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By Dave Agboola
When Rt. Hon. (Dr.) Mudashiru Ajayi Obasa first won a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly in 2003, he arrived not as a distant political elite but as a son of Agege – an everyday figure determined to lift the community with him. Records from those early years reflect that he routinely channelled portions of his personal allowances to meet constituents’ immediate needs, long before any major title adorned his name.
That posture set the foundation for a political relationship unlike anything Agege had experienced: immediate, impactful, intimate and enduring.
In those years, Agege was a town overflowing with human energy but stifled by infrastructural paralysis. The infamous Pen Cinema gridlock stood as the emblem of communal frustration where a walkable distance routinely consumed hours of immobile traffic.
Observers described the community as one moving along a “straight line”- alive yet stagnant.
Obasa’s ascent to the Speakership in 2015 changed the trajectory. His political influence, built over decades of living among the people and navigating the same streets they did, became a lever that finally drew Agege to state-level attention. His continuous residency among the people made them feel that someone at the top was truly representing them. That authenticity cemented an unflinching loyalty so strong that Agege returned Obasa to office six consecutive times, each victory more decisive than the last.
That political capital has translated into physical change. When the Pen Cinema Bridge was completed in 2021, it became the signature marker of Agege’s rebirth – a transformation that residents still describe with disbelief. The once-dreaded junction evolved into a seamlessly navigable corridor acclaimed as meeting international standards. Small businesses reported immediate revival as mobility restored commercial life. As residents put it, economic activity “galloped” as infrastructure finally caught up with human ambition.
There is a real estate boom in Agege, occasioned by the rejuvenation of infrastructure. Many landlords are smiling more broadly now because their hitherto lowly-priced houses have been given a new lease of life with better and more accessible roads and drainage systems.
Economically, Obasa became a lifeline for traders and small business owners whose enterprises form the backbone of the local economy.
Yet, Obasa’s influence has never been confined to roads and bridges. Behind the community’s political loyalty lies a catalogue of human-centered interventions – economic, educational, and youth-focused, which have shaped the daily lives of Agege residents.
Through multiple empowerment programmes under his leadership, residents received grants and business tools ranging from startup funds to equipment needed to expand cottage trades. His Trader Grant and Tools model, quietly effective and rooted in grassroots wisdom, has strengthened hundreds of micro-enterprises across the community.
In education, Obasa’s imprint is even deeper. Since 2003, he has personally sponsored the annual distribution of free GCE, WAEC, and JAMB forms, a programme that reached its 20th anniversary in 2024 with more than 1,000 beneficiaries in a single edition. Earlier records show he distributed 200 forms as far back as 2015, reaffirming that the programme is not political theatre but a generational investment. Under the present local government administration, the tradition continues with the distribution of 250 free GCE forms to indigent students annually. The recent renovation of seven primary schools, installation of ICT rooms, libraries, sick bays, educational signage, and distribution of learning materials to over 7,000 pupils underscore the continuity of educational reforms inspired by Obasa’s philosophy.
But it is in youth development through sports that Agege’s success stories shine brightest and most colorfully. The Obasa Cup, launched in 2023, quickly became one of Lagos’ most vibrant grassroots youth tournaments. Sixteen U-21 teams from across Agege and Ikeja competed, with matches drawing massive crowds and showcasing extraordinary raw talent. Observers watched future stars emerge as teams like Vinod FC and Youthful Talents FC dazzled their way through the competition. Cash rewards reaching N1 million were offered to winners, turning the tournament into both a sporting and economic springboard.
The evolution of the Cup into the Obasa Games in 2024 elevated youth engagement to a higher plane. This multi-sport festival brought together over 500 Under-19 athletes across football, boxing, chess, table tennis, and scrabble. Prize winnings exceeded N12 million, with Victory FC famously clinching N3 million as football champions in the 2024 edition.
Embedded within these Games are youth success stories now reshaping Agege’s sporting identity. Drawn by the quality of talent, European football scouts attended the tournaments in person, spotting young players they plan to groom for international careers. A table tennis talent discovered at the Games progressed to represent Nigeria at an African championship event. Victory FC’s young players, once anonymous neighbourhood athletes, soared into public consciousness, proof that platforms, not lectures, create champions. And year after year, countless teenagers who once spent after-school hours idly now pour their energy into training for their next Obasa Games appearance, carrying dreams no longer too large for their environment.
By 2025, the Obasa Games had become one of Lagos State’s largest youth sports assemblies, attracting 10,000 participants across the state. The Speaker pledged to expand it beyond Lagos West and even sustain it beyond his tenure – an uncommon political stance rooted in an unmistakable commitment to youth empowerment.
These youth successes—visible, measurable, often emotional—have altered Agege’s civic culture. Parents who once prayed quietly for opportunities for their children now talk boldly of scholarships, club trials, and continental competitions. Young people who once had limited pathways now see Agege itself as a launching pad.
Politically, these success stories have reinforced Obasa’s influence. His people do not merely vote for him; they align with him because the results of his leadership are visible in their families, on their streets, in their schools, and on their sports fields. He transformed Agege into a district that not only receives development but also produces stars.
Today, Agege, being referred to as “Small London,” is more than a nickname—it is a lived reality of infrastructure, education, enterprise, and youth vitality.
The story of Agege’s rise is not the story of grand speeches or distant policymaking. It is the story of a man who stays rooted, who rose without relocating while leading with proximity and empathy.
And as long as the cheers from Obasa Games finals echo across school fields, as long as traders start new businesses with tools from empowerment drives, as long as students clutch free GCE and JAMB forms with hope in their eyes, Agege will remember not just what changed – but who stays to change it.
In the end, Agege did not simply grow. It discovered the power of leadership that grows with it – and never walks away.
•Dave Agboola is the Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa
