Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives, says the lessons he learns from the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has helped him to be a better public servant.
The Speaker said he had benefited from Tinubu’s mentorship in the nearly 30 years he had spent in the public service.
Gbajabiamila spoke over the weekend in Abuja at an event organised by the Progressive Sisters Network (PSN) to honour Tinubu.
According to him, several present and past public officials have also benefited from Tunubu’s tutelage, including women.
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He said, “We are here to talk about a man whose entire life is a testament to the incredible impact that individuals can make on the lives of others when they devote themselves to building ladders of opportunities for others to reach the highest heights their talents can take them.
“Most importantly, we are here to hear from the people who at the critical moments of their ascent, benefitted from the support, guidance, and leadership of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. I am one such person.
“We depend on relationship networks, our family, our friends, and even sometimes the kindness of strangers to achieve the best desires of our hearts. In those moments, nothing beats having a guiding hand from someone who has been down the same road and can provide you with a roadmap.
“For nearly three decades now, I have had the opportunity and privilege of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s guiding hand to help me in my public service. I have learned lessons from him that have helped me be a better legislator and public servant.”
The legislator said as governor of Lagos, Tinubu formed a cabinet based on merits irrespective of the members’ religion, tribe, and background.
He said, “That cabinet had men like senator Opeyemi Bamidele, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, Ben Akabueze, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, prof Yemi Osinbajo, senator Femi Lanlehin, Sunday Dare, and Arthur Worrey, amongst others.
“All these individuals who have gone on to have accomplished careers in the public and private sectors by virtue of their own abilities are Lagosians by their contributions to the growth and prosperity of the state. But none of them is from Lagos. I learned from Asiwaju that what matters is the quality of the person, not where they come from, their gender, or religion.
“You will never succeed in building such a team if you focus on asking questions about which God a person prays to, which language one speaks, and which church they attend. These questions don’t speak to the quality of a human being. More often than not, they reflect the prejudices and limited vision of the person asking the question.
“Asiwaju taught us that the promise of democracy is not perfection. The promise of democracy is accommodation and dedication to service in the best interest of the collective. We learned from Asiwaju that the private ambitions of any one individual must never take preeminence over the shared interests of the community, the party, or the country.”
