The Trumpet Newspaper Issue 562 (January 12 - 25 2022)

Page8 TheTrumpet JANUARY 12 - 25 2022
Trumpet Ogun
I represent the hope for real change
By Engr. (Dr.) Adewale Adenaike
Dear Compatriots,
I congratulate and welcome every one of us
into a brand New Year. That we are here
today is by the grace of God Almighty who
has made it possible for us to be alive and
to continue to pursue our aspirations in life.
Considering all that we have been through
in 2021 as a nation, we have every reason to
give thanks to God for keeping us together
as one indivisible entity. I am therefore
persuaded that God Almighty who made it
possible for us to enter into the New Year
will see us through the year. I must
therefore thank everyone who has shown
faith and has supported our Aspiration for
the Senate seat in Ogun East Senatorial
District. Let me reiterate my commitment
to this cause. I consider it noble and worthy
of my time and resources. Your support has
been priceless. I therefore trust that you will
continue to support me in my march
towards the Red Chambers. On my part, I
promise never to disappoint you.
2021 was no doubt tasking and eventful.
It was the year when we openly declared
our interest in the seat for the Ogun East
Senatorial district and sought the
endorsement of the Party Leaders and
yourselves. The consultation and
engagement with the Party and other
Stakeholders is still on going at different
levels. We are optimistic that the pendulum
will swing in our favour. In any political
setting, everyone has the capacity to make
an impact. From all indications, it is dawn
time again for political activities in our
country. A lot of consultations are going on
in different parts of the country as part of
the build up towards the formal lifting of
ban on political activities and full-fledged
electioneering campaigns for the different
offices that will become open for
contestation. Gladiators like me and great
supporters like you have therefore hit the
ground running, building bridges and
creating alliances so that they are not
caught flatfooted in the race towards the
political offices of their choice. That is the
way it should be because that is what makes
democracy, which is described as the
government of the people, by the people
and for the people, beautiful.
Year 2022 promises to even be more
eventful because it is the last year before
the elections into all the offices as the
tenure of current holders expire. This places
a greater responsibility on us, as it means
we have to double our efforts and increase
our work rate exponentially. One of the
things we must therefore, do very quickly
is to ensure that we are mentally and
physically ready to participate in the
elections in 2023 by making sure that our
compatriots who are eligible to vote have
their voter’s card and are ready to perform
this very important civic duty. This is not
an activity that can be done by proxy.
INEC, as you know, does not count the
votes on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and
other social media platforms neither does it
count prayer points. INEC only count votes
and it is only those with their Voter’s card
that can vote. Those who therefore profess
to be our loyalists must deepen the loyalty
by making sure that they have all that is
required to give physical manifestation to
their loyalty and support for our candidacy.
With our voter’s card, we can check every
form of compromise at the polls, secure our
votes effectively and ensure that the elected
contestant is our preferred bidder for the
elective office.
It is a known fact that our nation is
currently under the burden of insecurity.
While this New Year message is not the
platform for x-raying how we got to this
point as a nation, the least we can do as
compatriots is to continue to seek for
solutions. And one clear way of doing this
is to ensure that we elect the people of our
choice with the right pedigree into the
different political offices that will soon
become vacant in our political space. We
must avoid violence at all cost as this has
the tendency to further aggravate and
complicate the current security situation in
our country. Rather, we must adhere strictly
to the known rules of the game of politics.
Politics is not and should not be war or a
do-or-die affair. Our young people whose
productive energy is the catalyst we need as
a nation to unleash our productive capacity
for the liberation of our nation from the
shackles of underdevelopment, must resist
the temptation to be used as expendable
materials for the destabilization of politics
and the processes associated with it. Our
elders must shun the destructive lure of
filthy lucre that mortgages the future of
their children and the generations unborn.
In closing this message, I need to
reiterate my belief in this course and the
ability of my people in Ogun East
Senatorial District to elect a credible,
meaningful, impactful and people-driven
representative. Our Senatorial District has
suffered neglect for too long. I represent
that critical change that we need at a time
like this. From available data, Ogun East
Senatorial District is sufficiently blessed by
God, we have the right quantity of natural
and human resources that is required to give
us economic emancipation. All we need is
the candidate with the right mindset that
will work with the right critical
stakeholders and unleash the productive
and progressive tendencies of our people.
This was the goal our fathers saw in the past
when they yielded our land for the
construction of the Iwopin Paper Mill. That
massive investment of yesteryears, which
would have provided the engine room for
our economic emancipation, is today the
abode of massive rodents and reptiles.
Today, Ogun East is one of the Senatorial
districts with the lowest electricity
penetration in our country. Our roads are
bad and our schools, which used to be our
pride, have equally suffered unbelievable
neglect. We need to change that narrative. I
represent that Hope for Real Change.
As we therefore navigate the path of
2022, I urge everyone to keep hope alive,
keep an eye on the ball and be mindful of
the protocols of COVID 19. We need to be
alive and healthy to bring about the change
we so desire in our Senatorial District. For
those who are yet to be vaccinated, please
take the necessary steps to be vaccinated
and follow the advice of experts on the use
of non-pharmaceuticals preventions. May
God Almighty continue to bless our State,
our Senatorial District and our Nation to the
Glory of His name.
A JU SE O
Engr. (Dr) Adewale Adenaike is an
aspirant to the Ogun East Senatorial
District seat; and Special Assistant - SA
(Projects) to the Hon. Minister of State for
Education.