August 15,2014 – A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Lagos Island, II, Hon. Hakeem Masha has described the Osun election as a wake- up call for politicians to sincerely serve those who elected them, noting that Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola won due to his doggedness to deliver dividends of democracy.
The lawmaker made this remark while speaking at an interactive weekly programme organized by the Lagos State House of Assembly correspondents tagged: ‘Time out with the Press.’ at Alausa, Ikeja.
“The Osun election has so many lessons for us; one of such is that we should be very close to our people. Aregbesola is not a gentleman; he is an astute politician who understands the game.
“I knew it was not going to be easy for PDP compared to what happened in Ekiti; among other contestants, you would see that Aregbesola stood out because of his understanding qualities.
“All PDP’s jokers were leaked to us and we tirelessly worked on them. This was what actually transpired during the electioneering, Aregbesola worked days and nights and he was able to meet the right people,” Masha disclosed.
He stressed that the Governor’s performance was exceptional as he did not only establish good relationship with the people but also perform, adding that was why people stood by him to defend their votes.
The lawmaker maintained that it is now dawn on politicians who have genuine interest in politics, to be ready to work selflessly for the populace.
He added that members of his party, All Progressives Congress (APC), has learnt their lessons, saying that would let our members to be ready for any challenges.
Masha, who is first term member in the House explained that he is still learning the rope of politics, saying “though he is trained by a godfather before joining politics but there are issues you need to be diplomatic about as a politician.”
He explained that some people would challenge him whenever he gave excuse as still learning the rope, they would say, “after three and a half years, you are still learning? I say things blunt and I am straightforward but there are issues that need diplomacy.”
