Why Lagos Youths Prefer Akinwunmi Ambode to Jimi Agbaje

Jimi Agbaje is a gentleman and no
doubt appeals to several youths in Lagos
State. The pharmacist turn politician
wowedLagos youths with a Nollywood style
campaign in 2007, and have ever since been
in the minds of Lagosians as a man of the
future. Pundits regretted that Jimi failed to
take the humble pie and become a
commissioner under Governor Fashola in
2007; a move many claim will have sealed
his fate as a possible successor of Fashola in
2015.

Temitope Adewale writer

Agbaje shunned what may have been a
lifetime opportunity to learn from service
which a much more politically experienced
Hilary Clinton took in 2009 serving under her
former rival President Barack Obama. Hilary
Clinton, a United States Senator and former
first lady knew that to boost her chances of
being the first female President of the United
States in 2016, she needed to boost her
foreign policy experience which she
successfully did as Secretary of State.

Beyond that she showed to the entire world
that she had the capacity to collaborate with
past rivals, learn from them and even serve
under them. These are important leadership
qualities that Jimi Agbaje failed to
demonstrate during the 8 year tenure
of Fashola, and unfortunately, he lost a
lifetime opportunity of understanding how the
public sector works beyond the current
textbook knowledge he
has. Governor Rauf Aregbesola of OsunState
cut his tooth in governance as a
Commissioner of Works in Lagos for 8 years
and same for the much celebrated 2015 Vice-
Presidential candidate of the APC,
Prof. Yemi Osibanjo who served as Attorney
General and Commissioner of Justice in
Lagos for 8 years.

The APC Lagos Governorship Candidate for
2015, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode is a man that
understands leadership not only because he
has learnt to serve but because he is a
professional guru
with unprecedented achievements in Lagos
Public Service. More importantly, Ambode is
running on a platform APC (formerly ACN)
that Lagos youths can
trust. Ambode’s combination of this qualities
is reminiscent of the 2007 Lagos
Governorship election when the relatively
unknown Babatunde Fashola was flying the
flag of the then ACN. Less than 8 years down
the line and today Governor Fashola is
regarded by both friends and foes as the best
performing Governor in Nigeria. While credit
must go to the man Fashola, the reality is
that he benefited from the structure and
foundation laid by his predecessor.

He understood that structure so well because
he served in that administration just
as Ambodeunderstands the existing structure
having served in senior government positions
under Governors
Bola Tinubu and Babatunde Fashola. This is
a structure that Jimi Agbajedesperately needs
but lacks and does not understand.
Before sharing my views on the role of so
called godfathers in the 2015 governorship
elections, I want to clearly state that there is
nothing wrong with politicians having more
experienced politicians as mentors. At least in
Lagos State,

Governor Fasholaand Asiwaju Tinubu have
proven that a godfather-godsonrelationship
can be positive. Jimi Agbaje’s biggest
problem which is the major concern of Lagos
youths is not his obvious lack of experience
in public administration but the kind
of godfathers he has chosen or that
have chosen him, as well as the platform of
PDP that most Nigerians are now wary of,
much more Lagosians. Chief Olabode George
and Senator SeyeOgunlewe are
Jimi Agbaje’s godfathers. As
Mr. Joe Igbokweaptly described
Senator Ogunlewe: “Ogunlewe is a troubled
man, haunted by the crimes he committed
against Lagos, which included launching a
terrorist group to kill and maim Lagosiansand
leaving federal roads in worse conditions as
he met it while was Works minister.”  PDP’s
frontline politician
Senator MusiliuObanikoro said of Chief Bode
George, “Indeed, there is nothing unexpected
about the recent tantrums by Chief Bode
George targeted at me in spite of the ignoble
role he played in the fraudulent outcome of
the Lagos PDP gubernatorial primaries. For
whatever it is worth, it is to Chief Bode
George’s credit that his family name is
tainted and now constitutes a generational
blemish as Nigeria’s leading metaphor for
gross moral deficit, lack of integrity and
public dishonor… Let someone remind him
that the post-traumatic stress disorder that
comes with a time in jail would take more
than just an unholy alliance with a
pharmacist to heal.”

Lagos Youths are watching with keen interest
with some noting that J.K is no more O.K.
You may hate Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu for fighting to protect Lagos
State from President Obasanjo’s invasion in
2003 and 2007, being a godfather to
Governor Fashola or whatever you may want
to believe but the description of Chief Bode
George and Senator Ogunlewe’s desperation
is far from Asiwaju’s person. The PDP
desperate godfathers are looking for an
inexperienced person in political matters that
they can manipulate and it seems that that
they have selected the handsome looking
Jimi Agbaje is their fall guy. Chief Bode
George has always looked for a candidate
that can be manipulated such
as Mrs. Williams in 2007 and Mr.Dosunmu in
2011.

Lagos youths are pragmatic and know
better. Asiwaju is a man you can only hate to
love and he remains the only leader in
Nigeria that has been able to
successfully develop other leaders that
can outperform him without being jealous, in
a country where leaders look
for incompetent people they can manipulate
to place them in position of leadership…
ditto Olusegun Obasanjo.

In 2011, some Lagos youths were swayed by
the “I had no shoes” campaign strategy of
President Goodluck Jonathan and decided to
ignore his party and vote for him. Less than 4
years down the line and those youths can
clearly see that the PDP is a visionless party
capable of blinding a man of vision. Lagos
youths are more sophisticated and
experienced than they were in 2011, and can
see that some selfish godfathers are trying to
use their genuine admiration of
Jimi Agbaje’s person to carry out their vow
of capturing Lagos State to obviously oil
their pockets and those of their masters as
they have done with Nigeria’s treasury.

Jimi Agbaje needs Lagos youths to reject him
at the polls to save him from the quagmire
he has found himself
in. MrAkinwunmi Ambode is another Fashola,
a better Fashola having spent years learning
under Asiwaju and Fashola. We
trusted Asiwaju and his party in 2007 and did
not regret it, and I know for sure that Lagos
youths will not gamble with their future. In
2007,

while Babatunde Fashola polled about 848, 4
24, MusiliuObanikoro Koro had 389,688
votes. By 2011, Ade Dosunmubarely managed
to get 300,450 votes
against BabatundeFashola’s 1,509,113.
I challenge Lagos Youths to deliver a
minimum of 3 million votes
to Mr Akinwunmi Ambode in the 2015
governorship election as both the man and
the party hasthe requisite experience,
manifesto and strategy to take Lagos State
to the next level. With this mentions I so
much believe in him and I assure him Lagos
State youths are fully Behind him.

Written By: Temitope Adewale