When the going gets tough, the tough gets going and with the 2015 election is fast approaching and aspirants are dishing out propaganda to secure voters. Dayo Adeneye isn’t an exception.
Dayo Adeneye, co-founder of Kennis Music and PrimeTime Entertainment who recently announced his political intentions was interviewed by a media house where he made it clear that his political aspirations wasn’t influenced by the quest to acquire more wealth but mainly to serve the nation.
He is vying for a seat in the House of Assembly, Odogbolu Constituency of Ogun State under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2015 elections.
Asked if his intention might be driven by the desire to make money; he replied:
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.
On 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 Idris Abdulkareem and the Tony Tetuilas 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.
Talking about how many Nigerians are not encouraging entertainers to vie for elective office, he says:
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.