Politics has been understood differently by different thinkers and within different tradition. Politics has been viewed as the art of government or what concerns the state; as the conduct and management of public affairs; as the resolution of conflict through debate and compromise; and as the production, distribution and use of resources in the course of social existence. Central to the understanding of politics is leadership, which authoritatively allocates values, distributes rewards and drives politics for the good of all in any political environment. The question then arises as to whether or not leaders are made or born. While some argue in favour of nature (born leaders), others are of the view that leaders are nurtured (made leaders). However, the most effective leaders are both born and made. Of these rare breeds of effective leaders is Rt Hon. Obasa Mudashiru Ajayi, a man whose exponential rise in political leadership could not have been anything short of providential order through nature and nurture.

Born on the 11th November, 1972, Obasa’s voyage into politics began as a councilor in Agege Local Government in 1999, before moving to Lagos State House of Assembly in 2003, representing Agege constituency 1. To catalogue the achievements of this uncommon political icon since the beginning of his remarkable legislative career in the House will be a difficult task to complete in a single piece, for his political dossier is so copious that it can run into hundreds of pages. However, for the sake of this medium, a few of the monumental achievements recorded by Obasa, a political colossus and legislative trailblazer, will be attempted.

Immediately after his inauguration as a member in the 5th Assembly, Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa demonstrated his vibrancy, astute leadership traits and desire for capable government by moving a motion appealing to the then President Olusegun Obasanjo to appoint credible candidates into his cabinet on June 2nd ,2003. Within a couple of months of his inauguration as a first timer, Obasa remarkably led and contributed to the debates on the following motions: 

(a) Habitual recklessness of petrol tankers drivers in the state, 

(b)Collapse of buildings under construction in Agege, 

(c) Decasualization of Nigerian workers, 

(d) Creation of an enabling business environment for the growth of industrialization in Lagos State, 

(e) Use of pedestrian bridges in the state, 

(f) Local Government reform, 

(g) Allegation of segregation in Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) 

(h) Call for urgent repairs of roads and canals in the state,) Issuance and review of approvals for the construction of filling stations in densely populated areas in state, etc., to mention but a few.

In the 6th Assembly, during his second term as a Member, Obasa became more vocal and courageous to speak truth to the higher authorities when he led a motion, as prime mover, on the need to release the with-held Local

Government Funds of Lagos State by the federal government. The Obasanjo-led federal government withheld the money meant for local government in the State for twenty months on the ground that Lagos had ‘arbitrarily’ created additional 37 local government areas to the existing twenty which were later converted to local council development areas. It only took legislative activism of the House such as the one championed by Obasa to get the money released by the succeeding Shenu Yar’Adua government.

More so, in the same 6th Assembly, Obasa demonstrated a leading role courage and pride when he called on the National Assembly to initiate process of imposing constitutional sanctions on Alhaji Yar’Adua for abandoning his duty post without complying with the constitutional

provisions. This was the time Nigeria was at a crossroads, as the Whereabouts of the then president was unknown, creating leadership vacuum at the centre. Interestingly, Obasa’s motion made the National Assembly to be alive its responsibilities, as the highest lawmaking body in Nigeria later invoked ‘Doctrine of Necessity’ to make the then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan fill in the gap to as the president.

Mention must equally be made of a daring and commendable motion by Obasa during his second term as a Member that led to the creation of Lagos State Inland Waterways Authorities (LASWA). This motion was moved by him in March 25th, 2008, prompting the enactment of law that established LASWA. The creation of LASWA threw up legal battle with the National Inland Waterways Authorities (NIWA). While NIWA argues that it has sole constitutional mandate to provide regulations on the nation’s waterways and charge fees from the operators and protect stakeholders ‘interest, LASWA on the other hand insists it also has the legal right to control the natural resources mineral deposits)in the state. NIVA described the creation of LASWA as a parallel and illegal agency and challenged its claims in a Federal Court in Lagos on March 28, 2017, which ruled in its favour, stating that Lagos had no authority to manage the waterways because such powers fell under the exclusive legislative list.

However, Lagos later approached the Appeal Court, which set aside the March 28, 2017 judgment by the lower court, declaring that Lagos State House of Assembly has the right to make laws on waterways in the state. This singular victory of the Lagos parliament over a federal institution was a watershed in the political trajectory of Nigeria and it takes a visionary and courageous leader like Obasa to challenge the federal government on true federalism.

