Hon. Teejay Yusuf, representative of Kabba-Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency and Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market and Institutions, easily comes across as a humble, easygoing politician with lots of friends on either side of the partisan political divide. He attributes his sense of humility to his past experience as a graduate labourer and the unexpected ways in which God gradually led him out of poverty and manual labour to become the representative of the well-educated people of his area in Kogi State . He spoke with Assistant Editor, JIDE BABALOLA, on aspects of his life among other issues:
How has it been representing the people of Kabba -Bunu/Ijumu Federal Constituency for close to eight years?
It has been a truly humbling experience and very revealing too. Above all, it has opened me to a new vista of education, the type that is quite different from what we learnt in the university. But above all, I must sincerely say that I feel so privileged.
Many people say you relate well with the upper crust in the society as well as those who are at the very grassroots or bottom of the socio-economic ladder; are there life experiences that made this so?
Of course. I am conscious of where God picked me from and I am conscious of the fact that I will not be in the seat in perpetuity. I will not be here for life and being a member representing my people in the House of Representatives does not make me the most intelligent or the best of all human beings from my area, so it is just a privilege. I am conscious of this and I know that among the so-called down-trodden people, there are many who are even better equipped intellectually but it only pleases God to place me or any other person in our current position.
When I was aspiring to be elected for the first time, one of the things I promised God is that if He makes it happen, I will do everything within my power to demystify the office and take away those tendencies that make it look as if once you get into office, you cease to know your environment and feel as if you have been plucked out of your environment. You cannot effectively be a representative of the people without being in touch with them. Even, in spite of my own consistent effort at home, I still have individuals who complain of not being able to reach me as and when they want. It is natural because everybody who loves or supports you easily believes that they are the most important person in your life and when they are in need or want to get in touch with you, it must be immediate. So, basically I am conscious of the people who made it happen and there is nothing that is too special or unique about me that made them give me this kind of privilege. It pleases the voter to make it happen, so it is in honour of him or her.
You were a student union activist at the University of Jos and at the national level in the early 90s, was that your ladder to your present position and comfort?
As I said at the beginning of this interview, I am just a privileged person that God just chose to bestow His favours upon. Yes, I was a student union activist but after graduation from the University of Jos and with no one to really help, I had to help myself and at least, get a source of feeding. I came into this city, Abuja and just couldn’t get any job with my degree in Economics; because I had to survive and I detest being idle, I joined construction sites in town, working as a daily paid manual labourer. Off and on at the period, two or three gave me the privilege of working as a labourer and you won’t believe how deeply I appreciated that because things were just too tough at home that I dare not go back.
I graduated from being a labourer to supplying labour to bricklayers or carpenters who may need the services of close colleagues. Later, I was doing a bit more: if you wanted to do German floor, I would get the ‘contract’ and get others to join me.
I had been on the back of tippers countless times, using shovels to tip sand that people used to build beautiful houses in Abuja city. I moved from there to supplying limited quantities of building materials, especially sand. I know where you can get the best quality of sand in villages or other locations outside Abuja. For instance, sand from Mpape and Ado areas in the outskirts used to be the best. But Mpape sand is the very best because it is river sand. I was providing labour with my shovel but later, God made it possible for me to be getting other tipper boys when I needed to supply sand to a builder in the city. I would go there, join the tipper guys to load a chartered tipper with sand so as to reduce the amount I will pay and get my job done on time.
From there, I moved into being a sort of housing agent, linking people who wanted to rent a room and those offering it. Later, from one room, I could get a flat and then I graduated into owning a small but divinely blessed real estate firm and I began to have properties that I manage for the owners.
Unfortunately, many young people don’t want to start small again, people want to start from the top and in my place, there is a common saying that it is only at the grave that you start from the top. By implication, it means that if you want to start from the top, you could be digging your own grave. I committed my life to God and hard work as the only known pathway to any level I desire to be.
Nigerians say a lot about legislators having fantastic allowances, what do you think about that?
You are one of the few I have heard using the right word – “allowances”. What I hear is salaries. It is not just legislators that collect allowances; it is something that happens across board. Anywhere in the world, allowances are what are robust, salaries are just basic. Whatever they call allowances is subject to responsibilities. Let me give you an example, if I am to go to Lagos, by the policy available to me, I should go with at least a Business Class ticket but there is nothing wrong travelling in the Economy Class. Until we take it holistically and not zero in on legislators alone, we will not get to the Eldorado. If we say okay, directors, ministers and not just be mouthing things or playing to the gallery, you won’t feel that you are being picked out to be maligned or put under attack before the public.
The allowances (of legislators) are, by my understanding, even lower than those of the directors and the ministers. Let me give you a classic example: If you travel abroad for an official function, what a legislator is entitled to is $500, while a minister is entitled to $800 per night. Meanwhile, by the order of protocol, a legislator is senior to a minister. So, we should have a robust position, a properly articulated policy as a nation. We cannot afford to continue with the current level of flamboyance as it is now.
Would you then agree that we should have a unicameral legislature to cut costs?
I will rather suggest a parliamentary system of government but still maintain the bi- cameral system, so that it takes away some major duplication such that when you get allowances as a legislator and you are a minister, you don’t receive double allowances. Moreover, it brings
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