Over the years, it has been a proven fact that the only way forward for our democracy, is the availability of a good representation and having upright leaders in government.
Many communities have entirely suffered set-backs, with little or no influence of the ‘federal-might’ in their various localities. This is the basis for the clamour for a good and well-cultured Representation of Constituencies at all tiers of Government.
Surulere Federal Constituency 1 is one of such lucky communities whose representative has exceeded expectations, attracting into Surulere many Government sponsored projects and initiatives.
Indeed, the Constituency may not have had a better representation, than the current House of Rep member who has diligently epitomised worthy ambassadorship, bearing in mind their interest at the lower chamber of the National Assembly, Abuja.
Femi Gbajabiamila doubles as the Speaker of the 9th Assembly of the House of Representatives and a Representative of Surulere Federal Constituency 1 since 2003.
Born June 25, 1962, Olufemi Hakeem Gbajabiamila attended Mainland Preparatory School for elementary education and Igbobi College in 1973 for secondary education. Subsequently he enrolled at King William’s College on the Isle of Man, United Kingdom for his A-Level. He was accepted into the University of Lagos, Nigeria, graduating from Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) with honors in 1983 and was called to the Nigerian bar in 1984.
His first working experience was with Bentley Edu & Co., in Lagos, and then established his own law firm, Femi Gbaja & Co. He then earned his Juris Doctor from Atlanta’s John Marshall Law School in Georgia, USA, passed the Georgian bar exam in 2001, and set up a law firm in Atlanta. While in the USA, he actively participated in the election of Bill Campbell who later went on to become Mayor of Atlanta.
His Political voyage started in 2003, when he was elected a member of the House of Representatives and re-elected in 2007. He represents the Surulere I constituency of Lagos State in the House of Representatives.
He has been a major voice in the House of Representatives, holding key roles at the Green Chambers such as: the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives in the 7th National Assembly. He was head of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating claims by the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) that 140.9 Billion Naira (about $1Bn), which was owed by ‘Zenon Petroleum & Gas Limited’ and ‘Forte Oil Plc’, has been paid. The call for an investigation of the reported payment was made by another lawmaker, Bimbo Daramola who moved the motion that the House set up a panel to verify the claims by AMCON that the Femi Otedola-owned two companies have paid back the money which the government of Nigeria paid for petroleum products reportedly not delivered as agreed upon by the dictates of the government’s fuel subsidy scheme.
He was elected speaker in the 9th National Assembly, House of Representative, with 283 votes, while his opponent Mohammed Umar Bago, came Second with 78 votes.
He is known for raising many bills conceived in the best interest of the Nigerian people and no one else. One among many of them is his defence of his promotion of the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill. Gbajabiamila argued that the content and timing of the bill was appropriate.
He went as far as pledging to facilitate a public hearing where Nigerians would be given the opportunity to contribute to the draft law.
Though, the bill was considered highly controversial, and rejected by many, as it was perceived as a move by the House of Representatives to repeal the Quarantine Act and replace it with the Control of Infectious Diseases Bill.
In the wake of the ravaging coronavirus in the country, a proactive Gbajabiamila sponsored a bill which seeks to strengthen the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and make it more proactive and “not just reactive and function when there is an outbreak.”
The bill seeks to empower the president, the minister of health as well as the director-general of NCDC, and the institutions they head, to make regulations on quarantining, vaccination and prevention of infectious diseases in Nigeria.
Mr. Gbajabiamila said the allegation that the bill is a sinister attempt to turn Nigerians into guinea pigs for medical research while taking away their fundamental human rights was far from the truth.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, is also well known for taking swipes at the ill-treatment of Nigerians in the diaspora, warning that such should stop.
He handed down a stern warning at a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, when he confronted him with the protest video of an incident where a Nigerian was seen challenging Chinese officials over maltreatment.
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Gbajabiamila, just as his predecessors has received barrage of criticism of every of his human-oriented actions. Apparently, he is not perturbed by any of these criticisms, rather, he has forged on in his fight for good governance and representation.
Key among criticism is the allegations by opposition, that the 9th Assembly he leads has been rightfully as mere a rubber stamp of the executive arm of the government.
In self-justification he said he would rather be a rubber stamp National Assembly for the sake of the country’s progress rather than “fight” the executive without progress. He brought up an argument that nobody made so he could discount legitimate criticism.
He has championed the nurturing of democracy in Nigeria and has been an advocate for good governance and accountability in all the arms of Government.
Gbaja, as he is fondly called, has sponsored various bills, among which are: Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (Alteration) Bill, 2019; Economic Stimulus Bill, 2019; Electric Power Sector Reform Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019; Employees (Unpaid Wages Prohibition) Bill, 2019; Federal Highways Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019; Labour Act (Amendment) Bill, 2019; Physically Challenged (Empowerment) Bill, 2019; Presidential (Transition) Bill, 2019.
