Senator Adeseun as legislative benchmark: Clarion call to better his best
Femi OGUNLANA
Nigeria’s Fourth Republic starting 1999 is the longest and hopefully there won’t be need for Fifth Republic in the country. Thank God anyway military rule has become an anathema throughout the world.
Complexities, interplay of forces, strategic relationship, negotiating power and of course luck form part of factors that characterize the political milieu and dictate the rhythm of events. The full gamut of politics runs alternately between possibilities and impossibilities manifesting in volumes of accomplishments by individual politicians, and constitute the basis for determining high and low performers. Therefore, the amount and value of dividends (of democracy) that emanate from the partisan political participants will be the barometer of their assessment individually and how history will place them.
Unarguably, Senator Chief Ayoade Adeseun stands ahead and alone in the hierarchy of the lawmakers that most positively impacted Ogbomoso zone since 24 years ago when this republic was kicked to life. In terms of facilitation of developmental projects and enduring legacies none measures up to the man popularly called “Solar.”
He represented Surulere/Ogo-Oluwa federal constituency between 2003 and 2011, emerging as Chairman House Committee on Appropriation during his second stint (2007-2011). He then “upgraded” to a lawmaker of the Red Chamber of the National Assembly by representing Oyo Central senatorial district between 2011 and 2015. Those 12 years he was federal legislator he used to cement his status as the greatest to have represented any constituency within Ogbomoso zone. This is on the strength of his achievements in the years especially when he was Chairman, Appropriation Committee. He effectively and efficiently utilized the advantages conferred by the position to accomplish significant things for his constituency, nay Ogbomoso zone. Many were the projects and infrastructure he influenced but the most significant are the Navy Secondary School, Iresaapa, and the Federal Polytechnic, Ayede; he instigated, facilitated and coordinated both to existence whose operations are now in full swing. The National Youth Development Centre at Iresaapa which he likewise facilitated but hitherto moribund has suddenly also become useful, as its availability ensured the early take off of the Ayede Polytechnic. Of the six federal polytechnics established by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2021, only Ayede Polytechnic has begun academic activities. Meanwhile, the appreciation for this also goes to the efforts by the late Soun of Ogbomoso Oba Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III and other indigenes who all rallied to ensure final approval and smooth take off of the polytechnic. This is not to talk of the national skill acquisition centre and the several federal government funded investment outfits at Onipaanu, roads constructions, solar lights (which gave him the nickname ‘Solar’), empowerment schemes and many others he implanted.
The Navy Secondary School and the Ayede Polytechnic are now “job cows” and lubricating the economy of Ogbomoso zone. All these will be to his eternal credit and have made his performance as benchmark against which succeeding lawmakers will be measured. So far in this clime, no one comes near him.
Though engineering laws capable of igniting better life for the citizens is the primary purpose of a lawmaker and not project execution but the peculiar Nigerian situation has made projects facilitation to one’s constituency imperative, the same way fixing employments for the youths and adults alike and making one’s constituency focus of growth and development are. A lawmaker or political office holder generally who excels in purveying these will build highways into his people’s hearts and immortalize him/herself.
Adeseun combines focus with grit, courage, bluntness, straightforwardness, obsessiveness, ability to leverage on opportunities, decisiveness, persistence, seriousness, strategic management and resilience to wrought these “miracles.” Others too have put in great efforts, involved in projects like facilitation of classroom blocks, transformers supply, distribution of so-called empowerment items (okadas, grinding machines etc) and staging of empowerment programmes to impact skills, solar light provision, mostly non-functional health facilities, ICT centres, road constructions, erosion control projects, radio stations and so on, many of which Adeseun also did, but to me, those institutions he motivated are great assets to the zone and as a result put him in an unassailable position. Those institutions he could have traded off for pecuniary advantage but his overwhelming patriotism towards his community overrided such inclination.
As the 10th National Assembly comes to life, the new legislators from Ogbomoso are challenged to be inspired by the strides of Senator Adeseun, who got installed as Mayegun of Ogbomosoland by late Oba Oladunni Oyewumi for these remarkable achievements. Let them be driven by the goal to unfurl a lasting legacy that will add real value to the zone. We now need lawmakers that will surpass the gains recorded in the past. Trivialities, frivolities, listless pursuits, political shenanigans, vendetta, they should unseat from their mind and be rather borne by a strong sense of duty and intent to better what’s best in the past.
Politics will end, life itself will cease (for individuals), the value we add to life, to the society and to the people is what will make us achieve immortality in the mind of the succeeding generations.
Legislators, elected and appointed officers alike should hearken to the clarion call to duty and not get carried away by the glamour of office and euphoria of victory. Their positions they should see as an opportunity to etch their names in gold and imperishably in the sands of time.
