Hon. (Mrs.) Olufunmilayo Akinyebo-Efuwape is the Ogun State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development. She is a strong grassroots politician who was also born into a political family. She was born into the family of Mr and Mrs. M.K. Akinyebo in Makun Sagamu Local Government, in Ogun State.
Her late father, Hon. Akinyebo was an active politician. And this made her derive a great political inspiration from her loving father. Her father was once the Supervisory Councilor, Deputy Chairman of Sagamu Local Government and he was also Commissioner in Ogun State Local Government Service Commission.
She started her education at Ansaru-deen Primary School, Makun, Sagamu from where she proceeded to Remo Secondary School, also in Sagamu. After obtaining the prerequisite grades in her School Certificate Examination, she got admission into Ilaro Polytechnic, Ogun State to study Accountancy from where she bagged Higher National Diploma.
She once worked at Guinness Nigeria Plc., Lagos for her attachment and at Greenland Security, Lagos for her National Youth Service Corps where she was offered an Employment as an Accounting Officer because of her resourcefulness, focus and high sense of responsibility and responsiveness to duty.
She later left Greenland Security to take up an appointment with the Lagos State Local Government Service Commission and was thereafter posted to Coker Aguda Local Council Development Authority (LCDA), Lagos as the Area Council Treasurer.
Having been greatly exposed and involved in the political philanthropic gestures of her late father she got elected as the Vice President of the National Association of Polytechnic Accountancy Students (NAPAS) and was at the verge of being elected President of the Students’ Union, when her father advised her to concentrate more on her studies.
As a career officer in the Lagos State Local Government Service, she was very active in NULGE politics and was in fact at a point of contesting for the Presidency of the Union when fate beckoned on her to contest for the Chairmanship post of Sagamu Local Government in the year 2012 under the platform of APC. She won the election overwhelmingly. She was the first elected female executive chairman of Sagamu Local Government in Ogun State. She aspired to be in a position where the lot of the majority can be better improved hence, her mission to take Sagamu Local Government to a greater height as the only elected female chairman in all twenty Local governments in Ogun State.
Since 2015 when her tenure ended as the Chairman of Sagamu Local Government, she has been mobilizing and coordinating women at the grassroots across the 20 Local Government of the state for the APC. As a result of her mobilization prowess, she was made the Director of Women Mobilization for Dapo Abiodun Campaign Organisation and as such coordinated the women mobilization for the electoral success of His Excellency, Prince Dapo Abiodun MFR.
In this interview with Bunmi Mustapha, she opens up on how she joined Prince Dapo Abiodun’s campaign team, her many roles as the Commissioner for Women Affair and Development and her relationship with Ogun two-term House of Assembly member, Honorable Adijat Adeleye Oladapo who is the Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Women Affairs and Development.
For the benefit of our readers who know little about you, can you tell us how you came into politics and what year exactly?
I came into Ogun State politics in 2011 when the ACN took over from the PDP government.
Before then when did you start politics?
I have always been an Aluta person, was involved in all the school student union issues. Later on, I was a civil servant in Lagos state and of course, I was much involved in the political terrain that was going on and all that.
When you said you started from school does that mean you held posts like the SUG President in school?
Yes, I was the Vice President National Association Of Polytechnic Accountancy students in Ilaro Poly, during my ND days and when I got to HND. I was an Aluta Queen.
How was it like then because a lot of people will marvel at a female in politics back in school?
My father was actually against it. My father was a politician. I was born into a political family. My father became a supervisory chancellor, vice-chairman, a commissioner in the civil service commission and all. So he had been a politician as far as I know but he was even the one against me being a politician, maybe because he felt like women are few and wanted a more corporate thing for me like being a banker. But women in politics, I always tell people that whatever you do and whatever you get out of it is the way you perceive it. A lot of people will say politics is dirty and I keep telling them that it can only be dirty when you play dirty. I’ve been in Ogun State politics for like 9 years now, and till date I don’t think I’ve played anything dirty. It is just being who you are, let people know your worth, what you are capable of doing, how well you can serve them and that is all. When I joined I was always of the opinion that when I am given the opportunity to serve, I am going to serve diligently so that when I am seeking for other posts, it won’t be difficult for me. We thank God, here we are today.
