It is often said that “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” This is a common saying that originated from a Chinese proverb. The above quote highlights the importance of taking things one step at a time when on any journey, either professional or personal, seems too tedious and daunting.
That famous sage, James Freeman Clarke, must have had Senator Solomon Adeola Olamilekan, Yayi, in mind when he said, “A politician thinks of the next election; a statesman thinks of the next generation.”Going by the continuous super empowerments of the Senator representing Ogun West, Senator Adeola Solomon Olamilekan, one needs no clairvoyant to be told that the people’s Senator thinks of the next generation, just as his representation is palpable and all-encompassing in terms meaningful income generating empowerments, job facilitation, and provision of social amenities.
As a true representative, one of the best ways to eradicate poverty is through meaningful empowerment of hapless constituents, and Senator Olamilekan is magnanimously synonymous for that. In an attempt to making good of the social contract he signed with his constituents, the people’s Senator facilitated solar powered borehole at Oja- Oba Market, Orile- Agege, bringing the number to six in different Local Government Areas, namely, Mushin, Ikeja, Alimosho, Ifako-Ijaiye and Oshodi- Isolo LGAs, and each of the multi million naira project has an elevated six meter steel stanchion tank, 10 million cubic litres capacity tank, five million cubic litres/hour mini treatment plant and multiple water delivery points; construction of low end Primary Health Center at Egbe Idimu, Alimosho, with furnitures and medical supplies to the health facility.
In his usual characteristic manner, he constructed and asphalted the Ajenifuja Pen Cinema street with drainage, Ifako Ijaye; facilitated an empowerment training on vocational skills (make-up artists, phone repairs, barbing, hair dressing, soap and disinfectant making etc), entrepreneurial and fish farming for over 4000 youth and women across the constituency; empowered 1000 constituents on two weeks training on fish production and business at the Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, with constituents from Ifako-Ijaiye, Amuwo Odofin, Alimosho, and Apapa-Iganmu riverine areas.
He trained interested constituents on boat operation and fishing, feeds making, and fish production in riverine and rural communities with certificate of participation in: manual covering all aspects of fish and fish business, 500 litre VAT for housing and growing fishes, bags of feeds to grow fishes to market sizes, fries/fingerlings and seed working capital for overheads/running cost; facilitated training and skill acquisition for over 4000 constituents on fishery and poultry where each participant at the end of the training received a cash grant of N50,000 and equipment for start off.
He also constructed 10 roads that were asphalted with drainages, and two other roads in Idowu street, Amuwo Odofin and Vespa market road, Ojo, both in Badagry; facilitated six major solar power boreholes, solar street lights, 10 500KVA transformers, training, equipping and empowering Hundreds of constituents in fish production and business; provided 750 benches/desks for some public schools; constructed and equipped Primary Health Centre with medical equipments at Badagry.
In an uncommon agreeable happenstance, Senator Solomon Olamilekan who once represented the people of Lagos West in the National Assembly later moved to represent his people in Ogun West, little wonder the West2West(W2W) acronym. As a representative whose identifiable hallmark is stellar performances, the same giant feats he pulled in Lagos West are being replicated in Ogun West.
To further entrench focal development in his senatorial district, Yayi has once again in his usual phenomenon empowered 15000 constituents, government institutions like Police, hospitals NSCDC, farmers’ cooperatives with life changing materials like: ambulances.
A financial guru, he established his own company, SOOTEM Nigeria Limited, where he was the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in the firm that specialises in tax consultancy. As a formidable political force, he was consecutively elected as a member to represent Alimosho State Constituency 2, at the Lagos State House Assembly, and one of indestructible contributions was his instrumentality to the enactment of the law that strengthened the Lagos State Internal Revenue Service, where he brought his fiscal wizardry into play by promulgating laws that catapulted the revenue of the state from N5 billion monthly IGR to over N20 billion.
And again, he was a team member that passed the Fiscal Responsibility Act and the Public Procurement Act of Lagos State. Having completed a legislatively meritorious two term in the Lagos State House of Assembly, his political ingenuity and steadfastness saw him elected to the Federal of Representatives, to represent the Alimosho federal constituency.
While in the house, he was the Chairman of the only constitutional committee, the Public Accounts Committee. Despite the fact that he was a first time member who could be regarded as a green horn, his cognate political experience made him indispensable and a force to reckon with. In the 9th Senate where represented Lagos West senatorial district.
He was the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on Communications, as well as member of the Finance, Marine, Interior, Science and Technology committees of the Senate. In the 10th Senate, he is the Chairman, Senate committee on Appropriations; he is also one of the stabilisers of the 10th senate and the apple’s eyes of the President. Like him or hate him, Yayi is a “go-to person” in the present Senate.
With the passing phase of Governor Dapo Abiodun who happens to be in the last leg of his second term administration, Ogun State will be having a new governor in 2027. And the question that unsettles everyone’s mind is, who takes over the mantle of leadership from the incumbent governor? To yours faithfully, we need not be in quest to sokoto because we already have what we’re looking for in our sokoto (trouser).
Without sounding immodest, Yayi stands tall in the comity of would-be aspirants both politically and administratively because his political experience and exposure are matchless and incomparable. He would be a worthy successor to further entrench development and advance Ogun in the best administrative course.
And one of the best places to domesticate his experience will be at the executive arm. As a trailblazer that he is, Yayi is the political compass for his party to navigate come 2027.
Dapo Ipoola , a Public Affairs analyst wrote from Lagos.
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