Last week, we ran the first part of our interview with Hon. Afolabi Sofola, the 2 term Executive Chairman of Kosofe Local Govt. He was a banker before he was drawn into politics by his late father-in-law who was into politics back then. Interestingly, and unknown to many, Hon. Afolabi’s late Dad, Kehinde Sofola SAN, CON, was also a big-time lawyer and politician when he was alive. He was also a former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the federation during the Alhaji Shehu Shagari led administration. He was also the leader of NCNC, the opposition party at the time. Yes, Kehinde Sofola, for many years, went toe-to-toe with the late sage and leader of the Action Group, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, on the political turf.
But the young Afolabi was not encouraged by his father to go into politics. The old man probably wasn’t sure his dear son would survive the murky waters of politics that he survived. But fate has a way of seeking you out even when you don’t go looking for it. Today, not only is Hon. Afolabi Sofola a grounded administrator and accomplished politician, he is also well on his way to becoming one of the biggest political juggernauts to emerge from the South-Western part of the country. And those who know will tell you the man has all it takes and more to get to the pinnacle of his political career. He is smart. He is calm. He is brilliant. And he is politically savvy. But beyond all of these, he has behind him two political powerhouses from whose fountains of experience he drinks from- Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and distinguished senator Bayo Osinowo, who happens to be the APC leader in Kosofe. Indeed, if there is one politician Hon. Afolabi learns from every day it is the enigmatic senator Bayo Osinowo, his boss and leader in Kosofe. “ I learn every day from him. He is the kind of leader who consistently inspires his people and serves as a beacon of hope to the man on the streets,” Hon Afolabi says about the man he has profound respect for his political tenacity and personality as a human being.
In this 2nd part of the interview with City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290), Hon. Afolabi Sofola talks passionately about his father whose immense status had a significant effect on him and about Senator Bayo Osinowo, a man who remains possibly, his biggest source of inspiration and strength politically.
(Continued From Last Week)
I’ll give you an example, my own backyard here, Anthony, in front of the Police station, the local government rehabilitated that road. It was very, very bad. Olounlogbon, we rehabilitated it. Bush Street, which is where the police station road comes out, is a state road. And we did attempt rehabilitating that road about eight months ago, and while they were doing it the rain fell and money went down the drain. The potholes came back about three or four days later. And my people called me, ‘chairman, don’t you pass this road every day? This road is bad, come and do it for us.’ And I tried to explain to them, this road is a state road, if we do it we won’t get our money back. If the state government does a federal road, they will get their money back, but we, we won’t get one kobo. I said to them the best we can do is to act as facilitators and reach out to the Commissioner for Works and Environment and get them to come and do such roads that need immediate attention. I called back one those that sent me messages and the woman said she was shocked, that she didn’t even believe I would call her. And I said, what are you shocked about? I am a public servant, if I see your text, I will reply to your text or I will call you. And I promised her that as soon as the rain stops, we will go there and fix those roads. Another achievement you might want to look at, the staff quarters that we have at Ogudu road, we’ve demolished the one that was there before and as I talk to you, a new structure is on the ground and it’s nearing completion. It’s a PPP arrangement. Binukonu market got burnt and we very swiftly moved into rebuilding the burnt section of the market. Similarly, the Bakare-Bello market at Ifako, we demolished and reconstructed and we’re about commissioning that market now. This will also enhance the livelihood of the people in those communities. Right here in our local government, we’ve fully renovated the building which we named after our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and we provided furniture too.
Like our people say, charity begins at home, so let us also take care of our house first, just as we take care of the entire the local government. Infrastructure is a major concern to us, we want to do as many roads as possible. Between now and next year, I want to do 60% infrastructure in Oworonshoki, because that is the worst-hit area. So, we will respond, but again, our ability to do as much as we want is tied to the availability of funds. The moment the people learnt that the president had granted local governments the autonomy, I want to tell you, my brother, the number of people coming to council with various requests doubled. But they don’t understand how it works. You see, we have this our intelligence unit called NFIU, which we jokingly call Nafiu amongst ourselves. And the terms are very clear. But to our people, they don’t understand what it means. What it means is that whatever we’re spending must be transferred so that the intelligence agency can trace where we have spent the money. All around us now, there’s a lot of money laundering, we’re talking Boko Haram, we’re talking all sorts of crises, and this monies they’re using to amass their ammunition is from money laundering.
And if the government does not trace where the money from local government is going it may end up in the wrong hands. So, we need to educate our people. To most of them, the idea is that since your money has increased, you can now attend to more requests like house rents, school fees, etc. That’s the way they’re looking at it. We cannot take more than N500,000.00 at any time from the bank and you must account for all the money you’re taking. So, that’s for infrastructure. Now, let’s look at health. We have a health centre at Ogudu which is a 24-hour health centre and another at Oworonshoki, it’s not 24 hours. We have one at Mende as well, it’s not 24 hours and we see to their day to day running, especially in terms of keeping their pharmacies running. We also undertake quarterly immunization of the communities in collaboration with the ministry of health in Alausa.
