By: Kayode Odunaro
There are all manner of politicians and political officeholders in the Nigeria political space. Some are noted for incisive oratory. Others have network in high places. Still other ride on their affinity and empathy with the people while others also made their marks on what they do for the people, individually or collectively over the years. Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola aka Yayi, currently on his third term in the Senate and serving in the critical role of Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations, is a grassroots politician who combines a good dose of all attributes of a grassroots politician with a defining record of performance in offices as his main forte.
His political trajectory in the Nigeria political space is worthy of study and research for scholars desiring of understanding the staying power of any politician remaining in the good book of the people for decades. Senator Adeola has consistently won competitive democratic elections at state and federal levels across two states on six consecutive occasions. That is unprecedented in the history of Nigeria. Such a record of continuous service with verifiable legacies deserves a study and decoding.
The accomplishments of Senator Adeola comes from a dedication in serving the interest of the electorate as much as possible based on fulfilling electoral promises and attending to peculiar needs of people, including religious obligations of the people. Shortly after the dawn of our current democratic experience in 1999, Senator Adeola decided to join active political participation following his 12 years stint in the Guardian Newspapers as an auditor and the establishment of his accounting consulting firm, SOOTEM Consulting. He was also at the street level in the struggle for re-validation of June 12 election won by MKO Abiola under Abacha military regime. He sadly lost his brother via gunning down in the heat of the democratic struggle. He won his first election into Alimosho Constituency 2 of the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2003 and began a journey that took him to the highest legislative body in Nigeria earning many awards and the accolades as a legislator par excellence.
In his rise in politics, Yayi has set some unprecedented records achieved through his commitment to hard-work, service to people and a spirit of “never say die” on any assignment. At the Lagos State House of Assembly, he was made the Chairman of the then joint Committee on Finance and Appropriation. In that capacity, he was part of the team that midwifed the legislative enactment and reforms that catapulted the internally generated revenue (IGR) of Lagos State from a paltry N5 billion monthly to roughly N50 billion monthly then and presently counting in trillions. His representation in terms of human resources development and empowerment easily ensured he was given a second term in Lagos State legislature and was there after elected to serve in the Federal House of Representatives, representing Alimosho Federal Constituency, the largest federal constituency in Nigeria, that is bigger than states like Bayelsa and Yobe state in terms of population.
At the 360-member Green Chamber of the National Assembly Senator Adeola emerged with another record of being appointed as the chairman of Public Accounts Committee, the only constitutional committee of the House of Representatives. This position is usually reserved for ranking opposition legislator. The then Honourable member went on to discharge his duties with the discovery of massive mis-appropriation in government finances. Hon. Yayi also got the colonial Audit Act of 1953 Re-Enacted and passed. His performance of his law-making functions and oversights, which led to the then Minister of Petroleum to obtain an injunction restraining the House Committee from investigating her private jet charters, as well as his effective representation in form of empowerment and various entrepreneur training and skills acquisition led to his election as a Senator in 2015 of Lagos West senatorial district, the largest district in terms of population in Nigeria.
In the 8th Senate, Senator Adeola was initially made a vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Communications but was to make a mark as the pioneer Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Content, a committee that he brought to limelight through his oversight activities on International Oil Companies (IOCs), particularly in their non-compliance with local content in favour of Nigerians. Not surprisingly, his performance in office as usual earned him a second term in the 9th Senate where he was clinched the Chairman of Senate Committee on Finance. Under his watch 4 different Finance Acts 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 were passed to amend several financially related legislations and bring them up to date as well as provide succor and incentives for persons or corporate bodies. Through his committee investigative activities on revenue generation, many MDAs returned hundreds of millions of their IGR to the coffers of government, funds that would have been frivolously spent or already spent. His massive empowerment programmes in education, road, medical, security and other infrastructures as well as trainings, skills acquisitions and empowerment in equipment and grants that went viral on social media across the nation rivalling some state governors’ in performance. His performance in touching the lives of constituents was the stuff for another re-election anywhere.
Twenty consecutive years as a parliamentarian at state and federal level in Lagos State was a long enough service for Lagos State. Senator Adeola decided to finally relocate to his homestead in Ogun State after two missed opportunities in 2015 and 2019. In spite ill-informed legal obstacles challenging the legality of his decision, all of which he won, Senator Adeola was to make history as the only senator serving in one state and simultaneously contesting and winning election in another state. This was after the judiciary proclaimed that there was no legal hiatus to his daring and unprecedented move. He thus became a serving senator in one state and a senator-elect in another state having won with a landslide victory over his opponents. In the 10th Senate, Senator Adeola was inaugurated as the senator representing Ogun West senatorial district.
Senator Adeola is indeed a man playing critical roles in national affairs. In the 9th Senate, he was the one who seconded the motion to elect Senator Ahmad Lawan as President of the Senate. At the victory of Senator Lawan, he earned the privilege of leading the newly elected president of the Senate to his presiding seat and taking the iconic picture alongside the mover of the motion and the Clerk of National Assembly. This photograph is only taken once every 4 years except there is a removal of President of Senate. And in a historic coincidence, in the 10th Senate, Senator Adeola played the same role in the election of Senator Godswill Akpabio and took the historic photograph. As written this feat is historic in every 4 years and more historical as Senator Adeola is the only senator to have achieved this feat twice in the parliamentary history of Nigeria. He had served as chairman of Public Account Committee of House of Representatives (2011-2015), pioneer chairman of Senate Committee on Local Content (2017-2019), chairman of Senate Committee on Finance (2019-2023) and now chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations (2023- till date). His service to the nation over the years earned him one of the prestigious national honour of the Commander of the Order of Niger, CON.
For the young man born 56 years ago in humble circumstance it sounds like a fairy tale to see the man playing critical roles in national affairs and development. His steady rise as a technocrat politician winning six elections at state and federal levels across states consecutively apparently marked him out as a tested grassroots politician that cannot be dismissed with a wave of hand.
Born on August 10, 1969 at Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos State to family of Mr. Ayinde Adeola Ogunleye and Madam Abeeni Olasunbo Ogunleye (nee Akinola), Yayi began his education at the State Primary School, Alimosho in Lagos State. On the successful completion of his primary education, he proceeded to Community Grammar School, Akowonjo. Further education took him to the prestigious Ondo State Polytechnic, Owo now Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo state where he bagged the Higher National Diploma (HND) in Accounting. Adeola became a Chartered Accountant at a relatively young age. As well as being a Fellow of ICAN(FCA) and Fellow Chartered Taxation Institute (FCTI), he is also a member of the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) and Fellow of Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro (FFPI).
Adeola, a converted Christian, is married to Mrs. Temitope Adeola and the union is blessed with children. At the age of 56 years, 22 served as a legislator at state and Federal level and still counting, Adeola is still on the rise, having changed the socio-political and economic landscape of Ogun West in about two years as well as setting development benchmarks in other parts of Ogun State. From all indications, Nigerians have not heard the last from this grassroots politician.
Kayode Odunaro
kayodunaro@hotmail.com
