I Got Into Politics To Serve, Not To Acquire Properties-Kwara Lawmaker

Hon Razaq Olatunde Owolabi, who represents Share/Oke–Ode state constituency in Kwara State House of Assembly, was a guest on Taiwo Adeyemi’s ‘E ba wa dasi’ programme on Diamond FM, Ilorin last week Thursday during which he talked about his life purpose as a politician, reasons for venturing into politics, his empowerment programmes and other issues.

Team@orientactualmags.com here presents excerpt from the radio interview.

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His life purpose as a politician and what he has done to improve the lives of his constituents since he became a member of the House of Assembly in 2019?

‘I thank God because my case can be likened to that of a person who people had zero expectations of but later had positive outcomes and recorded a remarkable success. I’m a politician who was born into politics and I was under tutelage , I later gained freedom from tutelage and I got my certificate ,so, I understand the game called politics very well .

As a politician whether you are holding an appointive or elective position ,it is important that  you  do good to the people, not because of today but because of tomorrow.

Since getting elected as a member of Kwara State House of Assembly in 2019 , alihamdulillah robilialamin ,we have done a lot for our people and we will continue to improve lives.

Interestingly, only about 40 percent of the people in my constituency had belief in me when I was elected but when I got there , there was a need to let them know who I am, whether I am a good or bad person and we thank God that I have not disappointed them.

 If I am to start listing all that I have done 3 hours will not be enough,  but because of time I will  just touch on them .

 I have 10 wards in my constituency which are : Oro Ago , Ile-Ere Ward ,Share 1, 2 ,3,4,5 wards ,Oke- Ode wards 1, 2, and 3.

Let me start with Oro- Ago ward ,as the elected representative of my constituency, I must facilitate  projects that will enhance the growth of our constituency and  also do whatever I can do personally for our constituency making it two sources, so, the two are being done simultaneously.

 In Oro-Ago today ,under Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq’s leadership, I have facilitated road from Oyate to Oro -Ago , and also the Oro- Ago Bridge that had gotten damaged long time ago was constructed, those are  some of the things that we have facilitated ,also, the transformer there was dysfunctional ,we  raised the issue with the state government and they have put another one there.

 I have done a lot of Empowerment programmes  like giving people Toyota Previa cars for commercial use , I also  gave people in the Ward motorcycles ,grinding machines, sewing machines and cash assistance.

Widows, market women, young people and all segments of society have benefited from my empowerment programmes’ he said.

Are the beneficiaries of the empowerment programmes and interventions members of his party?

‘There is no way I will not give priority to those who voted for me , there should be a good reward system, there are  however some initiatives that we would not care whether  you are a politician or not ,whether you are in APC, PDP or APGA party ,so, there are some initiatives like medical outreach programmes, distribution of exercise books, but for the Previa cars it would definitely be for those who have worked with me ,it is someone who has labored that deserves to reap the fruits , so that is it’ he submitted.

What were the parameters used in choosing the beneficiaries?

‘In education  sector, I  have paid school fees , paid for  UTME registration ,so, for something like that It is not compulsory for me to say I must give a particular person or not, it is for all, schools will provide the names of their students and I  will pay for their WAEC , UTME  registration fees, we do distribute books, exercise books to students, so, for that everyone will benefit from it ,we will not go and be asking ,whose child are you? Those are the programmes for everyone, also  in Agriculture , it is the same thing . The roads we have facilitated ,we can’t say it’s only PDP or APC members that are allowed there because it is for public use. Transformers are also for everyone’ Hon Owolabi submitted.

His Personal Mission Statement

‘The beauty of politics is in serving people , we must always act in the best interests of the people we represent.  This implies showing commitment to serving the public, prioritizing the needs and the well-being of the people, this goes beyond personal gain.

I am a real politician, I am a politician , who does not keep money in bank accounts , Iam a politician , who does not believe in acquisition of properties, I spend all my money taking care of the masses and I know that by God’s grace, I will earn the rewards.

I can say it anywhere, those selling lands ,properties,  no one among them  can say I have gotten land or property from him in the past 6 years, since becoming a state lawmaker, I  have used all my money and resources on human capital development’ he said.

What he has done to improve lives in Ile-Ere Ward

‘Let’s now go to Ile-Ere ward  which is big  enough  to be divided it into 3 wards , the kings there are up to 7 or 8 and they are important people the likes of Oba Olowode of Owode Afaro, Onidera of Idera, Oba James Buremoh , the popular Ladi African Tiger ,a  former wrestler.

We also have  Babanla ,our king there is a second class oba  with about 6 to 7 polling stations ,so, when you are talking about Ile-Ere ward, it is like a local government on its own, not a ward.

