As the Local Government election in Lagos State draws near, aspirants are working hard to market themselves. In this interview with Engr. Opeyemi Eniola Abodunrin, an aspirant for the chairmanship position who is a vibrant, intelligent and experienced engineer with not less than 20 years of administrative experience in both public and private sectors, he expresses his readiness to revolutionize Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area, LCDA with outlined programmes if given the mandate. Ibrahim Quadri Reports Excerpts:
Can we meet you?
I am Engr. Opeyemi Eniola Abodunrin, well known as Comrade Integrity, right from my University days which I still maintain till today in all my dealings. I am a descendant of Larinkan Shoberu in Ajah, Abeji Royal Family of Ogombo – Idowu Bakare lineage to be precised, a prince of Olufunmi Eshinlokun and Atewolara of Okun Alfa. I was introduced to this life close to five decades ago where the word close represents an integer between 1 and 5. I leave the simple arithmetic for all that care to solve. I am a graduate of Civil Engineering from the Premier University of Ibadan, it is worthy of note, that I am a proud Zikite, from Baluba Kingdom. I graduated in March 2005 with a Second Class Honours, and I have worked as a Trainee Management staff, as a project Engineer, as Project Supervisor, as a project manager and as an Engineering consultant throughout the six geopolitical zones of this country till date. I have worked in the private and equally in the public sectors.
As regard the forthcoming local government election in Lagos State, why do you consider yourself worthy and special to wear that cap as local government chairman of Eti-Osa East LCDA?
Thanks so much, today what this country needs is a man of integrity, a man who is really ready to serve the people, and I am someone that has been serving my people right from my university days. My service started when I became president of Etiosa Indigenous Students Association in 2001. In Eti-Osa, people consider us not being learned, through a students’ association which I was privileged to lead as National President, I, along with my revolutionary team revived and gave life to the association that was almost dead. Today, EISA is doing very well. We launched out and sourced for GCE forms and JAMB forms to complement the traditional free extra moral classes normally held during the long vacation of the secondary school students, so we started looking for sponsors here and there, to get us these forms and during my tenure as the National president we were able to get many students admissions into different universities, polytechnics and colleges of education across Nigeria, so that we can have large number of our younger ones going to school and in turn become useful to the society. The intention was that when we have the large number of the people educated we would have lesser criminals, lesser vagabonds in the society. So having been doing that, and if you have a capable hand, somebody who is ready to serve to be at the helms of affairs, you would see that a lot of things would be done. In our local government we need to look into the issue of environment, we need to look into transportation and traffic flow; we need to look into the issue of security; we need to have a government that will be accessible; we need to come together, collaborate together to deliver the best of service or what we called dividend of democracy to the grassroots and I think I am in the best position to do that, having navigated both private and public sectors within 20 years of active service.
Considering your pedigree, why did it take you so long to aspire for the position of chairman?
This is not the first time I am vying for this same position. In political setting, there is always a kind of zoning system or political leadership interest or seniority which often doesn’t translate having the best for the job at hand. I was appointed by a seasoned administrator, Alhaji Owolabi Yisa Imam, a two time chairman of this LCDA as secretary to the local government between 2012 and 2014, when the election of 2015 came, I eventually threw up myself for the post, but political leaders eventually prevailed on me and a former Vice Chairman, Hon Rafiu Olufunmi of blessed memory was anointed. The zoning arrangement was not coming to my ward, rather it was going to ward B, so eventually the then vice chairman got the ticket and eventually became the chairman. Unfortunately he couldn’t make the second term but died after a brief illness. So now as a practising Civil Engineer, I know, the best way to go about infrastructural development, with little available fund or generated IGR, I know how to utilize what we have. When I was secretary to the local government, we used to have meetings with the estates, we know what their problems were. We can eventually come together in PPP. I tell you if a local government is being sincere, then people will like to partner with you. You see, it is not all the time you need money to do a project, sometimes you just need to create an awareness to tell the people, this is what we intend to do, can we come together? Can we share idea together? When we are talking about environment, yes, it requires money but awareness would go a long way to eventually make people to keep their environment clean and nice. We don’t need a mediocre to be at the helms of affairs, we need, at this time somebody who is sound, affable, somebody who you can easily connect, and the person can easily connect with the public irrespective of the class, irrespective of who you are, the chairman should be able to reach out to everybody. We will run an open door system, whereby we will not even keep anything from the public, this is what we are doing, this is what we intend to do, we want people to come with their ideas, I am not going to be chairman whereby my interest will be to create wealth for my personal selfish interest rather it will be for the uplifting of our dear LCDA and her people. These days, people want to become chairmen and then amass wealth belonging to the people, forgetting that, that seat is not meant for them alone, it is meant for millions of people, but one person will be a representative, so I am going to be the representative chairman who will serve diligently.
What programmes do you have for women and children and the marginalized?
Yes, thank you so much. Women and youths are part of my policy focus. If you look at women today, if our women are empowered, you would see that our society would breed less criminals, you see what they needed is just to empower them. What are we going to do? We are not going to look at it from party faithful alone, we are going to look at the market, the artisans, we look at them, then we empower them, from the local government allocations, at least, in each quarter, if we can make available N100m for 100 people to empower them, I think it will go a long way. When you are saying poverty alleviation and you are giving somebody N100,000, what will N100,000 do? But if you are able to give N1 million to a person, either in form of a loan, that is okay, we are going to give N1 million, you are going to refund after one year by installment, you see, they would be able to use it, but let’s be frank, if we are giving N1m to whoever, he or she will be able to start a trade. Even if the person is owing children’s school fees of N100,000, N200,000 or is owing somebody to the tune of N300,000, he can use N300,000 to address what I assume to be debts and the remaining N700,000, he can go into whatever they want to sell, and I think with God the N700,000 can turn to something profitable. Therefore, I intend every quarter to empower a minimum of hundred women and artisans with N1 million each to eradicate or alleviate poverty, that is what I have in mind for women and artisans.
