BY Wasilat Azeez
Khadijah Okunnu-Lamidi says she has what it takes to become Nigeria’s first female president, and she’s determined to vie for the highest office in the land. Since she threw her hat in the ring, mixed reactions have trailed her expression of intent. While she has received support from many, Okunnu-Lamidi has also had to deal with scepticism and cautious optimism. The 38-year-old marketing professional, who is the daughter of Lateef Femi Okunnu, former federal commissioner of works and housing, is however yet to pitch her tent with any political party. In this interview with TheCable’s WASILAT AZEEZ, Okunnu-Lamidi shares why she left her “cushioned life” for politics and her solutions to some of the problems bedevilling Nigeria.
TheCable: As a young person, If elected president, how will you handle the problem of youth unemployment and underemployment?
Okunnu-Lamidi: That’s an issue we have in Nigeria at the moment. One of the five pillars of our policy plan is industrialisation. This ensures that all sectors of the economy are put together in a structure whereby you can adopt different methods of doing projects. Rather than one person saying “I am going to do 20km of road”, you include that and make it all-encompassing. So, the road leads to the energy sector. You just don’t build roads, you build roads that are interconnected and that creates employment, services.
So, you don’t just build a train from here to Zamfara. What’s in between the train? Development has to come together. You don’t just do them in silos. With industrialisation, we plan to take care of unemployment — which is most key. Once you have taken care of unemployment, you take care of infrastructure, farming, healthcare. These are the kind of industrial paths we are planning to embark on. Once unemployment goes down, you will be sure that security will improve and every other aspect of the economy will improve.
TheCable: In January, you talked about announcing a political party “soon”. Any update on that?
Okunnu-Lamidi: Not yet. We are speaking with almost all the parties except the APC and the PDP. We’re trying to ensure that all the parties are in line with our vision and values.
Most of the parties have manifestos and constitutions but they are just written down, they don’t actually practice them. For example, the 35 percent participation for women in politics is supposed to start from the party level. But none of the parties has them. They just have one woman as the women leader and that’s it. Women’s representation is not even in party politics, how do you expect it to transcend to national politics?
We have been speaking to a few parties and these are the parties that are forward-thinking and we know that would benefit the youth, the women. Soon enough, we’d announce it but we know that we are not decamping. We are not going to be one of those politicians that move around the board so we have to make the right decision.
TheCable: You said you are not going to join APC and PDP, the two major political parties in the country. Why?
Okunnu-Lamidi: They don’t align with our values and our vision.
TheCable: If you float a new political party and you win, how do you hope to get the right support in terms of legislative/executive harmony?
Okunnu-Lamidi: No, we are not floating a new one. There’s no time for that.
TheCable: What is your message to the national assembly on the gender bills?
Okunnu-Lamidi: I see that they are revisiting it now that they hear the voice of the women. I think they used to think women are passive and that we didn’t understand our power. With the rejection of the bill, every woman now knows that the national assembly does not have her interest at heart.
The bill must be passed. The easiest way for the bill to be passed is for there to be political will and that comes from the top.
Let me use America as an example. In America, there is a bill like this about to be passed. The president will come out, the VP will come out. They will give reasons and champion the bill. The body language tells you what the country needs at the time.
These guys were quiet. That’s why there is no political will. You can’t leave 60 percent of your population behind and want to develop. This bill is not an attack on women; it is an attack on the development of the country. Every household has a woman. The poorer the women, the poorer a nation.
TheCable: You’ve talked about crowdfunding for your campaign. What happens if you don’t get the expected support?
Okunnu-Lamidi: Well, we are getting support right now and there’s no difference between what the government does and what we’re doing. The government actually crowdfunds on everybody’s head. If you look at GDP per capita, that’s how much everybody is entitled to in the country. You might not get it in cash but you are supposed to get it in education, health. These are the rebates and services that you are supposed to get. That’s what that money is supposed to be used for. This is the money they are crowdfunding on our heads.
We need more support. If a million Nigerians give us N1,000, that’s a billion. We seek help and we are looking up to Nigerians to help us deliver this. I am pretty okay. I have been spending my money on the campaign because I believe it’s a worthy cause. This is who I am.
The reason nobody has come to tell me what to do is because they understand my character. I have been in the corridors of power for a long time and this is who I have always been.
TheCable: Considering current security challenges, how do you plan to campaign in areas most affected such as the south-east, north-west, north-east? Or would certain places be excluded?
Okunnu-Lamidi: We intend to touch down everywhere. No plan to exclude any place. Look, I have been given a mandate. I am running for the people, not myself. If the people want me, here I am. I am offering myself. It’s not an easy task to leave your cushioned life and decide you want to give the country what it needs right now.
At the end of the day, if the people want you, they will support you. It’s not by force. The reason why people have been uninterested in politics is because there has been nothing inspiring on the ballot. It’s the same — less of two evils.
