A Frontline Aspirant seeking to represent the People of Kabba Bunu Ijumu Federal Constituency in 2023, Tokunbo Alaga Olorundami says he joined the race as a personal duty in defence of the Constituency.
Tokunbo pointed out that this is not the time for anyone to standby and do nothing when efforts should be made to better the Constituency, expressed optimism that he has what it takes for a New Dawn to be experienced in the Constituency if elected.
While noting that he is aware of the economic challenges facing the nation; he however lamented that the country does not need to have a leadership challenge, reason why it is important that people combine forces to birth a new dawn in legislative representation for the country, insisting that he has what it takes to offer quality and purposeful represention.
Tokunbo Alaga Olorundami made the disclosure in an interview with Thenigerianpost,
says his motivation to join the murky waters of politics and to seek to represent the Constituency, is because he believed that if giving the chance to serve, it will be a good start towards changing the wrong narratives and ultimately heralding an important transformation for the lives of the people of the Constituency.
The Ijumu Arin in Ijumu LGA of Kogi State born Politician says he is optimistic that by the rotational system that has been in place over the years, a peaceful and enabling Political environment, he is very much prepared for the task to offer quality represention, explaining that he started rehearsing how to offer quality represention to the people since he was16 years old.
According to Tokunbo, service to the people has always remained a big motivation for him, pointing out that it is evidenced by his antecedents over the years, promised to use the Represention if elected to cause lasting positive changes for the constituency and Nigeria at large.
Read below the Excepts of the Interview.
What special attributes and Impact do you think you desire to make different from others in the past?
Just as our finger-prints are different, no two humans are exactly the same. We all have separate spectral signatures, and obviously I will do things differently. However, in my own case, I will do things differently because I see them differently. My experience has taught and exposed me to the best use of critical logic; with this I have a clear appraisal of areas we need to urgently pay attention when we are elected. Additionally, I like to see myself as a student of the doctrine of societism, and by default, I see the common good of the community as the highest priority, without discouraging the development of individuals. One other important attribute about me is that I like to stay connected to the issues on ground and that I’m never afraid to speak up for the people. So if elected, we will not move to Abuja, we will bring Abuja to the constituency through the ethos of distinctive and intentional representation for all. This is why we have inclusive representation at the forefront of our mandate focus. A situation where our people feel like they have no one in Abuja will not arise with us. I think with me you will find that I prioritize the needs of the people I serve above all else. In my career so far, I’ve done this by asking and receiving regular feedback as well as communicating my ideas to my team before I execute. I do all of this to ensure that my decisions are well informed and are based on sound reasoning. So I will expect our Mothers and Fathers in the traditional institutions, community development groups, and youth and women groups to come into a covenant of shared accountability and leadership. By this we are bonded to deliver the mandate of the people. It’s going to be a NEW DAWN in the constituency, if given the chance to represent the people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu constituency. I say this knowing that we have economic challenges as a nation; however, we do not need to have a leadership challenge. That is why it is important that our people combine forces with us to birth a new dawn in legislative representation for our land.
What deep knowledge of Kabba Bunu Ijumu Fed Constituency do you think you know that makes you the beautiful bride?
I am not a bride at all. It is not about me, and it is about the people, our children who are born in hospital spaces that are not good enough, growing in communities with poorly motivated teachers, youths who cannot find jobs, and elders who suffer poor care in their old age due to lack of appropriate medical care and failure to pay their pensions. We need to do better, especially by understanding the use of our demographic information in planning and development. Firstly, the people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal constituency are good, honest hardworking people. I was reading a paper in the journal of African society and came across evidence that shows that Kabba province was a relevant force to recon with as far back as precolonial days and in the 1900s. However, we have seen systematic marginalisation and poor governance that has made us many steps behind other places like Lagos, Calabar, Lokoja, Badagry, Zaria, and many other towns that were relevant in the formative years of the current Nigeria. So I know from the books of history that we are a political force waiting to rise. I have imagined a legislation that will allow train system running across Okunland, an airport in and an international agro-development centre in our constituency. We are largely a farming community and if we will excel, we must start thinking about the development of an agriculture value chain for the products that we grow in our area. A lot of sons and daughters of this constituency in diaspora have gone on to do exploits in fields like medicine, law, technology, finance, you name it. We are well known as a people who take education seriously, but in recent times, we have fallen back. Some of our secondary schools only have 3 or 4 government teachers, like the one in my community. How do you expect our children to compete with their peers globally, like we are doing now? My election into office will see much difference. I believe in education as a passport to the world; my story is a classic example, seeking for more and pushing myself has opened the world to me. We can design laws to enforce a new system to cater for these issues in our homeland.
