Nigeria Has Cause To Celebrate At 61, But We Must Allow States to Develop On Their Own -Lawmaker, Abiodun Tobun
Hon. Abiodun Tobun, representing Epe Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, is not happy that Nigeria is not yet there after 61 years of independence.
While Tobun, Chairman of the House Committee on Works and Infrastructure in not denying the fact that Nigeria has done well in some areas, he believes that more could still be done for the country to get to the Promised Land.
Tobun speaks with the crew of Buzznews Magazine headed by the Publisher, Mrs. Olunfunmilayo Olowosegun in an interview.
How would you describe the independence anniversary of Nigeria, do we have cause to celebrate at 61?
We have many reasons to celebrate, we are a sovereign nation and we are no longer under military rule. We are not under the control of any other country. There are still some countries that are not independent till now. We might not be there yet, but we are not under the military. To God be the glory, we are not under any war, there might be insurgency here and there, but there is problem in some other parts of the world too. When you look at it, we are getting democratically stable, we have been in democracy for over 20 years. The military have seen that it may be very difficult for them to come back to power. So we have cause to celebrate. When you look at the monumental development going on across the country, Lagos State in particular, you will know that we have cause to celebrate. If you are being ruled indirectly by other nations you will know the importance of independence. There is cause to celebrate any day anytime, we only need to articulate ourselves, organise ourselves and move this country to the next level.
Don’t you think that it goes beyond what we see on the surface, let’s look at some countries such as Indonesia, Malaysia and some others who are doing well unlike us. People are wondering why after 61 years of independence, our education sector, health sector and exchange rate and the level of insecurity are not encouraging. So can we role out the drums after 61 years?
We need improvement, no doubt. When you look at the Asian Tigers, it took the determination of their leaders and followers for them to get there, it is about the leadership and followership. Laws are not cast on stones, they are made for people. Generally, we are fond of violating our procedures and laws. It is one thing for the leaders to tell you to do this, it is another thing for the followers to obey. Even when we know that there are subsisting laws, people still want to cut corners. It is about our psyche, it is the way we are created. Nigerians can dare the devil and even God Himself. It’s only angel that can rule this country successfully. In China, a leader came around and reformed the whole country. In China, you can only have one child or else you will pay to the government. That is why a Chinese would do whatever they do concenstiously. In China, you cannot produce substandard good and sell in the country, but Nigerians would tell them to produce substandard goods to sell to Nigerians. We all have a role to play if this country would move forward. I was telling some people that some jobs are given out by civil servants to contractors and I now ask them that where does the politician come in now. You are a business man that was given a job to do, is that politician. Until we change our orientation, until we change our attitude things might not change. We are fond of violating laid down procedures until we are weaped to line. If we want this country to move forward, it must be the determination of everybody. Our children are now fond of get-rich-quick syndrome through armed robbery, kidnapping, internet fraud and other vices. They are full of laziness, and when they get laptops, instead of them to research, or do things that are useful, they would rather look for who to defraud. Nigeria is a country that God created and He loves us so much because hardly can you see any country going through what we are going through that there won’t be war. So it’s worth celebrating and we will get there, it may take time. It is not how far, but how well. Governor Lateef Kayode Jakande of Lagos State built a new secretariat then, the way he left it is not the way it is now. All these structure you are seeing were not there. Former governor Akinwunmi Ambode of the state built the park that we have here. It is there for the coming generation, it would just need maintenance. Structures are being developed across the state, roads are being developed, bridges are being developed and a lot of things are being developed across the state and across this country. So, there is cause for celebration. If you cannot appreciate independence, go and try colonialism and you will know that independence is better. You can try the military, who will query them, who will check their books, will there be parliament, no. I believe that a bad civilian government is still better than the best military government.
You have been a politician for some time now, what attracted you into politics?
I was once a civil servant and I saw what the politicians were doing and I felt that we could do more and impact on the people. As a comrade then, I felt we could represent our people and get ourselves endeared into their minds, that led us to join politics. With my vision and goals in my mind, I am pursuing the with sincerity of purpose and I’m getting the results for my people. I’m representing them well, and they get to me easily. They see me in my constituency office without any encumbrances and I contribute my own little quota on the floor of the House. Also, I impact positively on the lives of our people. I contribute my own quota too to human capital development and to God be the glory, I’m achieving my vision though I have not totally achieved them.
Can you tell us your achievements as a lawmaker?
