The woman, who was in the House between 2007 and 2011, revealed that she has passed through some challenges in the past, but that she has left everything for God.
Ajoke added that she has not quit politics and that God
would lead her into what to do in 2015, when the time comes as she wishes to
continue participating in politics to keep the legacy of her late mother alive
as she said the woman died a politician.
The wife of Juju Music star, King Sunny Ade, speaks on
issues affecting her job and party, All Progressive Congress (APC) in the
interview she granted us in her tastefully furnished office in Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos
You were a lawmaker in the Lagos State
It was so wonderful, one needs to pass through such life sometimes,
I want to tell you that it was very tedious, and challenging, but I thank God
for everything. I found the work very interesting, I enjoyed that particular
period of my life.
What did you learn in the office that you did not plan
for
I tell people that the place is another institution entirely,
even if you went to Cambridge
University London to study, Lagos
State House of Assembly is entirely different in terms of lawmaking, we have
lots of graduates, learned persons, but if you are a first timer there, you
have to learn.
Now, you are a Commissioner in the Lagos
As a Commissioner or Commissioner 2, the figure there is
just about allocating rooms, they didn’t know how to allocate rooms for us, so
they just named them Commissioners 1 to 4 and we were given the rooms on first
come first serve basis. I came second, so I am Commissioner 2, we are all
equal, no senior; it is only the Chairman’s office that is different. As a
Commissioner here, it is another ball game, the Commission is new, it is just
like someone starting a primary school. Here, we have two former lawmakers,
Hon. Sunmi Odesanya and me. The system is not so strange to us and we have the
former chairman of Ibeju-Lekki Local Government among us, and the fourth person
is a medical doctor, while the Chairman of the Commission is from the corporate
world. We are to manage the affairs of
the Lagos State House of Assembly right from the Clerk of the House to the
clerical officers, we manage them. We are to employ and to disengage.
How will you describe the experience here compared to
lawmaking
Lawmaking is more demanding than what we do now, but I
believe as a member of the assembly in the past, this is just an extension of
what they do there.
We will like to know if you are still a politician
despite being in this office, which is an appointment
I don’t give myself credit; I want people to go to my
constituency to know the kind of person I am. I want people to know that I was
born into politics; my mother was a politician till she died. I had been having
it in mind to be a politician from youth; I cannot leave politics, what I ought
to do as a politician to the people of the grassroots in my constituency, in my
division, I do it according to what God wants me to do.
So, should we expect to see Hon. Ajoke Adegeye contesting
for a political office in 2015
I can tell you yes and that everything I do is in the hands
of God, I commit everything into his hands, it depends on what God wants me to
do, I will consult Him, if He tells me to contest, I will go, but we pray that
God should keep us till 2015 and beyond.
We knew you, when you were in the House of Assembly as a
lawmaker, but you seem to have become more beautiful and robust, what is the
secret
It is the grace of God, it is all about you managing your
challenges, if you take life very simple instead of arrogating everything to
your self, you will be looking younger.
Are you satisfied with the level of the participation of
women in politics, especially those in public offices by election and
appointment
I am very satisfied with their performances so far, I am
only appealing to our leaders to give us more women, they have given us the
chances, but we want more women to come and join us. Go to the executive of the
Lagos State Government, 30% of them are women, even in the Assembly, before I went
in, there were two women there, when I went in, we were five in number and now
they are seven women there. We are looking forward to more women, I want more
women to come out and their husbands should allow them to come out.
Have you ever had any embarrassing moment as a politician
Honestly, a lot of embarrassment at rallies, you will see
someone pointing a finger at you saying, ‘who are you, you say you are a wife
of King Sunny Ade and you want to come in to say you want to contest,’ a lot of
things like that. About two years ago, I was challenged on a lot of things and
they were in the newspapers, but I am above that, I don’t want to talk about
it.
You said your mother was a politician, but many people
feel you are in the limelight because you are a wife of music superstar, King
Sunny Ade, or shall we ask you to tell us how being the musician’s wife has
affected your career
My late mother died over 20 years ago, but I started
politics before she died; however being a wife of King Sunny Ade, and a
political daughter of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has really helped me. Tinubu is
one of the persons that I believe God sent to me, I made it through them. I had
been with the failures before in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). I came out
thrice in Apapa Local Government Area of Lagos to contest under the PDP and I
lost, I was with them for 12 years before I joined the progressives in the now
All Progressive Party (APC), which everyone is looking forward to, before I
achieved my aim. My husband says that if you make it through someone, then he
is your God-sent as God will never come down to help you physically, He will
send somebody to you. I don’t have any regret to be one of the wives of King
Sunny Ade. Even before I got into the House, once people hear that I am KSA’s
wife, they hailed me; both in Nigeria
and abroad.
Many people believe that most men would not allow their
wives to go into politics because of sexual harassment, would you say they are
right
I want to appeal to men to allow their wives to participate
in politics, especially those who want to join the progressives. Where I am in
APC, there is nothing like sexual harassment, name them, our party Chairman in
Lagos State, Chief Dele Ajomale has a very beautiful wife, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed
Tinubu’s wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu is very beautiful too, so they won’t be
looking around for other people’s wives. At least, I can tell you that it does not
happen amongst the progressives, they respect those of us who are women a lot.
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. (Hon.) Adeyemi Ikuforiji
used to help us with our bags when whenever we traveled abroad and he treated
us with respect. He tells the men that it is women first, I worked with him for
four years and I am still with him, he would tell all the lawmakers to consider
the women first, the same thing with Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Hon. Dele
Ajomale and everyone in the party.
Nigeria is about to celebrate 50 years of Independence,
are you satisfied with our democratic development so far and would you say we
have something to celebrate
I am satisfied in the sense that my party and Governors are
doing well, but before we can celebrate properly, electricity and water should
be available, so before we celebrate, let us use the money meant for
celebration to fix all that we need.
What is your
position about having two main parties in Nigeria
I agree with that so that we will know where we are going,
it is good, it is clear, that will be okay. I believe that by the special grace
of God, APC will take over power from the PDP in 2015.
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