Home / local gossip / I’m a man whose pillars are rooted in the Grassroots- Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey

I’m a man whose pillars are rooted in the Grassroots- Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey

Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey
The true worth of a man is in the way he treats people who are absolutely in need. If you care about people in need, you are actually making a contribution to the development of the nation. We need to give life back to the people; democracy is important in governance. We need to see how we can use the available resources for everybody; create opportunities for all and care, especially for those who are truly in need. The gap between the rich and the poor should be bridged. Those of us blessed with material resources need to share with others. We must strike a balance with our resources.” This is the Philosophy of Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey.

“Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey is  a good leader, with the character of humility, passion for service, respect, fairness, accountability and a model others can follow. Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey is a quintessential leader and gentleman. He is the embodiment of cerebral articulation, the essence of unparalleled philanthropy, the epitome of intellection and breathtaking simplicity, the personification of undiluted humanness, the perfect example of leadership symbolism, the paragon of idealism, the soul of humanity, the heart of warrior, and a perfect gentleman.

Indeed, some leaders are born, some achieve leadership, and some have leadership thrust upon them, while only very few have all three embedded in them. Hon.  Abiodun Francis Wilkey is one of those very few good men; a true philanthropist, an accomplished Politician, a man of valour, the bringer of rain. In the gallery of great leaders and great men, he is without doubt, a rare masterpiece. Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey is elegant and unblemished in the magisterial lithe and athleticism of folkloric Kings and heroes, with unfettered, excellent diction and oratory; his brilliant smile like sparkling sun radiating from crystal clear eyes and he cuts the dapper, debonair figure and personality of the complete man he has truly metamorphosed into in the last twenty years.

Hon. Abiodun Francis Wilkey discussed extensively with the Grassroots Publishers in his Ogudu –Lagos office  why he is the one to beat in Kosofe Constituency 1  of Lagos State House of Assembly race  come 2019.

Excerpts:  

Can we meet you sir?

My name is Francis Abiodun Wilckey. I am a native of Lagos state from Lagos Island precisely. I was born in the year 1974. I did my early education Command Children School, Ikeja and proceeded to Command Secondary School, Jos for my secondary education. After that, I went to Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin where I acquired my OND certificate and the Lagos state Polytechnic where I acquired my HND certificate. I did my NYSC in Kogi state where I served as a teacher in the prestigious Titcombe  College, Egbe, Kogi state in 2002. I have worked all along from then as an accountant, an administrator, A Facility Manager, an entrepreneur, farmer, business owner and so on.

Tell us why  you join politics?

Well, right from school I have always had the privilege to head any gathering of students either as a prefect in my early school days. In the higher institution, I was the president of National Association of Polytechnic Accountancy Students(NAPAS) in Lagos State Polytechnic, President of Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students, and Social Director of National Union of Lagos State Students. I have had various opportunities to serve at different levels which have to do with political appointment in office. Coming out of school, I became a member of International Lions Club. I was the Project Director of Lions Club, Secretary of Ikeja Unique Lions Club and just this year, I was elected as the Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Lions Club, District 404 B2. Currently, I am the President of Command Secondary School  Jos Old Students Association((COJOSA)), Lagos State Chapter. So, I have had leadership trait bestowed on me at different level that I didn’t take serving at the larger level as an option. But when some well meaning individuals, political elders from the ruling party, PDP and other parties saw the leadership qualities I have, started asking me to run for the State House of Assembly in order to have a good representation of our constituents saying it will be a thing of worth having seen the qualities I possess and things I do differently in the groups I lead. I have lived in Kosofe all through my life and as a grassroots man; I have considered their plea and have accepted to contest for the good representation of our people in the state come 2019 under the platform of Providence People’s Congress (PPC).

Sir, how financially prepared are you knowing quite well that politics is Capital Intensive in Nigeria?

God does not send one to mission and abandon him. This mission I would say is divine because the word of God said “The Lord called and I gave myself up for service”. Also God has been faithful for he has made additional provision through men of proven character across board both from the ruling party, PDP, religious organisations, charity organisations, and friends of good will. Infact, they have all shown a lot of support towards my campaign. Because I have never worked for the government, I have never won any government contract; everything I have is self made. So, I am not extremely rich to take up this task. I was worried when my people encouraged me into this because of the financial involvement but God has been faithful as the kind of financial and moral supports I get from the aforementioned persons have been surprising to me. Even some political elders from the ruling party and PDP has promised to donate campaign vehicles to me of which about four  have already arrived and we have started working already.

Sir, do you mean some stakeholders from the ruling party and PDP are backing you financially?

Yes, I have friends across these sectors of people, but disappointingly more of them feel that I am contesting under the platform of an unknown party but they were not bothered because some of them encouraged me in the first place and told me that I have their support notwithstanding the party I will run under because our people are wiser now and we do not  vote on parties any longer ,rather we vote on the persona in question.

Are you convinced ,that you are the candidate to beat come 2019 in the Lagos State House of Assembly considering the fact that your party is not popular?

