14th September, 2016
For a minute, one would think Alhaji Abdulganiyu Kola Egunjobi, the Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Agege Local Government Area of Lagos is a fashion freak given the attention he pays to looking good. But there’s more to him than good looks. He has got brains and politics to deal with on a daily basis. In an interview with journalists, the social media manager turned politician speaks about his ambition to become chairman of Agege and his agenda for the people
Give us a brief history of your background
I am Alhaji Abdulganiyu Kola Egunjobi better known as Egun, a grassroot politician and graduate of school of hard knocks. I am also a graduate of the Lagos State University, LASU, where I studied Sociology. I have diploma in Purchasing & Supply Management from University of Lagos. For primary education, I attended Iloro Grammar School and State Primary School, now Ife-Oluwa, both in Agege. You may wonder, which is the school of hard knocks, well it is just an idiomatic expression suggesting that I have gained a lot of experience and valuable knowledge in life. I grew up at Isale-Oja, an environment that is filled with tension and violence in Agege area and where people across West African countries, Ghanaians, Nigeriens, Togolese etc reside. But despite the violence and diversity, there has been love and harmony. I speak English, Yoruba and Hausa fluently. Also I don’t believe in working for people but working with them because that way I am more efficient. I was once Business Development Manager at Emporium Communications, a medium-sized media relation firm and currently a social media manager consultant with Secom Nigeria Ltd.
APC lost some seats to PDP in Lagos State House of Assembly and House of Representatives during the last general election for the first time in the 16 year history of democracy, is that not an indication that the party is losing grounds in the state?
In life you win some and you lose some. It also goes to show that in Lagos State and in APC, election is never a do-or-die affair like it happens in PDP controlled states. It was an unfortunate incident that will never repeat itself because the outcome of the election in those places where we lost didn’t reflect our popularity in every nook and cranny of Lagos State. APC is too formidable a party to lose an election in Lagos State even across Southwest with our able leader in the person of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
There is fear in some quarters that due to the current bad economic situation, APC may lose election in the future?
Personally I don’t share such view. We all know this is a mono-economy highly dependent on inflows from the sale of crude oil. Oil prices have fallen to their lowest level since 2003, at a time sinking below $28 a barrel. And this was because of a slowdown in economic growth in China and Europe among others. The effects of falling prices are being felt by economies around the world, particularly oil producing nations that rely on exports. There is crisis from Azerbaijan to Venezuela. Recently in Azerbaijan there was protest across the nation. The federal government is doing its best by diversifying but the result will not be immediate.
What is your view about godfatherism and imposition in party politics?
Each time I listen to people’s opinion on the issue of imposition and godfatherism, I often laugh because it is quite a complex topic. It is not a straightforward issue as people tend to suggest in most of their discussions. Most times, they condemn it in its entirety, and fail to appreciate it particularly when they are not the godsons or goddaughters. But the fact still remains that godfatherism has its origin in monolithic religion. It also depend on how you perceive godfatherism because to me you can be loyal to the people, that is the state, and your godfather, since what a reasonable godfather wants is the common good. Even where we patterned our democracy after, the United States, there is godfatherism. As a student of history, I read that JF Kennedy as American president appointed his younger brother, a fresh law graduate, Robert Kennedy, the Attorney General of the United States. So what would you call that?
Why did you venture into politics and why do want to become the chairman of Agege Local Government?
Politics is in my DNA. I joined partisan politics way back in secondary school and have been in the progressive party. I was the Assistant financial secretary of the defunct Social Democratic Party, SDP, in ‘Ward B1’ Gbogunleri/Isale zone, member of defunct UNCP, AD, ACN an currently APC, party secretary, Agege Local Government. My late elder brother, Sharafadeen Egunjobi of blessed memory, was once a councilor in Agege. I am of the conviction that I have all it takes to make Agege a better place, a commercial and social hubs. I want to put Agege on the global map. I want Agege to be reputed for industry not violence. I want to rewrite the story of Agege and make it a force to reckon with.
You look stylish what informed this?
To me looking good is an everyday business. I don’t joke with the way I look. Appearance is the basis with which people form their first impression of someone and I want them to have a great first impression of me. I believe that you can judge a book by its cover. When I was in secondary school, my late elder brother and I had a fashion school by the name, La frique Home of Embroidery.