- Dr. Oluseyi Akintunde Dada
He is young, vibrant and determined, at the tender age of 30years, he has attained the height he planned for, he is a Ph.D holder, a lecturer at the University of Calabar. Dr. Oluseyi Dada journalist in his country home ayetoro,that the major reason he is aspiring for House of Representatives is to go there and liberate his people from poverty and one of the channel is to use his education. He said this and more in this interview, read on…
Kindly introduce yourself to us Sir?
Yes, my name is Dr. Oluseyi Akintunde Dada, I am from Ayetoro, Yewa North, Ogun State.
Tell us other things we need to know about you?
Well, currently I am a lecturer in University of Calabar, I have worked at University of Ibadan, Federal College of Education, Oyo State and I have more than 20 publications both local and foreign. I have represented Nigeria in some number of occasions, as a delegate to some conferences that have to do with education.
Why did you want to go to House of Representatives under Yewa North Constituency?
Well, that is a very interesting question. Yes, the answer is multidimensional but as far as I can mention now, I will just give you few of the reasons. In Ogun State, Yewa North or Yewa land, I don’t want to call it the name people call it but Yewa people are regarded as minority people and one of the things I feel I woe that land is to promote Yewa land and as we all know, you can’t do anything meaningful if you are out of the focus of government interest, you are out of the focus of the interest of the people and I think one of the instrument or tools that I can use to really promote the land is joining politics and defend the course of our people, the interest of our people in the national assembly.
Have you ever embarked on any project in your area to give you such confidence to contest for the House of Representatives slot, if any could you please tell us?
Yes, what people call project, I have a bias definition for it. People see giving money for ceremony as project, giving money for party and all of that. This is not a project, that cannot really barricade poverty. Sometimes, maybe, politicians come home every weekend, buy beer for people, get them drink. Look, when I spent money, I make people happy even if that can be said it is part of it, to entertain people and making them happy, but in a developmental project is far beyond that. So, to answer your question, as a lecturer, every year I make sure I assist students in getting admission into the university or higher school of learning, they might not see it as a service that can be described as a project but I want to tell you this is what we need because most of our children in Yewa land after primary school, what you see them do is okada job, going out of the town to become slaves, in search of what will sustain them, but I want to say that I have been encouraging parents in Yewa to encourage their wards to go to school, get education and developing themselves, that is the first instrument to fight poverty. We cannot fight poverty without education, so that is one. Two, within my area, particularly, my own unit, the major problem we have is water and you know virtually every government always have water project as their priority because some people say without water there is no life. So, in my own little way, I have been able to dig some number of boreholes to provide water for the people and getting them out from the problem of water. In my area and other neighbouring villages, I have been able to talk to the council of elders there to establish schools and as I am talking to you now, we have five schools that have been established although they are not wearing the structure we need but at least we have started; there is one around Imeko community, the government has provided teachers now, I assisted them with the provision of furniture, so that the children can get education because the global pursuit now is that children should have access to education and next quality education is a priority. Also, we have been able to provide infrastructural material for those schools, so that it will motivate teachers and students. Moreso, there are other schools that we’d started (in their third term), so in such community, they have suffered for so many years, their children travel far away to attend school in the neighbouring towns, the neighbouring town I am talking about have schools and I have met some other community leaders so that such gesture can as well get to them. So, I promise to do more if the opportunity is given to me.
You talked about poverty, are you very close to the grassroots to know where the show is pinching your people?
I spent my early life there, I schooled there, I schooled in Ayetoro community, I had my primary and secondary education there. So, I understand what poverty means to my people, we don’t even have any higher institution, had it been we have one in would have had my education there too. So, I know what it takes, I was able to make it though very young, I had my education because of the opportunity of scholarship then with the state government, I know many of my friends that we started together then but didn’t have the opportunity. Today, by the grace of God, I am a PhD holder, it is simply because of the opportunity I had and this is very rare in our time even until now, it is that opportunity that I am advocating for, that is should be readily available because without education there is no way you can eradicate poverty, you measure poverty by the standard of living of the people, when people cannot eat two square meal per day. If you make carry out research in Yewa land, in a family of 4 you hardly find money why because poverty is everywhere.
What should your people expect from you eventually you are given the ticket?
Of course they know the kind of person I am and I know I have been with them, they know my background, they know what I can do or not, I am sure the expectation will be high. So, one of my major priorities is on education, next to that is employment; few ones among my people that have been able to come out of higher institutions will be catered for, I hope to have a vocation centre in the two local government that forms the constituency where skills will be rendered to our youths, then , our major occupation in Yewa land which is farming, will be given full support to help them develop their farming processes to have high product by subsidizing agricultural needs like fertilizers and others and also encourage them into mechanized farming. I am very sure with all these, because we have the potentials but we don’t have the support. We want to thank the governor for the present administration in Ogun State, he has been encouraging us through the construction of roads, this is a big access for us and industrialization as the Lord will help me if possible, I am going to bring in entrepreneurs to come in and establish few firms there so that they can offer our people jobs.
Presently, there was faction in APC in Ogun State, does this in any way affect your ambition?
Not only APC, faction is always everywhere, I want to tell you this is a problem that is temporarily, I can assure you that before the end of the month, I mean a couple of days, the problem will be over. So, just be rest assured it will soon fade off, we are one, APC is not two in Ogun State.
How will you describe the leadership of Senator Ibikunle amosun in Ogun State?
Senator Ibikunle Amosun is doing well even though there are challenges, what every good leader need is good followership, Governor Amosun has done some couple of good projects but I know with the cooperation of the followers he will do more for the state.
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