Princess Abiodun Islamiat Oyefusi is the daughter of the late Ayangburen of Ikorodu Kingdom.

She was the Deputy Governorship candidate for Labour Party Lagos state, during the 2023 general elections.

In 2019, she was the PDP Lagos East Senatorial Candidate and currently 2023.

She is a Prince2 Project Management Practitioner, and currently an Associate of the Chartered Institute of Governance U.K. and Ireland.

She has over 25 years of Board and Public Sector experiences developing Governance framework and managing multi-million dollar projects.

She is currently the Governance Partner for TLGP Partnership.

She is an honorary member of the West Africa Women Association (WAWA). A strong advocate for women’s equality and rights working with various legal NGOs such as Lawyers Without Borders, she currently serves on boards of various NGOs including SoulLifters, and Global Girl Child Development.

Take us through your years in public service and the challenges….

I spent over 15 years in the public sector in the UK and Nigeria as well. I have worked in various regional and local governments in the UK building governments frameworks, implementing projects to develop services as well as implementing various policies and frameworks.

For me, it gives an insight into what politics was.

It was a worldwide experience for me because of the foundation block of politics. It gives an insight into how the government should be run, how the government is closer to the people, and how they analyze, research and develop the services that meet public needs.

How the framework should work and implement good government for the benefit of the public.

When I came back to Nigeria and ventured into politics, it helped me to understand what government should be doing and what the gaps were in Nigeria compared to what was obtainable Abroad and how to improve the services to build effective institutions, to deliver services to the people as well as formulate policies and structures that work for the benefits of the people.

The main challenge in London was the fact that people were resisting change. But, we had an obligation as public servants to make them understand how changes would benefit them. And how policies you are bringing would benefit them.

Whatever services or projects you are bringing must have public backing. The public must understand the structure and the service the government is focusing on. Getting public backing could be very changing especially when the need for the service was rapid; you cannot bring in change at a slow pace.

It has to be an instant change. Meanwhile, the cost-benefit of some of the changes to the public might be invisible. It might not be instantly measurable. So, when you try to bring changes, people might resist it.

As a manager, you are trained on how to mitigate risk, analyze challenges and address them. MBA schools trained us along that way. As a project management expert, for me, your Board must understand your project or framework or governance you are trying to implement.

You will break it down into languages that you can understand. What are you trying to achieve, what are the key areas and stages of implementation? How do you mitigate the risk? What are the options available? You do like a SWOT analysis and addressing the challenge is the first point.

You need enough information to make people understand. The second aspect is the need to understand the total package at different levels. You need to sell the idea to all the stakeholders for their backup without resistance. It is the same in politics. When you are in the opposition, you see all the mistakes, the gaps and when you are trying to come in, you have to go to the grassroots.

When you try to come to power, you need to address this. You need to speak to power; you have to make them understand what you are trying to say. Make them understand your manifesto.

Make them understand that you know where the shoes are pitching them. Let them understand how the country to the local government should be operating. That way, you have reduced the challenges by 50 per cent. That has been the way I have addressed most of the challenges that I have been in the public sector where I have worked. Stakeholders are very important in the public sector and they have their interest.

Once that is in place, your challenges will be minimal and you will level the playing field, you will not get the needed support. They must all come to the project with a clear understanding of what is going to be achieved. What will be done and what will be done and who is going to be done, who is responsible, the review of what will be done, the feedback, the cost benefits, all those challenges are very important.

For women who want to attain the highest rank in public service, how best do you think they can prepare alongside the struggle and victimization that comes with climbing the ladder?

Nigerian women and politics are interesting and sad. Look at the last elections we just concluded. In the Senate, we only got a few women as well as the House of Representatives. This is worrisome compared to the number in the past.

It is just retrogression instead of progressing. During former President Goodluck Jonathan’s era, we had 17 women in the Senate. It started declining and now to three. We need to make the young women that are going into politics understand the culture of Nigerian women as it is now and that culture needs to change.

Also, we need to be deliberate about affirmative action to enforce the 35 per cent proportional representation for women, if not; we will struggle to get to that level in Nigerian politics. Nigerian culture is very discriminatory against women achieving high ranks.

