A cursory evaluation report of the sterling performance of the Right Honorable Hakeem Olufemi Gbajabiamila in the Surulere Constituency 1 which he represented at the Nigerian National Assembly until his appointment as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has become essential and apt due to a lot of contemporary happenstances that sprang into the political space in the past few weeks.
A review of the performance of the erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives in his political domain could serve as a yardstick for evaluating the actions, deed and dispositions of many of his elected colleagues in the National Assembly who are presently docile, unimpressive and lack the necessary bite for delivering the dividends of democracy to the people in their various state constituencies.
Let it be very clear from the beginning that the writer of this article is not partisan but someone who has the rare privilege of having lived in the Surulere Constituency 1 from 1966 to date, a period that is almost equivalent to the current life expectancy at birth for males in Nigeria. In other words, Femi Gbajabiamila himself was barely 4 years old at that time because he was born on June 25, 1962 while the writer of this article moved from Lagos Island to Surulere in July 1966 in his teenage years. Therefore, an appraisal from a person with the above credentials is certainly not misplaced as his contributions would certainly place the right peg in the appropriate hole.
Femi’s performance in office which is today the talk of the town in Surulere Constituency 1 may leave the mouth agape to many people but not to those that are conversant with and appreciate his family background and pedigree as the son of a mother who was one of the midwives of the Surulere Local Council and who served the community with absolute dedication, selflessness and loyalty of the highest degree to the people of her community.
The first direct contact that Surulere had with the family of Mr. Lateef Gbajabiamila (Femi Gbajabiamila’s father) was when his wife, Alhaja Lateefa Olufunke Gbajabiamila who is now a nonagenarian was elected as the first female Chairman of the Surulere Local Council during the administration of Alhaji Lateef Kayode Jakande. Her sterling performance and administrative dexterity coupled with love for the poor and the downtrodden makes her a darling of the people till date. An outspoken but humble individual, Alhaja Gbajabiamila left her foot- print on the sand of time to the extent that when her son, Femi Gbajabiamila sought to be enlisted on the ballot papers for the House of Representatives, the people of Surulere Constituency 1, had no doubt in their minds that they were committing the community into a good hand. Long after her service years as Chairman, Alhaja Gbajabiamila continued to care for the needy, particularly widows as she would share their pains while providing succour to them in the face of adversities and vicissitudes of life. She is a disciplinarian with fear of God adjacent.
Her son, Hakeem Olufemi Gbajabiamila who was appointed as the Chief of Staff to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 2, 2023 was first elected into the House of Representatives in 2003 and has since been returned to the National Assembly five times. Like the Yoruba would say “Omo kii ba Ipele iya e nile ki o si Aso da” literally meaning “A child who has access to a sample of his mother’s apron cannot make a wrong choice of fashion.” Femi Gbajabiamila’s performances and services to the constituency in those twenty years show that good administration, love and kindness to the people and above all administrative acumen run in the family.
There is hardly any part of the constituency that Femi’s Midas Touch was not felt. A very polished, refined quiet achiever, Femi’s dedication to the wellbeing of people within and outside his constituency and would forever be remembered by our people who cut across ethno-religious divide of Nigeria.
The list of visible projects is almost endless. Starting from the donation of three new state of the arts buildings to the Surulere campus of the Lagos State University of Science and Technology and the complete rejuvenation and renovation of the high rise building within the campus are legacies that are worthy of emulation. Installation of wireless internet services to the campuses of the school in IKORODU and Surulere are worthy of mention. Donation of hostel buildings to the main campus of the University of Lagos is still on the lips of the students and staff of that university. This is despite the fact that the university falls outside Gbajabiamila’s political mandate.
The official commissioning of projects of a conference Centre at the Lagos State University on January 2, 2024 shows that his hands of fellowship are stretched to the entire state. The dualized Baba Animashaun Road and Census Bridge is another project that would touch the lives of the citizenry. The people of Sam SHONIBARE are not likely to forget in a hurry how their swampy open field that was in near derelict state which they have been struggling to reclaim has been revamped and turned into a community development centre.
The people of Surulere can now boast of additional well equipped state of the art General Hospital donated and located on Iyun Road by Femi Gbajabiamila. The National Open University of Nigeria now has a Surulere campus on Clegg Street in Surulere. The police station on Bode Thomas Surulere that was vandalized and set ablaze during the unfortunate ENDSARS protest has been rebuilt to complement the security of the community.
The youths of Coker-Aguda and can now boast of a befitting mini-stadium built and equipped by Femi GBAJABIAMILA. It is an endless achievement and eye-popping for all those who get constituency allowances without utilizing them. If all the members of the Green Chambers emulate Femi GBAJABIAMILA, Nigeria would have been glowingly bestowed with growth and development.
Imagine each representative building one general hospital as GBAJABIAMILA did, then it means there will be at least one hospital in two Local Councils. Why won’t the health and life expectancy of our people improve? Similarly, a donation of one police station in similitude of what Femi did would have removed insecurity from Nigeria.
While praying for him for his forthrightness and dedication to our people, we pray to Almighty God to give him long life, good health and abundant blessings and grace. Thank you Femi GBAJABIAMILA.
Ojikutu is retired Professor of Statistics, University of Lagos.
