Untitled post
OFFICIAL DECLARATION SPEECH
OLANREWAJU OKESOOTO
THE BRIDGE BUILDER
Candidate for the House of Representatives
Ibadan South-West / Ibadan North-West Federal Constituency
2027
Under Labour Party
Theme: A New Bridge Between the People and Their Representation
All protocols duly observed
My fathers and mothers.
Our elders.
Our leaders.
Our brothers and sisters.
Our young people.
All communities represented here
Our Party Members and leaders
The great people of Ibadan South-West and Ibadan North-West—
I greet you.
Mo ki gbogbo yin o wipe A ku Aforiti, A ku Afaya ran, A ku Igbiyanju, A ku kole daa.
Today, I stand before you with humility.
I stand before you not because I believe I am better than anyone.
I stand before you because I believe that our people deserve representation that listens, representation that works, and representation that brings the people closer to government.
I have come today to declare my intention to seek your mandate to represent you in the Federal House of Representatives in 2027.
But before I ask you for your vote, I want to tell you something:
"Ojo kan leyan nte sugbon Ojojumo Loju ntini" - Ohun ti Oselu Ile wa ti da ni yen
This journey is not about one man.
It is about all of us.
It is about the trader who wakes up before sunrise to provide for her family.
It is about the artisan whose hands carry the skill to build a better future.
It is about the teacher who continues to teach despite enormous challenges.
It is about the young graduate searching for an opportunity.
It is about the young person who has talent but lacks access.
It is about our parents who have spent their lives building our communities.
It is about the entrepreneur trying to keep a business alive.
It is about the student who wants an education that prepares him or her for the world of tomorrow.
It is about every citizen who has ever asked:
"Who is speaking for us?"
I am here because I believe the answer should be:
Our representative should speak with us, work with us and report back to us.
MY JOURNEY
My name is Olanrewaju Okesooto.
My journey has taken me through technology, creativity, entrepreneurship, community service and public engagement.
Through my work, I have had the privilege of working with people and organisations in Nigeria and beyond.
I have seen what technology can do.
I have seen how a good idea can become a business.
I have seen how creativity can create opportunity.
I have seen how young Nigerians, when given access, training and encouragement, can compete with anyone anywhere in the world.
But I have also seen the other side.
I have seen talented young people without opportunities.
I have seen people with ideas without access to capital or networks.
I have seen communities with potential without sufficient connection to institutions that can help unlock that potential.
And I have learned something:
Potential is not enough.
People need opportunity.
Ideas need support.
Communities need representation.
And representation must produce results.
WHY I AM STEPPING FORWARD
Eyin Agba le wi pe - E gun ta ba tele ta o yo, bi a ba pada leyin re, e bi o le pa ni. This is the reason I am presenting myself as a better alternative
I am stepping forward because I believe politics must return to its most important purpose:
service to the people.
A political office should not become a private destination.
It should become a public responsibility.
The National Assembly should not be a distant place that citizens hear about only on television and radio.
Our people should understand what their representative is doing.
They should know what questions are being asked.
They should know what motions are being sponsored.
They should know what legislation is being supported.
They should know what federal opportunities are being pursued for the constituency.
And when promises are made, the people should be able to ask:
"What has been done?"
That is the kind of representation I want to build.
THE BRIDGE
My campaign is called:
LANKY27 — THE BRIDGE BUILDER.
Why?
Because I believe our constituency needs bridges.
A bridge between the people and government.
A bridge between young people and opportunity.
A bridge between education and employment.
A bridge between technology and everyday life.
A bridge between our communities and federal institutions.
A bridge between ideas and implementation.
And above all—
a bridge between the people and their representative.
I do not want to build a political wall around myself.
I want to build a bridge.
OUR YOUNG PEOPLE
To the young people of Ibadan South-West and Ibadan North-West:
I see you.
I know that many of you are not asking for miracles.
You are asking for opportunity.
You want to learn.
You want to work.
You want to create.
You want to build businesses.
You want to acquire digital skills.
You want to earn honestly.
You want to remain in Nigeria and still participate in a global economy.
That is why technology will be central to my vision.
I want us to develop practical pathways through which young people can acquire digital skills, access opportunities, build businesses and participate in remote work and the global digital economy.
I want our constituency to become known not only for its history—
but for its human capital.
Not only for where we came from—
but for where we are going.
EDUCATION
Our schools must not simply prepare young people to pass examinations.
They must prepare them to solve problems.
We need to encourage digital literacy.
We need stronger exposure to science and technology.
We need to expose our young people to robotics, coding, entrepreneurship and modern skills.
Because the world our children will enter tomorrow will not be the world we entered yesterday.
And if the world is changing, our education must change with it.
REPRESENTATION WITH TECHNOLOGY
As someone who comes from the technology and creative sector, I believe representation can become more accessible.
Imagine a constituency where a citizen can receive information about government programmes.
Where young people can discover opportunities.
Where community concerns can be submitted and tracked.
Where town hall meetings are documented.
Where constituency activities can be communicated openly.
Where people can know what their representative is doing.
That is why I envision a digital constituency engagement platform that can help connect our people to information, participation and representation.
Technology will not replace human relationships.
It will strengthen them.
FEDERAL OPPORTUNITIES
The Federal House of Representatives is not merely about sitting in Abuja.
It is about understanding how government works and using that understanding to advocate for your people.
Our constituency must have a representative who understands:
legislation,
budget processes,
oversight,
federal agencies,
development programmes,
and constituency needs.
We must identify opportunities and pursue them.
We must ask the right questions.
We must build relationships.
We must follow up.
And when something is promised, we must track it.
ACCOUNTABILITY
If you give me your mandate, I want you to hold me accountable.
