Aderonke Olunloyo, wife of one-time governor of old Oyo State, Victor Olunloyo, has described Nigerian politicians as the most “laid-back, selfish and self-centred set of people” she has ever met.
Mrs Olunloyo said this on Tuesday during an appearance on the weekly radio show, Parrot Xtra Hour On Radio, aired on Space 90.1 FM, Ibadan and anchored by Olayinka Agboola.
The politician’s wife also advocated that politics should be made to be less attractive.
She said: “Once they become politicians, then, they stop having a job, they stop having a vocation. They will then get to positions of authority and start pilfering and pilfering until the state is tired.
“Go to Abuja, nobody has a job. Government is their business. Look at those at the National Assembly, they will sit for four days and still get paid heavily. Something must be done about this. And if you ask them how much they earn on monthly basis, they will never tell you.
“They are always forgetting that people voted for them to be where they are. So, if you are voted in, you are not supposed to rob the people who voted you in. Nigerians should learn and start asking questions. They should ask politicians questions, people in positions of authority should be answerable to the electorate. If you want to have money, quit politics and go and do business.”
Olunloyo explained how life has been in the last 30 years that she has been married to the mathematician.
“Being married to doctor has been fun. We have had our ups and downs but I will tell you, he has taught me a lot – especially on politics. He is a different kind of politician because he has a job,” she said.
Olunloyo spoke further about her husband who turned 85 on April 14 this year.
“He loves his Quaker-oat every morning and he still writes a lot. He reads vociferously too. He is still a lover of music and his library on this is comprehensive. He has books on everything under the sun. He even has books on coronavirus,” she said.
When asked how her husband’s health is being sustained, she said: “It is God. You see, there was a time he was ill and he had to go to Adeoyo Hospital. The doctors there were very dutiful and they treated him well. Somehow, his visit to the hospital got to the hearing of the present governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde. He promptly came visiting. He detailed two doctors to be treating him. I appreciate this gesture.
“The governor also suggested that he should be taken abroad but my husband objected to this on the basis of his old age. He said the weather there would be too harsh for him. He said he was not going to undergo any surgery again. Today, he uses trado-medicine from Brazil and others. He has a very strong will to continue to live. His mother lived to be 103.”
When asked if her husband has been given any kind of recognition by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, she said: “No. None at all. Those who are supposed to be protecting his interest are busy promoting themselves there. We have people from here who are supposed to ensure he is recognised properly but they won’t do it.”
