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He is
one of the lawmakers to watch out for in Oyo State. At 25, he is the youngest
of them and by the time the 9th Assembly resumes, he will be the
‘baby of the House’ and most likely the youngest lawmaker in the whole country.
He is Yusuf Oladeni Adebisi, son of the well-respected Fuji musician, Taye
Akande Adebisi Currency.
During
his thank you visit to Parrot Xtra Magazine’s office at Ring Road, the
honourable-elect, who holds an MBA, was engaged by Kunle Gazali. In the chat,
he took his time to explain what transpired between him and his dad, Taye Currency
before he eventually allowed to contest in the election. He also shed light on why
his constituency is believed to be one of the black spots in Ibadan. Excerpt:
Please
introduce yourself?
My
name is Yusuf Oladeni Adebisi, I am the first son of the popular Ibadan based
musician, Alhaji Taye Adebisi Currency, Apesin 1. By the special grace of God,
I am the newly elected honourable member to represent the good people of Ibadan
South West state constituency 1 in the Oyo State House of Assembly at the
recently concluded governorship and House of Assembly elections on the platform
of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.
For
the records, can you expatiate more about yourself, schools you attended and
every other things our esteem readers need to know about you?
Alright,
I was born to the family of Alhaji and Mrs. Taiwo Akande Adebisi Currency like
I said earlier, the famous Ibadan based Fuji artiste 25 years ago at Aladorin
Compound, Foko, in Ibadan. I started my education at Aladorin Nursery &
Primary School, Ibadan for my basic education; from there I proceeded to
Hallmark College, Odo-Ona, Apata also in Ibadan for my secondary education.
After completing my secondary education, I got admitted to Bowen University,
Iwo, Osun State for my tertiary education. I spent a session at Bowen University
before I transferred my admission to Al-Hiqma University in Ilorin, Kwara State
to complete my first degree in History and International Relations. For my
National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, I was posted to Sokoto State and
later redeployed to Kwara State, where I eventually served.
After
my youth service, I went for my MBA programme in Business Administration at
Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso between 2016 and
2018.
What brought about your interest in politics; why not pick a career in another field as a young
graduate and also, have ever taken part in politics before, if yes, at what
level you play your politics?
You
know; the first thing or factor that drives one into anything is the environment.
It is what happening in my immediate environment that drove me into and aroused
my interest in politics. When you observe that things are not going the way
they are supposed to and despite your curiosity, eagerness to right the wrong,
you discover that you are unable to make any reasonable impact, and I don’t
want my constituents to continue in poverty, I don’t want my people to continue
in hardship, then what is the solution? The solution according to my findings
is that you cannot sit outside and try to correct what is being done inside; it
is when you are among those inside that you can make any meaningful impact. This
is what brought me into politics.
The
second thing that brought me into politics is that as a youth I cannot afford
to sit on the fence. Like what people used to say that youths of today are the
leaders of tomorrow, when is that tomorrow going to come, if we fail to make it
happen today? They have already set the ball rolling for us youths; the Not Too
Young To Run Bill has been passed to into law, and so, this gave people like me
the opportunity to aspire for political office. Why do we need to waste our
precious time again in taking the mantle of leadership of this country? I want
to contribute my quota to the development of my constituency; I want to play a
role in freeing my people, the people of my constituency, the youth, the aged
ones, the women and younger children from indirect slavery and I want to ensure
that peace reigns among my people.
Have
I taken part in politics before? I will say yes. I did politics when I was in
school, in which I happened to the president of my faculty, Faculty of
Humanities at Al-Hiqma University in Kwara State. So, this gave me the basic
knowledge of what politics looks like at the larger world, though it is a different
ball game but at least I have little experience and understanding of how politics
is being played outside the school, how to canvass people to your side and
every other basic requirements of politics at larger level. So, I was the
president of my faculty for a year, between 300 levels and 400 levels.
