Chief Tunde Braimoh trained as a lawyer, which he combines with managing some businesses. A one-time Chairman of Kosofe local government area of Lagos, he just secured a House of Assembly ticket to represent the good people of Kosofe Constituency 2 in the next political dispensation in the state. Good looking and always well dressed, the admirable gentleman who hardly wears a frown, very early on Thursday, February 5, 2015, at his Ogudu GRA, Lagos home, narrated to YES INTERNATIONAL! Magazine Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, AZUH ARINZE, how he did it. He also examined his life and style of politics as well as other pertinent political issues. Hear him…
Let us start by first congratulating you on your victory as the APC (All Progressives Congress) candidate for Kosofe 2 constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly. How does it feel to have won that election?
The primary election! (Yes, the primary election). Well, by the grace of God, I want to take it as prophetic – that I’ve won the election. Because you said how does it feel to have won the election already. We still have to win the general election. But to God be the glory. It is gratifying and so heart-warming to have won the primary election, to have been considered fit and proper by the party to be put forward as the ambassador of the party, the standard bearer of the party for that position. Especially when there were other eminently qualified people vying for this same position at that time. So, I thank the party leadership, I thank the members of the party, especially the delegates who assented to my request to be made the candidate of the party and I appreciate the mission bestowed on me, and I promise that I will do all within my reach at all times to justify the confidence, the love, the admiration they have reposed in me. It feels good to be the ambassador of the party.
How does it feel to have defeated an incumbent? That’s talking about Hon. Bayo Adeyeye who lost the election.
Well, the word – defeat – with all respect to you is not very comfortable for me in this circumstance. Maybe you will say I edged out an incumbent because it’s just an edge. Not a defeat per se. Because it was a family affair; an intra-party affair. It was a contest of brothers and sisters and I want to view it like that. That it’s a contest of brothers and sisters. Just that one person has to be put forward to represent the party. Besides, nobody has really felt anyhow, untoward about the outcome of the primaries. All of us are working together now to see that the party succeeds at all levels of the elections. So, with that kind of spirit, that kind of atmosphere, all we need to do is to be on the same page.
Now, to use your exact word, you said what you did was to edge him out. What gave you the edge during the election? Why do you think the delegates chose you ahead of him?
Like I said, it’s an intra-party affair. So, delegates must have decided. You know we addressed the delegates. I did, he did, other people did. In politics, there are groups, there are caucuses. So, I want to say it’s a kind of…There are intricacies in politics. It’s not about personalities alone, most of the time. Personalities are okay. But then, at times, the intricacies come to play a role in all these things. So, I think it should be the alignments and affiliations that we had that gave me the edge.
The people of Kosofe Constituency 2, what are you promising them, what plans have you got for them, if eventually you get elected to represent them at the Lagos House of Assembly?
I’m promising the people of Kosofe Constituency 2 adequate representation, effective representation, dedicated representation, committed representation and a whole-hearted representation. I will dedicate myself, I’ve committed myself that I’m going to wholly apply myself to ensuring that the good of government gets to them. I’m not going to be in an executive capacity, where I will say probably I will build roads, I will build houses for them. But I’m gonna influence good things to come to the area. I’m going to review the peculiarities of the area, I’m going to propose legislation that will enhance the security of the area. I’m going to propose legislation that will promote peace, tranquility and well being in the area. I know what I’m saying. We have many markets. This is one of the areas that has many markets. The largest food market is here. The largest food stuff market is here, the largest yam depot is here and so on and so forth. So, I’m going to propose a legislation and I’m going to propose to make the people feel more comfortable doing their business. We are going to give them a kind of cushioned atmosphere to do their business without any form of harrassment from any agency or other people who are not supposed to intefere or disturb the business that they are doing. We are going to see to it that infrastructural upliftment becomes the lot of the people in the area. Not because I’m going to provide the infrastructures, but we are going to make a case. The population of Kosofe 2 is the 3rd largest in Lagos State in terms of votes; in terms of the number of eligible votes and even in actual population. So, I’m going to bring this to the front burner for the powers that be to see why they cannot afford to toy with the good people of this locality.
You had a kind of larger than life image about 10 years ago when you were the chairman of Kosofe local government area. A lot of people had expected that you would be made a commissioner, run for House of Reps; senate or even aspire for the governorship. But here you are running for the House of Assembly. Why is this so?
