Nobody Can Stop Politicians From Changing Parties -Bisi Yusuf

Prince Bisi Yusuf is making waves in the Lagos State House of Assembly as he is always ready to air his views on issues.

The representative of the people of Alimosho Constituency 2 is always an interviewer’s delight.
 We recently spoke with the elderly politician on issues bothering on INEC elections time table, cross carpeting and other matters of interest. He critically analysed the issues in his usual manner, and his responses are as weighty as they come.

In the time table released by INEC, the presidential election is slated for February 14, while the governorship election holds on 28 February, 2015, how do you see this?

It is not good, we have been advocating the other way round, what the federal government is targeting will have a bandwagon effect on the system. If they are able to rig the election, they would have all the apparatus of the government and they would now use it to intimidate the people. Once they win the presidency, the security agencies would see that they are coming to power and they would do everything they could to win all elections. But if it starts from the low to the high, it would have been better. That is why we say why is it from the top, they should change it if they don’t have a hidden agenda.

So, can anything still be done to change this since INEC has already released the time table for the elections?
We will continue to mount pressure on them, we will continue to dialogue, once the people are enlightened, we will tell them they have a hidden agenda, people are not stupid. If they discover their antics, they would revolt with their ballot papers, not with the guns. So, we need to go out en-masse and tell the people why the time table is wrong. We will continue to subject them to public opinion. Also, you press men should continue to do your work, we know you are trying, if not for you, Nigeria would not be where it is today. It is just because you are doing your work that Nigeria is where we are now better than before.

We have seen a lot of cross-carpeting and INEC is canvassing for a stricter law on this, what is your opinion?
It is unconstitutional, the constitution of Nigeria is bigger than any other constitution in the country. If the constitution of the country says that there is freedom of association and freedom of movement, what else. If I don’t like a set of people I can leave. There is also a provision that if there is a division in your party, you can move. It is only an insane person that will tell you that there is no division in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). So, it is because there is division in the PDP that they are shouting now. It is Law of Karma that has caught up with the PDP, when people decamped from other parties, they were happy and they jubilated, but now that there is problem in their party and people are leaving them, they are complaining. It is a hurricane, a tornado that hit them hard. When their lion was eating other people’s goats, they were happy, but now that another lion is eating their own goats, they are complaining. What justification do they have to accuse other person. When individual senators and members of the Federal House of Reps went to their party they did not complain or say they would lose their seats, but now that a hurricane is blowing in their party, they are complaining. They should sit down, think and amend their house, if it is not leaking, then there would be no problem. All Progressive Congress (APC) is the party to beat now.

Many people have been saying the 2015 elections would be bloody, Malam Nasir El-Rufai said something of such and he was arrested by SSS, Asari Dokubo also said something like that, do you agree with them?

This is always the fear whenever elections are coming. However, we must differentiate between the utterances of El-Rufai and those of Asari Dokubo. One is refined, while the other is not. What El-Rufai is saying is that the election should be free and fair. I can say that armed robbers should not enter my house and that if they enter I would kill them, that is what El-Rufai is saying, he says ‘don’t steal our vote, if you do so, people would revolt.’ The other one, Asari Dokubo is saying that ‘if you do not make my kinsman president, whether he wins or not there would be problem,’ he is not saying that the election should not be free and fair. He is saying that a particular person should be imposed on us, but El-Rufai is saying don’t steal our votes. They invited him and he has given them the correct answer.

Do you see APC winning the presidential election?

What do you expect me to say, and it all depends on you and me. If you want to continue to celebrate darkness, if you want to continue to celebrate insecurity, economic distortion, unemployment, external borrowing, corruption, then you will want the present Federal Government to come back. But, if you want the country to grow, if you want electricity and other good things, you will want change. As God would have it, change is the language of APC. We have been telling the people to follow the right way, the APC. By 2015, APC is winning by the special grace of GOD.

What have you done for your people to deserve a second term of office?

Julius Caesar said that ‘I could not see myself by a reflection,’ so, you are my reflection.
I have impacted a lot on my people, I know their problems and I am solving them. Infrastructure development is going on in my constituency, education of their children is in my heart, and also I am not found wanting on the floor of the House, I offer solutions to critical problems of the society. It is not just voting a rubber stamp person, I have introduced another dimension to the representation of people. My constituency office is functioning 24 hours a day, where people meet. I have turned it to a theater of dissemination of information to youths, unemployed youths gather there and I give them what to do. Since white collar job is not in existence, we bring them together for empowerment and training. Education is useless if you cannot apply it and my constituents have been very grateful to me and I am grateful to them.