Former governorship aspirant and lawmaker, Senator Tokunbo Afikuyomi, has joined the sexagenarian club. The former lawmaker who is one of the pro-democracy advocates in Nigeria has been on the quiet side for quite a while now.
Encomium and congratulatory messages flooded major newspapers and online platforms for the man who has paid his dues in the political sphere in Lagos State. His sojourn in politics started when he became a special adviser to Babagana Kingibe, the National Chairman of the Social Democratic Party in 1992. In 1999, he became the senator for the Lagos West Constituency at the start of the fourth Republic under the platform of the Alliance for Democracy. He was re-elected for the second term in 2003.
After completing his second tenure as a lawmaker, he attempted to vie for the governorship seat of Lagos State in 2007 but failed to secure a ticket which lead to his political oblivion for a short period before he was appointed as Commissioner for Tourism in Lagos State under the Babatunde Raji Fashola led administration.
One of his major projects he worked on when he was commissioner for tourism was the Sunborn Yacht hotel, said to have cost N5 million and would serve as a four-star hotel and one of Lagos State tourism attraction spots but unfortunately, it never saw the light of day.
Many questioned him about the project but were met by his constant silence on the issue. He later became the chairman of Lagos State All Progressive Congress election committee in 2017. The lawmaker later switched allegiance from Ahmed Bola Tinubu to the immediate past governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode.
The decision cost him his political relevance as Ambode couldn’t secure his second term ticket to return to the seat of power in Lagos State. Afikuyomi left the scene but was able to retrace his steps to Tinubu. Many are already praying for his godfather ahead of the 2023 general election so that he can become politically relevant once again.
