In this interview, Mr Sulaiman Olumide Nasir (SON) speaks about his ambition to represent the good people of Ogbomoso North State Constituency and why he wants to represent his people at the Oyo State House of Assembly.
EXCERPTS:
1. Can we meet you?
SON: My name is Sulaiman Olumide Nasir (SON) popularly known as NAS. I’m an Ogbomoso-breed from Ogbomoso North Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. I am the Founder and Creative Lead of Ascent 8760, a youth-focused creative hub geared towards empowering young adults with creative skills to make them sufficient for life. My guiding principle is that great things come from small places and as such I have committed myself into becoming an architect of shaping the lives of young people across the state. This we have done exceedingly well and across board for the past 10 years in Oyo state.
2. Tell us about yourself.
SON: I attended Federal Government College staff school, Ogbomoso and continued to secondary school at Ogbomoso Grammar school. I have always believed that Ogbomoso has more than enough infrastructure necessary to make an impact in one’s life journey so I went to the LADOKE Akintola University where I studied Fine and Apllied Arts. I run a successful business domiciled in Ibadan but with a state-wide operation base. I have actually been an home grown which means I spend almost my life in Ogbomoso.
3. Why do you want to represent the people of Ogbomoso North State Constituency?
SON: I’m convinced beyond any iota of doubt that it’s high time we had a quality representative at the Oyo State House of Assembly, which from Ogbomoso North state constituency. My opinion about Legislation is proposing bills that will better the lives of my constituents which by the grace of God will be the good people of Ogbomoso North state constituency in 2023. Every other role the legislator then decide to play is secondary. When people complain that most development projects are based in the state’s capital, the best people to direct that frustration towards are lesgislators who represent those seemingly “unseen” areas and that is exactly what we will do. I will be a legislator who will legislate for his people first.
Growing up in Ogbomoso, I figured out that we are lagging behind so many things, you can imagine many people still think that Ogbomoso is a village where obviously is the second largest city in Oyo State. So how come we are not getting good and proper representation? These are the questions we demand from ourselves and must provide answers to.
We have so many things we have to showcase and I believe that with us having good representation, we can actually put Ogbomoso on the map. So I’m out here saying if we have good representation, we can see Ogbomoso of our dream. When we have good representation, we can develop Ogbomoso to fulfill its maximum potentials.
4. What’s your assessment of the present Seyi Makinde-led administration?
SON: Protection of life and properties, quality infrastrutural development, human capacity development are not at the best rate to be honest. It’s only when you get closer to the grassroots that you understand all these. When you look at it very well, Ogbomoso is one of the oldest town in Yoruba Land, a town of such rich history can do more and be more.
However, you cannot remove the commitment of the current administration in ending the LAUTECH debacle. If you are a student or an alumnus of LAUTECH or an indigene/resident of Ogbomoso, you will understand how massive a news it is for us that the LAUTECH issue now belongs to the past. For a government who is committed to fulfilling its campaign promises, that is a pass mark from my end.
In our current polity, we lack men whose word are there forte and we are blessed to have a governor who hear the yearning of his populace and answer them when it matters but this should not only be limited to the LAUTECH issue but cut across every issue in the nook and cranny of every town in the state.
It can always be better by proposing bills that will bring further developments to my constituents and working amicably with my colleagues, this is possible.
What we think we can start from is, sensitisation of our people and building a robust human development capacity which starts from sensitisation, reorientation, and so on. And we will actually present bills that will affect our people positively, that will make them see the benefits of good governance the way they should see it and that will actually put the executives also in the right position to do the best for the people as they deserve.
We need everybody in government but not just anybody. We need people who are sincere enough to take us from grass to grace and not the other way round, people who truly see the damages on ground and are up to the task of fixing these damages. And of course if you ask me anytime, any day, I’ll tell you that we need the older and the younger ones in government. A government that has too much of older ones will always do things in analog way but a government that has both younger and older ones will have both analog and digital. Truly, there’s no idea that’s new, we only bring out the old idea and polish it. We can actually bring the old idea, polish it and fit in the present thing can last longer and not temporary.
5. What do you think Ogbomoso is lacking which the government needs to do?
SON: What we have observed is that there is a gap between what is and what should be. Our guiding principles will be tailored towards the general societal needs of the world. We will propose bills that will keep our children in school, ensuring a safe a sustainable society for us all and an economy friendly atmosphere for businesses to thrive. Our approach will be solution- oriented.
In an era where you have western countries and many countries in the world, making laws on climatic changes and the likes, we are making laws on domestic issues that do not affect development, this shows as a country, we are far behind. We can’t state the law that’s actually managing or guiding our technology and science space and the likes. How are we growing if we can’t make such law? The Oyo State I know happens to be a Pace Setter state in term of infrastructure and that was obtainable in those days. So now, where are we setting the pace and how are we setting the pace?
We need to look into this, and we need to start making laws that will put the executives on their toes to make things that will actually set the pace we can actually start to be the pace setter we used to be again.