Eating the humble pie, you will say. But we thank God. What is important is not the capacity, it’s about delivery. I think that’s what the party wants at this point in time. That’s the capacity the party wants me to serve. That’s what the party wants and I’m glad to be chosen for it. And like you have said, there is nothing wrong with being a governor, for example or being a senator. But then, as a senator, as a governor, I will have to serve. As a member of the House of Assembly, I have to serve. The capacity may be larger, it may be lower, it doesn’t matter. What is important is your desire for service. If you go to the House of Assembly, and you are going to work like a senator, for example, that means I will be working to excel and to showcase that we have what it takes to do better. So, I think it’s an acid test, a kind of a breeding ground for me to show what I can possibly do better in future and it’s an opportunity for me to put into practise some of the things we have preached in the past and to let the people see too. Especially the party.To see that we have some raw talents within us that we can exhibit. So, let me say that I thank the party for giving me the opportunity to serve in the House of Assembly and let me say that I will thank the people and I will appreciate it if you people can endorse me to go to that capacity and let me also say that when I excel in my capacity, it’s the people themselves that will give me higher callings.
You were out of government for over 10 years, but in spite of that you were still your usual self, bubbling, looking good and everything. How did you cope in those years that you were not doing anything politically?
It’s not entirely correct to say I was not doing anything politically. I was relevant in my party, working behind the scene to support those people that you see in public offices. We have played roles within the party to support those that you see, who are the high flyers in the society, within the party. So, we have been one way or the other involved in the political process. But the truth is that I have not been in the limelight, I have not been in the fore front…
(Interruption) – So, how did you cope in those years?
Coping in what sense? As in…
As in financially? How were you taking care of your needs and everything?
Azuh, you know that God has been kind to me. I’m not a pauper, I’m not a lazy man and…I’m not in government for the perks of the office. Perks will come, no doubt about that and they are welcome. But then I have my own basic way of survival, aside relying on the perks of office to survive. I can take care of myself, pay my bills and you know, look after my family, with or without government funds. I’m not using government funds to survive. So, without government funds, I would have been noticeably in balance in terms of economy. Because I have many things that I do.
All the while you were not occupying any office, whether elective or nominal, what would you say was the greatest lesson you learnt? About having power and no longer having power?
The only lesson I learnt is that having power in Nigeria is almost sine qua non; it’s very, very essential. Not because of the economic aspect of it, but because of relevance in the society. You’ll observe that many people still dont know the basic tenets of democracy in Nigeria and we are the people causing it because when our orientation is wrong, when our orientation is warped, we seem to influence things negatively. The people themselves should know; the personality is a personality. An intellectual is an intellectual, regardless of whether or not he is in any political office. We should not confuse public offices with the calibre or character of the personality. When you attend some functions at times, you find out that people don’t even give you the deserved or any respect at all because you are not in any public office. I was not proud of that. Being in a public office does not make Mr. A better than Mr. B. Mr. B may not be in a public office, he may not even vie, he may not even be interested, he may not even be interested in the intrigues of getting into public office, because there’s a process to get there. It’s not getting there that matters, it’s how you get there. And so in that process, if Mr. B does not want to go through that kind of process; maybe it’s horrendous, maybe it’s fraught with so much animosities, so much intricacies, so much exigencies that he didn’t want to encounter and he didn’t go for public office, does that make him a less personality than Mr. A who either through hook or crook becomes this or becomes that? So, we should stop equating public office with the level of intellect that somebody has and we should stop down-looking or kind of talking scantily about people who otherwise are accomplished in their endeavours. For example now, you are not a commissioner, you are not a legislator, but you are an accomplished journalist that I can beat my chest for anywhere in the world. And it’s not just about being a journalist, you are also an entrepreneur. Because apart from working in a profession, you are also able to float an outfit, which you have succeeded with in about 3,4 years now. And it’s not easy in Nigeria to run a business for one year. If somebody runs a business for one year; you have to find the content; it’s yours. The intellectual property, the infrastructure, printing, papers, putting everything together. It’s yours, it’s selling. The marketing is yours. It’s a lot of job that you have to do. Not because you dont have delegates, you don’t have subordinates. You have them, but anything you will want done at all, will have to be done by you. And when you are in charge of all these things, that’s a lot of work. When I see people giving awards to people just because they are in public office, of course, yes, some public officers deserve awards, but what of people who are toiling, who are struggling on their own to float and they are staying afloat? We should recognise them too. Being in public office should not be the yardstick. But unfortunately in Nigeria, it is this public office thing. And it’s even our people that encourage the people there to think they are larger than life and to encourage them to kind of legitimise their corruption.
Why do you think people should vote for your party, APC?
