and pecuniary gains. The little inadequacies being experienced are bound to happen. No machine is 100 per cent efficient.

When you spoke recently about the exemption granted to employees of Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, including drivers during the lockdown in the state, what did you want the governor to do?

It is particularly notable to say that Dangote Group is one of the prides of Nigeria and Africa. Therefore, the exemption given to the company was in order and not out of place. My pacific disposition was that as much as exemptions are being given, we should also ensure that those companies are complying with laid down rules and measures in containing the spread of the coronavirus. There is no sense in producing commodities and transmitting the virus at the same time. The company is striving because the consumers of their commodities still exist. My concern was purely on public good.

What do you think are the implications of the drivers traversing from state to state despite the ban on interstate movement?

Ordinarily, there should not be any implication if safety rules and standards are strictly adhered to. But the interstate movement can only spell doom in the instances where these rules are not observed. The factory should limit their factory workers as much as possible and should take their health seriously.

Are you saying the Dangote Group does not fall into the category of those to be granted an exemption?

It will amount to ingratitude if I say so. We have always advocated for made-in-Nigeria goods and Dangote is doing us proud in that area. No economy can grow when there are no manufacturers. Nigeria must stop being a consuming nation. The company is one of the few indigenous, articulate and highly sophisticated companies we have in Nigeria. My agitation is that what is worth doing at all is worth doing well. The safety and well-being of our people must remain uncompromised.

We have a monitoring team whose primary duty is to ensure compliance in places where there are exemptions. It is also advisable that the company institutes its own internal measure or procedure to protect their workforce and the immediate community. Whilst the state government has given exemption letters to organisations and, at this instance, to Dangote Cement, there is also a need for them to address the safety of our people in Yewa North, where their plant is operating vis-à-vis the entire Ogun State.

In your constituency, many people have been killed by officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, some by stray bullets, including two young schoolchildren, in the name of fighting smugglers. What have you been doing about it?

Let me once again commiserate with the parents and families of the slain schoolchildren.

I received the news with irremediable sorrow and same for the state government. We condemn such killings in its entirety. The blood of the innocent is too expensive to toy with.

Another ugly incident also happened after that in Ohunbe ward in Ogun West few weeks ago. Another farmer was killed by a stray bullet and nothing was done about the reckless act. In March, the Customs and their joint task force came to Imasayi market to confiscate rice and this resulted in a crisis and reckless shootings. Unfortunately, one police officer died there. Many people in that community were injured and their properties destroyed and nothing has been done to compensate them until today. Seven men from that community have been in police custody as suspects for killing the  policeman. I will like to use this medium to urge the governor to critically look into the Imasayi case and have mercy on the seven suspects in the police custody. It was a mob action, and in such, there is always a miscarriage of justice.

What responses have you got from the authorities following your interventions?

At the government level, several communications and interface were instituted with the leadership of the Nigeria Customs Service. They are on top of the situation as we have been made to believe.