Okun people are peace loving; we quietly go about our business contributing our quota to the national economy and we are a plus to this country. But even with our amazing and significant contributions to this country, we have been underrepresented and we haven’t really felt the benefits of this country. A lot of important basic amenities that could make lives easier for our people are absent. The federal hospital or community health centres here are not average standard; schools to educate our children have been abandoned to the communities to fend for them and maintain them. Sometimes we ask ourselves what the need for a government is when we run to our Kabiyesi when we are in trouble with kidnappers and our community development groups provide water and other amenities. It has to change; we must do better. My motivation is to change this narrative in a major way through the instrumentation of laws and networking. And this is why I represent the best choice to bring real progress to the Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal constituency.
What is the delay in making Public your Political platform and does it mean you’ve never belonged to a political platform before?
A political party is a vehicle to a destination. The main issue is to make the right connections with the different community hubs and stakeholders. You know that our polity has not developed to that level where ideologies are the main drivers for political platforms. We have several great parties in Nigeria. Their modus operandi are not so different; however there are a few that are very well-grounded and operate a system where fairness and justice are upheld. So as I said earlier, my application of critical logic in all issues is responsible for this delay, I must know where I am going and the speed I need, so that I can select the best vehicle to take me there in time. So part of the evaluation of the journey is what I am currently doing, making connections with the people. But to answer your question, I have been part of a political party in the past, and I currently belong to one— you will know at the right time. I have very strong values and when I embark on any journey, these values and God are the things I take with me that help me not to falter. In choosing a platform, it is important that my values agree and I have the peace of God. Whatever platform I choose is one that shares my values and desire to put a smile on the faces of the people of this constituency. I will run on a party that understands the existential problems of Okunland, the need to be accountable, and above all, the urgency for good legislative governance in our land. I don’t believe in doing things in a rush. I want to leave a legacy of happiness and progress for the people of this constituency and I will take whatever time is necessary to make major decisions. Picking a platform is one of those major decisions.
What will you consider as priority needs of the people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu Federal Constituency if elected?
There are a number of issues I will really be in a hurry to address. Firstly, we must unlock our economic potentialities, and we are currently looking at the possibility of sponsoring bills that will give more power to the local authorities to be more economically viable. By unlocking our economy, we will be creating jobs and our youth will be gainfully employed. We will implement a sustainable empowerment system for generational wealth creation. Secondly, I personally think that the current system where our traditional leaders are considered as ceremonial cultural leaders is wrong. We must find the statutory provisions to ensure they have a seat at the local government and participate in the planning and implementation of development in their domain. That is fair and inclusive; the current system isn’t.
I think Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal constituency can really benefit from a federally funded hospital or health centre with a very strong research facility for cancer, diabetes and other illnesses killing our people. We have no federal higher education institution in Okunland. It is very wrong, for a place with such prominence in history; 1903, we were a Province. Check any other place with similar historical prominence in the Nigeria of today, they have a federal institution. We will fight for this as a matter of fairness and not just about adding to the number of institutions, we are highly educated and do need to be educated at home so we can use our skills at home. That’s part of the systematic marginalisation I was talking about. How else can you kill a place? By taking their youth out to study and naturally, they contribute to the economy of those other places. We to carefully rework the legislation for supporting our nursery and primary schools to educate our kids, this will be a priority area. Our community development groups and some of our uncles/aunties, have made contributions to support some of our secondary, but not much is done for nursery and primary schools where the formative juices of intelligent reasoning are formed. We will build standard storage facilities to help our farmers store their farm produce properly and make more money out of their hard work. As part of our constituency projects, we will secure markets and prices for all produce we grow, so that as we plant, we already know how much we get from the produce, thereby agricultural activities are seen as a business. The lack of good storage facilities has meant that the farming community in Kabba Bunu Ijumu Federal constituency are not making the most of their harvests. Because of fear of spoilage, many times our farmers have had to sell their farm produce ridiculously cheap. A federally supported system of storage will go a long way in helping our farmers make more money from their farm produce and improving their quality of life overall. This last point is very important to me: we will deliberately empower women because when you empower a woman, she will do more for the family. Our mothers are naturally inclined to defend the home. I’m not saying men will not, but we need to give our women and daughters more push to be key players in every industry.
