[size=14pt]Politicians are not corrupt, they are only aggressive in revenue drive –Hon. Idia Oluyemisi Babalola [/size]
BY SHOLA OSHUNKEYE

Sunday, March 27, 2011
Politicians, even in developed democracies, do not shoot straight at all times. Shooting straight is not one of their virtues. But as in every rule, there is an exception. That exemption exists in flesh and blood, and she dwells among us. Her name is Idia Oluyemisi Babalola, a lawyer, and the only female member of the 26-member Osun State House of Assembly.


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Idia Oluyemisi Babalola



When she fielded questions from ICON recently, Babalola, 52, who represents Ede-South Constituency, and serves as chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions, and Legal Matters, held nothing back. She was as straight as they come.

For instance, on the issue of corruption and the perceived complicity of lawmakers in helping the malaise to blossom, she spoke straight and said the reason politicians seem to be so aggressive in their ‘revenue drive’ (not quest for money) is because of the enormous pressures that their constituents mount daily on them.

Don’t bay for blood yet, read this interview to find her justification.

Excerpts:




Starting from your calling as a lawyer, how has the profession enhanced your performance in politics?

Being a lawyer in politics has actually helped me in so many ways in the sense that as a politician, I do a lot of thought processing; and that is why, to some extent, I feel sometimes that my reasoning is not that of a typical politician. This is because whatever information that comes to me or I pick up (and usually you get a lot of information coming from different angles in politics), I need to process it very well. In doing so, people sometimes think I am overdoing things.

They are like ‘no, you are not thinking like a politician; and I am like asking them: ‘who is a politician and how is he or she supposed to think?’ But I know that my training as a lawyer actually affects my decisions and the way I digest information. This is because, going through Law School and all that, you are actually taught to be analytical in your outlook. You don’t just take one side of the case and run with it, you have to look at all angles. So, whenever I get information, I try to be the defense counsel as well as the prosecuting counsel. And that is the way to go.

The basic thing you are taught in Law is that you should always be objective. You should always ask: what will a reasonable man think? That is why, sometimes, when I get information, like an opponent is doing something that people think is wrong, that can get people really mad, I subject it to thought processing and I ask myself: how probable? Is it possible? Whenever I do that, it actually takes the tension out of it because obviously if you don’t do that, the first thing is that you are actually attacking.

You are always on the defensive. And that’s not good. But once you are able to take the information and process it, by the time you go through the thought processing, anger has actually gone. And you are able to be logical in whatever you are thinking. So, to that extent, my training as a lawyer has affected my practice both as a lawmaker and as a politician.

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/mar/27/503.html

aloy/emeka:

For instance, on the issue of corruption and the perceived complicity of lawmakers in helping the malaise to blossom, she spoke straight and said the reason politicians seem to be so aggressive in their ‘revenue drive’ (not quest for money) is because of the enormous pressures that their constituents mount daily on them.
Don’t bay for blood yet, read this interview to find her justification.

WOW . . . . So, the pressures from their constituents is reason why the politicians are ‘so aggressive in their revenue drive’, but what happens the money in the end?
I will someone would call this woman online so we could have a minute or two to grill her for her statement above.

Kobojunkie:

WOW . . . . So, the pressures from their constituents is reason why the politicians are ‘so aggressive in their revenue drive’, but what happens the money in the end?
I will someone would call this woman online so we could have a minute or two to grill her for her statement above.

No, it's not grilling. That' s so 2010. It's now that she must step down.

why should she step down?