Thank you very much for that. I almost missed that out (General laughter). Of course, at this point in the Nigerian history, we should know that what should be paramount to us, what should be preponderant to us, what should be of unequalled importance to us now is the change that we need in the Nigerian polity. The change is now more necessary than ever because when President Jonathan became President about 6 years ago, a Dollar was sold for N120. And when Obasanjo was leaving in 2007, it was about N110. Today, a Dollar sells for between N210 or thereabout. This is terrible and if care is not taken, after the elections, may be it will sell for N600. We cannot continue like this. Insecurity has braced the atmosphere every where. About 200 and thirty something girls were abducted almost a year ago. Nobody is asking any question or raising any comment about them any more. They are gone. We have daughters; I can’t imagine my daughter to be abducted by somebody. We should put ourselves in these people’s position. It’s because the peple that were afflicted or affected by this menace are considered inconsequential, we are not bothered. Were it to be the daughter of a Minister or the President himself that has his daughter, whether foster or real abducted, will we be folding our arms? The other time they took his uncle, they seized his uncle, he was found within a few days. Because it’s the President’s uncle! I learnt when Okonjo-Iweala’s mother was seized, we heard that ransom was paid. The people confessed to collecting ransom. They paid ransom and they released the woman. And they will say they are a government, they cannot negotiate with criminals. Whereas when it affects them; two sets of laws operates in Nigeria. One for them, one for us.The kind of law that affects the slave and does not affect the child. They have slaves, they have children. In this country, we are the slaves, they are the children and we cannot continue in a country that we have vowed to have a common wealth, to have a sense of oneness, a sense of unity. Nigeria has been polarised on the basis of tribe, polarised on the basis of religion, basis of class under Jonathan. It’s unfortunate that the mantra we used in 2011 is what he wants to be using now and which cannot serve – mantra of dividing people along the lines of ethnicity, cheap, cheap things. What does it matter if someone is a Christian or a Muslim, what does it matter if somebody is from Ijaw or from Isoko or from Yoruba? What does it matter? What is important is good life, better life for Nigerians.
In Lagos State, for instance, there has been so much noise about who becomes the next Governor. Your party is presenting Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode while PDP has Mr. Jimi Agbaje. Why do you think Lagosians should give their votes to your party’s candidate, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; what stands him out?
With all sense of modesty and without denigrating or impugning the calibre or achievements of anybody, Mr. Jimi Agbaje, with due respect to him, is of no match in terms of pedestal to Mr. AkinwunmiAmbode. Mr. AkinwunmiAmbode is an accomplished professional, an extra brilliant person that God has endowed with raw and great intelligence from the cradle to now. This is a man who qualified as a chartered accountant at the age of 24, doubled with a Master’s degree at that time, became Permanent Secretary under 40 and retired in his 40s too. So, let me tell you, the man is extra-gifted by God. When you see a man of endowments, please recognise him. He has been tested, he has been trusted. How many people will quit office as Accountant General without any blemish? Governor Fashola, contrary to what some loafers were saying the other time, gave him a recommendation when he was leaving office. It was a shocker to everybody that an Accountant General sitting on the throne of fortunes of Lagos will quit office to go for other challenges, private sector, to have experience apart from having the public service experience for so long. He started from the grassroots as the Treasurer of a local government council, to go to the state level. He left all those, went to the US again to broaden his knowledge and came back and floated a private sector establishement in which he was excelling very well before being called back to take the mantle of leadership in Lagos. This is a man that has been here and there and everywhere, a man that has seen it all within his brief stint on earth. He has not been stereotyped in one particular place. He’s restless, he’s an adventurist, he’s tireless, a committed welfarist who wants the greatest good to the greatest number of people and who wants to go round to see that his good becomes better and he cannot rest until even his better becomes the best. And he is not a complacent person. Were he to be a complacent person, many people would have retired as local government Treasurer. But this is a man that always wants to go and I’m sure, after his governorship stint, Mr. Ambode will even want to shoot up again because he’s tireless, he wants to do something new at all times. He may not be in politics, he may be in other spheres of life. I’m sure after his spending 8 years as the Governor of Lagos State, he will still want to do other things internationally or locally. But what I want to bring out is that he is a man that has a raw, bubbling energy in him. He has super class intelligence in him. And don’t forget, he’s a member of the system, he has been a member of the system. He knows what it takes to govern Lagos, he knows what the requirements of the people are, having been a grassrooter before, having been a grassroots man, having worked in Local Government Service for years, having been at the state level where he knows about the workings of the state. So, it is not a time for experimentation, it is not a time for trial by error, it is a time for somebody who knows his onions and who can just continue from where the good strides of Governor Fashola is going to stop. And also is the fact that Mr. Ambode is an honest man by nature. I know him very well, he’s a kind-hearted person. He’s a man that feels for the people. He has clean compassion, genuine passion, genuine mission, genuine involvement with the people, which you can see through him and then, let’s give him a chance to continue from where the present Governor is going to stop. And also is the fact that the need for change in Nigeria is all pervading, it’s all encompassing…
(Interruption) – Your people (APC) are crying for change at the federal level, but you are not crying for change at the state level, why? Don’t you also think that the change should be all pervading?
