If you have two friends in your lifetime, you’re lucky, and if you have one good friend, you’re more than lucky. S. E. Hinton
This proverb best suits my one and only coursemate friend, Adeyemi Teslim Ajagbe (well known as Omoatitebi).
Let me start my article with another popular adage: ‘Show me your friend, and I will tell you whom you are”. And before I hit the ground running about my friend, let me quickly tell you how I met Ajagbe and what I found so unique and beautiful about him that motivated me to write this article about him and his 2027 Lagos State House of Assembly aspiration.
I came to know Ajagbe as a course mate via the Department of Mass Communication at the Ikorodu campus of the prestigious Lagos State Polytechnic (now Lagos State University of Technology). Honestly then, I told him he would be among those who will rule this country because I saw his footprint then, which connotes leadership style. I know him from many sides and angles, which I will highlight here.
When we were in school, Ajagbe created what we called “The Great Islanders Team”, where he converged all Lagos Island students from the department to champion so many courses.
The Augustino Club was another creative initiation of Ajagbe where he personally use his funds to celebrate all course mates born in August because he too was born that month. That group has the likes of Alhaja Rafiat Gawat, Barrister Tope Azeez, Mrs. Moji Lamidi, Mr. Kola Popson and Mrs. Funke Ogunkua. He would buy them food, snacks, lovely gift and celebrate them after lecture hours with songs and dance.
He was also the Vice President of Tourism Club of Nigeria, a club I also joined because of Ajagbe was the Vice President. and because I love travelling. I quickly used that medium to travel to Ghana without paying a dime, courtesy of my lovely friend.
Ajagbe was a very strong voice in our department and even throughout the campus. He was the Afobaje (Godfather) of our department. He anointed a candidate, and the candidate won the departmental election.
Anybody who knows Ajagbe today will confirm to you that the Okofaji/Onola/Okepopo/Campus/Epetedo/Lafiaji rugged fighter blood runs in Ajagbe’s veins. He will confront the cultist on campus not to harass any students and immediately take him or her to the Kegite Club Chief for transformation and protection.
The one that made him popular most on campus was when he initiated K1 The Ultimate Fans Club and got approval from the Fuji legend, surprising many on campus. Ajagbe turned the campus from boring to a lively home on a yearly basis. He would invite the King of Fuji music to perform for members of the Legacy Fans Club. To this day, he remains the chairman of the Board of Trustees and afobaje (kingmaker) to that lovely club and still keeps the approval and certificate given to the club by K1 the Ultimate.
Upon all his rugged and social life on campus, Ajagbe does not play with his five-time daily prayers. He is a prayer warrior, who puts prayer first in all his actions. Whenever the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria and the Tijaniyat sect are on board, it is the same Ajagbe that I call Afa Teslim you will see shouting ‘Allah, Allah, Allah’ with his rosary. The main reason why our friendship remains intact till date is because he respects my religion, Christianity, and I was shocked and surprised the day I saw Ajagbe in a church to attend my wedding ceremony.
Let me round up with these two beautiful incidents, which I cherish most about this dude. When we where about to go for our one year internship programme after our National Diploma, you know students will be begging up and down to secure a space to get enrolled. Ajagbe took over 10 of us to a veteran broadcaster at LTV8, Feyikemi Niyi-Olayinka where we all did our internship.
The second one was when we had our normal student Rag Day, some students will make money, while some may not due to their being introverts, Honestly, Ajagbe is very connected right from his school days. He took us from ikorodu to his hood in the Lagos Island. We meet one-on-one with the CEO of Babalaje Music Industry, who later became the Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji; Lagos socialite, Alhaji Mudashiru Shina Odetunde and the current Lagos State Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, Alhaji Mustapha Sego. They all treated us as August visitors and not like students despite the rag cloth on us.
Till today, Ajagbe still maintains a cordial relationship with all our course mates. He is the one who created a reunion WhatsApp Group for our 2026/2027 set to be online, where we engage and share thoughts within ourselves. I don’t know how he got to know all our dates of birth. He will celebrate all of us on our day, use our pictures as the DP of the loop as part of the celebration and still find time to give us a call and crack jokes with his midi-midi Isale Eko slangs.
