Yoruba comedian and actor, Dayo Amusan, popularly known as Baba Latin, spoke with KUNLE FALAYI about his interest in democracy
What would you say about the conduct of Saturday’s presidential election?
I think Nigerians need to be patient. If
we are using card readers for the first time and it is like this,
imagine how better it would have become in the next four years. The
irony of it is that I was accredited at my ward under one minute while
the President could not do his for more than one hour. If we want to go
electronic in our voting system, then, we have to be patient because
there will be hitches once in a while.
Then I have to say too that it is
possible that whoever got the contract of those card readers might have
bought refurbished ones. If we want to use such things, we must procure
ones that would last for a long time and not break down often. Nigerians
should encourage INEC. So far so good. I am happy that there has been
relative peace.
Can you remember the first time you voted?
I voted for the first time in 1979.
Nigerians were not this exposed at the time. Nobody cared about my birth
certificate. I was not even 18 yet at the time. I was a little less
than the voting age then.
But my height was like that of a
25-year-old. I decided to vote because of the love we had for Chief
Obafemi Awolowo. We all loved him so much at the time and since there
was no issue about how old I was, I just had to vote.
Is Awo still your favourite politician?
Oh yes. I refer to him as my mentor and
hero. Awolowo will always be my favourite politician ever because all he
did cannot be forgotten. If not because of leaders like him, I could
not have been where I am today.
His education legacies made it possible
for the children from families that were not so rich to go to school. He
was the voice of the masses and that’s why we loved him and we still
do.
Did you vote during Saturday’s Presidential election?
Oh yes, I did.
How did people see ‘Baba Latin’ at the polling station?
They were all excited. All of them were
so nice to me. Even the security men were excited. They told me to go to
the front of the queue so that I could be attended to first but I said
no. I decided to stand on the queue like everybody else. I had to
caution myself amid all the excitement because what we were there for
was important for the future of Nigerians. It is always like this
anytime I voted in the past since I became popular.
What do you think of celebrities endorsing candidates during elections?
As an entertainer or artiste, endorsing a
political candidate is good but, sometimes, it is bad. The bad part is
that some artistes just go from one state to another or from one party
to another, collecting money and endorsing candidates. The idea behind
endorsing candidates has been abused and it is giving us bad reputation
as artistes. If you have to endorse anybody, do it because of the good
work he or she has done. It doesn’t have to be more than in one state.
Have you endorsed anybody?
Yes. I have endorsed the Ogun State
Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, for a second term because of the
infrastructural development he has brought to this state. What he has
done in this state as far as I am concerned is still unsurpassed.
The truth is that no matter what you do
as a politician, people would have one thing or another against you.
Name 10 politicians whose reputation remains positive after assuming
office. It is hard.
Would you consider contesting in the near future, like some of your colleagues?
Not at all.
Why?
Thank you. To me, politics in Nigeria is
a very dirty game. Because you are popular and people like you as an
entertainer does not mean you will be a good politician. It also does
not mean that you won’t do bad things when you get there.
Seventy per cent of what politicians
make is shared by the numerous people who follow them about and many
other demands that come their way from the public. I am comfortable as
an actor and okay with that.
So, you are not enticed by the huge money politicians make in Nigeria?
I have never even thought about that
before. If I make N100m as a politician, hardly would I be able to spend
N10m of that on myself. So, the huge amount you are referring to is
even relative. Politicians spend money badly and yet they still become
bad people at the end of the day. They are even run down by the same
people who follow them about and make so much demand from them.
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