You
were elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, consisting
of 26 members, how do you plan to be relevant in your own capacity to be able
to contribute to the development of the people in your constituency and Oyo
State in general?
First
and foremost, I want to give thanks to God. Why am I thanking Him? Whenever God
wants to do something, He leaves no loopholes. God wants our Excellency, the
people’s Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde to have a peaceful reign, a successful
tenure; that is why He made the composition of the House of Assembly like what
we have now. I can assure that the good people of Oyo State will experience a
peaceful tenure of Governor Seyi Makinde. The thing is when you have majority
on your side be rest assured that whatever good plan the governor brings to the
House for consideration will have a hitch-free passage.
How
am I planning to be relevant? See, we have 26 honourable members from my party,
PDP, we are one big family, many of us are youth, probably I am the youngest of
them all, so, this give me confidence that I am in the midst of my people, my
family that will give necessary support to be relevant and be able to
contribute my quota to the development of the state and my constituency in
part. We know ourselves, we hold meetings together, we met regularly before we
went to the poll, we do have discussion even aside politics, so, I am very much
assured that they will give me the necessary support probably when I am raising
a motion or presenting a bill or I am aspiring for a certain position in the
leadership of the House.
How
did you feel when the result was announced that you have defeated the
incumbent?
I felt
happy, very elated and I give thanks to the Almighty God for crowning our
effort, my people’s effort, my father’s effort and my personal effort from the
day one of the campaign. Also, I give commendation to all candidates
irrespective of the party affiliation particularly my uncle, Hon. Kehinde
Subair, he is a brother to my father and he has done so much for the
constituency in about eight years as the representative of Ibadan South West
constituency 1 in the House and I pray that God will continue to be with him.
He has done his part and I have taken the baton towards the development of our
immediate constituency.
When the
idea of contesting for a seat at the state’s House of Assembly surfaced some
people must have said a lot of things that would make youl feel discouraged,
before you finally got the ticket to contest and eventually won the election, when
you look back at all these, what comes to your mind?
Well,
to err is human and to forgive is divine. What I think I need to be doing is to
give the glory to God, because people said a lot of things but finally, the will
of God prevailed. They said a lot, that I was in the race to be known, to
create publicity and awareness for myself; some even said that his father wants
to use the opportunity of the contest to secure a job for him because he just
graduated, and all sort of things. The most painful aspect is that some of my
friends that were with me when the struggle for the party ticket was tense
left, claiming that I am too young to face the other candidates. They forgot
that it is the will of God that I should contest. There are lots of stories
about that but what matter is the wish of God has come to pass, every other
thing now is bygone.
How
did you receive the news of announcement of Seyi Makinde as the governor-elect?
I
was so happy, I jubilated up and down. And the reason for my happiness is that
I will not see only myself, I will be seeing my colleagues from the same party in
the House and most of all a governor from my party in person of Engr. Seyi
Makinde as the Executive Governor of Oyo State, it calls for celebration and
jubilation. By the special grace of God, come May 29, 2019 we will all be
alive, hale and hearty to witness the swearing-in of Engr. Seyi Makinde as the
Executive Governor.
What
are your plans for the people of your constituency?
The
reason I came into politics is to contribute my quota to the development of my
constituency, play my part in improving the general well-being of my people and
to add value to the general development of the state. What differentiates
people is their level of education and as we all know that when there is
education, there will be civilization and when there is civilization there will
be peace and when there is peace there will be development. The first thing I
want to do is to support educational development in my constituency, how? I
will push for the establishment or siting of secondary schools within my
constituency. As everything stands now, there is no public secondary school in
my constituency, not even one in the whole constituency of a state, while we
have over 70 both private and public in some constituencies. And this has been
contributing to the high rate of crime within the constituency. The risk of
life of children that have to go a long distance schools is high, as well as
economic hardship experiencing by the parents, in terms of payment for transportation
to and fro, and feeding of children. Another thing that I will push for is
public hospital. As I speak there is no public hospital in my constituency and
the Primary Health Care centers we have around are not properly functioning. I
will try my best to ensure that all the health centers within the constituency
are well equipped with drugs and every other necessary equipment pending the
time the issue of public hospital is addressed.
