Daini Olusesan, Director Media and Publicity, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu Campaign Organization is a consummate strategist, grassroots politician and public relations guru. The amiable young man is pulling his weight as head of Media and Publicity for the All Progressives Congress, APC governorship candidate in Lagos State. He speaks with Integrity Reporters on his principal and why the forth-coming governorship election will be a walk over because of Sanwo-Olu’s good attributes and enviable track record.
Q: Who is Daini Olusesan?
A: I am Daini Olusesan, Director Media and Publicity, Babajide Olusola Sanwoolu Campaign Organization, and I’m equally the chairman Igbogbo Bayeku LCDA by the grace of God.
Q: As the Director of Media and Publicity of BOSCO, how far has it been since you started?
A: It has been God, and the wish and the support of the people. The journey started five to six weeks ago and God has been so wonderful to us. We in the party decided to follow the democratic norms of our party which is about direct and indirect primaries, we tied as much as possible to stand up to what the party constitution says. And that was why APC in major states, decided to use direct primary in the choice of all the candidates for Governor, the Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly. So, when BOSCO started, the media and publicity and all other directorates under the leadership of the director general, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, we put in our best to make sure that our candidate get the ticket in the party. And we give thanks to God and the support of all the card-carrying members of Lagos state for the support given to us for the votes cast for our symbol, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu to have the ticket to the party. So, it has been an interesting journey. A lot of challenges, but not too rough to drive smoothly.
Q: As a media director in the BOSCO campaign team, how can you describe your principal, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu?
A: I have known him for long, but not closely, and those things he represents when I met him, are one of the major reasons why I decided to follow him and I would mention like two or three of it:
his openness; he has the fear of God in him and the wellbeing of people is a major factor and key for his satisfaction, so using those three pointers, I can tell you that Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu is a God-fearing man, he is a sincere person; he is somebody that has the love of people at heart. And he is somebody that sees the development of Lagos as the key ambition he hopes to achieve. The major description I will give to him is that he is a gift to others in the party and he’s a gift to Lagos State. And he is a man that I’m sure, considering his antecedents in the last 18 years in the governance of Lagos state, that he’s going to move Lagos forward, faster and better.
Q: Jimi Agbaje has been given the governorship ticket in PDP to confront your party. There is no doubt that Jimi Agbaje is a fighter. Are you not afraid of him?
A: How will I be afraid of Mr. Jimi Agbaje? He is a regular person. We have the game. We have the card, but I must be factual with you, that he is coming on board the third time, to some people is an added value, but to some of us that really know his area of interest and it’s not only about him, but also his party. I wonder if anything good can come from PDP. So, no matter how good you are, the programme and policy of your party that is anti-people cannot take you anywhere. The Jimi Agbaje that we know is somebody that will come every four years and disappears as soon as he loses. So, his coming on board is not something we should lose sleep over. It’s his usual practice. But one thing I want you to know is that Lagosians are reasonable people and they are happy with what they have. Since 1999, this is the only state that has maintained leadership circle. It is the only state that has been in the development sequence for 19 straight years. And for that singular reason, I know Lagosians will not want to leave good for bad, Lagosians will not want to be seen going backward because this is a man that immediately he come to office, God forbid, will set Lagos backward. At least the 6.4 million PVC carrying Lagosians will not allow them to be dragged backward. I can tell you categorically that we are not scared because we believe in the reasonability of Lagosians and we are sure they will not vote for retrogressive party or person.
Q: Lastly, it is a pastime in Lagos political clime that campaigns at times come with crisis both within and outside the party, but so far, the BOSCO campaign has been so smooth, what is the source of your idea?
A: It is the love of the people. You know when you are loved by the people, things come easy like a magic. For example, the primary that brought in Mr. Sanwoolu, you had no less than 900, 000 voters which is more than the vote of APC in 2015. So actually, it’s the love of the people. He’s a man that everybody really loves. Lagosians believe in him, from all angles of life. So, when we talk about things being peaceful, it is because they have no reason to have crisis or to be engaged in any crisis. Sanwoolu is a man that people are looking forward to his service delivery. When you are moving towards something in life, you are likely to compose yourself, so you can see that day in joy and in peace. One of the major reasons that is responsible for our peace in the state is because Sanwoolu is the man of the people and because Lagos is the place of people who believe in developmental strides and are ready to resist any attempt by any one or group to forcefully put on them who they don’t want, which I think PDP is trying to do. So, Lagosians are resolute in their minds that they want progress and development and we don’t deserve anything short of what APC has been giving to us.
Q: As the spokesman for BOSCO, what do you have to say to your people?
A: I just want to thank them for their ceaseless support and prayers. I also want to tell them that as we all agree to embark on this journey, as co-travelers in this movement, I assure them that it will not be a journey in vain, it will be a journey that will provide better development in the state. It’s a journey that will bring power back to the party. It’s a government that will bring smiles back to the faces of Lagosians. One major thing is that APC in the state is a major party that is loved by people that are not even ID card-carrying members of the party. So a message to APC members in Lagos state is a message to Lagosians because an average APC member in Lagos State have one or two other loved ones that are not ID card carrying members, this means we can say we have at least one million plus voters in the last elections and we have 6 point something million people that collected PVC, it means we need one APC member to have 5 friends to have 5 million votes, which are not APC members.
