Deputy Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Kolawole Taiwo, aimed to become the Speaker in the eighth session of the Assembly. This is because, apart from being the oldest member of the House, he thought as a grassroot person, he would be returned a fifth time to the House.
But his ambition could not materialise as he was floored by the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Bayo Famakinwa.
Kolawole said the outcome of the election was painful but he sees it as an act of God and a proof that he is not destined to be Speaker.
In the seventh Assembly that would end in June this year, Kolawole attempted to be Speaker but was prevailed upon by then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which favoured current Speaker Adeyemi Ikuforiji.
As a compensation, Kolawole, who was the Majority Leader of the House was elevated to the position of the Deputy Speaker.
The out-going Deputy Speaker said the candidate of the PDP was able to defeat him because the Yorubas in his Ajeromi-Ifelodun Constituency 1 refused to come out to vote thus giving the opportunity to non-indigenes who had supported the PDP in the election.
He said the party must try to review the election in the area in other to be successful in future exercise.
Kolawole also advised the party to consider seniority in picking the next Speaker.
His advice however goes against the zoning principle which the state relies upon to pick the Speaker of the House.
Currently, the Lagos Central Sentorial District is best positioned for the seat since the Governor-elect is from Lagos East and the Deputy Governor-elect is from Lagos West.
Kolawole said: “The position of the Speaker of the House transcends your ability to make laws; you must be a good listener, you must be a leader. You must have set goals for yourself.
“The out-going Speaker has a larger than life posture and the next person would contend with those records and he must be somebody that has the quality, not somebody that would go there and mess up everything.
“We have quality people here that can make a good speaker. We have people that are always fair and who would balance the system because 2015 is not 1999. In 1999, we had a fantastic Speaker anyway, but I have been praying for them to do the correct thing.
“I know Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila from Lagos Central is contesting for the Speakership of the House of Representatives and the Vice President-elect, Professor Yemi Osinbako is from the South West and Gbajabiamila too is from the South West.
“The issue of speakership transcends zoning, I can talk now because I cannot even contest for the post again. The House is different form the executive arm of government, seniority is in the Assembly and they know themselves.
“It is not like when you are bringing somebody from outside; they know themselves. You cannot force anybody on them anyhow. They should allow the elders of the House to have a say in the whole process of choosing the new Speaker.
“They would take time to pick somebody that would bring all the members together. If you force anyone on them, well, it is our party but I know that the new Speaker should be somebody that can bring the whole House together with a lot of maturity and with a lot of sense of responsibility.
“They need to show the world that the Lagos State House of Assembly is the number one in Nigeria and it must be all-encompassing and there must not be any crisis.
“This was supposed to be my sixth election; I lost the first election in 1996 for the position of the Chairman of Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government.
“This is 2015, I won four elections consecutively. I thank them (his constituents and supporters)
“Though it is painful because this happened when I had planned to get to the peak of my career but may be God doesn’t want it like that.
“I believe so much in God; it is only what God gives you what you have and you cannot grow more than your destiny. I have been Deputy Speaker, may be I am not destined to be Speaker and I don’t have grudge against anybody over that.
“I am from Ajegunle; it is not easy to climb the ladder to become the Majority Leader and later the Deputy Speaker for someone from that area.
“I got here in 1999 unsung and I have been listening to a lot of comments about what happened; everybody is not happy about it.”
He added that he would now wake up at the normal time, see anyone he wants to see and be able to drive himself, privileges he does not have before.
“As the Deputy Speaker, when people see me driving, they would say: ‘no, you shouldn’t be driving yourself’. But now I am free, it is good, though it is painful,” Kolawole said.
“I will miss my office. My office has always been part of my life. I am a workaholic; I don’t party or do any other thing. I always live in my office.
“I wonder if I am not going to miss my way and come to this office after leaving. I will get another office; I have been trying to put one up.”
