I don’t believe in politics of propaganda but legacy politics is my calling to Ajegunle people”-Hon. Rita Orji, Federal House of Representatives member and chairperson Diaspora Committee Matters Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency
For the past two years and 10 months, Hon Rita Odichinma Orji was sworn-in into the National Assembly as a member representing Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Constituency under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), her style of grassroots representation has remained legendary in this part of the world.
Since 2011, I started Mindset Media Limited, I had met many politicians who had served in such her capacity and also below that capacity but cannot exhibit such political humility which this great woman of distinction has displayed in her constituency over time.
It was her representation I knew that House of Representatives member can be accessible to everybody irrespective of the party you belong to. She has remained consistent to grassroots development and empowerment programmes for Ajegunle people.
According to Hon. Rita Orji,my grassroots representation at the National Assembly is not for PDP people only but I am representing the face of Ajegunle at Abuja. I was elected under the platform of PDP but was massively voted for by Ajegunle people. I had a mouth-watering opportunity being offered to me by the ruling party to defect but I remembered that many people stood by me to cast their votes and I will never betray that trust given to me in 2015.
Since 2011, Hon.Rita Orji was nominated for Mindset Media Achievers Excellence Awards which is now Africa Mindset Media Excellence Awards by Mrs.Ijeoma Ibe, one of her Tasly world mentees and executive director of Mindset Media Limited. Her recommendation for Mindset award was awesome and I took time to undergo some of her networking business drives where thousands were empowered with cars, cash bonuses and houses in Nigeria. I was personally invited by Mrs.Ijeoma Ibe to Tasly world event hosted by her in National Theatre Iganmu,Lagos twice and Ajegunle own many a time. Her intellectual prowess and business temerity convinced me that Hon. Rita Orji only came from her mother’s womb as woman but ought to be a man.
Her events at Tasly World were always filled with people smiling home with cars and others. She turned many homes then that were living in perpetual poverty to millionaires and house owners. She was a good event planner to the core. In fact, one of the Tasly events I attended at National Theatre. I could not gain entrance because of crowded audience.
Until 2015 when Hon. Rita Orji decided to contest for House of Representatives under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) which position had never been won by PDP as a party in Ajegunle.Every attempt made by PDP faithful to contest with the ruling party then always ended in political futility.Hon.Rita Orji was never a pushed over female politician in Ajeromi-Ifelodun with her style of developmental politics and humanitarian services equally gave her total victory against the then incumbent House of Representatives member Hon.Taiwo Adenekan of the All Progressives Congress(APC).
As many as described her as the ‘Margaret Thatcher of Ajegunle politics and others described her as Senior Advocate of Masses invariably taking over Chief Gani Fawehinmi of the blessed memory.
Her political role in PDP in Ajeromi-Ifelodun over the past two years and 10 months saw the party at the limelight of grassroots politics.PDP was never reckoned with, even when elections were conducted into various political positions in Ajeromi–Ifelodun, victory was always coasted to the ruling party. It was not as if PDP faithful were not wining some of the seats being contested for in Lagos State but powers that be always upturned the narrative of Ajegunle politics. Legal battles then always ended futility.
That political scenario then created fear and anxiety among PDP faithful that had intentions to contest but probably not bold enough to stand the political test than defecting to the ruling party as the only way to make their political aspirations come to pass which has never be realized till date except few ones that are in the good books of political godfathers in the state .
However, the like of Hon. Rita Orji and other PDP faithful saw light in the tunnel and decided to stay in the party amidst of intrigues, betrayers and anti-party politics among members within the rank and file of the party in Ajeromi-Ifelodun local government area of Lagos State.Hon.Rita Orji decided to wait upon the Lord until her dream came to fulfillment. According to her in one of the media conferences, she said it was really tough in taking this kind of decision to contest election in Ajegunle as a non-tribal person but I cried to God that poor representation at the National Assembly had made Ajegunle community to look as if better people don’t reside there again. My husband and I were always praying for God protection and victory and God made it to come to pass.