The stigma that comes against women in Nigerian politics is very strong and you are fighting the barrier. You have to go against that barrier especially when you are competing in an election that is not an appointment.

Elections in Nigeria are tough, violent and dirty. And you are dealing with a male-dominated culture. As a woman, it makes you tougher especially when you are appealing for funds with men in the same place. They call you all sorts of names including prostitute, bitch among others.

The intimidation and the bullying in Nigerian politics can be too much for some women. But, if you know what you want to achieve, your vision, and you continue to stand for it, you will get there. For women in Nigeria, there Is still lots of hard work to be done.

This is the time women need to support women. We must come together and stand as one.

We need to leave partisan politics. We have to run a women’s agenda on a non-partisan basis. We have to work together and achieve a level that gives the girl child hope. We are close to almost 49 per cent of the population and we are not proportionally represented in any level of government compared to the population of women in Nigeria. We need to start working on it from now until 2027.

We can get lots of women in the positions, especially with the local government elections that are coming UP in the State. If we can get 35 per cent at the local government level elections, then we have started. This is the time we must use our finances, and physical support among others to help other women.

Women at the NASS must support those in their constituencies regardless of the party to help other women win elections at various levels.

How did you carve a niche for yourself to get to the position you are in?

Most of the time, I do not see obstacles. I see opportunities and I go for it. I come from a family of politicians and family that served and that is an affirmation that I have something to contribute to the development of humanity.

You need to surround yourself with people that could encourage you. That is how I have been able to carve a niche for myself. My SWOT analysis is on people’s opinions and understanding of how to achieve my goals. You need to have a vision, breakdown into a brief, then a plan, deliverables and measurable targets.

If you tell me I cannot do this, then, I see thousands and one way of how to do things. I have built myself on integrity and principles. If you do not have principle and character, something is wrong.

My father built a name on integrity. Mine is to build on it. I believe politics is a collective responsibility. Unless the processes that brought out the result are negative. I believe in a party that understands its principles and advocates women’s inclusiveness.

Joining the Labour Party is out of sincerity that I see in the party and I always look for an enabling environment to achieve my goals. Reputation and hard work have helped me through the journey. I never campaigned to become a LP Deputy Governor but my reputation carved a niche for me.

I saw that the vision of the LP Governorship candidate aligned with mine and so, it became a reality.

You ventured into politics and were able to gather all the support.

What were those features that stood in for you?

My hard work, character and integrity contributed. The legacy of my late father, Ayangburen of Ikorodu and all his reputation in Ikorodu.

My Uncle, the late Adeniran Ogunsanya, and the late Aunty Denrele Ogunsanya have contributed. What people saw in me is my understanding of government and the need to impact the people positively. The willingness to get things done also carved a niche for us.

Your profile x-rayed your vast experience in public service and service to humanity as you are on the board of many NGOs.

How do you juggle these roles alongside your political ambitions?

What are those features that determined your success stories?

It is a natural feat. Politics and NGOs are service oriented. It is about contributing to humanity.

A lot of NGOs work with the government to develop the community. You cannot be in the public sector if you do not have what it takes to serve humanity.

If you are there to serve, you will always be part of an NGO, and people who are ready to serve. I believe we should be ready to build ourselves up. It is not everybody who would be rich but we must be in the position to help one another.

Overseas, people that volunteer in NGOs are not rich. They volunteer their time to impact their fellow human beings. When you see the changes in the life of the people, then you are satisfied.

We have various programmes in the pipeline including community medics coming on board. It will cut across different communities in Lagos state.

We are launching the community medics next month. We are also having a support programme for abused women. We have women in politics. This is to ensure 35 per cent affirmative action to encourage the girl child.

How deliberate are you in the area of gender inclusiveness?

This is the area that we must address. It is top of my priority. We have to find a way to reduce gender inequality in our society. Women have been seriously sidelined especially in the public sector and in politics among others.

We have gotten to the point where women cannot boast of having a woman President. We cannot afford to have a president who says his wife’s role is in the kitchen.

In this dispensation, we have to ensure 35 per cent affirmative action for women. We need to educate our young girls on the importance of their roles in politics. We need to develop the girl children for the growth of women and people with disabilities.