Have you been in a different political party other than ACN?
Actually, from my childhood, my father has always been in progressive. My father served under Osoba and in Lagos State that I got involved in politics a little bit, it was also a Progressive state, so I have never been in any other party other than progressive, APC to ACN, to APC.
What was the post you held in Lagos?
I was a civil servant so I couldn’t get a political appointment, but you know how we run it when you are a civil servant, there are some ways to do things, but I was very much involved in the national union of local government employees that’s NULGE. I was very much involved. I did not contest for any post, though I wanted to contest for president before the chairmanship came up. I was everywhere.
How easy was it before you became the chairman of Sagamu local government and after you became the Chairman?
Well, I usually feel that everyone that can survive the political terrain in Lagos State can always survive anywhere. A lot of leadership issues that we are having are because our leaders have not been God-fearing enough. If you are God-fearing there are a lot of things you would not involve yourself in and that has always been my standard. If I want to do anything I look back and see if my conscience is at peace with it. Secondly, how my family will react to it, what will be the comment of the people I want to lead on whatever decision I take. My life has always been guided by these three factors. Well, maybe another thing is the fact that I have passion for what I do, helping people, humanity generally so I think that has been something that has kept me in line, to be able to help people. I have always felt like I would be able to change people’s situation.
How did you join the Dapo Abiodun campaign because I have always known you to be a very strong person even before now?
Oh, yes I was one of the Chairmen under Amosun before now and Gov. Amosun identified the fact that I was a very vibrant person so he gave me so much task. And everybody believes Sagamu local government is a very tough local government and for me as a woman to be able to rule there wasn’t very easy, but because I have the passion for the job I did what I love to do. So, after that when I stepped down as the Chairman I joined the Yayi campaign. When Yayi went back to Lagos I had to sit down and think of the way forward and one Sunday I was in my house and the present governor Dapo Abiodun called and said he wanted to see me. So I went to his house and we got talking and he said he was interested in becoming the governor of Ogun state and I was surprised because I used to see him as a (butter) person. I was just wondering because I knew him as one that does not like wahala and I tried explaining to him of the stress associated with it and he said what do I mean, that he contested for the governor before in PDP and he also contested for senate and during the senatorial campaign, we did the rally together and of course we were looking for somebody that would be like a rallying point for our people when Yayi went back to Lagos. That was how it started, so I have been with him since the first day.
So how has the experience been as the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Development, I know there has been a lot of programs for women and I know you are working hand in hand with Ogun State first lady so what has been the experience and what are we to expect from the ministry?
Well, I feel like this ministry is for everybody and not just for women alone. We have departments for women and the one for children. We also have for both sex as so this ministry is a very large ministry but the problem the government is always having is the expenditure ministry. You have to spend a lot on social services so it’s like for people to be able to feel your impact the government will have to invest or spend money. For example, domestic violence, a lot of victims cannot afford a lawyer, they cannot afford to fight their own case so it’s only the government that can stand in for them so even if any lawyer is present for those people, its either it is a civil servant that the government is paying the fees or if the government wants to get someone from anywhere they have to pay and we have so many things we do for the victims. We take care of the victims psychologically, emotionally and sometimes if the person wants to go back to school we take them back to school and that is why this ministry works with Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health because if we do not have a full team we might not be able to go as far as we want to go. So we have a lot of programs for women. There is something we were working on called Ogun State Women Summit and if not for the pandemic it would have been done. Maybe by early next year, we will do it. We want to make sure that our women that have done well for themselves in their various duties, we will bring them here, we will do a summit and they will be like a mentor for other generations coming in. It is not always very rosy along the line but the ability of a man to survive or to succeed is for him to fall and rise again but when you fall and just stay there then you are gone. You will face turbulence along the way but you just have to make up your mind and be sure that you want to achieve this and in Ogun State, we actually want a situation that when we want to talk about people in Ogun State, you know we have great names, the likes of former President Obasanjo, Osoba, Abiola, Awolowo, Bisi Onabanjo, you know so many great names. We want them to keep counting and not just mentioning men. We want women to stand out and be able to say that they did well for themselves in our generation.