Again, it was Hon.Orji’s election that opened the eyes of many Ajegunle dwellers that political representation actually needed the masses support and voters’ cards at the poll. Her political tenacity and vibrancy in the National Assembly cannot be taken for granted and as an avid watcher of AIT news international, hardly a week passes by without seeing Hon.Rita Orji either sponsoring a bill or fighting aggressively for Nigerians freedom in Diaspora.
One thing that has helped Hon.Rita Orji to excel in her political career in the last two years and 10 months is that, she never joined politics as a pauper or beggar but was highly successful in her networking business and legal practice. She has able to replicate her husband’s successes in entrepreneurial leadership in Africa and beyond.
No doubt, her political humility among the commoners is superb and no such high ranking political office holder had stood so low to the masses over the years in Ajegunle.Her phone number is accessible to everybody and she has never used any personal assistant to pick her calls or reply text messages sent to her.
If you have not met Hon. Rita Orji before in your life as a person, you can easily conclude in your mind that she is an arrogant personality because of her daring style of politics in Nigeria and Ajegunle community. She is one of the simplest politicians you can ever meet and discuss your issue to. She doesn’t need to store your cell phone number on her phone before she receives your call or text messages.
Moreover, Hon.Rita Orji doesn’t believe in politics of propaganda and her fearless kind of politics making her political opponents within her party and ruling party to see her as a threat in grassroots politics. She hates injustice and betrayal kind of politics in Africa.
The only person I fear in my life is God not man. Those who described her as Margaret Thatcher of Ajegunle politics never made a mistake because she is always straight-forward in dealing with people in her constituency.
Come to think of it, Hon.Rita Orji has initiated several projects and youth empowerment programmes in Ajegunle.One thing you cannot take away from Hon. Orji is that, she likes serious-minded youths in Ajegunle that are ready to be trained for their future not waiting for any politician to use them as thugs for nefarious activities at any given elections.
If you want to gain favour from Hon Rita Orji by destroying others to get to her, then you as a person has just made the costliest mistake because she prefers to hear from the real accuser than you the complainer. She does not play politics of rumour but reality. If she was to be a journalist, she would have excelled well in investigative journalism in Africa. Her political contemporaries and opponents will always wonder what always gives her confidence in grassroots politics and humanitarian services in Ajegunle but the good news is that Hon. Orji is toeing the path of political legacies through God’s wisdom and protection upon her life and family over the years. This year 2018, precisely September Hon. Orji will be 48years old on earth.
Finally her political legacies at the grassroots level in Ajegunle is worthy of emulation to the core. The fear of Hon. Rita Orji is the beginning of every politician in Ajegunle to sit tight and make their political manifestoes visible to the people.
Her political career is very bright, if she decides not to run again, there is tendency that at the National level, she gets a good appointment because her legacy here today in Ajegunle will speak for her in the nearest future. It is not business as usual where politicians make gargantuan promises without fulfillment and only appear in political campaign grounds and disappear in the thin air after political victories through ballot snatching or rigging.2015 elections had taught many Ajegunle politicians a great lesson that electorate at present cannot be hoodwinked with small crisp of naira notes or cup of rice anymore than providing workable and seeable infrastructural developments among its people.
Every Ajegunle person whether lettered and unlettered now knows the tricks and gimmicks of politicians that have no political agenda for the people than spreading falsehood against those that are accessible to the people. In respective of tribal politics, anti-party politics and ethnicity within the rank and file of PDP and the ruling party in Ajeromi-Ifelodun Federal Consituency, her positive representation at the National Assembly since 2015 has become a threshold of political history in Ajegunle.These legacies of her cannot be easily swept under the carpet for the next 10years to come.Hon.Rita Orji remains undisputable and indefatigable female politician with extraordinary grassroots legacies to behold in Nigeria.
Godday Ogidi writes from Ajeromi/Ifelodun Federal Constituency, Lagos.
