Adetunji Adeniran is one of the few young and vocal members of PDP who still believe in the greatness of Nigeria and Nigerians.

He is popular particularly among  young people mainly for his advocacy for youth in politics and community building.

In this interview with Adeniran Adetunji, he shares his background and plans for his constituency.

Tell us about yourself

My name is Adetunji Adeniran, I was born into the family of Engr. Reginald Adelekan Shittu-Adeniran of Ile-odoogun Compound in Kuta, Aiyedire local government and Mrs. (Late) Lawunmi Adeniran (nee Thompson) of Igbosere compound in Lagos Island.

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I am certified Engineer by the council for regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) and a corporate member of the Nigerian society of Engineers (NSE).

My experience spans across fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry working with two great multinationals (P&G and GB Foods Africa).

Tell us a bit more about your background

I was named after my grandfather (Adetunji), even though he was still alive at the time of my birth, he still decided I was named after him.

My great grandfather was Ojelabi Adeniran, the first Ejemu (Kingmaker) of Kuta Kingdom who was known for his selfless service to the advancement of the town.

I heard he was the first man to own a radio set then and everyone in the village would come to his compound to listen to Awolowo’s speeches.

My grandmother was Chief (Mrs.) Wulemotu Amope Adeniran (nee Salawu), a very industrious woman and one of the wealthiest women in the town.

She was a great backbone to my grandfather especially when he fell sick towards the end of his life.

How was growing up like?

Growing up was like every other child in the town.

We were about 14 grandchildren living with my grandmother in Kuta. I played in the rain, went to the stream and rolled tire on the street like every child.

The interesting thing about me then that most people probably don’t know is that I attended Arabic school and finished the Quran before the age of 10.

I also attended the western education and was always taking the first position at end of every term.

It was fun growing up because we had a community of people, cousins, nephews, uncles and family friends. Our family house was a bubble.

Is this why you so passionate about your community?

Oh yes. I believe that the community has given me so much, if not for anything, for the foundation I received.

Having traveled outside the country and back, I believe that we can develop our communities to meet the global standards.

Those of us who have the opportunity of traveling should extend the same to those at home now so everyone can succeed in life.

This is what I have dedicated myself to for over 10 years.

Tell us more about it

I co-founded a social enterprise called Hopefield Network with the sole aim of bridging the gap between the elite and the downtrodden.

Every year, we select a community to celebrate Children’s Day in a public primary school and donate school materials such as shoes, mathematical set, stationeries, and uniforms.

We have met the needs of over 5,000 pupils of primary schools majorly in Osun State.

Apart from that, we have facilitated over 30 scholarships between donors and brilliant undergraduates that are struggling to stay in school due to financial distress.

Their testimonials are everywhere for anyone to verify.

You are also an advocate of young people getting in volved in Politics, how does that work?

Yes! My belief is that irrespective of our individual efforts, Nigeria cannot develop except there is collective collaboration and scale and the best way to scale an impact is through good governance.

As you well know, politics is the way to achieving governance, therefore, we must all be interested in politics.

In 2017, I co-founded another organization called YNAG (Young Nigerians And Governance).

I initiated it because I was tired of the old leaders leading us to nowhere.

I wanted to advocate for people in my age-group to get involved and fresh air, fresh ideas and fresh thinking in our governance space.

And how has that been?

In less than 5 years of operation, we have built a volunteer base of 55 people and organized conferences in Ile-Ife, Osogbo and Lagos with a combined attendance of 1,500 young people.

As a matter of fact, the youngest commissioner in Nigeria at the time, Hon Seun Fakorede was a pioneer speaker in Ile-Ife.

We have attendees now doing great things in the governance space.

We have had international collaborations with institutions like SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University, US and Democracy Moves to organize the first voter education in a sub-national region in Nigeria.

What is your thought on the current state of politics in Nigeria?

Nigeria, my country. The political atmosphere is charged right now and anything one says may be misconstrued.

Frankly speaking, I support what governor Seyi Makinde said about having someone less than 70 years as Nigeria’s next president.

Nigeria is a big country with lots of potentials buried in her youth.

Now is the time to support energetic people who would have time to transverse the entire nation.

Of course, being young is not criterion, the person needs to be competent with lot of capacity and we have them in abundance, both home and abroad.

The elections in Osun State is coming sometimes in July, what are your expectations?

My expectations are quite simple, I will cast my vote and hope that the people choose right.

I will cast my vote for whoever is the flag-bearer of my party- Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Why PDP?

I come from a family of PDP. Our family house used to be the meeting place of PDP leaders because my father the leader of the party in Aiyedire Local Government.

He contested unsuccessfully for the chairmanship of the local government about two times (1992 and 1998).

He remained loyal to the party even when others defected to the ruling Alliance for Democracy (AD).

I am inspired by his selfless dedication to the service of the people.

Apart from that, I did my own research, and I can boldly say that PDP is the only democratic party in the country.

It is a party where the son of nobody can become anybody without knowing somebody.

PDP is the only party that gives opportunities to young people.

My friend, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour was the youngest senatorial candidate of the largest senatorial district in Nigeria.

It can only happen in PDP. So, PDP aligns with my values and aspiration.

Talking about aspiration, what are you aspiring to and why?

I am currently in consultation with friends, family, and leaders within the PDP. Nothing about my ambition is public yet.

However, if given the opportunity to serve my people, I would like to be able to bring federal presence to my people in addition to my international network of NGOs and partners to further develop our constituency.

Each time I travel home, I always feel very sad because there is nothing federal about our constituency.

The two federal roads are in bad shape and there is no Federal University to cater for our teeming youths.

I have been supporting the student’s body for over 5 years now, each time they finish secondary school, they must look for tertiary institutions outside the constituency.

This is absurd and very unacceptable.

I believe that our people need someone who is home-bred and has the required international network to bring development to our communities.

On final note, will PDP win the 2023 presidential election?

People are already yarning for PDP to come back to power. The suffering under APC is too much.

It is only left in the leadership of our party to present a credible, young, and competent persons for the ticket. PDP will win without question.

Vanguard News Nigeria