Life As A Female Lawmaker In LAGOS

•Hon. MOJISOLA MERANDA Tells City People

She is one of the finest female Lawmakers at the Lagos State House of Assembly. And she is one of the most respected too. Honourable Mojisola Lasbat Meranda is the Lawmaker representing Apapa Constituency 1. She is by nature an extremely simple woman. She is not loud. She keeps her things simple. And this includes her dress sense which she likes to keep as modest as possible too. But still, you cannot miss the touch of quality in anything she wears. From the fabrics she wears to her shoes and the bags she carries, they all ooze nothing but high quality. But Hon. Mojisola will be quick to tell you that’s not what she is all about. She is more concerned about her performance as a legislator and the dividends of democracy that she has been able to bring to her people who have voted for her for two straight terms now.

Popularly called ‘MJ’ by her friends and close associates, this beautiful woman was born into the popular Akapo family in Lagos. Her father was late Chief Taoreed Akanni Lawal Akapo. He was also a Legislator at the local level before he became the Ojora of Lagos, while her mum is from the popular Oniru family in Lagos. She is a grounded politician and an accomplished one at that, although she doesn’t show it one bit. She’s a very quiet and private person who likes to operate without the usual crowd and noise that accompany most politicians. She started her political career with Dr. Olumuyiwa Gbadegesin, he was with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu during his tenure. He was the SSA on Information Technology and it was with him that she started her career professionally. She worked with him and they were together before Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu moved him to the Land Information System Support Unit where he served as the Director under the office of the Surveyor-General. After working briefly with a private organization, she worked as the SSA on Intergovernmental Relations to the then Chairman of Apapa Local Government, Hon. Ayodeji Joseph, before her elevation as Supervisory Councilor for Health in Apapa where she did exceedingly well. Hon. Mojisola stunned everyone when she contested and won the mandate to represent her people in Apapa Constituency 1 as a Lawmaker at the Lagos state House of Assembly. But those who know this very focused and strong-willed woman would tell you they were not the least surprised about her achievements because she has earned the right to be where she is today. City People Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290), engaged the very warm and easy-to-talk-to Lawmaker two weeks ago and she opened up on her thoughts on the clamour for Asiwaju to contest for president come 2023. Her desire and commitment to the Tinubu 2023 project was evident all through the duration of the interview. Enjoy the excerpts.

A lot of people have different impressions of Asiwaju. Before you met him in person,what kind of petrson did you think he was?

Well, before I got to meet Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, I have always admired him from afar. I also knew one or two people that were and are still close to him, so through them, I got to know a lot more about Asiwaju, even as far back as the NADECO period. And from the bits and pieces I was able to learn about him, one thing stood out, and that’s the fact that this man is for the masses. All he ever wanted was for democracy to thrive and succeed in Nigeria, even if it meant he would have to pay the ultimate sacrifice for it.

So, when you finally got to meet him, what qualities about him stood out for you?

We have not had that opportunity to sit down and talk one on one but I have been around him with other people. But you know, when you’re around someone and you see the kind of people surrounding him, how he has invested so much in people, not minding their tribe or religion, it speaks volumes about him. And that’s also one of the things I admire about Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He does not discriminate. He is not a religious bigot. He draws everyone to himself, regardless of the tribe you’re from or the religion you practice.

How much are you looking forward to seeing Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinibu become president of Nigeria?

Well, I am so excited, really excited at the prospect of seeing our national leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu becoming the president of Nigeria and I pray that God Almighty makes this dream come true. Believe me, he is a very rare being and not many people know this. He can sacrifice his own personal gains for other people to rise. It’s very rare to see someone like that. For most politicians, it’s usually about themselves first before anyone else. But when you now have someone who is saying let my ambitions or aspirations sit down first. It’s very rare to come by such people in this part of the world. I can only pray that God grants his heart’s desire. Asiwaju has invested so much in building people who have become top and distinguished personalities today and are grateful to him for all he’s done for them. So, this clamour for Asiwaju to be president is like a payback time for him from people who have benefitted immensely from his large heart.  

Everyone knows that Asiwaju is a Master strategist when it comes to overcoming political obstacles, how confident are you that he will indeed overcome all of the stumbling blocks before him come 2023?

To be honest, I’m very confident about him becoming the next president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria come 2023. Let’s be honest with ourselves, this man has paid his dues. He more than deserves to occupy the highest office in the land. Let me even ask, those that are antagonizing him, how many people have they invested in? How many people have they been able to pull out of poverty? How many people have they sacrificed for? Apart from members of their families, and perhaps their kinsmen in the village, how many lives have they touched and turned around for good? This man has paid his dues across Nigeria, not only in Lagos, not only in the South-West, he has touched lives in every region of the country. And then, again, he has the structure and the human capacity to become whatever he wants to become in Nigeria. Many of those people you hear saying nonsense about him cannot even win local government elections in their villages if they give them the opportunity. Some cannot even win their polling booths. And these are the people running their mouths? What are we talking about? Asiwaju that those that have not even met him are also clamouring for him to run. Clearly, that shows the kind of person he is. Remember the man left governance over twenty years ago and he’s still very relevant. Where are most of the people with whom he started? That shows a whole lot about the man, that he is unique, different from the rest and far and above all the others who are also jostling for the presidency come 2023. I am very confident that if he becomes the president of this great country, he will turn Nigeria around for good.

What do you admire the most about Asiwaju?

His doggedness. He is a very determined person once he makes up his mind to do something. I also love the fact that he operates an open door policy. Once you can find your way to his residence, and you get to meet with him, then be rest assured you will come out with a solution to your problem. That’s a guarantee. And even if you don’t meet him, part of the problem will still be solved.

What do you think is Asiwaju’s greatest strength going into the 2023 presidential elections?

It’s people. He has an enormous amount of people around him. With the structure he has built across board and even beyond the shores of this country, that is where his strength lies. He has tremendous amount of people who are ready to go all out to support him. People, structure, massive structure all across the country, that is his strength.

I am always impressed by the confidence you often exude when you speak and your knowledge of how politics runs in this part of the country. But I am sure things couldn’t have run all smoothly for you from the start. Haver there been some very difficult moments when you were forced to start giving a second thought to your political aspirations and actually thought of quitting?

Yeah, there was. We actually had well organized primaries before I emerged as the party’s flag bearer in 2015. But before the primaries, you face all sorts of people. People would come out to harass you, talk you down, try to intimidate, but I knew where I was heading to and didn’t allow any form of intimidation to pull me down. I continued to meet with people, engage them in discussions and tried to ignore the intimidations. But you know, because I’m human, there were times I looked at the whole situation and actually thought of backing out. But when I remember the plans I have for my people, the dreams I want to actualize, I would resolve not to let all of that become stumbling blocks to me.

Don’t you feel intimidated sometimes by the fact most times you have to contend with men?  

Of course, not. I am not intimidated in any way. I have become used to it. Definitely, the men will try to intimidatew you. The way they look at women in power is unfortunate to say the least. When we have some issues to discuss and you hear statements like “Se bi obinrin le yin” (aren’t you just a lady?) You know what used to strike me a lot about the question was what being a woman had to do with it. We all contested for the same offices, so, what are they talking about? What I spent for my election might be different from theirs but, we all went out there to contest, not that because we are females, we just sat down and they brought the ticket for us. Everyone of us fought for his or her ticket and I earned my place in office.