MY FORAY INTO POLITICS - A CALL TO SERVE HUMANITY - HON. BARR. RITA ORJI

Barr. Rita  Orji  addressing her constituents during the Easter Celebration, when she went round to share the love of Christ with them.

“Failure and success seem to have been allotted to men by their stars. But they retain the power of wriggling, of fighting with their star or against it, and in the whole universe the only really interesting movement is this wriggle”
 ~E.M. Forester

Coming from a relatively humble background, Hon Rita Orji was quite acquainted with poverty and inequity; and also knows how they make us awful about ourselves, questioning the very core of our worth in this world.


“Most times, we often blame each other for our predicaments instead of blaming and fighting the rules and systems of exploitation in place” she would always quip.
One of the conclusions that constantly crisscross her mind at the sight of the vast disparity of wealth we see in Nigeria is that it didn’t just happen by accident. So why don’t we point the finger at the real problem?  Why not end the monopoly in politics with its steady exploitation of people through party politics?

Personally for her, any political organization which does not begin by illuminating and organizing people so that they can keep an eye on their representatives is a political monopoly; the monopoly of crowd influence at election time. It is treacherous, as it carries the appearance of a democracy, whereas it is actually pure oppression. Under this system, instead of investing in human developmental projects, the populace is neglected while the treasury is constantly used to line the pockets of the rich politicians keeping the poor down and robbing them of every economic opportunity.

She was determined to change this and usher in a new system of politics; a system of empowerment that will affect the lives of the ordinary man in the streets of Ajeromi/Ifelodun and Nigeria in general.

Ajeromi/ Ifelodun Federal Constituency is home to Nigeria's biggest "slum" AJEGUNLE, a place notorious for its dirt, overcrowding and a general manifestation of the “planlessness” of successive governments.

Growing up in Ajeromi/Ifelodun constituency, she didn’t just witness high level of poverty but saw poverty itself walking around unperturbedly in the streets. Worse still, be that as it may, some people in that corner of the country seemed to have succumbed to poverty and had ruled out any personal attempt to wriggle out of it.

One key feature of Ajegunle is that whatever the inhabitants lost in the area of government presence, they made up with an incredible desire for survival and the ability to rise above their challenges to record huge achievements. The average Ajegunle kid is usually driven by a deep personal desire to overcome, achieve and show that it is possible to rise above environmental challenges. This was a key part of what has driven her over the years. It was also this desire that emboldened her to seek the nomination of the People’s Democratic Party in a state where the party was technically nonexistent.

A lot of political watchers saw her aspiration as being “dead on arrival" for two reasons- one being her female gender and the other, her choice of a party that hardly won elections anywhere in Lagos state. But she trudged on. The Ajegunle spirit of resilience and determination to rise above challenges was the adrenalin that spurred her on.

Her first thoughts before engaging in this life changing experience was this: Can true change be made by one person? Or does change occur more efficiently when others are involved?

She believed that one person could effect viable change but it would be more efficient when others are involved, so she took steps to carry people along in this race to improve the lots of the community.

As someone who was coming from a small business background, inspiring social change through business empowerment and community organizing became her first commitment primarily aimed at providing basic financial foothold to some members of her community.

Many of them benefitted from the network marketing and organized business lectures she conducted, which in turn helped them to establish small scale businesses and became employers of labour.

Like one of our saying goes:  “One does not argue on an empty stomach”

Water is life. Hon. Rita Orji commissioning a borehole she constructed at various locations with her constituency 

Running a local business gave her a lot of exposure with local business leaders. It also helped her to develop connections with business leaders who could be in a position to help me as well as to learn about how to organize and execute projects in view of her secondary project which was making a foray into politics to continue her service to humanity.

Having overcame the initial hurdle of preparing a suitable ground to engage the authorities and those responsible for the exploitations and inequalities pervading the politics, she became an active member of the local political party where she lived.

“The best way to go about getting into politics is to work your way up through the ranks of a party  or organization, developing strategic alliances and building a huge followership which will surely help your advance politically” she always advised.

For her, it was never about just making laws, delivering powerful campaign speeches, raising huge campaign funds; neither was it about running high profile campaigns. No. she was driven by a higher cause - her commitment to empower individuals and groups in her constituency and create a platform for them to accomplish strategic developmental goals for community growth.
Her vibrancy in the House of Representatives and her appointment to chair the all-important house committee on diaspora matters is a clear pointer to the confidence she enjoys from the leadership and the entire membership of the house.

She has successfully brought to full public glare, the challenges faced by Nigerians who live abroad. This she has done through strategic legislative engagements with relevant stakeholders at home and abroad.

She is also bent on making positive impact on the welfare of the less privileged, partnering with non-governmental organizations to create result-oriented platforms through which the desired and sustainable turning around of the lives of the needy in the society can be guaranteed.

Hon. Rita Orji  accompanied by  her colleagues  to commission some of her projects  within her constituency. 

Now that she has started taking giant steps towards the realization of these goals that led her into politics, her goals of touching and transforming the lives of her constituents, looking back and failure will never be an option. There is still work to be done. More lives to be touched, more areas to be transformed.

We know that along this road, she will be tested, stretched and stressed; but her philosophy of life has always been approaching the nearest problem or duty with concentrated energy and execute it to perfection. As she engages in this journey of changing lives and making great achievements, we pray for more wisdom and strength.

For Hon. Rita Orji, the weight of the mandate she carries is not lost on her. This is why she constantly seeks to strengthen her capacity for strategic legislative interventions.

For her, the journey is just beginning.

Eric Uchenna Chimara is the Senior Legislative Aide to Hon Barr Rita Orji, member representing Ajeromi/Ifelodun Federal Constituency, Lagos State.