With your busy schedule, how do you relax?
I am naturally a restless person. I relax most times by hanging out with friends. I love the people around me. In fact, you cannot get to my house and meet just me. No, it’s not possible. Even in Abeokuta, you can not meet me by myself at home. I’m always around my friends and family, gisting and watching TV.
Speaking of friends, I would like to talk about your close pal Hon. Adijat, a lot of people didn’t know you were that close until this government came in, so people are wondering how you both met with different political parties and all?
Actually, I did not meet Adijat in Ogun State. We have been friends from Lagos State. We have so many common friends because I was based in Lagos and I know a lot of people in Lagos. She was in the House of Assembly and she had friends in Lagos State House of Assembly who happen to be my own friends too. So I have known her even before I got into Ogun state politics. But during the dispensation she was in another party, she went to PDP to contest and I did not want people to have the impression that we were into anti-party activities. So most of the time when we meet at functions in Ogun State I will just say my friend outside Ogun State and we will just chat. But if you watch closely, there is no party that I have done in Ogun State that Adijat did not attend because we have common friends. Like Yeye Meso Ashabi Saranda is our friend and Ashabi too has friends that they went to Ojere together and they are her friends. All of us, we are just in a circle of friend’s. So myself and Adijat have been friend’s from way back but maybe because we were not in the same camp, people didn’t know we were close. Because when she was in APC we were not in the same camp. She was somewhere and I was with the Governor and all that. So we have always been friends with no issues. People were wondering how we are coping in this ministry as the SA and I ask people I think there is something we call schedule of duty. Everybody knows what and what to do, and if we see ourselves as a family first then I don’t think there will be any issue. If she comes to my office now and says Funmi, I want you to do this for me, I would joke about it that why can’t she do it herself. So we relate more as friends than boss and subordinate. We are friends and we will continue to be friends. Outside this position, we will continue to be friends so what do we want to start arguing about? I barely see people as competitors. I see her as my friend and sister, if she offends me I will tell her and if I do anything she does not like she will say Funmi you did this and I don’t like it. We treat ourselves as sisters.
Politically do you have the intention to contest in another election probably in the next election? Maybe contesting for a house of representatives in 2023?
I have not gotten any clearance that I want to contest because you know politically you might have an ambition that’s okay, but at the end of the day, the party is supreme. Anyway, for me, I don’t even like the House of Representatives. I would rather love to be a senator, I don’t really like a house of rep, maybe when we get to that point but for now, I don’t have anything in mind. All I want is to support governor Dapo Abiodun to succeed in his tenure.
You said something about your father being a politician, would you say that has helped you when you decided to become a full-time politician?
My father was late at the time I was coming in, but there is one thing that helped me and that was his name. I could go anywhere and say I am Akinyebo’s daughter. It was because he was a very popular person and everybody feels he is a very nice man. It is just a step. And during their time the political terrain was not like this. It is more flamboyant now, you do a lot of things. Spend money and all that, basically just for people to know the daughter of whom I am. But for me I think my relationship with people added to it.
Now let’s talk about your fashion and style, is being a stylish person something that you have been doing while in school or was it when you grew up that you decided this is your style because your style is usually simple and classy, so why did you choose that style?
Maybe because I always have this feeling that I am of the big size so I don’t like anything loud. Even as a politician, it gets to a point that people will be like how can you be a politician and be shy. It’s just unlike me to be flashy, I could wear something simple but it will be of good quality because I love quality. I prefer quality to quantity so if I am wearing anything, it would be of good quality and of course very simple. I believe I am big and if I enter anywhere wearing something big, I will be noticed which I do not like. So this has been my style ever since.
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