I am the most qualified person to represent Lagos Central people in the Senate..... Yemisi Ran some Kuti

Interviewing personalities is the stock in trade of journalists but when you interview with an enigma, a social activist and a world bank consultant in the person of Oluyemisi Ran some Kuti the head of the famed Ran some Kuti family of Abeokuta you pull all stops to carry out this assignment especially as it has to do with the only surviving sister of Music Legend Fela Anikulapo Kuti, first class pediatrician Prof. Olikoye Ransome Kuti and renowned social activist Dr Beko Ran some Kuti; National Daily’s Esther Egbe in this exclusive interview with the senatorial candidate of the Social Democratic Mega Party (SDMP) vying for the Lagos Central Senatorial District brings to fore salient issues that may mar the ongoing general elections.....Excerpts.

                                                 

What pulled you into politics and why now.

Fact of the matter is that ,am very close to politic,where I live now is where Chief Akintola  use to lives in those day.thus my father was not a politician but he use to calm political waters those day,so that made me to have an ideal of what politic is.Personally,I don’t have any personal interests in politics,am a business women that is my profession,I run five companies for the family the only child of the Late Azariah Olusegun (MBE), and Mrs. Folorunsho, Ransome-Kuti, Yemisi is also the grand-daughter of the Late Canon J.J Ransome- Yemisi received her education both in the UK and in Nigeria; where she was trained in Business; Management; Counseling; and Human Resource Management.

Her career has seen her work with large multinational corporations such as Shell Nigeria Limited (Now Conoil). She has also worked in news and radio broadcasting; for instance at the Western Nigerian Television Station (WNTV), Western Nigerian Broadcasting Station (WNBS) and BBC London. Neither is she a stranger to the work of national and international organizations; such as the Institute of International Affairs, National; AIDS/STD Control Programme (NASCP); the Federal Ministry of Health Social Services; International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA); and the World Bank, to name but a few. Through her fruitful career she has been in positions such as Chief Executive; National Coordinator; Managing Director; Marketer; Newscaster/Presenter; Producer;, and Consultant.

She currently serves as:Chief Executive: Ransome Properties Nig. Ltd,

Executive Director: Nigeria Network of NGOs,Consultant: World Bank, 2nd National Urban Water Sector Reform Project ,Member: National Council, African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM),Facilitator: Governance & Institutions Policy Commission, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG)

Chairman: Lagos Chapter, Coalition for Issues-Based Politics & Good Governance (CIPOGG), Co-founder: Women in Politics & Government (WINPOGOV),Member: United Nations Task Force on Hearings for the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the 65th Session of the General Assembly,Member: Job Creation Committee of the Ministry of Finance, Federal Government of Nigeria,Research Associate: Centre for African Policy & Peace Strategy,Chairman: Lagos Island Resident’s Association (LIRA).my work in the private sector has given me a lot of access to information,I want to use my officer to reconstruct the whole system by reform,development power and resurces still at the local government level.Restructuring the whole system so that we can be at peace with the rest of the world right now.

Nigeria has come a long way, as long as ninety seven years as a named geography, fifty years as an independent country and zero years as a nation. Our desires and hopes for this country has remained the same for many years now. Democracy brought with it – hope, but then has effected no change. There is almost nothing left to hold on to as we have consistently left leadership to the poor in mind who have seen it not as a medium to serve but as a means to endless and previously unimagined wealth. The Nigerian challenge has therefore come to be more of good people doing nothing and leaving all the action to the plunderers.

But yet, an opportunity for change always presents itself to everyone, whether they desire it or not. For us this is the opportunity – the opportunity of a better alternative. Now we must stand and be counted; counted on the side of change – good change, knowing that if we miss this and allow our nation to plummet further, we will not only be judged by our generation but more painfully by posterity – who will ask what the good men did to nip the triumph of evil. $600b of our oil money has been wasted; we must not allow the next $660b to go down the drain.

The generation of my family has gone through ,because of the freedom of Nigerian, all of them are death, am the last man standing, and the head of the family, so I thought of it will be good to serve my people.

Many political parties began to talk to me to go into politics and come to think about it, the parties that are approach me at the time, I was not sure I was going to survive due to the God Fatherism things between the big parties, I took my time, I spoke to them.If you have to join ACN,i have to go and see the Enpalrol, I said I feel we are all equal, so she does not a person of her size and status should go and my family has reach in this country to go and queue for hour waiting for somebody only to be disgrace properly.