Also,
the issue of security, there is no police station, not even a police post
within Ibadan South West constituency 1. If there is an issue that needs the attention
of the police, we will have to go to another constituency before we can call
the police; and this why the area is being regarded as one of the volatile
areas in Ibadan. It is because the people living there have been neglected
either by government or the people that have been representing them; an adage
says “an idle hand is the devil’s workshop”. Look, all these problems have been
there over the years and nobody is ready to address or take it to the
appropriate authority. I was born here, I had my primary school if not because
there is no secondary, I wouldn’t have gone outside my constituency for my
secondary education. If the issue of education is addressed the issue of
security will be half solved. Aside this issues of education, health and
security, my other agenda on how to improve the standard of living of the
people in my constituency will be subsequently roll out.
What
is your message to other young guys like you out there who want to get involved
in politics?
My
message is simple and direct; at least my coming out to contest is already
sending a signal to other youths out there, not in my constituency alone, in the
state and Nigeria as a whole. This is our time; let us all come out, because
right now I am the youngest ever in the history of Oyo State House of Assembly
if not in Nigeria. This is sending a message that if I can do it you can also
do it, so, come out, get involved and let’s contribute to the development of
our state and country. I will try as much as possible to ensure that my
performance also ginger more youths to get involved in politics, this is when
we can do it altogether.
Your
dad, Alhaji Taye Adebisi Currency played a vital role in your electoral
victory, what will you like to say to him?
Ah,
my dad, I will like to say a big thank you to him, a very big one and pray that
the Almighty God continues to guide, guard and protect him. I also pray that
God will continue to bless and provide for him in his entire endeavor. You know
why? He has been a very good example of fathers not only to me but to other
younger ones. He was with me throughout the entire journey; he was so
wonderful, though it wasn’t an easy decision but he supported me with
everything he has, financially, morally, physically, mentally, spiritually just
name it, he is always there for me.
Tell
us how he finally gave his nod to your aspiration
Alright,
when I completed my MBA and we were discussing how to get a job, he asked me
what I wanted to do and I replied that he should use his connection to get me a
job, despite the fact that I have my own intention. Then he said he will
contact some people and give me a feedback. So, after some days, he called me
and said that he has been able to contact someone and secure a job for me in Abuja
that was when I told him that I have another intention but I am afraid to tell him.
He persuaded me to say my mind and I told him that I want to do politics; he
disagreed with me. He pointed out that politics is a tough game and requires a
lot of money, which he doesn’t have. He sent me out on that day, that I should
go and rethink it over. I went to meet him the following day, I pleaded with
him, and he told me that politics is a dirty game and asked me, if I wanted him
to be killed or I want to wound myself. He said a lot of things, he mentioned
those that have lined-up over the years for the party ticket among other
things, but I said I am very sure that I will come victorious, that I have seen
it in a vision some time ago. It was that moment that he said I should give him
time to think about it, unknown to him that I have already printed stickers. The
following day I walked up to him and said Alhaji this are my stickers for the
campaign, he lamented that I have been rushing him over this matter that I
should allow him to think it over. At the end of the day, he gave his nod; he
called me and promised to support my aspiration with everything within his
reach to ensure that my dream comes to reality. That was when the movement
started.
What
is your message to the governor-elect, Seyi Makinde?
My
message to my father, my leader, my governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde is that please
make sure that you fulfill all the electioneering promises you made to the
people of the state, including the one concerning 3SC. I also pledge my
readiness and support to your cause to take Oyo State to the Promised Land.
What
do you want to say to your constituents?
To
my constituents, I thank you all and I promise you a better representation. To
the people of Oyo State, let us keep walking to the path of greatness, let us
do what we know, but do not go for the wrong.
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