Mrs Adetokunbo Tobun-Agbesanwa, the stepdaughter of
former President, Olusegun Obasanjo is set to contest
the Lagos governorship elections on the platform of the
All Progressives Congress (APC)
The stepdaughter of former President, Olusegun
Obasanjo is following in his footsteps with a foray into
politics.
Mrs Adetokunbo Tobun-Agbesanwa is the daughter of
Major Moji Adekunle-Obasanjo and Chief Adekunle
Tobun and she is set to contest the 2015 Lagos
governorship elections.
The intending candidate is currently a Senior Special
Assistant to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State
and she is set to contest on the platform of the All
Progressives Congress (APC).
She spoke about her aspirations in an interview with
Tribune Newspaper, Excerpts below:
How did your parents influence your involvement in
politics?
My parents played a great role in my development and
my passion for politics. I wanted to study law but found
myself studying political science. My father, Chief
Adekunle Tobun’s activities during the Third Republic,
when he contested for the gubernatorial primaries and
the campaigns then, gave me a lot to learn and think
about.
My late mother, Major Moji Adekunle-Obasanjo, gave me
all the support and opportunity to utilise my knowledge
and, at every instance, continued to boost my self-
esteem. I am very lucky to have such great personalities
as parents.
Women in politics are often considered as wayward and
are often abused by their male counterparts. How has
your experience been so far? What are your regrets?
There is no gainsaying the fact that in our society,
women have great obstacles in attaining political
positions. These are socio-economic factors rather than
physical. There have been arguments that women
themselves frustrate the chances of their colleagues at
securing elective offices, while another argument is that
male politicians manipulate the system to the detriment
of women.
In many cases, women are discouraged by late night
meetings and women who attend have been labeled
prostitutes. I believe, however, that politics is not the
only arena where we have wayward women or sexual
harassment. It pervades the society; schools, the
corporate world - everywhere. Politics is an aspiration
to serve; it is not do or die.
What gives you the impression that the time is ripe for a
female governor in Lagos State, given its political
sophistication, ethnic heterogeneity and the historical
reality of male dominance in Lagos politics?
I could go on and on in answering this. But, I will try my
best to summarise the issues. First, as with any
endeavour or responsibility, the eligibility of any
individual aspiring for any job or position is measured
by his credentials and suitability for the job.
The constitution provides that a person shall be eligible
for the office of governor if he or she is a citizen of
Nigeria by birth, at least 35 years of age; is a member of
a political party and is sponsored by that political party.
There is no provision for gender discrimination in this
article. Consequently, I believe I even have more than
enough requirements for the job.
Women’s participation in politics - not only in Lagos
State but in Nigeria - has been very poor due to a lot of
factors that have nothing to do with the physical
constitution of the female gender. That is the reason I
truly identify with my party, the APC, which has as its
slogan, ‘change.’

Yes! This is more like it. We need more women in the political System

marieolae: Yes! This is more like it. We need more women in the political System