Why I want to go to the House of Reps —Princess Aderonke Adedoja

Princess Aderonke Ramat Adedoja, the daughter of a former president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), the late Alhaji Bola Adedoja, is the first female aspirant seeking to represent Oluyole Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives in 2019, on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). She speaks with DAPO FALADE on her ambition, among other issues.

 

You are aspiring to contest for a seat in the House of Representatives in the 2019 elections. What informed your decision to go into politics?

Well, there are several factors: I will say the first motivation was from my late, Alhaji Bola Adedoja, a former president of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ). When he was alive, he always admonished me to be of service to my people. Basically, as a young student in the secondary school, he would tell me that in whatever I do and wherever I find myself, he will always tell me to make sure that I serve the people. He would tell me, ‘There is no greater joy than serving the people. Try to make a lot of difference in the people’s life’. The admonition has been one of my greatest sources of inspiration and I have nurtured it.

I was based in the United States of America until the last few years. I have seen a lot, as a woman and my mother (now also late) being a widow. This has also helped in inspiring me that in order for me to able to be of help to the people, I have to go into politics. I know that there are so many ways by which one can be of help to the people, but being an active participant in politics and occupying an elective public office would propel me to do more for the people, especially my constituents in Oluyole Federal Constituency.

 

Before venturing into politics, what have you done or you are still doing to assist the people, especially the less privileged?

I have a non-governmental organization (NGO), ‘For My Children’, which has been engaging in many charity works. In Abuja, I do visit the orphanages regularly from time to time, giving out foodstuffs, clothes and some other items. In my stall at the AMAC Market in Abuja, I do source for small-scale micro finance loans for people. There, I am popularly called Auntie Bisi by the people because I am always trying to assist the people in whichever way I can. One thing that I have realized, being a woman, is that there are lots of challenges facing us in the country. One of them is how to take care of your home and raise your family in a good and proper way.

When I was growing up, the woman’s job, basically, is to be at home to take care of the children while the husband will go out to source for the daily bread for the family. However, things have changed and what we have now, knowing what is happening in the country, it will not be enough for the man to source for food for the family all alone. The woman also has to fend for the family and, unfortunately, a lot of the burden falls on the woman.

 

You are the first female aspirant coming out to sek to represent Oluyole Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. What are the obstacles you think you are likely to face in your quest to get the ticket of your party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

We all know that politics in Nigeria has always been an exclusive preserve of men, while women are gradually coming out to break the monopoly. We however have some issues to contend with and these include, but are not limited to, harassment, both sexually and otherwise, lack of education among the majority of our women, lack of the required financial wherewithal to challenge and break the hold of men on political power. Our men have been in politics for quite a while and they have constituted themselves into godfathers in the Nigerian political scene. For me, I don’t have a godfather or a godmother, but I have a God who is bigger than the several godfathers.

Funding has remained a big stumbling block for women who are nursing the ambition of contesting for elective offices across the country and I am not an exemption. However, one thing that I am sure of is that, with the support of the good people of my constituency, I will overcome the financial hurdle as well as others and achieve my aspiration to represent my constituents at lower chamber of the National Assembly by May, 2019.

 

Don’t you think that political experience may count against you considering the fact that you are going for a high elective office which has largely remain an exclusive preserve of the old hands?

Well, I have operated as a politician, both at the grass roots and at the national levels. While I have not occupied any political office, I have worked in different capacities in the Nigerian political scene. For example, during the 2015 elections, I was a member of the Oyo State chapter of the former President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation. I have participated in different programmes of the PDP, including various screening exercises and some other few things.

Apart from the above, I have done a lot of researches and I have worked and I am still working with a lot of people at the grass roots level before making up my mind to give a shot at the House of Representatives in the 2015 elections. With my researches and interaction with the people, I have been able to see and understand the challenges my constituents are facing. While I am not trying to run anyone down, I have come to realize that most of the political office holders from the constituency have not really addressed the main issue as they affect the people. For example, we have a lot of youths that are not employed and several women that are still wallowing in poverty.

I know and I believe that I will be able to mitigate the sufferings of my people if am elected as a federal lawmaker. I should be able to influence and attract federal attention to the plight of my people. Having been living in Abuja for quite a period of time, I have been able to compare the standard of living there with what obtains in my constituency, right here in Ibadan. I have come to understand what I can be able to do to uplift the standard of living of my people, as a federal lawmaker.

 

But it is a common knowledge that the legislature is not in control of the national purse. So, how do you think you will be able to facilitate the funds to attend to the needs of your constituents?

I know that campaign promises are a different ball game from delivering on the promises after getting to office and I know that it is easy to say than to deliver. However, I want to assure you that, apart from getting money at the federal level, someone representing his or her constituency can still explore other avenues to help ameliorate the problems of his or her people and also deliver on the campaign promises. We have various job creation and youth empowerment programmes which you can organise for your people, without necessarily waiting for funds from the Federal Government.

Granted that most elected public office holders hide behind the excuse of waiting for the release of money from Abuja, in reality the resources are here with us within the constituency which we can tap into. An example is Lagos State where the government has been generating funds through an improved IGR drive without looking up to the Federal Government. We should also have the same mentality here in Oyo State. We should be able to answer the question, what can we do for ourselves without waiting for the government at the centre. That is where I am coming from.

 

Why the choice of PDP as the platform on which you seek to realize your ambition, the party being presently plagued by series of crises?

I have always been a member of the party from the beginning; I have never defected into any other political party. I believe that one has to be loyal to his or her party, no matter what the situation is. Secondly, even though people are saying PDP should go, having ruled for 16 years, I believe that every government and administration has its own challenges. In spite of the perceived shortcomings, the party, through its former presidents, including Chief OlusegunObasanjo and Dr Jonathan, has been able to do some tangible things for Nigeria and its people.

The achievements of PDP are very glaring and right now, you can compare what the party did with what we are presently experiencing in the country. Unlike what obtained during the PDP administration, the cost of living, under the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government is very high. Basic food items and other necessities are steadily getting out of the reach of the masses.

More importantly, I am of the firm belief that changing political parties cannot solve the problems we have in the country. Rather, you have to have a strong believe in your party and I believe that, in spite of our few shortcomings, it has been demonstrated that the performances of PDP and the successes it recorded while in power far outweighed its failures.