When  I became a member of the house of assembly, we didn’t have any good road in Ile-Ere at all ,the roads were in a deplorable state , if you are coming from Ilorin or Isin  to Owode Offa road that links to Babanla , it was in a bad shape ,I facilitated the construction of the road through the support of Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, now ,we want it extended  to Alabe to link Babanla so that our people can transport farm produce with ease.

I also gave someone there a toyota  Previa car. 

Another person got a new tokunbo car , others got sewing machinees, grinding machines, motorcycles and cash assistance.

Students there also benefited from payment of WASCE and UTME registration fees.

A community in the Ward had their electricity problem addressed by me. It is not everything that should be taken to the governor, we, the senators, house of reps members, house of assembly members, commissioners can do a lot of things ourselves. On the issue of the electricity problem in the community in question, I paid all the money that was needed for remedial measures and had electricity restored there.

You can go through my bank account, there is nobody that cannot do these things. It is from the money that I earn, I collect salary monthly. If you are determined to do something, you will do it, it is not until you have a lot of money. I am a politician, I have told you before we started that I was born into politics and I attended school of politics and I learned the ropes.

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I learned the art of politics. I started my training under  Hon. Baba kusi, who was then the Speaker of Ilorin West Local Government from Ubandawanki ward. In Ilorin West local government, we have 12 wards, we have Ubandawaki, we have Adewole, we have Alanamu, we have Badari, we have Ajikobi, we have Warah, Osin, we have Mogaji Geri, we have Oju ekun sarumi, we have Oloje ward, so, I was trained in Ilorin west Local Government before I left for my local government, so, I learned it, I know it and I understand it very  well. So, if you want to be a politician and you want to be a person whose future will not be destroyed as a politician, you must do good and you must give back to your community, your constituency,  your district,  your senatorial District, and your state.

Ae we speak, the number of cars I have bought for people in my constituency is 16.

 16 shasha tokunbo vehicles. I can give you the people I bought the cars for and their phone numbers’ he said.

He has just talked about 2 wards what about the remaining wards? 

‘Yes, we have ten wards. I have done 2 wards, I want to touch on it because time is not our friend. We have Oke-Ode 1,2,3 which is  called Oke-Ode District, let me put them together because of time . I  greet our people in Oke-Ode, actually, when we came on board, there were a lot of problems in Oke-Ode District especially in Oke-Ode 1, there was no electricity and they had had the electricity problem 2 years before I became their representative.

 Alhamdulilah, when we got there, I facilitated a 500 kVA  transformer for them in Oke-Ode and that is why they do call me ‘Up-Nepa’ in the town.

They also gave me an important chieftaincy  title ‘Olu Omo of Oke-Ode’.

The title should ordinarily not be given to an outsider but with joy and happiness and appreciation of what I did for our people in Oke-ode, they happily gave me the chieftaincy title of Olu Omo of Oke-Ode.  I must build a house there later because I am now a son of Oke-Ode.

  A person who is doing good, should continue doing it. If a person does good and he or she does not get rewards, it means it has a touch of evil. They have already gifted me a parcel of land in Oke-Ode, I can also have a person who will gift me blocks, someone may gift me cements and I will do the rest. So, in Oke-Ode 2, Oke-Ode 3, I have done a lot of things for our people, I built a school there myself. I facilitated school there, the school that I did myself is in Agbe, a primary school. The pupils were before then attending classes on the bare floor, our children attending the school were already getting discouraged,  the Fulani people among them were already wearing the school uniform while leading cattle to graze . I got there and I renovated it from the scratch, now we give thanks to God.  We provided solar light at different locations . We also paid school fees for students, someone from Oke-Ode 2 also got a car gift. At Labaka, I am  currently building a school there, it is ‘Agbayanu’, when it is taken to completion, we will get in touch with you to attend the inauguration ceremony.

In Share District, under our royal fathers, Olupako of Share land and Loma of Babanloma, may God preserve their lives. In Share land, we have two wards, which is Share 1 and 2, in Babanlomo, we have two wards, which is Share 3 and 4, then in surrounding towns, we have one ward, which is Share 5, making the 5 wards that forms Share District. Now, let me start from Share 1, I did a lot of things there, we have built school there, we have provided roofing sheets, we have facilitated construction of roads, we facilitated renovation of schools. There was a time in Share that we had challenges in Agbona High School but Alhamdulilah, many of the things that were burnt including computers have been replaced.

I cried unto our governor, Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRasaq, they renovated the school and they put computers there, now everything is going on smoothly. Also, private schools in Share, I gave them roofing sheets, including churches.

 I constructed 3 boreholes in Share. 

