Today, the world celebrates the birth of a leader who has sacrificed and still sacrificing to serve his own people and community.
A man who, by all indications, has remained unfazed by distractions and has shown commitment to the development of Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North Federal Constituency in the last 30 months of his leadership as a member of the Nigerian House of Representatives.
A couple of weeks ago, I reminisced about the journey so far, and I realised very intuitively that my principal has really offended two groups of people in our constituency. The offence is so grave that even God Himself would think twice before forgiving anyone who dared to go to such lengths to commit such atrocities and heinous acts. The first group comprises the sit-tight ambassadors of poverty who believe power is power and must remain permanently in their control, even after losing legitimacy from the people over whom the same power is meant to be exercised. The second group includes overambitious politicians who, if given even the slightest opportunity, would not hesitate to form their own government and begin exercising authority. These individuals do not operate by rules; to them, rules are mere literature. They are the true enemies of any thriving democracy.
The offence of Hon. Adebayo is not far-fetched; in his own era, even a toddler can just send a direct message and receive a response. How would one describe a federal lawmaker who planned a surprise visit with a musical band just to celebrate a 16-year-old girl, on her birthday, for academic excellence? How would one describe a lawmaker who, despite the “China-to-Nigeria” distance between Abuja and Ibarapa, still finds time to show up for his own people even when it is least expected? A lawmaker who has refused to leverage his status as a first-timer in parliament to manipulate his people and suspend their hopes until re-election, where his hook will be long enough to catch a fish. A lawmaker who is not recouping but working indefatigably to bring infrastructural and human capital development to his constituents. A lawmaker who has refused to keep opportunities private is bound to face battles and all these amount to his heinous acts. But for a man who has managed conglomerates home and abroad, tasted political defeat, chaired a corporation at the state level and now serves as a federal lawmaker, it would be a grave mistake to assume he has not seen it all. Leadership is in his blood, reinforced by the enduring legacy of his late father, the Asiwaju of Igboora Land.
No man is capable of walking without his head shaking states a popular Yorùbá proverb. Hon. Adepoju is not God. He has his own shortcomings like every other human being. However, many of his perceived shortcomings are often actions taken in his name without his knowledge. As William Shakespeare said in King Lear: “Have more than thou showest, speak less than thou knowest”
How Hon. Adepoju smiles amid provocation is worthy of study and how he navigates every stumbling block is awe-inspiring. Politics is a delicate environment that requires deep thought before any decision is made. My little experience walking this path with him has taught me that factions are an integral part of any political process. Yet, political followers often fail to realise that politicians remain the best of friends regardless of any factional differences within their parties. Sometimes, political factions are even created by followers who are bent on maximising opportunities for their own interests. While I strongly understand that unity is ideal, excessive alignment in politics can deprive people of opportunities, prompting followers to act in defence of their groups, while choosing unnecessary enemies on behalf of their political leaders who will not invite them at the table where real decisions are made with the same set of people they thought they are not in good terms with. One thing I have learnt about my boss in the last 2 years is his calmness and respect for people’s choices while working hand in hand to achieve common goals, especially in loyalty to his political leader, His Excellency Engr Seyi Makinde.
I have been present in meetings where Hon. Adepoju made it clear that the PDP remains one in Ibarapa Land and in every nook and cranny of Oyo State under the leadership of Engr Seyi Makinde. On several occasions, he told me, “Hassan, what we are doing is not a competition. Only God gives power. The worst mistake I will make is to assume that some individuals are working against this party or me. This is the PDP; we are one. It is a big family; some people feel like picking enemies is the way to do it. Everybody is working towards the party during or after any election.” His words often strike a chord in me; no matter the gravity of all the rumours he might have been fed by individuals looking for one opportunity or the other, he remains committed to the strong and mutual relationships he has with everyone, irrespective of their ‘faction’ or public conduct. This is a strong message to anyone who feels that spreading falsehoods against anyone before leaders like Hon. Adepoju. Such person is obviously wasting his or her time. I have learnt a lot about this rare style of leadership of his, and it is what I encourage everyone to imbibe too. They say there are no permanent friends in politics nor permanent foes, but this is a man who has indeed demonstrated in words and actions that friendship is meant to last forever regardless of political divide.
2027 is too far away, yes, but it is never out of point to reflect on it. Hon. Adepoju has made a huge sacrifice; he has shown that governance is not by how far but how well. Beyond mere rhetoric, he has sown series of seeds that are already germinating.
Sometime in January 2025, I was invited by the management of my alma mater, Ayelogun Grammar School, as one of the invited guests for the citadel of learning’s 87th Inter-House Sports. I informed my principal a little bit late. As someone who would not want his aides to miss such an important event, he asked me to start arranging my movement from Abuja.