The present chairman in office now, what are those things he is not doing well which you feel you can do better?
Thank you so much, the incumbent chairman when he came in, personally, I rated him high, he was doing well, in the area of traffic flow particularly at the exit of Ajah Bridge. After some time, the traffic returned. I would review the situation and redesign the traffic flow within the axis. And in the area of security, he did well, because we had a lot of unrest, the cult guys, the rivalry cult killing, but he took the bull by the horns, he put a lot of security measures in place and then we have a lot of calm even up to this present moment. The issue of security, I give it to him. But there are more to be done as some people believe the calm was selective and biased. When we are fighting security, we eventually instil fears into these cult guys, a lot of them are jobless now, they cannot even move from one place to another, people from Badore cannot come to Ajah, people from Ajah cannot go to Addo, some people cannot even go to Sangotedo. We would eventually look for a programme that will educate them to renounce their cultism and then inject them back to the society fully whereby they will have the freedom to move and then go to their work. Then we can eventually have some kind of job training for them, and then we empower them, one way or the other. Some of them learnt furniture, some barbing, they have different kinds of jobs because I met some of them and discussed with them, and what I intend to do is to reintroduce them back into the society, get them empowered and make sure we eradicate cultism in whatever name it is.
Though you have touched on many of the issues, but my concern is the issue of zoning which you referred to earlier, is the chairmanship zoned to your area now? Secondly, you talked about the indigenous children you collaborate to train, are these people backing you in this race?
As far as I am concerned, the zoning favours me right now. The current chairman is from ward A, Ajah, and he has just done one term, so we have a minimum of a tenure, which the people are clamouring that the same position still be retain in Ajah ward where I am vying from. The whole of Eti-osa East people are anticipating for me to be the chairman, I have been getting support from every angle, from Ogombo, Addo, Langbasa, Badore, Ajah, everywhere people have been clamouring for my candidature. You see, I am a professional, I am not just venturing into politics because of the influence or the affluence associated with the office but I want to serve diligently and deliver dividends of democracy to the people accordingly. I am a well-known philanthropist, and I am well known man of the people, at any point in time, I am not a poverty ridden person just coming to amass wealth for himself, No! I want to really serve the people, and bring the dividends of democracy to the table for everybody to see. It is going to be something everybody is going to see clearly. As we witness in Lagos Island, Agboyi Ketu, Kosofe, Ibeju Lekki and others, the way they are performing that is the way we are going to see. Ibeju Lekki close to us here, we can see development. One thing people know about engineers, engineers are good administrators when it comes to politics. There is no where you see them being at the helms of affairs that they don’t perform excellently. So mine is not going to be an exception, I am going to be a performing team player. People will see and I would adhere to my party manifestos. I am going to ensure that I balance both politics and administration without fear or undue favour.
What are you telling your supporters and followers as you go into the election?
Yes, I just want to tell them that, they should be calm, they should not be too aggressive, this position I believe with God, I will emerge as the candidate of the party, and then we are not going to disappoint those who believe in us. The leadership of the party, they are aware that I am qualified, that I am capable, educationally, politically and administrative wise. I am capable of handling the position effectively and I want to take the local government to a greater height. Our LCDA is positioned to be rated among the best 10 performing Local government if voted in. We have a lot of job opportunities waiting for our unemployed youths. When I was young, I grew up in the mainland, nobody sank borehole, it was the government that provided pipe borne water. As an engineer, with N40 million, I will provide an industrial pipe borne water that will be cleaner than most sachet water popularly called pure water that they are selling around and I will make sure I connect more than 100 houses in each developing villages. And once I do it in Ajah, I would repeat same in Shangotedo, I will do in Ogombo, Oke- IRA, IRA nla, Addo and its environs and the resettlement scheme. There are some villages that will require two or more industrial boreholes, in fact that will be a major thing I am going to do, water, to every house within the first 6 months in office, then light up some of the major roads with quality solar panel lighting, particularly from Ajah to Badore to Langbasa, they will be lit up, from 7 O’clock till morning, there will be light, once we have light, it will serve as security measure in the first place, then crime will be reduced and once we have light along the road, you will hardly see refuse being dumped indiscriminating. I want to make sure that during my tenure from Ajah to Langbasa, to Badore will be clean. And the same thing applies to the main Express, I will work with our CDCs and CDAs to foster clean environment.
What plans do you have to eradicate drugs dealing in the communities; youths indulging in drugs, it is all over Lagos, what are you going to do to address it?
You see, like it is said, an idle hand is a devil’s workshop. We really need to do a lot of job on these youths, first we need to have collaboration with NDLEA and some NGOs to organize series of symposia, workshops and sporting activities. Also we are going to tackle the issue from the root, from the people that are selling these drugs themselves, we need to look at it. If you look at each village, you see that those who are selling the drugs, they are not spirit but human beings, it is just to identify them and we make them to understand that we don’t want that again, then when we start from the root, we come back to the youth, we enlighten them, educate them, we will invest into sports. We are going to have small centres in different communities, where we will have indoor games such as table tennis, draft, monopoly, chess, scrabble and more. The office of the supervisor for youth and sports would be seriously engaged to get our youth back on track. We will build it, we source for land, I trust myself, I will look for land in each village, in each town, build it and well furnished, and equipped, put people that will be selling snacks and soft drinks at subsidized rate. Anybody can come to the place to relax; our youths will be direct beneficiaries of what we are doing. At least we have a place we can go, when there is no light, they can go there, we are going to provide resource centre with internet and WiFi connection, whereby they can have their laptops and phones connected for academic and research purposes.