I want our people to be able to ask:
What have you done?
What have you sponsored?
What have you pursued?
What has reached our communities?
What remains unfinished?
And I should be able to answer.
Because public office is not ownership.
It is stewardship.
The mandate belongs to the people.
The office belongs to the people.
And the representative must never forget who sent him there.
TO OUR ELDERS
Owe Awon Agba wipe - Ogbo Ologbon la n mulo, Omugo lo so pe ohun gbon jura e lo. Ogbon ologbon yi, ni ki je ka pe agba ni were.
To our elders, traditional leaders, religious leaders, community leaders and respected citizens:
I do not come to replace your wisdom.
I come to learn from it.
Every generation has something to contribute.
Our elders carry experience.
Our middle generation carries responsibility.
Our young people carry energy and innovation.
We need all three.
We need a constituency where generations work together.
TO OUR WOMEN
To the women of our constituency:
Your contribution to our communities, families, businesses and economy cannot be ignored.
Women must not merely be remembered during elections.
They must be included in development.
Their ideas must be heard.
Their businesses must have access to opportunity.
Their daughters must see possibilities beyond limitation.
A constituency cannot prosper while half of its potential is left behind.
TO THE YOUNG PEOPLE
And to my generation—
I want to say this clearly:
Our generation must stop waiting for somebody else to build our future.
We must participate.
We must organise.
We must learn.
We must vote.
We must ask questions.
We must hold leaders accountable.
We must also be prepared to serve.
Politics cannot belong only to politicians.
Government belongs to the people.
TO ALL COMMUNITIES REPRESENTED HERE
The Hausa Community
The Igbo Community
The Yoruba Community
We are one Nigerian and we all must be dedicated to upholding the structure, as we all know that united we stand, devided we fall.
I am here to promote unity and not division.
THIS IS NOT A CAMPAIGN OF DIVISION
I will not build this movement by teaching our people to hate one another.
We may disagree.
We may belong to different political parties.
We may support different candidates.
But after the election, we will still live together.
Our children will attend the same schools.
We will use the same roads.
We will trade in the same markets.
We will worship in our different places.
We will share the same communities.
Therefore, politics must never destroy the society we are trying to improve.
I will compete with conviction.
I will campaign with respect.
And I will serve with humility.
WHY NOW?
Some may ask:
"Why Olanrewaju?"
My answer is simple.
Because I believe this is a moment when experience must meet new ideas.
A moment when technology must meet governance.
A moment when young people must move from being spectators to participants.
A moment when representation must become more accessible.
A moment when our constituency must look beyond political slogans and demand measurable results.
I am not claiming that I have every answer.
I don't.
But I am prepared to listen.
I am prepared to learn.
I am prepared to work.
I am prepared to build.
And I am prepared to be held accountable.
THE CHOICE BEFORE US
The choice before us is not simply about one election.
It is about the kind of representation we want.
Do we want representation that appears only during election season?
Or representation that remains connected to the people?
Do we want promises without measurement?
Or plans that can be tracked?
Do we want young people treated merely as campaign crowds?
Or young people treated as partners in development?
Do we want politics to divide us?
Or leadership that builds bridges?
I believe we can choose better.
OUR COMMON FUTURE
I see a constituency where a young person can learn a digital skill and connect to opportunity.
I see schools where children are exposed to the technologies shaping the future.
I see entrepreneurs receiving information and connections that help their businesses grow.
I see communities whose concerns are documented and followed up.
I see citizens who know what their representative is doing.
I see a constituency that is connected to federal opportunities.
I see a constituency that is proud of its people.
And I see a new generation saying:
We can do better.
THE DECLARATION
Therefore, with humility before God, with respect for our elders, with confidence in our people, and with a deep sense of responsibility to the future—
I, Olanrewaju Okesooto, hereby declare my intention to seek the mandate of the good people of Ibadan South-West and Ibadan North-West Federal Constituency to represent them in the Federal House of Representatives in the 2027 general election.
I make this declaration not as a man who believes he has arrived.
I make it as a man willing to begin a journey with his people.
A journey of listening.
A journey of service.
A journey of accountability.
A journey of opportunity.
A journey of development.
A journey of unity.
A journey of hope.
THIS IS OUR MOVEMENT
I cannot build this bridge alone.
I need the wisdom of our elders.
I need the experience of our leaders.
I need the strength of our women.
I need the energy of our youth.
I need the ideas of our professionals.
I need the support of our entrepreneurs.
I need the prayers of our people.
And I need every citizen who believes that representation can be better.
This is not the movement of Olanrewaju alone.
It is a movement of people who believe that our constituency deserves to be heard.
So let us begin.
Not with hatred.
But with hope.
Not with division.
But with unity.
Not with empty promises.
But with a plan.
Not with a wall.
But with a bridge.
THE BRIDGE BUILDER
My name is Olanrewaju Okesooto.
I am ready to listen.
I am ready to learn.
I am ready to serve.
I am ready to work.
And if you give me the opportunity, I will work with you to build a stronger connection between our people and the government that serves them.
Together, let us build a constituency where every citizen has a voice, every community matters, and every young person has an opportunity to rise.
Together, let us build the bridge.
Iya mi Ayinke of blessed memory lo so fun mi wipe - Bi a ba tan, A kin rin pade. Eyii lo fi dami loju pe ebi mi ni gbogbo yin - E jo eje kajo se.
I am Olanrewaju Okesooto.
I am the Bridge Builder.
LANKY27.
The Bridge Between the People and Their Representation.
Thank you.
God bless you.
God bless Ibadan South-West.
God bless Ibadan North-West.
God bless Oyo State
And God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
LABOUR PARTY - Forward Ever.
Papa, Mama, Pikin - Te soju e