His pedigree is as impressive as it is intimidating. Honourable Adedamola Richard Kasunmu was born into the very popular and hugely respected Kasunmu family. His late mother, Chief Mrs. Abiodun Arafat Kasunmu, who was an outstanding Educationist and founder of Modupe Memorial Schools, was daughter to the late irrepressible Alhaja Abibatu Mogaji, President-General, Association of Nigerian Market Women and Men, making her sister to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Alhaja Abibatu’s most illustrious son.
He was born on 29th of March, 1983 and was privileged to have attended some of the best schools within and outside Nigeria including Kings’ College, Lagos, Irwin College, Leicester, U.K. and the University of Wolverhampton, also in the U.K., where he studied Law. Young, dashing looking and extremely warm and amiable, this incredibly articulate nephew of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a Lagos Lawmaker representing the good people of Ikeja Constituency II. He is only on his first term in office but you’ll be amazed at his modest achievements and vast knowledge of Nigerian politics. City People’s WALE LAWAL was a guest of the easy-to-talk-to Lawmaker a few weeks back and he opened up on his background, his political journey so far and his relationship with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Tell us, sir, who exactly is Honourable Adedamola Richard Kasunmu, not the politician but the one people rarely know about?
I guess the first point of call would be where I started from, my roots, basically. That would be being born into the prestigious family of the Kasunmu/Tinubu families. I was born into a political family, so I can say that I grew up into politics. I had my early years here.
I went to Kings College, Lagos, proceeded to the Ivy College for my A-Levels, then went to Irwin College, Leicester in the U.K. for my University foundation and then proceeded to the University of Wolverhampton in West mid- lands, U.K. for my Law degree. So, after that, I came back and started on a journey, but I started in the educational sector, judging by the fact that my mum was a renowned educationist before she passed on and I had to take up the mantle of leadership with the group of schools.
Sometime around 2011, upon my ascension after taking leadership of the group of schools for several years, I bagged the Best Educator of the Year in 2011 and from there a few other awards and recognitions came before I delved fully into politics in 2015. And here I am today, representing the people of Ikeja II Constituency at the Lagos State House of Assembly and I am here known as Honourable Adedamola Richard Kasunmu.
At what point would you say the desire to go into politics evolved?
I was born into a political family. So it was something that has always fascinated me and aroused my interest. And I had to learn the ropes, teach myself through the dynamics of politics. I grew into it, got interested in it and saw it as a way of pursuing my passion in taking care of people and their needs and being selfless. Another significant motivation is no other than my very courageous and admirable father, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu who opened up the pedestal, really, for me to pursue my passion to the fullest. It is largely through his support, encouragement and commitment, and by the grace of God, that I’m here today. And I thank God for where I am so far and where I’m still going.
Being a young man, what were the challenges you were up against?
There’s no one that rises through the rungs of social strata that does not come across one challenge or the other. You will face challenges naturally and I believe I came across my own challenges in the political circle. Like I said, I had a soft landing because I already had a fair share and knowledgeable experience of how to deal with things in a political set up and that gave me the platform to ride on and communicate effectively. Also, because I already had a cordial relationship with most of my constituents anyway, that also gave me a soft landing to achieve the desired results. It was challenging but we overcame.
What role did your young age play in all of that process, I’m sure that must’ve been a tricky situation you had on your hands at the time?
When I started out, I started out as a political activist, basically fighting for active democracy, just like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and making sure that youth inclusion in politics was an area that needed to be paid attention to. So, I brought together a number of youths under my platform, first as Democratic Group of Nigeria which operated nationally and I was the founding president, then it metamorphosed into Revived Active Democracy Coalition Of Nigeria (RADCON) where I also served in the capacity of president for one term before I passed the position on to other people to continue from where I started so that I can focus on other areas. Now, the one positive thing which my age range brought for me was the fact that I was able to communicate with group of youths that needed to know what their involvement in politics would bring for our children. From there, I was able to ride on the platform of being an instrument of youth liberation which was my initial campaign slogan. Little did I know that when I came into the House of Assembly, I was going to be made the chairman House Committee on Youths, Sports And Social Development.
So, your young age wasn’t even a problem at the time?
No, I used it to my advantage basically.
Specifically what sort of support would you say Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, gave you during those difficult moments before you eventually got the ticket to represent your people?
Asiwaju gave me every support every father would give and I am thankful to him for where I am today. If not for him, really and truly, I may not have been able to make it this far. I am grateful for his support, for his encouragement and for his presence, which we are riding on. I pray we continue to do him proud because he is like an inspiration to the youths, not only to me as a son, but to the youths in general and I believe that we’re going to go far.
I know there’s this misconception by people that Lawmakers are supposed to embark on capital projects and turn things around drastically within their constituencies, whereas these are largely the responsibilities of the Executive, but still, you must’ve done a few things to meet the needs and yearnings of your people, can you take us through a few of them?
Yeah, technically, I believe that one of the benefits of having a representative is to receive the dividends of democracy one way or the other. Judging by what we have done in the last couple of years, I think we have been able to achieve one or two things. One of our first few achievements which was very significant and notable, was in the area of my legislation where I was able to secure and get passed two bills which are now laws of Lagos state which includes the Sports Trust Fund and the Sports Commission Fund which were passed at the same time. That was the first time we would have a new member have two bills passed at the same time, which was for me an added advantage in terms of my area of responsibility according to legitimization.
