Ahead of the primary elections for aspirants vying for the National Assembly tickets of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, a former aide to Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker House of Representatives, Seun Odofin, during an interview with Toba Adedeji, speaks about his plans for the people of Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency. Excerpt.
You want to represent Oriade/Obokun Federal constituency in Osun state, what do you have in stock for your kinsmen?
The truth is that I am fully prepared and equipped for the assignment ordained for me to bring the people of my constituency out of the place of squalor and poverty and bring them to the land that flows with milk and honey – men, women, young and old. In any given task, preparation is the key to success.
I am quite confident that my political pedigree is there to justify my intention and ambition. Having served as the Senior Legislative Aide to Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila since 2003 and rose to the top of my career as the Special Adviser on Administration, I was directly involved in governance and I had been versed with the problems of my kinsmen. I have all it takes to take Oriade/Obokun Federal Constituency to the promise land. Working with Mr. Speaker has prepared me for the task ahead and I have plans to replicate all that he has been doing for his constituents here in Oriade/Obokun.
We need total empowerment in the constituency. If youths are empowered, you will discover all problems are 75 percent solved. Since youths are restless, get them reasonable jobs and pays that can actually take them home. If allowed to serve, education shall definitely be one of my cardinal programmes. I will encourage qualitative education with discipline while there would be improvement on the road networking. I will also not close my eyes to the health sector. Doctor, nurses and other seasoned medical personnel would be recruited to ease all medical challenges. Hospitals are not enough here. It is a suicidal thing for any serious leader to neglect health.
Agriculturally, farmers in the constituency shall be the gladdest in the sense that, mechanized farming shall be intensified with loans which shall be closely monitored to get auspicious results. Once hunger is out of human problems, any other thing is clearly secondary.
What are your plans for the locals in the rural communities?
Rural integration programmes shall not be neglected. I will ensure we open up the rural areas and make sure that, they have a sense of belonging in the constituency. They are not doomed not to enjoy good things of life ranging from education, good roads, provision of pipe borne water, rural electrification scheme, good shelter and what have you. pared me for this task in question through various platforms. The records are all over the constituency with various empowerment programs and infrastructural provision in support of youth employment and capacity building for men and women of my community. In other words, the mission is to apply various platforms within my reach to liberate my constituents from the poverty status presently being encountered.
Do you think it will be easy to displace the incumbent lawmaker representing the constituency?
Democracy is about the goodwill and trust of the people. Currently, the people in my constituency are distraught. They are tired of empty promises, youth unemployment and infrastructural decayed community. We are going to engage a true people oriented democracy.
We will do it differently this time around. It is said that if you know the truth, the truth shall make you free. The moment to free the people of Obokun/Ijesha is here. You should also note that spiritually the battle is already won. My name is David. You will remember the story of David and how he defeated the Goliath with all his demonic gadgets. At the end of the story, David an inconsequential personality defeated him. The same will be the story here. How to go about it is to engage the confidence I have in the lord with the goodwill of the people. We are favoured of the lord to make this happen in the constituency even without being in the house of Assembly yet. Therefore, we have the victory already by God’s grace.
Politics is not for animals but for man. And where we do not have stiff competitions, we cannot at all go for the best. I love competitions. Even, if we are million contenders for the post of the House of Representatives, the better it is for the masses to choose the most competent out of us all. I am confident my chances are at the brightest. No matter how inclement the political weather is, I will surely become triumphant. My instincts are telling me, I will emerge as the party candidate at the end of the day. Posterity will not be fair on me if I pull out now.
You sound very confident. Can we be intimated with your plans and programmes you have for your people?
I have previously done a lot for the community even without being an official House of Representative member. It is therefore obvious without saying that there will be enhanced facilitation of more projects to the community using the mega networks that have been built over the years in Education, Agriculture, Employment generation, sustainable economic development and youth development.
I am not an angel but my mind keeps telling me that, if my people give me their votes, hopefully, I will score 90 percent going by performances. I quite understand the Nigerian factor syndrome. Even, a boy of 19 years old has elements of being corrupt. Every Nigerian seems to be stylishly corrupt. That not withstanding, this is not to say that, there are no Nigerians with conscience. I stand to disagree. At my level here, there is going to be another rebirth and orientation. We will work hand in hand. Those that will work with me must have the fear of God in them.
Also, I believe that every problem or challenges are meant to be solved. Every problem has its own solution. We will not run from any challenge. God’s wisdom and collective wisdom of the people will see us through when such a challenge confronts us.
What are your expectations from the people in the constituency?
Firstly, I will expect their joint participation in every project that concerned the community. No project will be facilitated to the community without their input if truly the project is desirable or not. Secondly, Active Constituency office will be established throughout the local government with uniform representation from the wards as officials. Not only that Town hall meeting will be organized regularly on issues concern the constituency. The people will own the decision making process undertaken in the constituency. ICT and social media channels will applied as means of inter facing and communication. Finally, I will expect the sustenance of their Trust and Goodwill built as a result of collective responsibility.
No project will be executed in the community without the input of the people. Also there will be various channels of information dissemination through deployment of social media, emails, and so on. I will apply my wealth of experience to attract both local and international connection built over the years.
To the best of my knowledge, apart from local governments which are the closest, legislative positions are closer to the ordinary man on the streets. The dividends of democracy will therefore be copiously felt by them. Nigerian’s system of democracy is a presidential system of government tailored after that of United States of America – USA. In a presidential system of government, there is usually a bicameral legislature, which is divided into the House of Representative (Green Chamber) and the Senate (RED Chamber).
The house of Representative has three hundred and sixty (360) members while the Senate has One hundred and Nine (109) members. The members of each chamber are drawn from the federal constituencies of each state and local government area councils. Having being strategically positioned with required capacity and exposure for many years back, it is easy for me to mingle with other legislators to bring in the dividends of democracy back to my community through the right networking and influence to alleviate the suffering of the people of my community regardless of party affiliation. Everybody knows that I have the rare privilege of working with one of the finest lawmakers in the country. Therefore, efficiency and diligence come to me by default.