By Afolabi Ayantayo
Commissioner 1, Lagos House of Assembly Service Commission
It has now dawned on critics, pseudo analysts and the entire political hoi polloi what many of us have been saying about the person of Mudasiru Obasa, Rt. Hon. Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. To the glare of us all, we are witnessing the career of a precocious student of political history rising to a level unprecedented in the annals of politics not only in Agege but Lagos State as a whole.
It is trite and petty for a political gladiator to flaunt his/her meagre political accolades in the face of subordinates and the less fortunate as some are wont to do, but Mudasiru Obasa is in a class of his own. Brilliant but preserved, intelligent but calm, wise but considerate, imbued with knowledge and wisdom, Obasa is your ideal political mentor and an inspiration to political actors old and young.
As Nigeria's democracy waxes and strengthens towards maturity, it is not unexpected that political actors with sharpened wits and organizational dexterity will be emerging to claim the saddles of leadership in their various domains and help steer the course of the nation towards utopia. The age of young, vibrant, astute and visionary leadership has emerged all over the world and young men of exemplary characters are claiming the positions that is rightly theirs. Nigeria is not an exception and Mudasiru Obasa is one of the aforementioned.
Born and bred in Agege, a suburb on the northern fringe of Lagos, Nigeria's economic capital, the Speaker actually cut his political teeth quite at an early age, in the early nineties during the days of SDP and NRC the only two constitutional parties then, emerging as a delegate of the SDP in his ward in the old Agege Local Government, a tenuous and tedious process demanding rigorous house to house campaign to mobilize supporters to queue behind you in an open election for party positions popularly referred to as Option A4.
The experience has since guided and aided him to emerge first as a councilor of the same ward in the current dispensation beginning in 1999 via a multiparty constitution, on the platform of the Alliance for Democracy (AD). 2003, and he emerged as member, representing Constituency 01, Agege Local Government in the Lagos State House of Assembly, a position he has occupied since then and which eventually catapulted him to the acme of the House, the Rt. Hon. Speaker.
The people of Agege are still basking in the euphoria of having a Speaker from their downtrodden enclave and counting enormous benefits derived therefrom when other Speakers of State Legislatures across the nation, at the culmination of their conference held between Friday 3rd and Sunday 5th voted Rt. Hon. Mudasiru Obasa as Chairman, Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures in Nigeria.
The Agege township has erupted into an euphoria of jubilation since the announcement of Obasa as the federation's Head Speaker. It is now talk of the town as the good news resonates deep into the heart of the town, for, to be Speaker is one thing, to be Speakers' Speaker is another.
Within the scope of reengineering the fortunes of this country, Speakers of State Legislatures have important roles to play as heads of an important arm of government in their states. Thus, their status and powers can be harnessed for the future of the country. For example, in amending the constitution, sponsoring bills and formulating policies that will better the lot of their electorates. Indeed, the bastion of governance falls within their purview as they can make or mar the programs of their various governors.
The Speakers can, on their own, foist blueprints of good governance on their governors and even by extension the National Assembly and the Federal Government. An example is education. For any meaningful progress to be made in our quest towards national development, education must be made a priority for all citizens. The Federal Government, has over the years failed at presenting a policy that will guarantee that the Nigerian child has access to quality education irrespective of his/her background. This failure has hindered our progress since independence. Citizens cannot contribute anything to national development if they're not adequately equipped to do so, and this can only be ensured through attainments of knowledge in various fields at the tertiary level.
The Universal Basic Education being touted by the Federal Government is outdated as it cannot go deep enough to prepare anyone for today's educational requirements. Even our universities are inadequately funded for prerequisite researches and seminal publications for standard teaching. The Conference of Speakers may take a look at this and make it a litmus.
All who have studied Rt. Hon. Mudasiru Obasa can attest to the fact that the Conference could not have made a better choice to lead it. Self-made, intelligent and optimistic, Obasa is a World Class material and all these qualities are what his colleagues must have seen in him before unanimously electing him to lead them. Having known our man for many years I'm sure this is a burden he can carry easily due to his clinical efficiency and faithful dedication to duties and assignments.
Our prayers to the Almighty is for this exemplary son of Agege to continue to wax stronger. We pray for more accolades and higher positions for him and many other aspiring sons and daughters of Agege Kingdom. As usual, we know the higher Mudasiru goes the more he helps others to also climb the ladder of attainment. God Almighty, on this we thank Thee while still looking forward for more to come.
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