Training of our personnel is also ongoing at our health centres. I, as the chairman, I pay unscheduled visits to the health centres to catch them unawares and talk to the people they’re attending to. A lot of people don’t understand how far these health centres reach. We go into the waterlogged areas. A lot of communities that are not urban areas, then you have to go in canoes to get to where they are and immunize them. These are children that will get polio because they will not come out of where they are and come to the health centre. Sometimes, they even face resistance from some of the communities who sometimes insist they can’t go in to meet some of the women in purdah. So, the health centre must be mobile, equip themselves and go and meet them. They are well trained in this job that they do and I think we should commend them.
Looking back into your political journey, how do you feel, sir, with the modest progress you have made so far?
You, Wale, are a diplomat journalist because some other journalist would ask you, after you may have died, what would you like written on your tombstone? (General laughter) Well, let me put it this way. My late father, Kehinde Sofola, SAN, may God bless his soul, if he was allowed today, would never have permitted me to go into politics because of their own experiences. My late father was initially a councillor in Ikenne in those colonial days. Later on, he rose to become opposition leader to Awolowo. I come from Ikenne in Ogun State where Awolowo comes from. He rose to become opposition leader to Obafemi Awolowo who was in Action Group. He positioned himself in NCNC while Awolowo was the leader of Action Group. Now, the irony of it is that this Awolowo, this great sage that could’ve turned the fortunes of this country around was a blood relation to my late father. They were cousins. One would’ve expected that because of the blood ties, sentiments would outweigh any other thing and he’ll say, well, let me move with my blood, that at least he’ll give me a big position, but I think that on the ground of principles, they never got along. And from that time, I started learning the importance of being detribalized. That has been a part and parcel of my system. In my first term as Kosofe local government, three Igwes from different parts of Kosofe gave me an Igbo title and insisted I must take it. The title is Iche Okosisi Nidigbo 1 of Kosofe. They gave me the whole regalia. And I asked them on that day what the title means, and they said it is like a big Iroko tree where other trees have come to take shade from the sun. And I asked, why are you giving me this title? You should give an Igbo man. They said no, that they have studied me, that I’m not against any tribe, that when I give assistance to anyone, I do not ask whether you’re Yoruba, Igbo or Hausa, that I don’t care. And it’s true. I do not care where you come from. If you come to me for assistance and I have I will do it. They said it was based on that observation that they gave me that title. And I accepted the title. You see, there are notable things in one’s life that one can summarise as to one’s experience as you have asked. If I went straight to your question, then that would mean I am not a typical politician. A typical politician would never answer your question straight. The people that have moulded one in this political journey are so important in my summary of my political journey so far because I’m looking through their eyes, through their training, to get to where I am. Naturally, like I said before, Jagaban Borgu is a major influence. Now, coming closer to home, I’ll be doing myself a disservice if I do not say that the person that has had more impact in my political training is the distinguished Senator Bayo Osinowo. Let me tell you a little story. Somebody asked me during the elections that made him become Senator, that why is everybody shouting Pepper! Pepper! Pepper! Who is this Pepper sef? Who does he think he is? Are there not other people there? Why are you supporting him? And I laughed and said, look, the man you’re talking about is a man of many parts.
This is a man that was at the Lagos House of Assembly for several tenures. Here is a man that would leave the Assembly at 1 a.m., sometimes 2 a.m. He gets to his house, sleeps for barely two hours and by 5 a.m. he wakes up to pray after praying, people have filled his mosque and won’t allow him to sleep. They will talk and talk till morning and by 11 o’clock in the morning he has to be in the Assembly for sitting and it’s same cycle day in day out. Selfless service to the community. You need to see the number of people that hang outside his house hoping for one favour or the other. From one welfare matter to the other, he attends to everybody. Believe me when I say he’s a man of many parts. One of the reasons why I threw in my weight behind him to support him, is because after I left office from the first term it was a few months to the elections. He sponsors people to go to lesser Hajj, which is called Umrah. When I was Chairman in my first term, I sent dozens of people for Umrah, dozens of people for Hajj. I never sent myself because I did not have the calling. When the calling came, it was like four days to the beginning of Umrah. I said, Pepper, I want to go for Umrah o. This one that I’m sitting down here, I don’t know what my opponents are kneeling down before every morning, let me go and talk to God o. He said why are just coming now when it’s only three or four days to Umrah? You should’ve come like two weeks before now. Then, his wife said, bring your passport, joo, if God says you’ll go, you’ll go. About three days later he called me to come and collect the passport that I’ve been given a visa. They brought my passport and bought my ticket. My ticket was Emirates. And going to Hajj, Emirates ticket is one of the most expensive. He did not say you’re a former Chairman, you should have means to sponsor yourself. When I got into Saudi Arabia we went to Medina, the hotel I stayed in, he paid for it. It was the same hotel he was staying in. When I got to Mecca, the hotel I stayed in throughout my duration, he paid for it. Then, he also gave me an envelope. Don’t let me tell you the figure, you will be shocked. That is Senator Bayo Osinowo for you. And this is the same way he helps thousands of others, especially the poor, the downtrodden.
