Delectable and charming Hon.
Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, is a member of Lagos State House of Assembly ,
representing Mushin Constituency 1.
Adefunmilayo Tejuoso, is a member of Lagos State House of Assembly ,
representing Mushin Constituency 1.
Currently spending her fourth terms
in the hallowed chamber, The light skinned vibrant lawmaker is the Chairman Committee on
Information and Strategy in the House. She is seeking a seat at the hallowed upper green chambers at the 2019 general elections.
in the hallowed chamber, The light skinned vibrant lawmaker is the Chairman Committee on
Information and Strategy in the House. She is seeking a seat at the hallowed upper green chambers at the 2019 general elections.
In this interview with CITYSPY, the top female political Juggernaut, spoke about her aspiration for the House of Reps, what politics has taught her amidst other
pressing issues. Excepts
pressing issues. Excepts
A group in your constituency called “Coalition
of Mushin Youths” purchased House of Reps. Expression of Interest and
Nomination form for you to run for Reps. seat. How do you see the
gesture?
I was actually very humbled by that gesture, it’s something i
will forever be grateful for. It’s one thing to serve the people of
your constituency, it’s another thing for them to appreciate your
efforts, and hard work. It’s just shows that nothing goes unnoticed.
That also simply means that the hard work i have put into representing
my constituency over these years has not come to a waste, that’s why a
group of people- Coalition of Mushin Youths came together to purchased
the form for me to run for House of Reps. It’s shows that they want me
to continued to represent them in the constituency and i am highly
grateful and thank them for the gesture.
Not a few people were in
anticipatory mood to know your next port of call in politics before the
group bought House of Reps. What was your own aspiration?
My normal method is that I run
for a position my constituents want me to run for because it’s a
service i do for them. I don’t think i have ever outrightly gone out to
say i am running for State Assembly or Reps. It’s normally towards the
end of the tenure that my constituents come to talk to me to tell me
where they want me to run for. And if i realized that there is a very
large number of people who want me to run again, i will also fall in
line with them. This one again, the people had been talking to me even
before we went on recess that they will like me to run for House of
Representatives. In my normal reaction, i will say let the will of God
be done. But i guess because i wasn’t too really forthcoming to go
purchase form, and they felt that they should do that for me. Running
for an election, you’re not going there to serve yourself, you’re going
there to serve the people, and you must feel the pulse of the people to
see if they are happy with what you’re doing and if they will like you
to continue; and how better could they have shown me that they are happy
with me than what they have done for me.
So, what are your chances in the primary going by the adoption of direct primary by your party, APC?
I
am very comfortable. The party members are in support of the idea. I am
confident that i will win the primary, and by the grace of God, the
general election.
Could you tell us what politics has taught you?
I
have learnt a lot in politics. I have learnt not to be too trusting of
everybody and everything. I have learnt to investigate more of things
before i conclude. Politics is like a roller coaster, it goes up and
down, sometimes you’re on top, sometimes you’re down. And you have to be
ready to face whatever comes your way. In politics, it might not even
come out the way you wanted it to be, but the most important thing is to
do your best. A Northern politician told me sometime that “if you’re
not ready to buy a lie, you might not be able to buy the truth.” A lot
of people will come to tell you all sorts of stories if you’re not ready
to listen to those lies, you might not be able to hear the truth. And
Yoruba adage said that “ if you close your eyes for bad people to go by,
you might not be able to see good people go by. Basically, what i have
learnt is that you should listen to everybody, be a good listener,
observe everybody and try to decipher the truth from what they are
telling you. Another thing i have also learnt is that you must be loyal
to what you believe in, no matter what and you must not be a betrayal.
Because at the end of the day, if one is deceitful or betrays, the
person will be paid back in that coin. So, what goes around comes
around. If you’re good to people, they will be good to you, if you’re
bad to people, they will be bad to you. I have learnt to be more
religious, i have learnt to hold on to God more. I believe that anything
that happens to me is the will of God. I have learnt to accept
everything that happens to me as a will of God.
You are one of
the best brains in the Lagos State Assembly, and you’re moving up to the
House of Reps. Will your impact in the House not be missed?
I want
to believe that as we were all trained the first day we got here, when
we wanted to learn, we were opened to learning and that has helped us to
grow. There are other members too that are new who have learnt a lot.
We have third term and second term spending honourable members in the
House who have learnt a lot. We have just 3 honourable members who are
spending fourth terms in the House – myself, the honourable speaker,
Hon. Obasa, and Hon. Osinowo. And we have actually been able to carry
other members along. One thing i have realized about life is that if you
don’t move up, you won’t create chances for others.
As you said
earlier that in politics, you don’t get all what you wanted at times.
God forbid, what happens if you are unable to get elected into the Green
Chamber?
Nothing. I am a lawyer, i will go do my law practise. I am
somebody who doesn’t crumble under any circumstances, so i am a kind of
person that if i win, i will do it well, if i don’t win, i will not cry.
There is always an opportunity to try another time. I don’t allow my
emotion take over me. I am not a do or die politician. Even as i am here
in the Lagos Assembly, i have gone through some courses to improve my
law practise just to make sure that when i have to go back to practising
i can do the best that i can.
What do you hope to achieve in the House of Reps. if you eventually get there?
First,
Lagos state needs to have that special status as a former capital of
Nigeria. Lagos state does need the special status because the population
is very high. Even though we say that not all people live in Lagos, but
they still come to work here and go to their respective states. We have
a lot of people who come to use our hospitals from different states
because everything is working in Lagos, so everybody come to Lagos. And
what we need to do for Lagos to thrive and flourish is that we need to
have more money from the federal purse to do more so that those people
coming will not be a burden on our state. We need to continue to ask for
state police so that we can have more control and understanding of the
state. Because if we move police from one state to another, they lose
grip of where they are, they don’t understand the terrain, and they
could not function very well. And also we must continue to fight for
women. I know it’s more difficult for women to thrive because they have
to take care of their homes. Women will ensure everything goes smoothly
at home and also engage in other office activities. We have a lot of
women out there suffering. We have to continue to work assiduously to
fight for these women. Even the issue of children, we have Child Right
Act already in existence, but we must continue to look into how we can
do more to make sure that our children are better protected.