I said positive change! (General laughter). Any change in Lagos will be negative, because Lagos is…We can see by ourselves. Change can be two ways – positive and negative. But what we want in Nigeria is positive change. Change from no electricity; I’ve not had electricity in my house and I’m happy you are in my house right now. We have been running generator for about 3 days now non stop. There’s no electricity in my house. That’s one. We want to change from that. There’s no security. I employed my own Maiguard. We want to change from that. There’s no infrastructure on the road. We want a change from that. There is no security for me. I want to change from that. I want a change from having to purchase a bottle of this drink (Lucozade) for so much because of the high rate of Dollar. So, these are the kind of changes we are talking about at the federal level. We need a super structure. At Lagos level, honestly, it’s not because I belong to the APC, so I’m partisan. I think the kind of change we need is just a kind of present continous change. It’s a continous change that we need in Lagos State. We don’t need an outright change in Lagos. Why I said continous change is that it’s just a change of baton. We need people of the same family. The same people of the same calling, the same people of the same tendency, who know, who have a kind of charter for the next step. They have done the Lagos road map up to year 2020 and they are following it and let it be followed without being truncated. Lagos is doing well, it’s on course. We have seen what Governor Asiwaju (Tinubu) did, we have seen how TundeFashola extended it and you are going to see by the grace of God how this man, Ambode is going to achieve that much desired Lagos mega city status.
Alright! What do you like most about being a politician?
What I like most about being a politician is the opportunity to be involved. Because it’s a privilege. When we are talking about Lagos State, we say we have about 21 million people, estimate. If you have 40 people representing these people in the House of Assembly for example, 24 people representing them in the House of Representatives, about 40 commissioners, the Governor and the deputy. All these people are not more than 70 people. So, if one is privileged to be one of those 70 or let’s say 100 people, I think it’s a rare privilege. So, that privilege is there and what I want to employ that to achieve is, apart from the relevance, the ability to affect. You can affect people positively through public office. As a lawyer, I’ve been able to affect people; as a businessman, I’ve been able to affect people. To employ and apply the common wealth is easier and it’s better and it’s more appreciated by the people.
So, what don’t you like about being a politician?
What I don’t like about being a politician is the intrigues; the unnecessary intrigues. There are intrigues everywhere, but the unnecessary intrigues, the mediocrity, the pull-him-down syndrome, the lies, the subterfuge, the deceit, the shenanigans, the chicanery. All these are negative to my own values.
What is the costliest mistake that any politician can make?
The costliest mistake any politician can make is to take the people for granted. Never take the people for granted. You must maintain your link at all times; wherever you find yourself, remember, you did not jump there. Some people may find themselves somewhere, because some people achieve greatness, some are born great and some have greatness thrusted upon them. As we struggle to achieve political office, some have these offices ascribed to them without even having to struggle for it. So, it’s different strokes for different folks. But whether you struggled for the office or you found the office bestowed on you, please never you take the people for granted. Whether you are appointed or elected, always remember that it’s not autocracy, it’s not a dictatorial regime, it’s not a military regime, it’s a democracy and the ultimate power resides with the people. And it’s not just about that o! It’s about doing their will, caring for them and making sure that they are happy. You must feel their pulse at all times. President Jonathan made that mistake now and he’s going to pay dearly for it. He doesn’t even care whether Nigerians are happy or not. And he’s going to pay dearly for it.
Some people attain success in what they are doing, but they are not able to sustain it. Where do you think they normally get it wrong? Especially in your own terrain – politics…
Well, that is politics for you that I’ve told you. It’s an array of factors. It’s a kind of complexity of absurdities. Complexities of absurdities, I will call it. It’s a paradox of lots. So, it’s not a theoritical thing. It’s not something you can define. It’s something that is evolutionary; it evolves. And dynamic. It’s highly dynamic. You have to keep your tab on dynamism. Things just change so rapidly and so quickly in politics that if you are not careful, you will be consumed by the dynamism. So, you have to rule it by the day and that is why you must be in constant touch with your people.
Politics has done a lot for you, what has it not done for you?
What politics has not done for me is to give me the opportunity to really, really positively affect the people. I have not been able to affect the people the way one would have wanted to. Our people deserve a better deal and I think I want to be the President of Nigeria one day soon by the grace of God. If I can be the President of Nigeria, I don’t mind if they are going to remove me within one year because I know many people are down who cannot even stand positive change.
What is your definition of politics?
Politics, to me…some people say politics is simply an amalgamation or ruling of people for the cause of power. That’s what people say. But to me, politics should be a kind of a means to an end. Politics should be an activity or a calling or a phenomenon whereby you arrange people to affect people positively. That’s the way I want to define my politics. But some people define politics as the amalgamation of people in the quest for power. But what they do with the power is not part of the political definition. But to me, what you do with the power is very important. It’s not just getting the power that is important to me, it’s what you do with the power.