This being the full text of an exclusive interview with Hon Kolawole Musbau Taiwo,the new Mandate group leader and former Deputy Speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly ,the no holds barred discussion with LAGOS FOCUS NEWS was emotional, revealing of political disappointments and betrayals at close range...enjoy it.
Let’s talk about your experience as a lawmaker for the past 25 years starting from LSHA where you rose to deputy speaker to your journey to the National Assembly as a House of Representatives member. Then to the ECOWAS parliament as a lawmaker.
I thank God because when I look back, I feel happy, When I try to check my records which I do every time and people don’t know I check my records, look at what I am doing right and where I am getting it wrong and I know that nobody can claim perfection except God. I always call myself the most privileged, if not, I will not have represented Ajegunle for all these years and I still have the effrontery of walking on the streets of Ajegunle without security.
I think that answers your question, that I can spend so long a time representing Ajegunle and I can still drive myself on the streets of Ajegunle alone in the car without security. This is a very big privilege because It gives me the opportunity to be able to develop strong relationship with so many people and that is all I did throughout my years as a legislature representing my people . In essence, I want to be your friend and I want you to be my friend and how can I assist in the little way I can because I am not God that can solve all ones problems. I used my small resources in trying to assist people and I was able to develop that relationship with so many people. I want to make you happy. I know I am not God and I can’t satisfy everyone but with my little resources, I try to assist those I know I can. I met a lot of people because everybody cannot be the same.
I met extremely good people, I met negative thinking people and I assisted people across the board,I don’t look forward to what you can do me and that is my problem with some people who would want to caution me not to go closer to those people because they are bad persons, and I am not looking at what you will do for me tomorrow .
I enjoyed Law making and I am not a lawyer that is the aspect that always make me happy because I was not even good in English, I couldn’t have imagined myself being in a profession where I will be speaking and writing English everyday . I am not good in English, but from primary school I have always loved mathematics. I remember when I was in primary school something happened in my primary one. My teacher then came into the classroom one day and she was so happy and one of us asked her what happened ?
She said that one of her former pupils whom she taught in primary school brought her to school with his vehicle and having a car then attracts much honour, then when you have a car, you are seen to be very rich. The former pupil according to our teacher was an accountant and one of us asked what one needs to know to be an account and our teacher said, you must be very good in mathematics to be an accountant. That’s why I developed interest and liked mathematics so much because also I wanted to be rich.
So, when it was time for us to fill in our courses, I found that without mathematics and English at almost equilibrium level, you cannot do the course and you cannot be an accountant. I will not fail common entrance not because I going to pass English but am going to exceptionally pass mathematics. There was an exam I wrote and I had like 98 in mathematics but 15 in English and I had crossed the border and they will not tell me I failed.
I spent another two years at 0’ level before I was able to gain admission into the Polytechnic. I repeated exams and my mum have to move me from Lagos to Oshogbo. My early education was so slow because of English. When I got admission to read statistics in federal Polytechnic, Idah, I had a covenant with my God that I don’t want to have issues with my studies but to Read my books and to prepare myself with other educational institutions.
I became a triangular student . I don’t do anything apart from going to classroom, from class to dinning and from dinning to library. I had upper credit 3.7 which was the lowest which was my first year. The other years especially during my OND, I was the best from my class. I was able to gain direct entry to the university with my OND. I did not have problems with my education.
Like I said, I moved from the Polytechnic to university and during my school days my classmates believed I was going to be a lecturer because I was so good in mathematics and I was also good in statistics. But I thank God for everything because the whole thing showed that there is nothing you set your mind to do that you can’t achieve. I found myself in the corridor of law making not because I planned to. When I was a student at University of Ilorin, Kwara State, I was a member of student representative council.
So, my act of representation started from school . Representing my people and my constituency was a job I started while I was a student, so it was not something new to me when I got the privilege of representing my constituency at the state level. Even my lecturers didn’t like it , then, if you come to university of Ilorin, where they call Block one, nobody expected anybody in that block to do politics . When I was elected a student representative member from the block, during our swearing in I wore the gown to the event and later wore the gown to my department. One of the Professors saw me with the gown and told me that I was not serious that I should better resign my appointment and face my studies . As a legislature I grew in bounds and experience. I even disappoint myself because I didn’t know I was going to grow to this level because I cannot forget the experience when I was made the majority leader of the House, that is the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Some of the staff didn’t believe I can perform, they said, ‘you are not a lawyer, you are just a mathematician, what do you want to do as a majority leader. One of them that uttered that statement came back to apologize to me that he never believed I can fill the shoe and that I surprised virtually everybody. I am from Ajegunle and they don’t value us that much then, but now we have written our names and that of those coming behind us in gold because they are not doing badly.
