Yewa South deserves better representation – APC aspirant

A marketing communications professional and the Group Managing Director of First Katalyst Group, Soji Odedina, speaks with FELIX OLOYEDE on why he is seeking to be a candidate of the All Progressives Congress for Yewa South/Ipokia Federal Constituency for the 2027 election

You have been a professional for years. How do you intend to navigate your way in the political space?

I’ve been talking to my people at the local level. Do you know that Ipokia Local Government, which I’m hoping to represent, has not had light in five years? And the question I’ve been asking is, who is talking to Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company on this? Who is talking to all the other relevant agencies of government? And I promised them, we will engage, and there will be light. Actually, one of my slogans is “Imolede.” We are embarking on an empowerment programme to distribute solar lights to homes in the next couple of days. So, we are going to make promises to our people and fulfil them consistently.

Apart from the issue of light, what other things concern you about your constituents?

My people have historically been greatly marginalised. In the whole of Yewa land, there are just two factories. Of course, Dangote is one. There is a factory on the Owode-Ilaro axis by Ipokia South. And recently, the President announced that oil exploration should commence in earnest in Ogun State. We all jubilated at this announcement because Tongeji Island is the only place where oil was found in commercial quantities. But we also heard that there is a place in Ijebu Waterside called Balaye, where exploration is going to start. I’m happy for the people of Ijebu-Waterside because if exploration commences in Tongeji tomorrow, there’ll be employment for our people; here will be energy. In the South-South, any community that hosts an oil company will not pay a dime for electricity. I consulted for Notori. Notori generated so much energy that it gave the whole of Eleme electricity for free.

So, if Tongeji starts tomorrow and is built up, the entire Ipokia Local Government will not lack electricity. But the question is, who is leading this conversation for my people? Who’s engaging on their behalf? Now, the Chinese are heavily present in Nigeria, and they are investing in different sectors of the economy. I was talking to a senior person who works with a Chinese company recently. I said, “Let’s work on this together. Let’s bring these Chinese investors to Tongeji and bring up Tongeji. It will be to the benefit of everyone in Yewa land.

What we’ve seen in the past is that people just go to represent us, and do things for themselves and come back home. This ambition is all about the development of my constituency; otherwise, I should be resting.

What do you intend to do differently?

First of all, I’m untainted. I’m a fresh face. I’ve never been involved in politics until six months ago when I threw my heart into the ring. I have seen the world. I’ve worked in Dubai, I’ve worked in Nigeria, I’ve worked everywhere. I’ve met people. There is no door that I cannot knock on. I want to follow the footsteps of Senator Solomon Adeola. In the history of development in Ogun West, Senator Solomon Adeola has done a lot, as he knows the right doors to knock. The development that we have seen in Ogun West in the last three years beats what has been seen in the 50 years of Ogun State. He did the road at the apex point of my village, and it was named after my family, Odedina Road. We never believed that anything like that could happen. So, Yayi brought development. I want to follow in that trajectory and ensure that I add to what is on the ground. We will bring opportunities to our people. We will get young people employed. That’s the difference I’m going to bring. There is so much opportunity in Nigeria, but you need to know the right people, the right source, the right businesses to attract. That’s why I think I have an edge.

Apart from grassroots support, have you been able to get the buy-in of political leaders in the state?

I’m relying on the promise of President Bola Tinubu. There’s a new Electoral Act which states that candidates emerge either by consensus or direct primary. Consensus means that if six persons are vying for a position, they must all agree in writing on whom they are supporting. If there is one dissent, then all of us must go to the field. At this point, in direct primary, every party member of the APC has an opportunity to elect whoever they want. So, it’s an election before the real election. That is why I am building momentum from the grassroots, as when a direct primary happens, I know I have an edge.

You’ll be representing two local governments. How do you intend to ensure nobody is marginalised?

My father is from the town called Ijofin in Ipokia Local Government. When Pastor Oshofa stepped into Nigeria, that was the first place he stepped into, and he worshipped there. Nigeria’s first Customs post was built in Ijofin. It’s in the corridor of the border with the Benin Republic. My mum is from Ilaro in another local government. So, I have my two legs in the two local governments. And I understand the needs which I will cater for separately.

Politics is local. You are seen as a Lagos-based man. How have you been able to connect to your grassroots?

