What LAGOS Speaker Told We The New Lawmakers

• Hon. OLADIPO AJOMALE, OSHODI-Isolo Lawmaker

Right now, one of the brightest lawmakers making waves at the Lagos House of Assembly is Honourable Oladipo Ajomale. He is the lawmaker representing Oshodi-Isolo Constituency II. He is a lawyer by training and he also happens to be the son of one of APC’s political juggernauts in Lagos State, a man widely respected for his intelligence and refined style of politics, Chief Henry Ajomale. Chief Ajomale is a former chairman of APC in Lagos and he is currently a member of the prestigious highest decision making body in Lagos State, the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC).

Few weeks ago, City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) and NIFEMI KAZEEM had a one hour conversation with the very brilliant Honourable Oladipo Ajomale. He took us through his experience so far in the Lagos House of Assembly since the take off of his first term a few months ago. Enjoy excerpts.

You do not cut the picture of a rugged looking regular politician, so tell us, what prepared you to face all of the stormy weather that comes with politics which your dad was concerned about at the time you were starting out as a politician?

Okay, I will say just like my father, when I make up my mind to go for something, I always succeed at it. I’m a goal-getter. There’s really nothing you put in front of me that I will not give my one hundred percent to try and achieve. Asides that, like I said earlier, I was one of those persons who was complaining in the background, saying to the government, why are these things done this way, why not the other way, without understanding some of the processes and the procedures. So, these are some of the things that motivated me and kept me going. Asides that, I have lots of family members and friends who believe so much in my ability and quality to deliver, so I couldn’t let them down. I was someone who insisted and I’m still someone who insists on changing the outlook of politics and politicians generally.

I had a conversation with a friend who was complaining about this and that and I said, so, what do you want to do about it? You’re popular here, why don’t you try and be in a position where authoritatively, you can change some of these things and he said, ah, I can’t go through all that stress of going about trying to convince people, going to market to talk to market women who are not educated and I’m like that’s the idea. You want something to be different and you’re not putting yourself in a position to make it different, just because of these hurdles and challenges. I mean, these are the people you want to represent, they’re Lagosians, they’re Nigerians, just like you, so why would you sit down in one place and say they’re not worth your time. That’s why you find in some places where people who are not qualified end up in positions of authority. So, they’re not educated enough, they’re not smart enough, they’re not exposed enough, they have no idea what they’re supposed to do with that position, so they end up messing up the whole thing. But the ones who are educated, who have the quality of leadership, will avoid it because you don’t want to talk to market people or uneducated people, and yet you’re the one who’s supposed to help their lives to be better. So, these are some of the things that I had at the back of my mind and I said, you know what, come rain, come shine, whatever it takes, let’s try and make things different. Let’s do things differently. These are the things that motivated me and kept me through the stormy weather to ensure I’m where I am today and by the grace of God, I’m still going to go higher.

So, share with us, how has it been for you since the last couple of months that you got here? Before now, you were probably looking in from the outside and identifying changes you would like to make once you get here, so you’re in now, how has the experience been so far?

First thing, I will speak in two parts. First one is internally, within the house itself here, and it will come from a personal perspective because I can’t really speak for the entire house itself. And then I will speak part two based on my politics and my constituency. Part one, which is the house itself, I cannot appreciate the Speaker enough. You know, from the get go of winning the primaries and everything, he immediately called those of us who had not been in the system or anything, he showed us what leadership is. He invited us in, showed us the duties that are expected of an Assembly member. One thing I will never forget, and he says it till tomorrow, you are not coming to this house to make money because there is no money here. If you are not ready to put in the work, please, you might as well just step down from the position you’re in now and don’t contest at all. So, I had that at the back of my mind because I held it. I’m not even one who was thinking along those lines, I thank God that I was comfortable even before coming to the house. I may not have it all, but I was able to feed my family and that was good. So, when we got in and seeing the scope of work, the scope of our duties, the diligence, the integrity that this house holds, it was totally different from what I was expecting. People believe that because they call you honourable, huge amounts of money come with it, no, it’s nothing like that, there’s a lot of work we do in the house.

There are three major duties or responsibilities here, which are one, the lawmaking aspect. That one, people will not understand, it does take time and takes a lot of pain because you consider so many factors before you can bring out any bill. So, now I realise why you find members who have passed through the system for four years and they are only able to raise one bill. But the process in getting there is not just as easy as saying this is what I want to do and then you put it together, no. You have to work withy a team, consider so many advantages and disadvantages considering it could affect lives positively or negatively, so it’s a lot. And due to the Speaker’s leadership qualities and skills, we are one team, we are one family in the house. He doesn’t put one person above the others even though we have ranking members, he still gives you the opportunity to express yourself. I am one of the few newcomers, I am able to speak on the floor because of my experience as a lawyer, maybe because I can face judges and all that, but I am able to speak on the floor and he helps you. So, maybe you’re speaking on and you start to make some mistakes, he guides you from the top there. He’s not supposed to but that’s the leadership in him. He will guide you that, is this what you’re trying to say and you correct yourself because sometimes it can be mentally draining, I won’t even lie to you. So, its been a fantastic couple of months, I mean, I’m grateful to God for being here, but we’re most grateful to God for having someone like the Rt. Honourable Mudashiru Obasa as the Speaker because he’s a fantastic mentor.

Then, the part B, my constituency. There’s a lot expected. You’ve made a lot of campaign promises, even though I am one who always wants to be careful with the promises I make, I ensured that stood diligently in my manifesto and everything, things I know that a legislator can literally achieve. I wasn’t one person going about saying I would do boreholes, I would do roads, I would do drainages, because you’re not in the Executive. You don’t have the budget. you don’t have the finances, that’s not what you’re here for. I said three major responsibilities, which is lawmaking, and there’s the oversight functions, which is to ensure that executive sticks to the budget you have approved for it and they are accountable for it. And the third thing, which is in line with my part two, is representation. You’re responsible for your constituents. So, whatever it is that is called development, in any way, you must ensure that you’re fighting to be sure that your constituents is carried along and that’s where the battle is. I’m trying as much as possible to do the best I can to ensure they have quality representation and the things they need. Majority of what we lack is infrastructural development in my constituency. The roads are in pretty bad shape and I’m hoping that from next year when we have the new budget in place we can ensure that some of these roads are done. Apart from some of the agricultural and educational projects, I am already partnering with people who are already in this field and are willing to give back to the system. So, I’m working with some teams, some companies and corporate individuals who are willing to support and partner with me on this. So there’s a lot, but as a young man who is still hoping to climb the ladder even higher, and like I said, I’m goal-getter, so for my manifesto, I must achieve ninety eight percent if I don’t even achieve anything at all. And that two percent will just be because its not possible but if it’s possible, we will definitely achieve it.