The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas has distanced himself from godfatherism in Nigerian politics.
Abbas said nobody sponsored or supported his emergence in politics.
He disclosed this during an interactive session with select public secondary school students, where he narrated how he struggled to fend for himself while growing up.
The Speaker urged young Nigerians to believe in themselves and cautioned against becoming unduly dependent on their parents for survival.
According to the Speaker: “By the time I reached the age of 19, I was already a homeowner.
“A homeowner at 19, I built my own house based on my sweat. I never needed one single contribution from any member of my family.
“By the time I finished secondary school, something very very dramatic happened. I went to my father and told him that I had come to say bye-bye to him and that I was going to the National Youth Service.
“He was lying down, he stood up and looked at me and said, Abbas when did you go to the university, when did you go to the university?
“I said, Baba, I’ve been studying all these years; he never knew. Because he never sees me coming to ask him, ‘Give me school fees,’ give me money for books, give me this, give me that.
“That is the kind of environment I grew up, believing that I can do it for myself.
“And even when I ventured into politics, I’m probably one of the few you find in this country who does not have a godfather in politics.
“Nobody ever supported me or sponsored me, nobody; I didn’t hide under anybody’s umbrella to be elected or to be re-elected.
“I believe in myself and serve my people diligently. They appreciated and they kept re-electing me.
“Believe in yourself, be very hardworking, be very prayerful, be very honest, be very transparent.”
Nobody supported me, I’ve no godfather in politics – Speaker, Abbas