Some time ago, I went with all my friends to my town from Lagos. As we were going along that Idiroko Road, immigration officers stopped us and asked where we were going. I told him we were going to Ijofin, my hometown. The guy said, “You are not from Ijofin.” And I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “You cannot be from there.” I said, “Is there a way Ijofin people look that I don’t look?” But to be honest, in the last 6 months, there’s been so much awareness and acceptance. Again, most likely because our people see a fresh face. They see compassion. The people see someone who can take them out of the wilderness. And that’s what we represent. Everywhere we have gone, the reception has been overwhelming.

You are vying for the ticket with six other people. That must be a huge task for a new entrant like you.

I refer to the Electoral Act. The first thing is to try to find a consensus among all of us. And to be honest, if they all agree to support me, that will be beautiful. That will be the best. But if they don’t, then we get to the field. Democracy is a test of popularity. Let’s see who has done the best field work. Let’s see the person whom the people want as their representative. So, we will stick to the Electoral Act and then explore all the opportunities it has given us.

What do you make of the chances of the African Democratic Congress in the next general election?

First, the ADC is a coalition. Somebody called them the collusion. It’s a bunch of strange fellows. If you look at those who are members of the party, they have different ideologies, different interests. And I don’t see how those ideologies coexist or coalesce. Everybody wants to be president among them. And we know that one person will not give it to the other. But they are not new to politics. Rotimi Amaechi said the other day that he was hungry. Many of us know Amaechi very well. He was the speaker; he was governor for eight years, and he was a minister, but he is suddenly hungry. I listened to the recent interview by Atiku Abubakar. I didn’t see substance. I don’t see what any of those guys would do for Nigeria. The bold initiatives that have been taken in the last three years by the present administration have been well acknowledged; if not, Nigeria would probably have sold. Painful as they are, but we see light at the end of the tunnel. When you fix the macroeconomy, it will trickle down to the micro. Right now, I tell my friends who are running multinational businesses in Nigeria that the forex market is stable. So, you can plan. That’s the first thing that happened to us.

You are into marketing. How do you intend to explore digital marketing to galvanise votes?

The beautiful thing about that is that we have a digital unit, as a group of companies. We are currently working for the biggest fintech in Nigeria. We will use this expertise. There’s a problem with the rural areas. Most of the rural people don’t have digital phones. So, we can do an SMS blast. The digital space has become so intense that you can isolate anybody for the general election.

Tell us about your background…

It’s a long journey to where I am today. I studied Political Science at Ogun State University, Ago-Iwoye. I graduated as the best student in my set, the second set of Political Science graduates in the institution. I was also actively involved in student unionism at the time when Idiagbon and Buhari were in power. I served as the Welfare Officer of the Students’ Union. We printed materials and distributed them to other universities under the campaign, “Free the masses and save Nigeria.” As a result, we were arrested and detained for nine days. After interventions by prominent Nigerians, including the Alake of Egbaland and other traditional rulers, we were released to the Vice-Chancellor. Incidentally, our PRO, now late, was from Odogbolu—General Diya’s town—and his father was the king there. The student union was eventually dissolved after the incident. So, I have a long history of political involvement, both at the activism and student union levels. After graduating, I did my National Youth Service in Bendel State, as it was then called. I later joined the Directorate for Social Mobilisation, popularly known as MAMSER, under Jerry Gana, where I worked for five years. However, my father was a teacher for 35 years and could not complete his house, which made me rethink a career in government service. I decided it was not for me and moved to the private sector. I joined African Concord and later transitioned into public relations, marketing, and advertising. I strongly believe that the greatest service is service to one’s people. With my experience, including working internationally — I reported to Dubai from Nigeria and oversaw West Africa for British American Tobacco’s marketing communications programmes — I felt it was time to give back through public service. That is why politics is of interest to me now. My journey has always revolved around communication and political engagement. Even in the last decade, I never truly left politics. For instance, when Babajide Sanwo-Olu was contesting for governor, I supported him. I met him at his residence in Ikoyi through a relative of his and told him, ‘I don’t want anything from your government; I just want to support you. I believe in continuity in governance, especially in Lagos.’ At the time, Ambode had laid some groundwork, and I wanted that continuity in line with the vision of Asiwaju. I told Sanwo-Olu I would support his campaign with 20 fully branded buses to be deployed across all local government areas in Lagos. My friends and I also contributed face caps, T-shirts, and other campaign materials, which we distributed to mobilise support. After the election, even up till the seventh year of his administration, I never returned to ask for any personal benefit. I simply did my part in supporting the party and the leadership choice made for Lagos in 2019.