I will implore the good people of Lagos Island Constituency ll to embrace such a lovely and creative man based on his tracking records. His creativity, his love for humanity and political power hunger for community services.
As the countdown to the 2027 general elections begins, a new name is echoing strongly across the streets of Lagos Island; a name many already know, trust, and respect. That name is Ajagbe.
For years, he has spoken for the people. Now, he is ready to stand for the people. The renowned journalist and publisher of a respected online news platform, Ajagbe has officially joined the race to represent Lagos Island Constituency II at the Lagos State House of Assembly under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming 2027 elections.
But Ajagbe is not just another aspirant. He is coming with something different, something fresh, something Lagos Island truly needs.
A fresh mind for a new Lagos Island
In his own words, Ajagbe said: ‘Lagos Island needs a fresh minds like me. I am coming with fresh ideas, fresh inputs, and a new direction for lawmaking and governance’.These are not just campaign words.They are a reflection of his journey.
For years, as a journalist, Ajagbe has been the voice of the people, reporting their struggles, highlighting their concerns, and asking the hard questions. He has seen the gap between government and the grassroots. He has witnessed how policies are made without fully understanding the real problems on the streets of Oko-Faji, Campus, Epetedo, Lafiaji and other communities within Lagos Island Constituency. II. Today, he believes it is time to bridge that gap.
He is determined to become the first journalist to represent the constituency; a historic step that would signal a new era of informed, people-centred lawmaking.
‘I will not be a lawmaker who forgets his people’, is one of the strongest messages from Ajagbe, declaring his promise of practical representation.
He said: ‘I won’t be a lawmaker that will just sit down in Alausa and visit my constituents anytime I wish’.
This statement touches the hearts of many voters. For too long, many citizens had complained that elected representatives disappear after the elections only to return during campaign seasons with promises. Ajagbe said that that pattern must end.
He describes the situation as one of the ‘madness and malady affecting quality governance in Nigeria’. According to him, representation must not be ceremonial. It must be constant, visible, and practical.
He promised regular visits to communities, direct engagement with market women, the youths, artisans, and elders, town hall meetings to listen before acting, and immediate feedback channels between the people and government.
He has also pledged loyalty and respect to the leadership of the party and the state, including President Bola Tinubu, promising that his conduct will reflect positively on Lagos Island and the party.
Ajagbe acknowledges Barrister Seyi Tinubu as his mentor. This mentorship, he explained, has shaped his understanding of youths empowerment, grassroots mobilisation, and modern political engagement. Through that guidance, Ajagbe believes that he has learned how to combine loyalty to progressive ideals with practical action on the ground the way Seyi Tinubu has been showcased throughout the country with his ongoing City Boys Movement.
Massive endorsements from media and professional bodies
Ajagbe’s aspiration has not gone unnoticed. Major professional bodies in the media space have shown support for his ambition because they believe in his dream and vision. Among those endorsing him are the Nigeria Union of Journalists, The Guild of Editors, The Guild of Corporate Online Publishers, Radio Television Theatre and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria, and the Federation of Ibile Broadcast Association of Nigeria.
These endorsements are significant. They show that professionals who understand public communication and accountability trust Ajagbe to carry the voice of the people into the Assembly.
For voters, this is reassuring. It means the aspirant is not standing alone. He carries with him the credibility of respected institutions.
Why a journalist in the House matters
Some may ask, ‘Why does it matter that he is a journalist”? The answer is simple. A journalist is trained to listen carefully, ask critical questions, investigate issues deeply, speak truth to power and communicate clearly. Imagine such skills inside the Lagos State House of Assembly.
Ajagbe understands how policies affect the ordinary people because he has reported those effects for years. He has covered stories about unemployment, market demolitions, environmental issues, youth struggles, and business challenges, He has seen tears. He has heard frustration. He has documented hope. Now, he wants to move from reporting problems to solving them.
Pastor Olarinoye writes from Ikorodu, Lagos. He was Ajagbe’s course during their National Diploma days studying Mass Communication at the Lagos State Polytechnic (now Lagos State University of Technology). Olarinoye is also a journalist and political analyst
