* Adewale

          Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's aide, Adewale Temitope has finally bowed  to the pressure of his people in Ifako Ijaiye constituency 1, as he declares intentionts to represent them  at the State House of Assembly come 2019.

Adewale Temitope Adedeji popularly referred to as ATA by his people in political sphere once  declared that Politics is dirty because of the  heart breaks and the antics that comes with it as he categorically stated that politics does not entail you being diabolic.

Speaking on  dirty politics, Adewale said, When you are guided by principles and the constitution. It becomes a dirty job because you must always stand on the truth , not minding whose ox  is gored at the end of the day. 

   Adewale who has carved a niche for himself having  achieved his set goals in business, civil service, politics and as an  entrepreneur  was one of those who started the not-too-young to run campaign in  2009 , with a mission to sensitise Nigerian youths to get involved in politics.

He was one of the pioneering members  of the Young Achievers Campaign Orgnisation of Nigeria (YACOON), a group that massively worked to sensitise the youths about the need to participate in the affairs that concern the citizenry coupled with the fact that he is presently the Special Assistant to the National Leader of APC , Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Youths, Politics and Policy.
 Adewale believes that the youths are gradually getting aware more than ever before of their important roles and responsibilities in the society.

He ever  admits  that though one of the fundamental problems of the youths is inexperience but insists it can be overcome. “It is a process. They must first get involved  and  then build on it,” he argues.

“Not until they get actively involved, can you find out what the youths can do or can’t do. Most of the youths have done fantastically well in entrepreneurship and other aspects of life, be it business, entertainment, judiciary, media and all. We also have youths that have functioned well in government,” he asserts.
 He believes politics is not only for money bags but open to people who want to make a difference. “They say all politics is local. I understand that and l believe in it,” he says.

 “Once you are identified as a potential and you have what it takes, people will come to your aid and support you. I play local and grassroots politics, l have seven wards in my local government. I know everybody in all the wards in my party by name and I also know their wants and needs and so far I thank God I have been able do the best I can.”

He asserts that “there is nothing like main stream politics. It is either you are n politics or not. It is either you are actively involved in politics or not. There are tiers and levels in the government and politics; you have the grassroots, apex and decision makers, the GAC and so on. It all depends on the level you find yourself. But i have played politics actively from the Local government to State and as well to the National Level comfortably,” giving insight to a man well versed in the theory and practice of politics.
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 Adewale lamented  the plight of an average Nigerian youth,  at 30, how many people have gotten a proper job in their life time? he queried.
        “A 30-year old man will be contesting with a 65-70-year old man that has built empires; built political structures with network of political magicians”. He stated that a lot of work still needs to be done.

        Zeroing in on finance, as the major hindrance to the quest of the youths Adewale pointed out that he, as a player of local and grassroots politics who knows everybody and their needs in the seven wards in his local government, some of which he had tried to meet up with, he was confident of sailing through.

        According to him: “Once you are identified as a potential and you have what it takes, people will come to your aid and support you”. 

        Although, he insisted that most youths have held their own in various aspects of life, .be it business, entertainment, media among other fields of endeavour,  Adewale who has garnered several  experiences, aside  being the current Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Leader of All Progressive Congress, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, had also been the former SSA to former governor of Lagos state, Babatunde Raji Fashola on Works and Infrastructure, has learnt from the masters of the game.

He also worked with the former Governor of Abia state as a youth and  served in the governor’s office in Maiduguri, years ago. He has been a Public servant and as well a business entrepreneur.

 Adewale is of the belief that he has what it takes to represent his constituency in Lagos State appropriately, and he sees as an advanatage, the fact that he born and bred in Ifako – Ijaiye.

“I am conversant with  the nooks, crannies wards and topography of this  local government. Am on first names basis with my contemporaries here, so it is a familiar terrain for me”, he disclosed.

  Another thing that he has that is working for him is  the  Ajumose which he hosts.  “Ajumose is one of the strongest and largest Social clubs in lfako- ljaiye,” the young politician explains.

“It is a group of people who come together to talk about development and progress of our communities and the Local Government as a whole. We have regular meetings where we talk about developmental growth of the community and the constituency itself. When they have issues, they come to us.
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“It is more about bringing a group of people together to achieve a common goal for the success of the party. l inherited it from my father. Ajumose has been in existence for a very long time. My father used it to support the party all the way from the days of Alliance for Democracy, (AD,) Action Congress of Nigeria ( ACN) and the All Progressive Congress ( APC). It is a group that l promised myself l will never neglect or let  die.”

 For Adewale  it is a promise and a vow. His father, a medical doctor who joined the police force and rose to the position of Assistant Commissioner of Police before veering into politics and represented his constituency at the National Assembly before his  demise in 2016 had ingrained in him the virtue of service to the people.

This he found himself doing even when his father was alive. “My politics is not a social media experiment,” he explains. “l’m a grassroots politician. My politics goes as far as into the wards level, using the Ajumose.”        On what he considers his  greatest achievement in life so far, he says with philosophical calmness:
“Putting smiles on the faces of people. Sometimes people come to me with their problems. My little contributions have gone a long way. This makes me happy.” And his greatest challenge ?  My father died at the age of 66 of cardiac arrest the same day he passed a bill in the National House of Assembly. His father is Dr. (Hon.) Elijah Olu Adewale, a former member of House of Representatives