Leading showbiz personality and aspiring politician, Dayo Adeneye, speaks with CHUX OHAI about his ambition to contest in the 2015 general election
Co-founder of Kennis Music and Prime Time Entertainment, Dayo Adeneye, practically pulled a surprise on many people, especially his fans and those who are familiar with his antecedents in the entertainment industry, when he announced his intention to run for an elective office in 2015.
Saying he was prodded by his friends, associates and kith and kin in Odogbolu, Adeneye did not just declare that he would contest for a seat in the Ogun State House of Assembly under the platform of the All Progressives Congress, he went on to pick up a nomination form at the party’s office to prove that he was serious.
The show businessman, no doubt, is the latest entrant from the entertainment industry to join the race for next year’s general election. The others include Desmond Elliot, Kate Henshaw, Akande Abolore (9ice), Kenny St Best, Tony Tertuila, Bob Manuel Udokwu and Gift Uwame(Muma Gee), to mention a few.
But Adeneye, who is known to many music fans in Nigeria as simply D1, does not want to be counted among entertainers who are going into politics for pecuniary gains.
Against the backdrop of insinuations that he, like other artistes who have since declared their intention to run for elective office, might be driven by the desire to make money, he insists that he is going into politics to serve and not to enrich himself at the expense of the masses.
He says, in an interview with our correspondent, “Anybody who knows me will testify that I made money when I was young. I was a millionaire in my 20s. I have built my houses. Kenny and I were among the first people in Nigeria to own Hummer Jeeps. We were also among the first to own the latest models of the Range Rover Sport Utility Vehicle. This is not about boasting; I have made my mark. I am not looking for money. Everybody knows my pedigree. I am a hardworking person and I have businesses in communication and hospitality.
“My campaign is funded from my private savings account. I am not depending on anybody to bankroll it. I am not begging anybody for funds, though my friends and my relations are willing to help. I am funding my campaign from my pocket. I am going into politics to serve. I have decided that, since my children are in the university, now is the time to help build my country. What future am I going to leave for my children if they have no country to come back to? So I am not going into politics for money.”
But, just as the others have different reasons for vying for elective office, Adeneye, who has expressed his desire to represent Odogbolu Constituency at theOgun State House of Assembly, sees the political theatre as an avenue to leave a lasting legacy for generations of Nigerians yet unborn.
Explaining why he wants to contest in the general election, he says, “Look at the rot in this country. We cannot all just sit back in our sitting rooms and continue to complain that the country is not good, the roads are bad and the power sector is not working. Somebody has to come out and do something about these things. Now is the time to help solve the problems in my country. And this is why I am running for a seat in the Ogun State House of Assembly.”
Having made an impact in the private sector and driven by an urge to give his best to his country, especially at the grass roots level, Adeneye believes that he is sufficiently qualified and equipped to lead his people.
Listing his achievements, he continues, “Anybody who knows my antecedents will tell you that my real interest has always been to serve this country. I came back to Nigeria at a time most people were planning to leave. I left a plum job in the United States to contribute my quota to the development of the country through the private sector. I became a part of the change that gave birth to the African Independent Television and Raypower FM radio station. That was when nobody believed in 24-hour broadcasting in Nigeria.
“When Kenny Ogungbe and I came into the entertainment industry, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti was the highest paid musician and he was collecting only N25,000 per show. But, today, through our efforts we have artistes like P-Square and Tuface Idibia who are collecting about N10m and more, per show. If we did these things with our own funds, imagine what we can do if given the mandate to serve the people.
“If we can take unemployed youths, people like the Edrees Abdulkareem and the Tony Tertuilas of this world from the unknown and turn them into Nigeria’s mega-super stars and mega-millionaires who are contributing their quotas to nation-building and they pay taxes, we are stimulating the economy and creating people who are also stimulating the economy in their own ways. Imagine that we have the machinery of governance in our hands, how much more that we can do for this country. That is why I have acceded to the requests of my people to contest for an elective office in 2015.”
Disappointed that many Nigerians are not encouraging entertainers to vie for elective office, he wonders if they would rather have car mechanics and vulcanisers run the affairs of government instead.
“For crying out loud, entertainers are also serving Nigeria in their own way. They provide the people entertainment. Comedians make you laugh and musicians make you happy, yet you don’t want to vote for them. Are they not Nigerian citizens? They have a right to vote and be voted for,” he says.
Source: The Punch
