Leadership, like Marian Anderson postulated, should be born out of the understanding of the needs of those who would be affected by it. Understanding the need of the people has always been the major concern of the senator representing Oyo Central Senatorial District, Senator Monsurat Sunmonu, all through her period as a serving legislature.
What particularly knocks me off my feet about this woman of substance is her sincerity of purpose. Women of virtue are indeed a rare breed. Such embedded virtue in a career woman with motherly custom is a masterstroke or better tagged 'a work of art' of the creator. Such is the persona of Senator Monsurat. The character entwined in such womanly artistry is a conglomerate of the attributes desired of a leader for the people, who is also saddled with the solemn responsibility to serve the people and that for a certain has been actualised with due delegience. She has been at the forefront of humanitarian services to her people that it is has become apparent and imperative in all her human endeavors.
I remember vividly during one of our informal discussions in Abuja, where she had to let us in on some of the problems encountered within the rank and file of the senate caucus when she had to struggle her way through the apportioned fund and allowances. She divulged yet with so much passion gushed out of her innermost feeling to back up her assertions amid the general problem women often face as a first timer and as a woman.
A wise man once posited that "a strong woman stands up for herself. A stronger woman stands up for everyone else". This has always been a strong work point for our darling senator who always stand tall against all form of oppression in the power house of the senate chamber. She narrated many confrontations she had with her colleagues in the senate chamber which was a necessity to gain power and hitherto earn some much deserved respect.
Those who are attuned to her journey into political scene must also be in awe of her electric rise to the peak in politics. It didn't come by human favor but by divine grace. She's richly blessed and ingeniously favored and she knows it. She sometimes tell political vendors who come up with so much expensive bargain for their cheap electoral support that they can go do whatever pleases them, that so long she has done her bits and pieces, the Almighty Allah will surly do the rest.
And He has been doing it for her because she has been doing all within her capacity to build the people especially the youths through her extended capacity building programs. Her idea of setting a legacy for tomorrow is by building future leaders and not future artisans, providing an environment for human capital building, not physical capital, largely through education and sensitization which somewhat negates our usual politician style of cheap and manual empowerment. Provision and repairs of good and accessible road network, provision of better health services for our people, through appropriate funding of our health system and providing free health services to various individuals and groups. She has contributed so much to the education sector by bringing a conducive learning environment for various primary schools through construction and reconstruction of school buildings and provision of chairs and desks for a better and conducive learning environment.
She has anchored many youths centered human capital and capacity building programs which has gone a long way to improve the level of human resource development of our people. This is a short and long term solution to better the life of the people and sharpen their cerebral capacity for life successes compared to others who provide cheap and short term oriented goal to solving poverty in the land through their less privileged empowerment programs. The distinguished senator, in her capacity, has sponsored many bills including the ever famous and widely applauded treatment of a gunshot victim which had in the past become a menacing outlet for human mortality especially in this part of the world.
She won't make you a promise either. It is usually a wrong strategy by our political lords who would say anything to appease the human desire and yet easily break the subtle oath to provide all that they have mentioned while campaigning or during dialogue. Considering the many factors that can spring up to thwart the oath from actualising: the case of a rise in foreign exchange can easily bring your projections and presumptions into delusions and leave you in an unsafe pedestal.
I can go on waxing lyrical about this great woman of substance who no doubt have the love of her people at heart and will see to the manifestation of an all improved welfare agenda for her people in the next senate, 2019 (8th National Assembly) as she would then be considered a high powered member and perhaps one of the powerful women in the chamber who can emancipate the women agenda and unequivocally make life more meaningful for the people on her senatorial constituency and beyond.
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