And he’s been doing all these long before he ever dreamt of becoming a Senator of this country. Not someone that is planning to go to a position so he starts helping people and doing good. A lot of our politicians today, they help you because they want to get somewhere, not because it comes from their heart. They consider it a means to an end, not that it naturally comes from them. That is why I call him a man of many parts. And let me tell you something else, Senator Bayo Osinowo did not aspire for Senate, we pushed him to go for senate, I’m telling you here today! I repeat, Senator Bayo Osinowo did not stand up to say I want to go for senate, we pushed him into it. We are the ones that said, ‘Oga, you will contest for senate o. Go to the senate! Let your impact be felt. Go and take charge of sixteen local governments, Kosofe is only three local governments. Go further, go to the senate! We got the form for him. So, I say, for reasons like that, he’s the man for the job. Let me also tell you that there’s no day I go to his house that I do not learn something new at my age. So, in summary, let me say that life is not a bed of roses. He who wants to serve the people must come with a clean slate. I read Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart when I was in school. He said when things fall apart the centre cannot hold. A lot of it is applicable to our politics in Nigeria today.
We say all animals are equal but some animals are more equal than the others. We have a long way to go in this country. Let us identify those that have pure hearts to move this country forward and leave behind their selfish interest. It is only people like that that can lead Nigeria out of the woods. Majority of them are criminals and they don’t have any plan for the progress of this country. They should remember that we will all die one day. I don’t want to mention the names of those that have gone and their children finished everything they left behind, they squandered it. We must have the fear of God. If we have the fear of God every other thing will follow. If you don’t have the fear of God, forget it. Nigeria has the potential to become a member of the Security Council in the UN. We have all the potentials. We have the human resources, we have the material resources. Hopefully, if we do not get more sincere leaders like Muhammadu Buhari, who reminds me so much of the great Aminu Kano, things will only get worse. So, let’s keep the faith and hope for the best.
A Few Of Hon. AFOLABI SOFOLA’S Completed Works And Projects
Provision and spreading of filling materials along Taiwo Street, Ogudu
Construction of Culvet, Ogudu
Rehabilitation of Reinforced Concrete Box Culvet at Samson Ayorinde Ogudu Rd, Ojota
Rehabilitation of Drainage Concrete Wall Along Ogudu
Rehabilitation of Box Culvet Alhaja Abass/Adepitan Str., Ogudu
Rehabilitation of Box Concrete at Oke-Owo Str., Ifako
Rehabilitation of Box Culvet at Kinimu-Ifa Str., Ifako
The construction of Road, Surulere Oworo, Settlement of Outstanding liabilities owned, Oworo
Rehabilitation of Road, Along Kinimu-Ifa Street, Ifako
Reinforced Concrete Drainage Along Olabisi Salami Street, Oworo
Rehabilitation of Road Along Oyebola Street, Ojota
Construction of Road at Olorunlogbon Street, Anthony
Rehabilitation of Road Along Okungade Okuneye Street, Mende
Rehabilitation of Bola Street, Anthony Village, Anthony.
Construction of Road at Alhaja Oluwakemi Street, Anthony
The Construction of Reinforced Concrete Prodium at Bola Street, Ifako
The Re-Construction of Inadequate Drainage at Buhari Str., Ogudu
The Construction of Cover Slab to Drainage at Moshalashi Str., Ogudu
The Rehabilitation of Drainage at Okungaje Okunmeye Str, Mende
The Rehabilitation of Inadequate Drainage Along Niyi Ogunleye Str., Ojota
Repairs of Damaged Portion of Drainage Along Victoria Str., Ojota
The Rehabilitation of Inadequate Drainage Along Musa Adewokun Str., Ojota
Intervention Programme Phase 1 (Furniture) For Nur/Pry Categories, Various Schools
Renovation of Block of Classrooms at Anglican Nur/Pry School, Ogudu
Provision of Equipment Required For Fashion Designing Class
Provision of Equipment Required For Hairdressing Class
The Renovation of National Id Cards Office, Council.
Reconstruction of Concrete Pavement at Bayo Oshinowo Building, Council
Construction of Road at Aina Str., Ojota
The Rehabilitation of Bode Peter Str., Anthony Village, Anthony
The Re-Construction of Earth-Drain & Surface Dressing of Bode Joseph Str., Ifako from Williams Str. Junction to Adedeji Str., Ifako
Construction of School Library at Ayoroju Primary School, Oworo
Procurement of White Marker Boards for Public Primary Schools With Ogudu Ojota and Maryland Areas, Ojota
Complete Re-Roofing at Ifako Primary School, Ifako
Construction of Reinforced Concrete Drainage Along Babalola Str., Ogudu
Rehabilitation of Asphaltic Concrete at Moshalashi Str., Ifako
Repair of Damaged Portion of Drainage Along Association Avenue Ojota
Construction of Drainage Along Eledhin Street Ogudu
Rehabilitation of Drainage at Akinwunmi Atibu Oshomevat, Ogudu
The Repair of Inadequate Drainage of Along Alhaja Oluwakemi Faramobi Ajike Str., Anthony Village, Anthony
The Construction of Road Asphaltic facing at Kiminu Ifa Moshalashi, Ifako.