It must be underlined that one of the attributes that make leaders tick is their pragmatic foresights. However, not many political leaders of our time possess this rare quality. Among the few leaders with demonstrated vision is Obasa, who, during his third term as a Member in the 7th Assembly, blazed the trail again when he proposed need for special status and consideration of 13% derivation for Lagos on July 26, 2011, a matter that is still in the front burner of constitutional review till date. Given his demonstrated intellectual savvy and profound legislative experience, the emergence of Rt Hon. Obasa Mudashiru Ajayi in 2015 as the speaker of Lagos State House of Assembly, in the 8th Assembly, was no surprise to many. Here is a man who has gathered enormous experience in the chamber and committee activities. He was chairman, committees on Public Accounts (local) and Budget &Economic Planning. During his time as the chairman of these committees, transparency and accountability of the executive improved tremendously. And upon his ascension to the mantle of speakership, Obasa wasted no time to sponsor a number of private members bills that have culminated into laws. They, among others, include: 

1. Local Government Administration(amendment)Law,
2. State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Law,
3. Lagos State Cancer Research Institute Law,
4. Yoruba Language Promotion and Preservation Law, 
5. Lagos State House of Assembly service  commission(amendment) Law, 
6. Lagos State Legislative & Research Institute(committee stage), etcetera.

The importance of these laws cannot be overemphasized, as they address growing needs and issues in the social fabric of the state. For instance, the enactment of the Lagos State Neighbourhood Safety Corps Law was envisioned to address the dire need for communal police to support the federal police in crime detection and prevention through information gathering and dissemination.

Amazingly, Obasa experienced a quantum leap in his legislative career when he became chairman of the Conference of Speakers in Nigeria in the 8th Assembly. Political pundits and observers would agree that Obasa’s achievements as chairman of conference of speakers would forever remain indelible in the annals of Nigeria’s political development. He practically etched his name in gold and left behind monumental achievements on the sands time during his reign as the chairman of conference of speakers. At the time when it seemed state legislatures had no more hope of being autonomous and independent of the executive control in their various states, Obasa, a political maverick, used Lagos experience of  self-accounting financial system to advocate for financial autonomy for all state legislatures including state judiciary ) in Nigeria. He enjoined state assemblies in the country to enact self-accounting law and establish fund management committee, using a budget template similar to that of Lagos State House of Assembly, His relentless legislative activism caused amendment to the Section 121(3) of the 1999 constitution of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria, to guarantee financial autonomy for both State Legislature and Judiciary. This amendment was later signed by the president in 2018, and when it seemed the state governors in the country wouldn’t want to implement the amended constitution as regards granting state legislature and judiciary financial autonomy, Conference of Speakers headed by Obasa approached the president to compel compliance from the governors. The aftermath of this meeting with the president led to the issuance of the Presidential Executive Order NO.10, which now directs that any amount standing to the credit of the judiciary and legislature in the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the State shall be paid directly to the heads of the courts and legislatures concerned In the current Ith Assembly, Obasa has continued to blaze the trail as the speaker of the foremost legislative House in Nigeria, enacting impactful laws leading to poverty alleviation, urban renewal and infrastructural development. The Construction of Agege Bridge and many feeder roads, coupled with the scholarship grants to many indigent students in the state shows that Obasa is not only development inclined but equally compassionate.

In the prelude to this write-up, I mentioned that attempt to catalogue all achievements recorded by Obasa since the beginning of his political career as a member in Lagos State House of Assembly could run into hundreds of pages. His meteoric rise in the political sphere in Nigeria has been phenomenal.

Here is a leader who has weathered adversity in the course of his political progression like Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt. The springboard to the development of Obasa’s ambition as a successful legislator and leader can be traced to his demonstration of exceptional courage, pragmatic foresight, clear and inquisitive mind. Besides, these qualities, Obasa’s leadership is inspiring and development focused. He has practically demonstrated the art and science of statecraft. Obasa’s accomplishments as a sawy and effective political leader can be attributed to his remarkable political experience, sound diplomatic and leadership skills which are all essential to statecraft. Indeed, Obasa is a living legend of modern politics.