Who really are your Political godfathers or what is the reliance that seeks to make you aspire?
Power belongs to God. The voice of the people is said to be the voice of God. Currently, our people are crying, and they deserve to have things better. A new dawn with hope rising across the land will come to pass by the grace of God. The people of Kabba- Bunu- Ijumu federal constituency are my godfathers and godmothers. They are the kingmakers, so God and the people are the ones I answer to. I do not have any other Godfather I answer to or that I will prioritize if elected. This is a pact I am making with the people. When I say the people, I need you to understand, I refer to the old, young, educated, uneducated, elites, professional, mothers, fathers, children, all the real people who sincerely want a better space to do life.
What is the difference your representation will make in the lives of women and Youth?
If elected, the women and youths of Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal Constituency will realize they get to participate more in governance. We will listen to them through our ward legislative plugins, and through the town-hall meetings which will hold every quarter. We will deploy a system for harnessing the collective brilliance of our youth through the enhancement of funding to community youth groups to support their programmes and student union groups. We will explore ways for economic emancipation of the youths of this constituency through infrastructural development, technology, agriculture and transportation, all students of the constituency who graduate with a 1st class will be supported to pursue higher studies at home and overseas— this is special to me. A lot of our youths are unemployed and worklessness is also an issue I find disturbing in our area, securing federal intervention to help alleviate this menace is going to be a key focus if elected. And like I said earlier, we will be seeking federal government intervention in form of a hospital or health centres with standard facilities. This will serve our women and everyone with the quality health care they deserve.
What is your take on the Electoral Act seeking Amendments and its controversy?
The two major points of discussion from the Electoral Act are direct primaries and electronic transmission. We are long overdue for these moves. We claim to be the largest economy in Africa but we have kept our electoral system in a state that exposes electioneering to thieves, charlatans, and miscreants. Whatever is decided must move our electoral system forward and not backward. Electronic transmission of results to a central database managed nationally is the best way to ensure that the security and integrity of those data are preserved, and to bring transparency to the process. I also don’t believe that there is any reason to be afraid of direct primaries. If you have served the people, you should be confident in what they have to say about your performance. I believe the president should sign these amendments to the Electoral Act, it should serve as a parting legacy of his time in office. On whether the National Assembly should veto the Electoral Amendment Bill, I will simply say the House must also be reminded that it’s allegiance firstly to Nigerians that got them into office.
How prepared are you for dirty politics in our clime and how fortified are you?
I am afraid I am not prepared for dirty politics. I assure you, Nigeria politics is a good mix of good and bad or dirty as you may want to see it. I will associate with the good and work with our people. Like I said earlier, my only business in government is the needs of the people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal constituency and I will do all it takes to ensure that much needed relief is brought for my people. After this, I will not be too interested in any other shenanigans that come with the territory. I am a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, I am filled with His Spirit that guides me daily. I carry fire and God’s angel army watches over me. I trust Goodness and Mercy to follow me every day and everywhere I go. God is the only fortification I have and as long as I have His go ahead and the backing of the people of my constituency, I’m good to go.
What is your greatest appeal to the people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu Fed Constituency ahead 2023?
My biggest appeal to the people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal constituency is to vote their interests in this election. This time around, think about yourself and your children; if they bring gifts and money, collect it, but vote your interest. We have had episodes of politicians who come to make empty promises, share money and then when elected they forget about the people that voted for them. The needs of the people of this constituency have been left behind as a result. So going to this election, I want to appeal to the people of Kabba Bunu Ijumu federal constituency to actually listen to their politicians, ask questions, and come Election Day, vote for the person they believe will best represent and defend their interests in government. I can only hope that they will find me worthy.
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