They are so many. Well, in summary, I move motions, contribute on the floor of the house, we make laws and we carry out our oversight functions effectively. Apart from that, I have been able to attract dividends of democracy to my constituency in the area of health, we uplifted our general hospital and built our healthcare centres. In the area of education, we were able to attract classrooms, science laboratory, we give out JAMB and GCE forms to students, we built ICT Centres, sent students to technical colleges, sent some to the school of nursing, paid school fees and sponsored some to the universities. We have those that are studying medicine, law, some of them have finished and we assist them with jobs. We also did rural electrification, I have been able to give more than 36 transformers to my constituency, sunk many boreholes, and attracted so many roads. We have done so many projects, the Governor just approved a jetty terminal, and ferry services to my constituency where people could make use of waterways. The Governor is constructing a road from Eleko Junction to Epe, six lanes, with one dedicated lane for trucks and there is provision for rail line in the future and this will change the life of our people. By the time the jetty and ferry are working, people would come from Ijebu-Ode in Ogun State, Ibadan in Oyo State, they would park their cars at the park that would accommodate about 450 cars. They would park, take ferry to the city and come back to Epe to pick their cars. So the economic activities would improve, some will sleep overnight, hotels and food vendors will sell, petrol stations will sell and sweepers will get jobs. The concrete for trucks is solid and it will last about 40 years. Epe is the best local government in Lagos State and it is the biggest in terms of land mass. The topography is superb; no flood, no erosion. We thank God that we were able to impact on the lives of our people. I am glad that my people are happy with what we have done for them. I have been here for three terms, each time I think I have tried, they will tell me to go back. So, the reward for hard work is more work, which means we have not failed them. We are strong and able to serve them, it gives us more challenges and each time we want to do anything, we research. We have done education, youth empowerment, widow empowerment, women empowerment and there are times I would organise programmes for our youths, train them and empower them. Some of those we sent to technical schools are working with Dangote Refinery and feeding their families.
Can we meet you?
My name is Hon. Abiodun Tobun, I was born in the early 60s to the Tobun Family of Epe. I attended a local primary school, St. Michael, I went to Epe Divisional Grammar School, then I went to Lagos State Polytechnic, where I read Agric Economics and I had HND Upper Credit, later I did MBA, Masters in Legal Studies and another Masters in Social work at the Lagos State University (LASU). I was a civil servant and I rose to the position of deputy director before retiring after working for 22 years and I joined politics and I am in it full time. I am married to Alhaja Adenike Tobun and we are blessed with children. My father was Olatunji Tobun and my mother was Adebukola Tobun both of blessed memory. My father died in 1970, while my mother died in 1989.
What do you think the Nigerian government should do to fix insecurity and economic problems in the country?
We should do what former military president, Ibrahim Babangida told us that a bad decision is better than indecision. We must be courageous and face it squarely. I remember when soldiers were killed in Odi, Bayelsa State, former president Olusegun Obasanjo did not spare them. Insecurity must be tackled with all seriousness, farmers could no longer do business, they are kidnapped. Boys now go into kidnapping as a means of livelihood, we must tackle this politically. Also, we must bring economic reforms that can change things holistically. Nigeria is sliding, gradually sliding, Nigerian money is depreciating. In those days, it was 68k to a dollar, now it is over N500 to a dollar. We must go into agriculture, and invest in harnessing our mineral resources. We must process the resources rather than sending them to other countries for processing and sending it back to us. Anybody that wants to buy our raw materials should come into the country and process it rather than taking it into their own country. They would produce it here and leave our own here. Taking our crude oil there for them to process and sell to us is not a good deal. If it is Chinese that want to process it, let them bring their tools to this country and process it. This will help us by creating jobs for our people and enhancing our foreign direct investment as people would invest in our economy, and we will collect taxes from them. Also, we must practice true federalism, where the center would be the one giving money to the center and not the center collecting money and giving to the states. It’s not tidy. In the United States of America, they have about 50 states and the states control their own resources and give a certain percentage to the central government. Let each state dwell on the area of their comparative advantage. If each state survives on their own, this country would move forward. There are a lot of resources lying untapped across this country because they are waiting on the federal government to give them money. If the federal government does not give any state allocation and each state is to generate income and give to the federal the country would develop. It’s just like a man who does not allow his wife to work and gives her money every morning, she would become lazy. The highest you can do is to give her money to start business. If we keep on spoon feeding the states and doling out money to them, then we are not giving them opportunity to develop their potentials. Each state should go and identify their resources, develop it process it and send money to the federal government. In those days, we were known in the South for rubber, cocoa and other things, the north was known for groundnut and farm produce. Now we have left those things to depend on oil and now that oil has crashed, people find it difficult to go back to farm and those who go for mechanised farming are being kidnapped. So, the government must take issues of security, economy, governance and education seriously. Energy is also very important. I feel because some people import generators, they are not working for electricity to improve. Ghana has been enjoying uninterrupted electricity and some parts of Nigeria enjoy electricity more than others.