I know it has happened to people that her close to this individuals, where in the past, I don’t want to mention names, leaders has passes on, while needed something,  we kept waiting for hours on loan.

I know I will properly have heart attack if I subjected to that, if am treated that way.

During Abacha’s era, I was called into the Abacha SSS villa, subjected to tire gas and the entire struggle we have gone through, all my family are all death. Am the last man standing and now am the head of the family. I don’t want somebody to carry me that is what all this parties do, some parties that invited me said, just come , we will carry you, I told them I like to work, i love to invest and  in the process I can have a say,I refuse to join other party,because I will be shout up someday.My party was registered late last year.I had always tell other opposition parties that it will be very difficult to broke PDP,because it is made up of Military leaders,as a civilian you are into business and you go about pursing your personal achievement,other opposition begins to adopt the military rules tasks,the structure is light from the local,national level PDP can mobilized people.some people must burial their eagles.My party with the short time ,it has been capable to adopt people,it stand for free education,free medical health care,both people policy ,low cost housing,you are part of the developing the solution,when it come to the point of being ,part of implementing agency to change that is why am running for senate,the party is not new as people think.

My mission for our senatorial district, Lagos central senatorial district, is hinged largely on economic empowerment anchored by people welfare/social justice, credible leadership, inclusiveness and accountability/transparency. My background and work as an activist and social entrepreneur puts me in a perfect knowledge and experiential position to execute senatorial functions in the aforementioned forte. The rationale for this is that over 70% of the Nigerian population is considered poor (live on less than $2 per day) and a larger number lead lives that cannot be considered humane. The better part of my senatorial work will focus on resolving issues that have to do with:

Women & Children: women and children are considered the most vulnerable class of the population. Studies have shown that this class of the population suffer the effects of poor amenities and social injustice more; domestic violence been one example. Domestic violence is a deadly crime, a social menace, and a costly public health problem. Most of the victims are women and children. Community leaders and legislators the world over continue to search for workable––and affordable––policies to curb the violence and heal the wounds. Gender budgeting has been identified as one of the tools to address this issue. Also, women are naturally at the receiving end of gender discrimination in all its forms.

Job Creation: the most potent antidote to poverty still remains economic engagement/empowerment for the army of unemployed. The negative spiral effects of unemployment are palpable in insecurity, citizens taking up arms against the government, crime and other de-humanizing behaviors.

Millennium Development Goals: The UN Summit, in its wisdom, at the millennium summit in September 2000 set down the millennium declaration, a series of collective priorities for member nations. The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015. The aim of the MDGs is to encourage development by improving social and economic conditions in the world's poorest countries. Six of the goals relate directly to children and women.

Leadership Transparency and Accountability: from my years of activism and volunteer work the world over, it is obvious that the level of trust the people have in the leadership is directly proportional to the level of development. This trust is always a measure of the level of transparency in government and the manifestation of an accountable leadership. Most developed and rapidly developing countries have policies and laws that ensure transparency in government and a zero tolerance for corruption. Leadership openness can be deliberately imbibed and cultured if the necessary legal frameworks are in place backed by the political will to enforce the laws.

Infrastructural Development: national economic progress is hinged on quality infrastructure. Quality infrastructure can be pivotal to solving other economic and social problems which, in the first place, were created by derelict infrastructure. Lagos state being an emerging mega city needs more infrastructures to cater for its rapidly expanding population and to keep up with the challenges of an economic capital. Housing and effective transport system remains at the topmost of the challenges of this emerging city.

Would you articulate the present challenges faced in Lagos

The present challenges we face as a senatorial district are a reflection of the larger problems that confronts us as a nation. There is wide spread concern about the near absence of social and economic amenities, infrastructural decay, unemployment, gender discrimination, children and women vulnerability in times of crisis, relative insecurity and lack of government accountability, institutionalized corruption and leadership secrecy.

Lagos state according to official sources is the second populated state in Nigeria though the smallest in terms of land area. It is the center of commerce and the most important economically. Almost 60% of credits and bank branches are in Lagos. Fifty of the fifty five largest quoted companies in Nigeria, according to the Stakes 55, are head quartered in Lagos. The UN-HABITAT report says that Lagos will become Africa’s largest city by 2015. These present a unique challenge to governance and law enforcement in the state.

