Why LAGOS Lawmaker, ABIODUN TOBUN Is Powerful

• Why Many Politicians Talk About Him A Lot

Hon. Mustain Abiodun Tobun is clearly one of the most popular of the Legislators in Lagos today. Mention his name anywhere within the Lagos political circle and you will find many acknowledging the fact that he is one of APC’s brightest prospects at the Lagos Assembly. If truth be told, at the Lagos State House of Assembly, there aren’t too many Lawmakers who are quite as unassuming as Hon. Abiodun Tobun. Without a doubt, he is one of the most down-to-earth politicians you will possibly ever meet. He represents the good people of Epe consituency 1 and he’s presently the Chairman, House Committee on Works and Infrastructure. Highly respected and loved by his peers, Honourable Abiodun Tobun is one politician who simply does not know how to go about carrying airs around him. He is a very accessible person and his uncanny ability to mix well with people, no matter how highly or lowly placed, stands him out from his contemporaries. He is also extremely brilliant. And of course, his performances too, over the years have been nothing short of impressive. No wonder why his people in Epe constituency 1 adore him so much so they returned him to serve them for a fourth consecutive term. This didn’t come as a surprise to those who know this very tenacious and compassionate politician, his passion to serve and elevate his people has been well documented.

One of the things many also respect about Hon. Tobun is the fact that he rarely throws his weight around. There are very few fourth timers in the Assembly and he is one of them. Those close to him know how highly connected he is with the top hierarchy of the party. He has been around for a while and has developed very close relationship with the leadership of the party, particularly the elders who have found in him a humble, respectful and trusted ally. Whenever he has a need for any of the elders of the party, they are just a call away from him. But he seldom talks about the enormous influence he wields. He is, by a nature, a modest man. He respects both the elders and his contemporaries alike. He is also very close to his peers at the Lagos House of Assembly. You would scarcely hear that Hon. Tobun has issues with anyone. He is a man imbued with the ability to manage people and handle crisis effectively if and when they come.

He also holds the leadership of the Lagos Assembly in high esteem. He has never hidden his admiration for the leadership style of the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa. He once said of the Speaker’s performance: “I must say sincerely that he’s been a wizard. He has succeeded in proving the doubting Thomas wrong and has shown that he can do it. And I must tell you, he’s doing it well. He’s a democrat to the core and he’s a leader that commands the respect of his followers. There are some leaders who would sell out their followers for peanuts, but our leader is not that kind of person. Honourable Obasa wants team work because he believes in team work. He’s a man that believes in collectivity, a man that believes in unison, a man that believes in building the institution, a man that believes we must rise above the conventional standards of excellence.”

Many don’t know that Honourable Abiodun Tobun is from a very popular family in Epe with a very rich political pedigree. His family is renowned for performance. His father was a member of the Federal Parliament that made Nigeria’s independence possible. Hear him, “Politics runs in my family. In the late 50s before independence, my father was a member of the Federal Parliament that brought independence to this country and that was where I got my passion for politics. The Tobun family is known generally to be a politically inclined family. And because of the politics running in my blood, I have been involved in one political struggle or the other since my school days. I joined NULGE as I told you earlier, and its still politics. I was a NULGE man till the last day that I dropped the pen. Let me also tell you that when I was in school in Ikorodu, in 1979, I was an active member of the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) I was the organizing secretary for our local government. In 1983, we joined the Liberal Convention, I was a member of the party. Then, we advanced to join the NRC, the National Republican Convention, and later, with the advent of party politics in 1999, we joined the progressive team starting with the AD, the AC, the ACN, then, the APC. So, before contesting, I had been involving myself in active politics. In the 80s, I was a state delegate to the state convention that ushered in Sir Michael Abolade Otedola. I was one of the three people voted for, as a student then, to represent members of the public.”

“So, my family has been known to be a politically inclined family, but more than anything else, my passion to represent the people and serve them, my passion to impact positively in the lives of the people made me leave civil service and joined public service with a view to answering a higher calling. At the time I left service, I still had close to 15 years left before retirement, but I decided to leave and allow the younger ones come on board and grow because I felt I’d reached the peak of my career and I was still less than 50. So that means I would be there simply marking time because I was already a Head of Department and a level 15 officer and I realized that, among my cadre, its only one person that would be on level 16. At local government level, you can’t get to level 16 and neither can you get promoted to the position of Permanent Secretary, so I asked myself, why wasting my time here? And that was how I decided to follow my passion for a higher calling.”

No doubt that Hon. Abiodun Tobun’s pedigree has put him in good stead politically. But he certainly didn’t sit back to simply take advantage of his rich political pedigree, he also worked hard to build for himself the right foundation that will enable him reach the zenith of his political aspirations.

“I was born in the early 60s to the Tobun family in Epe. I was born in Lagos Island but grew up in Epe. I attended St. Michael’s Anglican Primary school, then later went to a modern school before proceeding to Epe Grammar School and then to Lagos State Polytechnic for an HND program in Agric Economics and Extension Management. Later, I got a Masters Degree in Business Administration at the Lagos State University and I had another Masters in Legal studies from the same university. I worked as a Community Development Officer for about 21 years with Lagos State Local Government Service Commission and I rose to become the Head of Department, Community and Social Development. I retired from service voluntarily in 2011 to join active politics and became a member of the House in 2011 and till date, I’m still in the House. I was also a trade unionist too. I have always been passionate about fighting for people and representing their interests. When I was in school, I was a unionist. When I joined the Local Government system, I joined NULGE. There was a time I was a Trustee of the union, then, later became the General Secretary for two terms and then the Chairman for two terms and then a term as Caretaker Committee Chairman. Having become an HOD for close to ten years, I realized that we were just doing the same thing every day and was just basically marking time. It was about this time that my people asked me to come and contest. I contested in 2003, that didn’t work out, and I returned to my office and was asked again to contest in 2006 and was told clearly that it wasn’t my time until I was given the mandate in 2011.”

-WALE LAWAL

(08037209290)