Everybody in Nigeria feels like there is no Nigerian dream. What makes America so successful is that no matter what you dream of, you can fulfil it. In Nigeria, if somebody wants to be a doctor when he is small, there is no school. They have stolen the money for education. For healthcare, you have to thank God if you survive to age five. There are so many security challenges. They have killed the dreams.
TheCable: You have a master’s degree in Strategic Project Management. In one sentence, what would be your first concrete move to manage ‘Project Nigeria’ if you win?
Okunnu-Lamidi: Create a unifying policy. I already know what it is but if you put so many things out there, these people steal ideas.
TheCable: For NYSC, you taught at a Lagos government school. What was your experience? If not very favourable, have you done anything to improve the situation?
Okunnu-Lamidi: It wasn’t too favourable, no doubt. But I keep in touch with them. I was there a few weeks ago. For me, I was just starting out in life at that point in time. I had to work hard. Even before then, what I think I do well is that I try to inspire.
The students were quite engaging and I hope I left a lasting impression on them. And the teachers on well. I always want to believe that the reason why you go to good schools, good upbringing and values is so that you can be a gatekeeper for your country. Everybody just can’t let the gate open and let all kinds of rubbish come into the story.
I do believe that there are many gatekeepers. They are just not empowered because they have this aura of fear. Fear is used as a tactic. Just like with me, they have come for my business no doubt. They have decided what they want to do. But it doesn’t affect me because my voice must be used appropriately. Like I said, they could strip me naked but I would keep on this work because it is necessary.
I hope I light many candles as I go along the way. Because this is what is important for our future. Like Tupac said, “reality is wrong,” the dreams are the real thing.
TheCable: How do you plan to convince Nigerians outside social media, who form a significant percentage of the electorate, to vote for you?
Okunnu-Lamidi: To be honest, everywhere I have gone, there has been immense support. We have an office in Abuja, Warri, Edo, and Borno.
We are trying to set up the Borno office and hire staff from there. In Borno, there are no jobs. The youths have nowhere to go. That’s why there are many on drugs. There are not even soccer pitches. As a youth, where do you channel your energy and youthful exuberance?
TheCable: If you get an offer from a known political party with high chances of winning, to take their VP/governorship/deputy governorship/senatorial ticket, what would be your response?
Okunnu-Lamidi: Anybody will not meet me with that offer. I don’t think the known parties will come to me. They understand this mission quite clearly. I am sure they also understand that this is what the country needs but I guess they are selfish and self-serving.
TheCable: Realities have shown that trial and error in governance have devastating consequences. What specific experience do you have to count as reasons for citizens to trust you with the number one seat?
Okunnu-Lamidi: First of all, I am a woman. I am a mother. Women have the ability to bring life to earth. If a woman can be entrusted with populating the earth, I think we do have what it takes naturally. We also have the skill of multitasking which I don’t think the other gender has.
I run a business. I started the business from my guest room at home and grew the business to employ up to 60 people. I have been on a few boards of companies. I have started an NGO which runs across the country. We provide drinkable water to communities.
I also do youth empowerment those my CSR initiative “Help Our Youth”. I have worked with some of the best people in society in terms of advisory. When you say I haven’t been in government, I have been instrumental in the past three or four dispensations.
TheCable: You have said that you are somehow related to Bola Tinubu, fellow Lagosian and presidential hopeful. Will this have any impact on your ambition?
Okunnu-Lamidi: Everybody has asked this question. I will make it clear then. I am from Lagos Island — Isale Oke. You can trace my background and home. The community is surrounded by water. Every household is known to each other. I have thousands of aunties or uncles that are not blood-related. The sentence was taken out of context. We are not related by blood.
I know he is the chieftain of the APC and I don’t understand why people are trying to use his candidacy and merge it with mine. Why should someone’s name always come up on my campaign? This is a democracy. Everybody is allowed to have their own ideas and run their race. I hope I don’t have to talk about this again.
TheCable: Some have argued that you are gunning for the top seat without any prior political experience. What’s your response to this?
Okunnu-Lamidi: I understand the reason for this is because we have had leaders that haven’t performed. However, when we think about it, which president has been a governor or senator or house of rep member or a chieftain before serving? Why should that be criteria when it comes to my turn? I am here to serve, not to be a career politician.
TheCable: Is Nigeria ready for a female president?
Okunnu-Lamidi: Yes, we are. We have had male presidents since 1960. It’s time to do something different to get a different result.
TheCable: What is your vision for political and economic reform in Nigeria?
Okunnu-Lamidi: Nigeria needs to create a product that we can use as a negotiating tool on the world stage. An all-encompassing product. A product means, “what does the world need and who are we?” Let’s get back to our essence. We have the resources and we have the people. We have to organise our resources.
We need to realign ourselves and put round pegs in round holes. The people in the judiciary have to be the best of our people, our public servants have to be the same. People go into government to make money. That’s stealing. If you want to make money, go and start a business. If you are good, you will thrive.
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