On that day, I had a delayed flight to Lagos from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, as my flight was shifted from 6:30 pm to 9:30 pm by Air Peace. This is a 55- minute flight and it dawned on me that I would get to Lagos very late. I lived briefly in Lagos immediately after my secondary school education, but I am not sure I can still locate the place I lived for two years within the Ikotun axis.
Before onboarding, I contacted a mentor of mine who had just arrived from Canada about my late flight to Lagos and how I would spend the night with him before proceeding the next day. He gave me a description of how to locate his house at Ojota. Lest you forget, I really don’t know much about Lagos anymore, as I left more than a decade ago.
No sooner had I finished my conversation with him than I remembered my boss had recently secured a federal job opportunity for one of our constituents at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). I contacted him immediately, a very dedicated constituent who is committed to the development of our constituency. I later realised that he put plans in place immediately after I informed him about my late arrival at the Murtala International Airport. I met him anxiously waiting to receive me. By the time our flight landed, it was already late and motorists were charging outrageous amounts to take me from one terminal to another.
Ojota was obviously not possible again by the time I alighted. Having received me, my very own egbon looked at me and said, “Where you will be spending the night has already been arranged for you in my office.” At that moment, I was completely speechless. He held my hand and took me to a restaurant where I had my dinner.
It was almost an empty road at the time. While relaxing in his office, so many thoughts ran through my mind: “What if Hon. Adepoju had not secured a job opportunity for this man in this place? Is this how I would have been stranded? Is this how I would have started looking for a hotel at this time when motorists refuse to take passengers simply because it is late in the night?”
In a similar development, just in October last year, one of our constituents had a reason to do proper documentation on his way to Ghana. It was more of an impromptu journey by the organisation he works with, and he needed to pull his information for the documentation. The very consequential community developer reached out to me to assist him. He asked if I could talk to one of the constituents my principal facilitated a job opportunity for in the agency to help fast-track the process.
In less than 30 minutes, he got his information pulled out, having earlier been informed by officials that he could miss the trip set to begin immediately without the documentation. Amid joy, he reached out with powerful words: “Hassan, today you made me feel like a very influential politician in the midst of my people. They wondered how it was possible to achieve this without taking up to days. Wherever your boss is, he would not believe he had helped me indirectly like this. Without God and his pragmatic leadership, this is how I would have missed this trip.”
What these two scenarios tell us is simple; Hon. Adepoju has sown a series of seeds that are already germinating. Our constituency doesn’t even need to wait for years to start tapping from the numerous opportunities Hon. Adepoju has facilitated in Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North. Our sons and daughters are already shaping Nigeria in different agencies and parastatals of government while making what once seemed impossible for those from our ancestral home very easy to achieve and explore. It is indeed a leadership that evidence proves, with results so audible to the deaf and visible to the blind. This is the constituency of my dreams and that of all lovers of development in Ibarapa Land.
A leader who stands with the people can never fail. In 2027, God spares our lives, the people of Ibarapa Central and Ibarapa North already have a leader who needs their support to continue his infrastructural and human capital development. The reason for such support is necessary for continued transformative and sustainable development of our constituency. In every area of human needs, despite scarce resources arising from non-proper implementation of the Nigerian budget since 2024, Ibarapakan has demystified representation. In education, he has made an indelible impact. In job opportunities, the records are unprecedented. In agriculture, he has set the pace and, in the history of the constituency, we now have what are called federal constituency tractors to help farmers cultivate more land for food sufficiency in our region. Our farmers will no longer need to pay through the nose to run their farming system.
We have new blocks of classrooms in each community to bridge infrastructural deficit in our constituency learning environment and numerous initiatives geared towards putting our constituency on the map are being implemented on a daily basis. Our students are not only given scholarships and free holiday lessons, they are also being assisted with instructional and writing materials to enhance academic excellence and reduce the number of out-of-school children. For the first time in history, we have a constituency public library to support research and aid digital learning as well. For the first time in the history of our constituency, a federal lawmaker is constructing road(s). And for the first time also in the history of our beloved nation, we produced the first One-Day House of Reps member, putting our constituency among communities around the world that prioritise child education and youth leadership. The list is obviously endless.
The Ibarapa people are grateful and they will never afford to go back to Egypt.
Happy Birthday to my leader. May you never know sorrow as you continue to serve with passion, integrity and distinction.
Hassan Adesodi Olaoniye
Special Adviser to Hon. Adebayo Adepoju
(Media and Publicity)
January 19, 2026
You can get every of our news as soon as they drop on WhatsApp ...To get all news updates, Join our WhatsApp Group (Click Here)