We had one in Sayo, we also renovated Sayo primary school , we had one in CAC. There is a place along Oke-Ode, I mean along Famole Road, the fulani people there  are more than 1,000,  they have been there, since like 30 years ago, they drink the water that their cows drink, but as we speak, I have constructed a borehole for them, and also made a generator available, they only  need to contribute money for the fuel, they are all fine now. During rainy season, during dry season, they have access to water.  I  also gave them cars in Share, I gave two people there. There was a time that someone  claimed I retrieved a car from him but it is a lie, he should come out and say it, I did not retrieve car from him, we thank God. 

There were different empowerment programmes in Share.

We distributed grinding machines, we distributed sewing machines, we distributed motorcycles, we distributed cars, as we speak, two people are driving my car in Share like I said earlier. We also distributed freezers to people in Share’ the lawmaker said.

His reaction to submissions that he has done all these because he is planning to become a member of House of Representatives in 2027.

‘ May God have mercy on us, I am a politician and I am not ready to retire. How old am I?

I said I have used all my money to take care of the people and I want to continue. It is good to be good, I want to continue. My friend even said something, when I organized the carnival last year, that do I want to go to Reps or senate? The issue of Reps or not, is not my concern right now, what I am interested in now is how I would complete my tenure in office, to continue my good work. When we  get there, God will direct us to where we are going . I am a politician to the core and I am not ready to retire.

You see, I have served as a councilor, a two-term councilor from 2007 to 2010 and also 2010 to 2013. That is to tell you about the kind of person I am when it comes to politics. When I became a member of the house of assembly, I did my first tenure and now having my second tenure , so, definitely I want to go to the next level which is in the hands of God. I can become a minister or even a governor or a senator or a member of house of representatives but I am a politician and I don’t want to retire for now.

I sold my property to  empower people, yes, I can say it anywhere. I sold my house, the house I built when I was a councilor because of an old man who got involved  in a car crash. So, he was crying and fortunately I have built another house when I became a member of the house of assembly. As he was crying and being an elderly man, so, I thought of what I can do to help him and I didn’t have any money on me or in my bank account and my mind went to the house I had left unoccupied

f I had rented it out, the day I collect the money for rent in a year, maybe the next year, the tenant might not be able to pay.

Then as a politician I don’t want to have properties. Quote me and underline that word, I don’t want to have properties. I want to serve the people and do good to them, and receive their prayers so that my children can also prosper. If you have  properties everywhere, where are you taking them to when you die?

I do say it anywhere that if you acquire properties, the day you die, you are going nowhere with it and you wouldn’t be buried with them. So, I am a kind of politician who is ready to serve. 

I have sold my property to help people and you say God will not show me mercy . When it is time, God will pave the way for me.

Everything I have said, it’s not everyone that voted for us that has benefited from it because people are many , so, I want to continue my good work for my people. There are still people that  need solar light. In a community. Infact it is my own community, Ahun community, they need solar light and I have promised them that  before the end of this year I would do it. The school I am currently working on in Labaka, I have not finished it yet . May God give us long life and good health, I want to finish it and some other people’s needs too like boreholes, roads, so, these are the things and we have a long way to go so we cannot finish everything . We are doing the needful to improve lives.

Look at the past governments, compared to the present government and look at what our governor is doing, what the senators are doing, what the house of reps members are doing and the assembly members too  we cannot do it all at a go. My people in Ifelodun local government and my constituents, I will continue to do my duties because a good name is better than gold and silver. I am ready to serve the people of my constituency and we are getting to two years in office.

The  person who called in to talk about the house of representatives issue, it is in the hands of God and he should pray for us’ he said.

Relationship between him and Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq

‘The relationship between me and the Speaker of the house of assembly is excellent. He is my Speaker and I am his member, he is my colleague. He is the Speaker and I am a member, so, our relationship is good. Also, our governor Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, the executive governor of Kwara State, he is a father figure, he is our governor, so, we have an excellent relationship . There is no time we ask for anything for our constituency that we do not get positive response’ he said.

‘Again, I was born into politics, I was trained by a politician and my boss is a politician and I learned and understood it. Let me tell you one thing, either we like it or not we will all return to God. You want to be a politician and you want to do it successfully.

It is not by mouth, you must show benevolence and also do well to the people that elected you.

Those that voted for us queued up under the sun, some in the  rain. Infact on the election day, I was moved to tears when I saw those elderly women, some eating groundnut and drinking satchet water just to vote for us and after election, you became unavailable, no!. I have been named as husband of widows, people call me ‘oko opo’ because I do help widows and they also call me  ‘Mr Empowerment” he added.

Relationship with Senator Saliu Mustapha

‘Someone called in to ask about my relationship with Mallam Soliu Mustapha , the relationship is good because we are both in APC, so, our relationship is very good’ he submitted-Team@orientactualmags.com  Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08035023079, 08059100286, 09094171980 or get in touch via orientactualmag@gmail.com.  Thank you