Friends of Hon Kolawale Musbau Taiwo, a former member of the House of Representatives, have poured encomiums on the lawmaker at a surprise birthday bash by youths of the HKT political group.
The event achieved two major purposes of regrouping the members and sparking off strong speculation on the 2027 political interest of the lawmaker.
The floodgate of commendations about the former deputy speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, was opened by Revd Prophet Elijah Adeniyi aka Baba Niwoyiola Adeniyi, the lead Pastor, By This Time Tomorrow Prophetic Ministries, who offered the opening prayer. He described Hon Taiwo as a fighter, and people with such attributes lead by example, and that explains why he has no regrets identifying with the lawmaker.
The Ifelodun LCDA Chairman, Hon Olufemi Akanbi Okeowo, said his relationship with the celebrant has come a long way.
” HKT and I have come a long way, and we give God glory for sparing our lives and keeping us together. We have come a long way because wherever HKT is, there I will always be. We have a strong bond, and nothing can break the bond.
“Ifelodun will rally round him and wherever he would want to be, we will be with him because I know God is happy with him, I am also happy with him”, Okeowo noted.
Mufutau Egberongbe, a former member of the National Assembly in the ninth Assembly and also a former member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, described Hon Taiwo as his boss, not a colleague.
“He is my boss, even though I was with him at the House. When it comes to legislative practice, Hon Taiwo is a legislative Methuselah. He is a model, and he knows the rudiments of lawmaking not only in Lagos but in Nigeria,” Egberongbe explained.
Hon Lawal Olawale Hafees, a youth member of HKT group, has this to say, “ In terms of political representation in Ajeromi/ Ifelodun LGA, God has not given us anybody like the celebrant. He picks all calls except when he is in an important event, unlike many office holders,”
The serving Commissioner for Special Duties in Lagos State, Gbenga Oyerinde, showered a glowing tribute on Hon Taiwo.
His words, “I and Hon Kolawale Taiwo have been together for about 45 years. We studied the same course and were in the same class. Hon Taiwo used to be the best in our class because he is a book person and because he is unassuming and simple. It’s impossible not to see the stuff he is made of at first sight. It was because of his encouragement that I came into politics, and I have been a two-time cabinet member”.
The former Ifelodun LCDA Chairman, Hon Fatai Ajidagba, congratulated the lawmaker and his twin brother, Hon Kehinde, on their birthday and prayed for good health for them. He noted that describing Hon Taiwo as a political icon would take more than a higher education notebook to discuss, though both of them have had their political differences. He, however, admitted to having learnt a lot from the lawmaker, as they are now friends.
In his remarks, Hon Tosin Ilesanmi Elijah, the Councilor representing Hon Kolawole Taiwo’s Ward, said he would always be grateful to God and the celebrant because he produced him as a Councilor.
He noted that whatever dividend of democracy the LCDA is enjoying now is courtesy of Hon Taiwo, who, according to the former LSHA Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, would have been the Speaker.
Hon AbdulFatah Ibn Hamzat, a former Supervisory Councilor and Special Adviser to the Ifelodun Council Chairman, an old ally of Hon Kolawale Taiwo, thanked God for the life of Hon Kolawale Taiwo and prayed for more celebration for him.
“He is a friend and we’ve been mutually together since 1999. I will always support him, as there has not been a time I didn’t support him because he’s been a good friend,” he added
The wife of the celebrant, Alhaja Shekirat Dasola, while appreciating the youths for their kind gestures to her husband, said, The father of her children is an honest man to the core.
She explains more, “Take whatever he tells you because it is true. He never asks you even on the phone what it is, but his words are what you want. He is a complete public servant”.
The spokesperson for the youths, Alhaji Kunle Oyekunle, said Hon Taiwo youths are grateful for their symbol, who have attracted councillorship slots and other political positions as a ladder through which the youths climb and grow politically.
In his response, the celebrant Hon Kolawole Taiwo, who could not hide his joy and appreciation at the occasion, said:
“I am grateful to the Almighty God and to the HKT youths. I appreciate this gathering because it’s a turning point for our group, and I do not hold grudges against anyone. However, I do not know why some people in Ajeromi seem not to be happy with me, despite how sincerely I have worked out my heart and delivered dividends of my representation to them.
“It is to this regard that I am most grateful and honoured by the Maiyegun of Iwaland and Apapa Kingdom, my brother Prince Wale Oluwa, who honoured us with his presence”, he concluded.
Meanwhile, the birthday celebration of Hon Taiwo has continued to generate strong rumors that it has a political undertone. This rumor was escalated by the moderator of the event, Comrade Agbalaya Ganiu Ajide, who noted that the action of the youth is a call to duty for the former LSHA Deputy Speaker to brace up for the 2027 electoral season because he is the best political fortune that has happened to Ajeromi Ifelodun