The Providence People’s Congress (PPC) with slogan “Do It Right, Get It Right” is a party divinely ordained by God. We believe that when we begin to do things rightly, the desired result will be that we will get it right and that is why the new philosophy of the party is that there is no money bags, no rituals, no Godfatherism. Everything we do is centered on God and he ordains kings. Before now, I have had the privilege of serving at various levels and everything we have achieved so far in the party is through God’s intervention. I don’t see myself losing this race. I believe that the purpose of my contest is to make impactful change, give the people quality representation; give them the opportunity of participatory democracy where the people know the activities of the government and are also part of the policy formulators because the policies we are going to formulate will be people-oriented and people-friendly policies; they will be policies that will stand the test of time. So, I feel that I have what it takes academically, and leadership wise as I have had the opportunity to work with different strata of people and I believe that everybody is desirous of positive change where their lives will be impacted. So I believe that if given the opportunity, I will do a greater job.

Sir, what can you say about your  State government performance and that of your constituency as well?

I believe that the incumbent governor, Gov. Akinwumi Ambode has done a wonderful job in his tenure. Lagos state has always been ran professionally and blessed with good governors as you can see it from the first governor who was an Accountant, second governor who was a Lawyer and the present governor who is also an Accountant. So it shows the level of professionalism that has been in place for continuity to thrive. I wish I could say the same thing of my local government and constituency. We have had the privilege of being led for 16 years by just and individual. We have not had the opportunity of experiencing change. So we cannot really tell if things have been done differently. I as an individual feel professionalism needs to be encouraged. We need people who have what it takes to push for the people. In 16 years, this constituency needs change in representation and that is why we the younger ones are clamoring for inclusion because the population of people that have been disenfranchised are mostly the young people and there is no better way to have good representation than people who are in that class and age to get involved and also find a way of showing direction. So I feel we are just coming on board now and we will be able to do more for the people in terms of legislation.

As you rightly said that this constituency need a change, needs someone who can impact positively into the lives of the constituents. What are your agendas?

To have worked as a trained humanitarian service provider has given me the edge to understand impact assessment. We need do an evaluation on what the people really need before impacting policies on them. For the fact that I am going there to legislate, the legislation must be qualitative; the representation must be inclusive. We have not had inclusive and quality representation. We lack infrastructural development in this constituency. This constituency is over neglected. A constituency where the local government headquarters is located does not look like one. There are lots of infrastructural decay, abandoned projects littering the constituency and this tells a lot about the representation. One of the cries of the constituents is over taxation in the markets. They feel burdened by the local government tier of system bringing various kinds of taxes into play. Some schools have not been upgraded, some are not well furnished. These are the kind of things we hope to bring change about. We do not have a skill acquisition centre in this constituency where we can train and mentor young people because one of the things I intend doing is to create a mentorship scheme where the young people can be encouraged to pick a skill under the tutelage and wings of professionals. They can learn the skill/trade and at the end get established. We need to create industrial parks where the youths can come, bring their material and make production of whatever skill they are into. Sometimes, some of these people do not have the financial capacity to establish but when such provisions are made for them, they can come there produce and sell. For instance, a shoe cobbler can come in there. He doesn’t necessarily need to have equipment but all he needs is his materials to produce and then go to the market to make sales. You know that once any cell in the body malfunctions, the entire body system is affected. So, one of the things I would like to do is to create cells where people can be addressed from bottom to top because one of the problems we have is putting so much pressure on the leader and wanting the leader to push it downwards but it doesn’t really work that way. If you take it from the top, he leader might be too busy to even know if anyone is suffering. The cell has been neglected for too long and that is why the body is sick. The downtrodden need to be empowered so that we will have peace in our constituency, state and nation but when we neglect them it brings about multiplier effects like broken homes, street kids, prostitution, drug abuse and cultism among the students and so on. I also intend holding  sensitization and advocacy campaigns on drug abuse in schools soonest  because I feel that “we are losing our younger generation to the abuse of drugs and everybody in this constituency must join hands with the government to curb this menace and find a lasting solution to the problem”. We will also work so much on youth sports, entertainment to offer them a meaningful opportunity to exhibit their talent because we feel that the energy of the youths should be channeled positively to what gives them joy. We will also look into making policies to accommodate the aged and physically challenged ones who need social security and encouragement.

What makes you think your party will overcome mega parties like APC and PDP?

Yes, my party has become the party to beat come 2019. As I said before , our people are getting more exposed to the danger of going by the wishes of party because parties sometimes do not deliver again. I believe that I am a credible candidate; I have the people’s goodwill, as a humanitarian worker. I believe that my personality and antecedent over the years stands me out for the service. I have lived in this community for almost 45 years right from my childhood and so I am a grassroots man who knows and feel  the pains and needs of my people. So, I believe that the capacity I have is calling for a greater space to express itself.

What is your message to the good people of Kosofe constituency 1?

My message to my people is to rally round me. I am their son, their brother. I want the entire constituents to consider me as their next House of Assembly member to bring the desired result and change they will be proud of so that together we can make our constituency come alive and revitalized once again.

 

By: Grassroots Publishers

 

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