I believe that this served as some sort of inspiration to do more and that included facilitation of employment for some of my constituent members. We have been able to get a host of them employment really into the Neighbourhood Watch, LASTMA, Teaching Service Commission, some are Medical Practitioners, Nurses at the local government level, non pensionable and lots more. Other areas where they’ve been able to benefit, one way or the other, thereby getting the dividends of democracy is through micro finance empowerment for over a hundred women in the constituency and also in the area of job creation.
For the youths, we’ve been able to assist them with an Employment Enhancement Scheme for nearly over fifty youths which is like the first phase for the 500 hundred youths we’re intending to empower in terms of job creation for applicants seeking to work with private individuals, private companies. We’re in partnership with C.V. Africa, a group of companies responsible for the employment of youths in general.
Also, we’ve been able to facilitate loans with Lagos state Employment Trust Fund for both business men and women across the constituency running into millions of naira. And more are still coming, hopefully. I still have some upcoming plans to increase from five hundred to one thousand or thereabout to empower women, men and youths in terms of various areas of empowerment.
Within the House, you and Honourable Dipo are about the youngest members, how have you been able to cope sitting with much more older men who have more experience in politics than you? Perhaps you’re comfortable with situation now but at the start, what was it like for you?
Well, if you grew up with the likes of my grandmother, Alhaja Abibat Mogaji, being able to communicate with her and blend with her and you grew up in the midst of a whole lot of adults, you would know how to relate. There’s a Yoruba adage that says, ‘omode to ba mo owo we, a ba agba jeun,’ (meaning, a kid that is capable of washing his hands perfectly well will surely dine with the elders). That means once you’re able to deal with them accordingly and the respect, the perception, the reception is second to none, then you can’t have any issues relating with them. In fact, if you deal with them respectfully enough, they could even accord you the same respect they would accord an older person because, respect, they say, begets respect, and because of this, we have been able to work together effectively.
What are your impressions of the leadership style of the Speaker of the House?
Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa, I refer to him as dynamic, I refer to him as excellent, and I refer to him as pragmatic. I refer to him as a politically experienced legislator who would stop at nothing to make sure that the House of Assembly will continue to rise above every common standard of excellence in terms of legislature. And in the whole of the country, I can tell you for a fact that his leadership is one that I can say is second to none. But in as much as he’s the first among equals, we still feel as close as possible to him because he communicates effectively with everyone of us and he makes us achieve better results by collaboration and collective efforts. Collective responsibility is what gets us there and Rt. Honourable Mudashiru is one leader who exhibits such potential to be able to bring everybody together.
Is that largely the reason why there’s been no rancour within the House so far?
We came into the House of Assembly 32 members of the APC and 8 members of the PDP. Now, seven members of the PDP have decamped to APC making it a total of 39 out of 40, I think that says a lot.
Whats your take on the Governor of Lagos Akinwunmi Ambode?
In the words of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, “The Wonder Boy is performing wonders.”
A lot of people see the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as your big uncle and godfather who has contributed tremendously to your emergence and rise on the political scene, how would you describe your relationship with the Jagaban?
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is not my uncle; he is actually my father, mentor and role model. The bond between us is much more than what anyone can describe in words and we relate very closely and cordially. It may interest you to know that Asiwaju and I share the same birthday, March 29.
Right from my childhood, he has been a solid pillar of support not only for me but for the entire Mogaji/Tinubu family.
This is a man who has been there for me through thick and thin right from my infancy to adulthood. He watched me grow through the years, guided and mentored me towards a good direction in life. Without doubt I owe him a lot of gratitude and appreciation for the journey so far.
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a father like no other. He is a quintessential leader of leaders and of course a father in a trillion. To those who know where he’s coming from, this may not really come as a surprise. This is because he developed his political acumen and leadership astuteness from his mother and my maternal grandmother, the Late Alhaja (Dr) Abibatu Mogaji , the departed iconic Iyaloja-General of Nigeria.
You have all seen Asiwaju’s contributions to the development of our country, the growth of democracy and political stability in this country and across Africa. You have also seen how he carved a niche for himself as a discoverer, developer and maker of exceptional leaders. What you have seen so far, is just a tip of the iceberg compared to his capabilities, propensities and plans for Nigeria and its people. I just hope that very soon Nigeria, Africa and even the entire world will be able to tap fully from Asiwaju’s rich fountain of goodness and greatness.
A number of people call me Jagaban Junior but I always tell whoever cares to listen, that I am not even yet qualified to lace the shoes of this great man not to talk of sharing his moniker. But it suffices to say that I have drawn a lot inspiration from Asiwaju’s personal lifestyle, his leadership styles and every other part of him that qualifies him to be a great man and I believe this is something to take to the future.
There appears to be a level of political cohesion within the Ikeja progressives. What are the factors responsible for this?
Don’t forget that Ikeja is the political home and base of the oracle himself, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Having said that, we must give kudos to all our leaders in Ikeja who have been holding forth, replicating and sustaining Asiwaju’s ideals and values of progressive politics and benevolent leadership within the locality.
In Ikeja, we are not only witnessing political cohesion, we are also experiencing general progress and successes. All these are traceable to the hard work, commitment, steadfastness, maturity and exceptional leadership qualities provided by the leadership spearheaded by my own wonderful mother, the Executive Director of Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and the well-respected women leader of our party the APC in South West, Chief (Mrs) Olukemi Nelson and my boss and leader, Hon. James Abiodun Faleke as well as many other distinguished leaders across Ikeja in all cadres whom i cannot list here because of space. We sincerely appreciate their remarkable leadership qualities and pray for more successes. The followership and the people of Ikeja, especially the youth are also well commended.
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