By Chioma Gabriel
Honourable Motunrayo Adijat Oladapo Adeleye is a member of Ogun State House of Assembly, representing the people of Ifo II constituency, which is on the border between Lagos and Ogun state . She cuts her teeth in the political circle almost two decades ago. In this interview, Adijat shares her experience and adventures in the political terrain.

Excerpt.

How did you venture into politics and how is the journey so far?

I was barely out of secondary school when I started politics. I have been in some parties in the past. I was a member of UNCP and then AD, before I left for PDP and later for ACN. Actually, I went through every stage, beginning from the grassroot level. I was once a zonal treasurer, zonal secretary and later I became a woman leader in my ward under AD. I went through the party hierarchy and structure before getting to where I am today.

How come you were given the ticket to contest under the platform of ACN despite the fact that you crossed over from PDP ?

Adijat Oladapo -Adeleye

ACN has its in -house way of selecting candidates. Although I met some people on ground who were in the race before I joined, was given an automatic ticket and others were asked to step down for me because of what I stood for during the first term and to the glory of God, we went to the general elections and I am serving my second term in the House.

How does it feel being in a field dominated by men?

It’s part of the challenges in contesting election especially when it comes to issues of money and security. People are so much afraid. You can be at a campaign and before you know it, they will send thugs to you. So, you have to be proactive. The issue of money in politics has not graduated from the point when you will say that you won’t spend money. You know we women do not have that economic empowerment like men. A man can easily withdraw

N20m from his account but where will a woman get such money from ? In politics, you have to spend money. So, it is just the grace of God that is seeing us through. I have gone through a lot of challenges.For instance, during my first election, I was almost mobbed when violence broke out.

Another party on the election day which believed that they have been short -changed just laid ambush on the road and immediately they learnt you are PDP, they began to do all sort of things to you and all that. To God be the glory, I am able to scale through and I am still here.

There have been a lot of other challenges. At the home front, you’d want to be a wife and you’d want to be a good mother at the same time but you want to play your politics too. That entails that you have to go to some late night meetings and all that. It is a whole lot of challenges. But I don’t really see it as challenges. I saw it as adventure. It is like going out for adventure and encountering hurdles and you just have to surmount them for you to come back and have a happy ending.

In your first term as a state legislator representing the people of Ifo 11, what will you say you actually did for your people in terms of projects?

It is very unfortunate that most people don’t know the function of legislators or what they stand for . They will be asking you; you have not done our roads, you have not given us water, and you have not done our schools.

No! That is not a legislator for you. A legislator is a law maker; he or she is your representative and part of you. You have only asked the person to go forward and represent us at the political arena so that whenever you need something, you can tell him so that you can ask push for it.

A legislator is not in charge of the purse. We have power and control over public fund and that is why we are the one that appropriate and after appropriating, that is where it ends. But when you want to do oversight, but we don’t have the power to say okay, I want to do this road now because we don’t control the purse but unfortunately in Nigerian, most of our people do not understand the difference between the legislature and the executive.