…..Says diaspora Nigerians must return to lift fatherland

Former Commissioner of Police in Lagos and Benue States, CP Fatai Owoseni (rtd), at the weekend picked the expression of interest and nomination forms of the Accord Party to enable him to contest the governorship of Oyo State in 2027.

Owoseni, who resigned his appointments from the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde as the Special Adviser on Security and Executive Secretary, Oyo State Security Trust Fund (OYSSTF) last week, obtained the forms at the Accord Party secretariat, Yemetu, Ibadan.

Addressing party executives and members who had gathered in their numbers at the secretariat, Owoseni said his vision was to take the state to its glorious days, when the Western Region made waves as the most developed region in the country.

Owoseni said: “This state can be self-sustaining; I am telling you that. Life can be better for our people. That is why I keep talking about the greatest good for the greatest number of people. During the era of the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Western Region was paying more than every other region.

Who says we cannot still uplift the lives of our civil servants? Who says private schools cannot become a matter of choice if we upgrade our public schools? Some states are already upgrading their public schools. Governor Makinde has tried, and we must sustain that continuity. It is only through continuity that you can truly grow the state and make it regain the pride it once held, not only in the Western Region but across Nigeria.”

He also stated that his decision to contest the highest office in the state was propelled by the need to enable him to add value to the developmental strides already recorded by the previous administrations, adding that Nigerians in diaspora must also imbibe the idea of returning home to contribute to the development of their fatherland.

He said: “To me, I keep saying that my decision to join politics is being driven by the need for value addition and continuous service to humanity. The 35 years of my life that I spent in the police were about service to humanity. And in retirement, which is almost seven years now, I have remained here, being true to the state and where I come from, my state of birth, to bring back all those things we have done in so many other places. And that is what has kept us here up till this time.

“We have so many opportunities, not only here but elsewhere, but because we feel we should be impactful to our people here, that is why we have remained and why we want to continue. Everybody says, ‘You don’t even look like a politician. Can you do politics?’ It is not as if politics is dirty. Some people in politics are dirty, and they make it look as if politics itself is dirty. But it is you who should impact wherever you are; it is not the environment that should impact you. So, everything boils down to: Who are you? What are you aiming at?