What is your Senatorial agenda

The Freedom of Information bill: The freedom of Information (FOI) Bill has been pending before the national assembly since the inauguration of democracy in 1999. The Bill is a Bill that, if passed into law, will give every Nigerian a legal right of access to information, records, and documents held by government bodies and private bodies carrying out public functions. The FOI bill was passed into law in 2006 by the 5th Senate but did not get presidential ascent before the tenure of the senate ran out. The Bill applies to all arms of government: the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary as well as to all tiers of government: Federal, State, and Local governments. Nigeria currently has no law which guarantees citizens access to public records and information. The Bill was initially presented to the House of Representatives in June 1999. The inability of the first lower chamber to pass the bill led to its re-presentation in 2003 following the dissolution of the first National Assembly and the inauguration of the second. In January 2010, the bill was again rejected by the House of Representatives government has promulgated a law on domestic violence but weak enforcement makes it seem inexistent. This therefore presents the need for a national bill against domestic violence, of which women and children are the major victims. Nigeria currently has no bill on domestic violence as it is still considered as two people fighting..

Lagos Mega City Special Status Bill: The bill will cover such areas as road and rail infrastructure development and the creation of new satellite towns to decrease congestion in the city. Plans will require cooperation between the federal government, Lagos state government and the government of neighboring Ogun state, where many people who work in Lagos live. Capital of Nigeria until 1991, Lagos has remained the commercial and industrial nerve-centre of the country. This has led to rapid population growth as people have moved to the city from rural areas, putting pressure on already over-stretched

What quality of representation should Lagosians expect of you in the Senate

Because I am going to be in the senate to represent you the people of this senatorial district and not for myself, there will be set rules of engagement and communication between you the people and me your representative. Some of these mediums are:

Senatorial Offices: we will open senatorial offices in the poor areas in each of the five local governments under the Lagos central senatorial district. These offices will serve as contact points where complaints and suggestions can be sent to me. Clinics will also be held on a regular basis.

Monthly Newsletter: there will be a monthly newsletter where you will be informed of the progress we are making in the senate and the steps I am taking to actualize my reason for being in the senate.

Quarterly Town Hall Meetings: I will hold quarterly town hall meetings in each of the local governments where we will discuss the problems and challenges confronting you as a people and for which solutions can be facilitated from the senate.

Bi-annual Local Government Roundtable: this twice in a year round table will aim to engage the local government chairmen of the five local governments under our senatorial district and brainstorm on how to solve the most basic social amenities challenges of our people, especially problems that can be better solved at the grassroots and community levels.

The recently postponed election in your senatorial district what feed backs did you get from your agents.

What happened at the Ajasa polling booth where I voted, the booth was open so every one knew who you vote for this is not right, everybody was mailing around, Ajasa pooling booth is a play ground that had an iron fencing so people could see whom you are voting for, this is in Lagos Island, There before my very eyes and feed backs from my party agents.  Touts were looking and  going out of line telling people whom to vote for, telling them “let their heads be straight oh”, they should know whom to vote for, when I got the pooling booth that day, people were asking me to come to the front and vote, but I insist I will wait for my turn, so I joined the queue, that’s how I got to know about all that I am telling you I culd tell you who the five people in front of me voted for , that is when she realize how open the voting process was and the behavior of the touts, she called the INEC officials to correct  them that this arrangement wasn’t proper, so they they rearrange the table and the shelter for the people voting.

She revealed to National Daily that  in Lagos Island Ghana must go bags were brought at the polling ground and some people were just disbturbing  ,people were given ten thousand and twenty thousand naira openly and also it happen in Main land with the Ghana must go bags according to a reliable source .the process is still a long way from my own estimation or else the A.I.G should stop spraying lips service to the people, the way out is to involve other security agencies. So that this forthcoming election will be free and fair.

Also in Ajasa the only security that was there during the election was one small police woman, who will not capable of handling serious violent. But on that day she spoke to her about the touts which she manages to drive away from the polling center.

What’s your assessment of Jega’s performance in INEC

The INEC Chairman is my friend, he is a nice man personally, he has put his life on this job, but he is credible for this work, if he fail, I don’t think weather he will be able to raise his head again, his only own capability is not enough, that is why I tell people leadership begin to look that four thing, who ever is going to leader you will perform, it must have credibity ,intergrity,people you can say you trust you. Having track record, compassionate, honest

Those who are mailing around Ajasa, she did not convey any security there are so many support system for making the voting process is 

What is your message for Nigerians as the democratic wheel grinds to it final destination as regards 2011 elections