I had the rare privilege to meet the member representing Ijumu State constituency in the Kogi State house of assembly sometime in 2017. Then he was yet to be elected into the house. He was still struggling to put his team together. What irked me about him was his intelligence, humility, and sense of humor. I will leave that story for another day.
Fast forward to October 2018, Honorable Kilani won the APC party ticket to contest in the general election (not without travails and tribulations of course). The general election was marred with drama from several oppositions from the opposing parties and their candidates but Kilani’s candor and manifestoes stood him out and provided him the opportunity to smooth-sail into the hallowed chamber. A die-hard GYBist, Kilani’s political and personal artistry, coupled with support from the youths and women, saw him triumph and catapulted him into the hallowed chamber of the state house of assembly to represent the people he loves.
Then came the court cases. Divergent court proceedings; from the tribunal to the appeal court, Kilani defeated his adversaries. While these unfortunate events were in full swing, Kilani never deterred. He quickly mobilized and roll out motions on the floor of the HoA. Without being distracted, he rolled out his first empowerment program that benefitted women from across all districts within the constituency. The court cases lasted for 8 months. Most leaders would have chickened and drench with uncertainties about the outcome and their fate. Kilani never caved into a panic mood.
Let’s take a deep dive into some of his achievements thus far:
1. *Efficient Legislation*
A major hallmark of a state legislator is to pursue and drive the process of effective bills, motions, and prayers that will not only benefit the people of his constituents but the state generally. In this, Honorable Kilani stood aloft his peers in the hallowed chamber of Kogi State House of Assembly. Within the first two years in office, Honorable Kilani has presented eight (8) motions of urgent public importance one of which is calling on the state government to look into the high rate of kidnapping along obajana-kabba road in which the state government promptly heeded his call. The rest, they say, is history. Empirical evidence shows that the rate of kidnapping along the said road has abated significantly.
More importantly, Kilani sponsored two bills in his 2years in office. One was on waste management and the other on tourism with both bills passed through the second reading. The next stage is the public hearing and then the third and final reading. An effort is accelerated to lobby his excellency to quickly assent to those bills immediately they pass the third and final reading. When assented to, the laws will create jobs for the youths while contributing to improving the state IGR. A critical look at the geographical features like hills, mountains, and the confluence easily pass for sources of tourism money and job creation when invested in. A law backing the reorganization of the tourism board, into a full-fledged income-generating agency backed by budget, will no doubt guarantee this.
2. *Empowerment: Improving Livelihoods and Household Income*
While most Legislators have left the business of empowering the poor and vulnerable (P&V) in their constituents in the hands of the executive, honorable Kilani distinguished himself with an exceptional display of philanthropic gestures. Drenched in legal battles over his victory at the polls, Kilani was not distracted. Driven by his passion to put smiles on the faces of vulnerable and indigent youths, he swung to action.
– Honorable Kilani, from personal money, empowered widows and other women in Ijumu. A cash grant was given to these women to improve their micro trades. A total of 53 women from three (3) districts in the Ijumu constituency were each given one grinding machine (one woman per polling unit). By so doing, Kilani empowered at least one woman from all 53 polling units in Ijumu LGA. What a feat!
– During the covid-19 pandemic and the general lockdown that greeted it, honorable Kilani gave his 3 months’ salary to indigent households, mostly affected by the enforced lockdown. These are people who depend on daily streams of income whenever they go out to work. For 3 months, Kilani managed and survived on other sources of income while ensuring selected families can afford to buy food and meet basic family needs.
3. *Education*
If you know honorable Kilani, you will know his love for education is non-negotiable. Having been a beneficiary of education subsidy and scholarship himself, Kilani ensured to give back to students from his constituency. Charity they say begins at home. Hence, the good legislator started this at the home front by paying for the school fees of 100 students from his hometown in Ayere. This kind gesture was met with mixed feelings. While many supporters geared and applaud the man, others were desirous of why such gestures could not be circulated to other parts of the constituency.
As a man who maintains an open-door policy, Kilani rallied personal resources and paid for JAMB registration forms for 60 students who are aspiring to attend higher institutions. It is worthy of note that some of these students would not have had the opportunity to sit for the examinations but for the philanthropic gesture of their representative, they had a shot at attending a higher institution which will enable them to obtain relevant qualifications and training to become useful to the society.
4. *Community Development*
“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much” – Helen Keller. These are the words that act as catalysts to the man, honorable Kilani when it comes to community development. Even before venturing into politics, Kilani has been a staunch supporter of communities within Ijumu LGA, in Abuja, and in the United Kingdom where he resides. In 2021, honorable Kilani donated a sum of N300,000 to accelerate the completion of the Ijumu Development Union (IDU) secretariat which is under construction. This is in addition to other moral and friendly support the association, and others like it, enjoy from him. Kilani equally supported other communal collective efforts in cash and kind. He is an astute supporter and bedrock for Ijumu’s traditional system and leaders. This he demonstrated by gifting traditional rulers customized diaries and a refrigerator last Christmas. Unlike some politicians, Kilani commands respect but ensures this is reciprocated. His love and respect for traditional rulers are well spoken of.
5. *A staunch believer and supporter of the “GYB” 2 “PYB” vision and a core Progressive*
One of Kilani’s known attributes is his loyalty to the party, the party leadership, and the excos as well as being a known crusader of the GYB2PYB project. This was demonstrated when he contributed to support logistics when the members of Kogi State House of Assembly paid courtesy calls to some states to create awareness and solicit the support of fellow assembly members.
Kilani exhibited his love for the party by paying for the rent of the Ijumu APC secretariat, from personal money. His penchant and altruistic disposition cum belief in the GYB project are non-debatable. It was Charles Jones who said, “Loyalty is something you give regardless of what you get back, and in giving loyalty, you’re getting more loyalty; and out of loyalty flow other great qualities”. These very words properly describe the man Olusola Kilani Olumo.
In one of his speeches, Kilani said “while we take a mild walk through the travails of life, we should always be mindful of the great beyond and examine ourselves; how many lives have we touched and influence to succeed. While others came into politics for personal aggrandizement, my passion is driven by a sense of service to humanity”. Kilani is a man who did all these in just two years…you heard right; two years in office as state house of assembly member. What more can he do if given higher responsibility and more time? Your guess is as good as mine.
I close with the quote from John Holmes, author of “THE LONGEST WAR” & THE COMIC STRIP “POWERPOINT RANGER” *“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”*
*God bless Ijumu State Constituency*
*God bless Kogi State*
*God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria*
LANRE OBALAJA
Senior Legislative Assistant to Honorable Olusola Kilani Olumo
Kogi State House of Assembly,
Lokoja, Kogi state
*Written this day Saturday 17th October 2021*