4th April, 2012
Hakeem Masha is beginning to make waves as a straightforward representative of the people of Lagos Island Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly. The French graduate of the University of Lagos explains what godfatherism means to him
How have you been coping with the issues of area boys and unemployment in your constituency?
We have decided not to call them area boys again because we want to encourage them. When you see a suspected thief and you call him a thief, you have tagged him already even before investigation. When we call them our boys, we are bringing them closer so that they won’t feel isolated and neglected in their own world. To the best of my knowledge, the government is coming up with a bill for a law on terrorism, so the government would put a stop to the menace very soon.
Some people feel the boys have been pushed to the wall due to unemployment…
We are trying our best, but the unfortunate thing is that most of them don’t want to work. We are trying to keep them off the road and put them where they can be useful to themselves. In my constituency, for instance, some of the boys are being used by the local government councils to collect revenue. These sets are getting off the road gradually.
How have you impacted on your constituents so far?
First and foremost, my duties as a legislator are to make laws and perform oversight functions. But notwithstanding, we give financial support to the people such as bursary awards, we assist the aged and widows. We provide medical services through the centres in the constituency. We are the intermediary between the people and the government.
How did you manage the violence in your constituency during the election?
My guiding principle is to be determined, when you are determined to help the masses. Though during the electioneering period, we say things we are not supposed to say because you are not in office yet; if you tell them exactly what would happen, they would not vote for you, but we are not doing ourselves any good with that since you will face the reality later. Violence during the electioneering period was well managed in my time. I am from Isale Eko area of Lagos, that is where I grew up, I have always been in their midst, so we didn’t experience violence during the elections in my area.
What will you say of our democracy in relation to corruption by public officers?
We cannot say democracy is not working. In the past, the military men would do things and nobody would ask questions. Nowadays, people don’t just read newspapers and put it by the side; they read and ask questions. The recent mass protest against removal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government is enough for you to know that people are now free to talk, especially when you do something that is not palatable.
Many people believe it is difficult to get into political office without going through godfathers…
We have party leaders, they are our political godfathers, it is not just happening in our own time, it has always been there. Even in the western world, that is what is happening. The political leaders are our godfathers. I don’t subscribe to the word; godfatherism. It is a normal practice that there should be some party leaders you must follow. I am not the owner of the party and I am not an independent candidate, so I must go through a party, I must go through the party leaders.
How would you describe the National Leader of ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, at 60?
Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the Governor Emeritus of Lagos State, is a man that should be well celebrated. The precedence he set is what the incumbent Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola is working on and I want to say if Tinubu hadn’t done some things, I don’t think the first term of Governor Fashola would be as easy as it was. He had some things to follow and that really helped him to deliver.
Would you sincerely say that the Local Governments in Lagos are working as they should?
In the last election, what we went through is because some local governments are not working. Now, the Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs has been visiting their secretariats to see what they are doing. I am an associate member of the committee; I go out with them once in a while. In the next four years, if the committee continues with what they are doing, we would have better local governments in Lagos State.
—Eromosele Ebhomele