Former Commissioner of Police in Lagos and Benue States, who is currently the Security Adviser to the Governor of Oyo State, Fatai Owoseni, has said that his understanding of leadership is firmly rooted in service to humanity rather than the pursuit of power.
Owoseni, a gubernatorial aspirant in Oyo State, made this known during an interview session on Fresh 105.9FM, Ibadan, which was monitored by our correspondent in Ibadan.
He spoke on competence, loyalty to the state, and the broader responsibilities of leadership.
Responding to questions on how he aligned his personal and professional journey with the governance philosophy of Governor Seyi Makinde, he stated that competence must go beyond years of service to include empathy and character.
According to him, his experience, particularly as Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, provided him with firsthand exposure to power and the discipline required not to abuse it.
He said: “If we are talking about competence, I have been in public service for 35 years. You cannot talk about competence without empathy for the people and character.
“As I sit here, I am seeing power as service to humanity. I have seen what they call power. Nigerians probably don’t know. Commissioner of Police is about the highest rank in the police. The others are appointments.
“And sitting down in Lagos State as Commissioner of Police, if we have not abused that even in uniform, when you seem to have instrument of violence, you have not used that to oppress people, is it my own people here that I want to use power to oppress?
“What else am I looking for? It is about giving my life to the community. Because for me, especially going by my training as a Muslim, there is nothing in power. Power is ephemeral. People will ask you, can you be trusted with power? It is not about power. It is about service to humanity. And we will continue to be there.
Owoseni further maintained that if given the opportunity to serve the state, his leadership would be about adding value and building on existing achievements of his predecessor, adding that “leadership must go beyond religious, ethnic, and political divides”
He further stated: “What we are talking about is who is going to add value to what Governor Makinde has done; who is going to add competence with empathy and character; who is going to stand for the people of Oyo State?
“Yes, there are factors. You can’t rule them out, but those things shouldn’t define us.
“You are a governor for everyone. For Muslims, for Christians, for the traditional, religious believers, for every tribe in Oyo State. It should not be about where you come from,” he stated.
On loyalty to the state, he argued that it is best demonstrated through action and sacrifice, not mere words, pointing to his involvement in addressing security challenges as part of his contributions to public service.
“When they also talk of loyalty to the state, how else would you define loyalty to the state? I once served as a refuse collector in the state, during the Covid-19 emergebcy, you also knew the role we played when we had the explosion in Bodija,” Owoseni stated.
Speaking further on security, Owoseni reiterated that safety is a collective responsibility and should not be left solely in the hands of government, stressing that citizens must take responsibility for their own safety.
“That is why we always say security is everyone’s business. The incident that happened in Ondo State could happen anywhere. So, don’t let us fool ourselves that it is only Ondo.
“Security cannot be delegated. Yes, the constitution says the welfare and security of the people are the primary responsibility of government, but that is not to say we should be lackadaisical.
“It is not the government that will come and help us to power the light in our homes or lock our doors. It is our responsibility. So everyone must be involved,” he stated.
