Hon. Stella Foluke Osafile, representing Amuwo Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, is the only Labour Party member in the Assembly. Osafile, who advocates a return to the parliamentary system of government in Nigeria, called on politicians to support and enable the system to function effectively. She also encouraged more women to participate in politics, emphasising that an increased presence of female politicians will benefit the nation. In this interview with OLADIPUPO AWOJOBI, she shared her views on these issues and more. Excerpts:
How has it been for you as the only member of the Labour Party in the Assembly?
The journey has been okay so far. Two of us were here, but we lost one seat at the court. If you ask me if it has been rosy, I would say yes and no, though we are done with politicking and election and we are now in the dispensation of governance. Once you are here, you are for Lagos State, every other thing is secondary.
How were you able to find your feet among the menfolk as a woman in politics?
Women in politics is just a myth because it’s like any other profession, add value to yourself and make sure you are a person of good character. Once you have the capacity, go for it. For women in politics, I would say I have an advantage because I won’t consider myself a small girl age wise; my children are out of their formative years, so I don’t have young children and that gave me a bit of lever- age. Maritally, I have been able to balance it. So, for younger ladies that want to come in, it might be a bit challenging for them. This is an advantage for me, all my children are grown up, it’s only me and my husband at home. For women coming into politics, they should make sure they have enough support system such as from their husband, maid, and siblings so that if you are not there, they would stand in for you. For women in politics, it’s no big deal, it’s like any other profession. Sometimes they say politi- cians stay out late, nurses too stay out late as they do night duties, doctors go for night duties and pastors go for night vigils, same goes for politicians. If your meeting extends to the night, so be it. But thank God for technology, you can have your meetings online. So, women should leverage on that, the more women in politics, the better for Nigeria. With women there would be less violence and the processes of getting into office would be less expensive.
Are you saying that women handle things better economically than men…
Women will not marry four husbands unlike men that can marry four wives. Just give women powder and jewellery; so we have less demands than men.
What of the issue of sexual harassment that could come with vying for political offices for women?
Yes it’s not cheap going into politics. I want to say that we have a better leverage in my party, they gave women upper hand to obtain our nomination forms free of charge and they make sure that you go through the same process in a very transparent way. But in my case, I had already paid for the form before I knew that it was free for women and the physically challenged to encourage more women to come on board. You know our own mantra in the Labour Party; ‘ we don’t give money’ and that helped me. When they ask me if I gave people money, I told them I didn’t pay anybody and that people willingly voted for me. So, for women, we have more opportunities. If I was told how much the whole thing would cost me up to the tribunal, I would flee, not only run. But because, I had already dived into it before we went to the tribunal and I had won an election, I could not turn back, so it’s not cheap. I know that there are so many women that can do it even financially, but some fear violence. If you are not a violent person, don’t envisage that violence would come to you, have a positive mind, and be optimistic. Life is war anyway, so fight your own war in your own space and corner and see how it turns out. You might get your fingers burnt, so be it. But if you don’t launch out, you will not know the nitty gritty of the office and that’s what I would tell women. Don’t sit at the comfort of your home expecting them to give it to you, you must fight for it.
Will you say the democracy we are practising in Nigeria has paid off?
It’s like asking a 25-year-old person if he has achieved his purpose of coming to earth; that is how I see our democracy. We are only 25 years old in this dispensation, we are not there, but we shall get there if and when we allow the system to take its rightful place, this is where we found ourselves. A 25-year-old man is not a perfect man. The best time to work on it is now to make sure that all the loopholes are blocked if we are inten- tional about this democracy or else we are playing. We can just be playing anyhow, we have gone through the primary, the general election and the tribunal. We have seen how people can take advantage of loopholes. If we don’t block such loopholes, then we are playing.
How best do you think we can go about it because these are not the best times for us, and what advice do you have for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) both at the state and federal levels?
It appears as if the future is bleak, it’s a hopeless situation. But I want to be very optimistic that there will be light at the end of the tunnel. The APC government is trying to fux the economy to the detriment of the generality of the populace. It should be one step at a time. You can’t correct all the ills of the past in one day. The removal of fuel subsidy has cascaded down and affected everything and they are now trying to cushion the effect. I just felt that these plans should have been put in place and may be sub- sidy could have been removed in 2025. All these policies such as CNG vehicles and others should have been put in place first. We all agreed that fuel subsidy must go, but it was a big shock and that is the situation that we are in now.
Don’t you think that that the democracy we are practising is not okay as some of the policies of the government ought to have been approved by the National Assembly or the state houses of Assembly as the case may be?
There is something called executive recklessness. Before you make any pronouncement, it should go through the parliament. You know the tongue is an unruly member of the body, it’s full of deadly poison. The statement was made even before the current National Assembly was inaugurated. These are some of the errors that we need to correct and you cannot tell your boss that he is wrong in his presence.
Is that not part of the failure of the presidential system of government as people say that if we practise parliamentary system of government it would have been better, do you think we should go back to the 1963 Constitution?
So be it, we have been practising the presidential system of government for 25 years. And we had the brief period from 1979 to 1983. From 1960 to 1966, we practised parliamentary and we stopped after the military intervention. We never had that privilege to compare the two, but for me, the presidential system of government is too expensive.
The Labour Party seems to be divided between Lamidi Apapa and Julius Abure groups, with what is happening now? Do you see a future in the party as 2027 is fast approaching?
When you mentioned party, who is the party, it is the individuals there. But thank God, no Lamidi Apapa or Julius Abure faction anymore. The court has been able to settle it and they have even reconciled. There is no perfect society. So, if there is a crisis in the party, they will quarrel and settle it. Sometimes I ask what is really hap- pening, but even when the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth, they fought him and they killed him when he was even doing good. As it is now, since there are human beings in the political parties, there would always be quarrels and they will settle. So, there are no more factions in the Labour Party. You don’t solve your problem by running away from it. So, we will fight and reconcile.
How do you connect with your people in Amuwo Odofin Constituency 1?
I will not say I am perfect, but I am always with my people. I am with them regularly and the relationship is cordial and I pray it continues.
As we move towards the next general elections, what would be your charge to the political class and the general populace, and what is your view about our electoral system?
My charge to the political class is for them to allow the system to run by itself. Our electoral system would have been perfect if we had allowed it to run by itself. We should allow the system to work, let’s not shortchange it or cut corners. The way the law is, it appears seamless. Let’s go to the polling booth, and allow INEC result viewing centre (irev) to work. Let us allow the system to work, it’s not just for us, but for the generations coming behind. What legacy are we going to leave for them? Is it the legacy of violence? No. We are humans, and Africa and the whole world are waiting for Nigeria to get it right. Once we get it right in our little space and little corner, nobody would want to ‘japa’ (run awayl and I pray that as many that have ‘japa would ‘japada’ (come back home) in good health. If the system runs and works everyone will benefit; the land is green.