I was telling my friend Saad Olumoh that the position given to him now, I was unable to get that even as a member of the house, which is office of the chairman on budget even though I was the one that will do the budget and the closest I was to that position was Associate Chairman on Budget. But they didn’t give me the privilege of being the chairman and you now have my successor, one of the lawmakers coming after me holding such revered positions and he is attracting positive things to our local government.
Honestly, I don’t hold anything against my local government, but I stopped thinking of having anything positive from there after I lost election in 2015 and I was not sure any good thing was going to come from our local government since some people are planning evil because I was going to be Speaker. However I give thanks to God almighty because, don’t forget that if you’re pursuing something and you are unable to get it, there must be a reason for that and I am alive. Somebody saw me the other time and said that I am looking better than when I was in government, I laughed and said yes, because God wants me to look better.
This is one thing I always feel happy about, I was at the national assembly, it was a trying period, I went there with a beep on my shoulder and I was supposed to be respected, because of where I was coming from but I met an opposition and everybody thought when he comes back for second tenure, we are going to honour him but it turned otherwise. I am supposed to be annoyed with the people that did that thing, but I am not going to fight anybody. I am wiser and better than before. I have seen disappointment and betrayal from very close range and I have learnt a lot. I thank my local government, they have done wonderfully well for me; I appreciate everybody; both those who supported and those who did not because they have all contributed in shaping me and I am at peace with my God.
So, what is happening to HKT and his group since you are no longer active as a lawmaker for now?
The HKT group is not about HKT. If it’s about me that means the group is depending on my aspiration but it’s about all the members, not about my aspiration. They also have the ability to sponsor someone. But as for me, I don’t know where I am going; I am just trying to enjoy myself. I remembered they asked me what I want and I told them I don’t know.
Most of my businesses have suffered and it’s not easy bringing all these businesses back. I am building a hotel in ibeju Lekki for more than 10 years now, I have been on this and so I am thinking of finishing it now. It’s a very big hotel, 85 room hotel. Some people are saying, what do you have in mind and like I said, I don’t know because I have tried so much. I don’t care about what people think, but you cannot tell me not to support my group members.
I will say leave revenge to God because if he wants to revenge on your behalf, it will be extremely devastating. I told you I don’t want to attack anybody. I know what they did to me. Some of them did write up against me to tell lies against me, but when it is their turn, they will say nobody should write anything against them.
People like telling lies because they don’t want others to know that you are the one that did this. I don’t know what I have done, but I know they’ll come out with another story.
On the issue of chairmanship what is the position of HKT group, are they sponsoring anybody?
No. But we’re going to support somebody that will win. If we have a consensus candidate, we will tell you the direction we are going and if anybody doesn’t want it, that means he would be contesting against all of us because we are going to pull all our resources together.
But there are couples of names that have been mentioned that are aspiring for the chairmanship position, where does the HKT group stand?
We know the people that are working with the HKT group. I am supposed to be angry with some people the way I was treated. This is the local government that did not vote for me to become Speaker. It’s only when you get to Agege that you will know what you have lost. I have not lost anything because I am living my life. I have been to the House of Assembly and the national Assembly. I told my people that we are not going to aspire but we may likely support somebody and I don’t know what we can get because I don’t want to raise anybody’s hope. I told my people nobody should aspire for now.
If you have ambition, just keep it to give room for negotiation. We are not however afraid of contesting the local government chairmanship seat anyway. It’s just a matter of spending two weeks at home and calling everybody and I will once again ginger the people. That’s why I said, I am disturbed that you are fighting for people, the person you are fighting for does he really know why you are fighting for him. Why do you want to kill yourself for people that don’t understand you? Why don’t you calm down.
I am even a leader of another group in Lagos and this placed other responsibilities on me. The group is the amalgamation of other groups. It’s not about one person but about everybody.
Can you assess the present government in Ifelodun LCDA?
When they started I felt they went very low. I don’t talk about them. But the chairman is doing something that really gladdens my heart, palliative and construction of roads. We sat down and he told me the number of roads he wants to do. If someone is providing the basic amenities for his people what else? They said the devil you know is better than the angel you don’t know and when you have an angel that is doing it’s work, why do you need to invite a devil you don’t know to destroy what you have done.
I know, but I have not confirmed that I am supporting him. I will make my stand known very soon.
What would you tell your supporters ?
Let them be calm and they may see me in any form. I am not looking for any appointments. Keep your nomination and interest, I had told them they should not mention my name for any appointment. Because if you can remove me from House of Reps, why do you need me. I have passed the level where it’s a must for me to be in government.
I thank my people and I really appreciate their support so far.
So what’s the direction of the Mandate group you’re heading now?
I am the leader of the group for the Lagos West senatorial district, we are working and I am praying that God should give me the wherewithal to lead the group to an enviable height. The comment I have been hearing is that they cannot work together that’s HKT and Hon Fatai Ajidagba Or Olumoh and Oluwa.
They will be shocked to see us work together and when we come out as a team, we know the implications. The people are still with you, see what they have done and we are going to improve on what we have done before .
