A lawmaker and chartered architect representing Surulere 2 Federal Constituency of Lagos state in the House of Representatives, Hon Lanre Okunlola, has posited that Nigerians will soon start reaping the bountiful dividends of democracy if they are patient with the administration of President Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Okunlola made this assertion at an exclusive chat with newsmen at his office in the National Assembly Complex in Abuja recently.
According to an upbeat Hon Okunlola: ‘The vision is what drives policies and President Bola Tinubu has told Nigerians that this is Renewed Hope and what that means is that by the time the President was sworn in our hope is assured.
“So the renewed hope is now the assured hope in terms of policies that Mr President has started with. And what l would say is that if we are patient enough we would begin to reap the dividends of democracy and what the President has laid down in principle is the direction the country needs to go and that direction is what would take us out of this prevailing situation. And l am confident that with the team Mr President has put together, our hope is assured.”
On the strategies and policies that needs to be put in place to get Nigeria back on track, Hon Okunlola was of the opinion that: ‘The drive towards taking Nigerians to a level we must attain is l believe in three stages; the short, medium and long term perspectives.
“The short term strategy is the palliatives that have been rolled out, those areas that we need to cushion in all the vistas of governance, be it the transport, health, education, budgetary sectors etc.
“Those palliatives that are necessary to ensure that Nigerians are cushioned from the effects of fuel subsidy removal in all the aforementioned areas. And l am hoping that with the foundation the President has laid, the short term goals will be achieved and it will help Nigerians especially the majority of Nigerians who are in dire need of things to happen speedily. Well, the medium term goals involves the level of planning and strategy we need to put in place so that things like this will not come as a shock to Nigerians, we would have created a policy that makes sure that Nigerians benefit from governance. And the long term goal is to have a vision plan that takes care of all of us in all areas of development be it infrastructural, health, socio-economic and educational development.”
On his legislative agenda for his people, Hon Lanre Okunlola stated thus: “As a representative, you are the voice of the people, you are the voice of your constituents who put you there to represent them. So you need to adequately ask for feedbacks from your constituency, what are their needs, what can we as policymakers provide in terms of policies and strategies to make sure our people benefit from the federal government and it gives them that leverage to know that they also have a voice in the House, a voice that can speak for them in terms of their needs and that is our policy thrust, our primary responsibility and that is why we are here.
“A couple of months back, when we went back home after our inauguration, l interfaced with my constituents, sometimes if l can’t meet them physically, l do zoom meetings with them to understand how things are going on. And in view of the prevailing economic situation, l had to do a couple of empowerment programs for the women and youths and the most vulnerable members of society. And we have also looked at areas where we can intervene legislatively.
“For instance when the House was in session, l was able to lay a total of 12 Bills on the floor of the House including 4 Establishment Bills and one very crucial one that l am very passionate about; and that is the National Flood lnsurance Bill that l presented because over the years we have been complaining about flood disasters and how best we can leverage to ensure that the fund managers can pay adequate compensation to flood victims and make sure that things work well.
” l also looked at the National Children Entrepreneurship Scheme, a Bill that l presented to ensure that from childhood, individuals can acquire skills that will enable them become independent, self-sufficient and productive in terms of entrepreneurship. As time goes on we shall roll out more policies,strategies and interventions on behalf of our people. Thank you,” he said.
