In a country where true service to humanity has become almost impossible, it has thus become our tasks to praise those who find it in their hearts and principles to shift from what has ordinarily become their norm to touch as much lives as they find possible. This is why when a governor in Nigeria is successfully able to complete the construction of a road, which should ordinarily be one of his duties to the people, we go beyond mere commendations. We wear Aso-ebi. We invite musicians. We gather ourselves and merry.
You don’t have to blame the people. Over the years, we have lived far less than third-class citizens in our communities, states and country. Those who we queue in the rain and sun to elect have often done the opposite of what we anticipate. The promises they oil our ears with before the elections often become far more than the axiomatic ‘rocket science’. Excuses take control.
On two occasions within December last year, I stumbled on two different videos on social media where irate constituents pounced on their representatives for abandoning them after the election. In one of the videos, the constituents claimed that the representative disappeared after the 2023 general election where he won a seat at the House of Representatives. As usual, the election season is fast approaching and the lawmaker sensed the need to return to base and bamboozle the electorate with some sweet-coated promises. The result is what he never anticipated.
As I watched that video, my mind kept drifting to Noheem Babatunde Adams, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, who came in years ago through a supplementary election for a constituency that hitherto loathed the idea of an elected politician retaining his office after one term. Though, the unwritten traditional one term changed with his predecessor, Noheem has not only constantly won hearts. He has kept the tempo sustained.
Eti-Osa is one of the most-politically sophisticated area of Lagos and for someone to retain a position in such a place, it shows simply how deeply ingrained such a person is, It further shows how successfully the person has handled the mandate handed him by his people. In November, 2025, during the opening of a new housing scheme in Abraham Adesanya area of Eti-Osa, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu called Noheem “The Son In The Soil.” That sobriquet sank deservedly. It was a perfect description of a lawmaker whose passion and commitment has seen him going out of his core duties to bring smiles to the faces of his constituents. During the townhall meeting held simultaneously across Lagos by the House of Assembly in the last months of 2025, Noheem was one of the only two lawmakers who empowered 250 constituents with at least ₦25 million. That was unprecedented. Little wonder the free endorsements he continues to receive among leaders in the constituency.
The attention of my team was first drawn to his mode of operation in 2022 culminating in the political campaigns in 2023. Noheem was in every corner of his constituency, either sitting with the people, checking up on them, especially the aged, having deliberations and understanding their plights. Unassuming, he would always smile while listening. Then, for challenges he could handle, he did privately. For others he could not, he made promises to draw the attention of the government. And this he did both in letters, conversations with officials of the executive arm of government and in his positions on the floor of the House where he champions his people’s yearnings irrespective of whose ox is gored.
A close associate of the Majority Leader once told me that the lawmaker is not the average Nigerian politician. Why? He said Noheem was too sincere to be called one. He has these principles of treating everyone equally. He believes that everyone has specific grace and should never be handled less. “Bros, that man thrives better in challenging situations. His intuitions are very sharp. He pre-empts and solves a problem before it becomes obvious. He lives in the midst of his people and feels their pains. And he knows how to warm himself into the minds of the people with his smiles. His life revolves around his people and what he can do for them at every point. He has empowered people so much so that we do ask him what he has left for himself.”
At the Lagos Assembly, Noheem remains one of the most brilliant lawmaker handling his office with great mastery. Aside multiple motions, he is known to have single-handedly sponsored the Railway Corporation Bill in 2025. The bill that aims to systematically structure rail transportation in the state is currently in its final stage for passage.
He is not my representative, but he continues to earn my respect since I started monitoring him closely. Yes, he has. And Eti-Osa Constituency 1 got this one right. Think. Can you speak this way about the person who represents you?
Johnbosco, a media, political and social analyst, writes from Maryland, Lagos.
