By Dayo Rufai
He is a rare politician among his contemporaries, particularly in Ogun State, where he was born sixty years ago.
Senator Olalekan Ramon Mustapha, fondly called LM, by his political supporters and admirers, started his political career as council chairman, Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State.
Through grassroots mobilisation, transparency and respect for the people and political leaders, he became a member of the House of Representatives.
His impressive disposition to people, including stakeholders in his constituents made later earn him a senatorial ticket under the People Democratic Party between 2007 and 2011.
He made history the second time when he won the Ogun East Senatorial election during the 2019 general election, under the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Despite his influence, pedigree and status, LM lives a quiet life among his people where he regularly put smiles on faces and gives succour to those in need, particularly the aged, widows, widowers, the vulnerable, including indigent students.
As a matter of fact, Senator Mustapha always makes himself available to his people, as doors of his homes in Ijebu Ode and Ijebu Igbo are left open for those seeking assistance.
Unlike a typical Nigerian elite, LM’s phone lines are made accessible to his constituents, irrespective of their status, making him a philanthropist that is yet unrivalled in Ijebuland.
On a monthly basis, investigation reveals that Senator Mustapha doles out between five and 10 million naira to empower his people, including picking hospital bills and contributing to their education needs.
LM is a man who believes in human capital development, with many records to his key achievements in this regard.
It is on records that LM has influenced hundreds of people’s employment into Immigration, Civil Defence, Correctional Services and other para-military agencies.
His key achievements as a lawmaker in the National Assembly include aiding the construction of rural roads, constructions of blocks of classrooms, construction of street lights, among several others.
He is presently making plans to distribute over 40 transformers across 40 communities in his senatorial district in Ogun East.
LM was born on February 25, 1960 to his parents, who both hailed from Ijebu Igbo, headquarters of Ijebu North Local Government Area,of Ogun State.
An ex-student of the College of Health Technology, Ilese Ijebu, LM embraced export and import business right from his childhood, through which he made fortune early in life.
As a member of the Senate representing Ogun East in 2007, he was appointed to committees on Niger Delta, Interior Affairs, Commerce and Capital Markets.
In September 2007, Senator Mustapha sponsored an Environmental Health Control Bill.
In December 2007, Senator Mustapha and five other members of the Senate Committee on the Interior Ministry made an official tour of Seme, where they inspected the chaotic conditions of the Nigerian border posts in the Benin Republic.
In May 2008, then Senate president, David Mark, named LM on the committee to review the 1999 constitution, to represent the Southwest zone.
In an August 2008 report, the Senate Committee on Interior, chaired by Olalekan Mustapha, reported that prisons across the country were in poor stages and no longer fit for human habitation and were overcrowded.
The report urged funding for improvements. In February 2009, Olalekan Mustapha visited London, England to discuss terms for repatriation of over 800 Nigerian prisoners.
In the February 23, 2019, he was re-elected senator, representing the Ogun East Senatorial district.
A strong advocate of Ijebu state, despite his tight schedule, LM creates time to unwind with his family and others. He loves playing ‘ayo olopon’ and drought games with his people for his leisure.
LM, could best be described as a senator with listening ears who never hesitates to heed to the yearnings of his people.
LM is simply an embodiment of integrity and honesty in leadership who believes in destiny.
A rare senator, Senator Lekan Mustapha at 60 is a leader, a mentor and a great blessing to many people, including his kinsmen, the Ijebus, who are always proud of him.
