By: Abdulwaheed Raheem
“It is the duty of a leader not merely to rule, but to serve — to give to his people more than he takes from them.” Those words were spoken decades ago by Chief Obafemi Awolowo. Yet they still cut to the heart of what Nigeria demands from its leaders today. That is exactly what Qs. Theophilus Ayo Apere, FNIQS, has been doing. Long before he declared any political ambition.
Seven years ago, a young student in Ifelodun sat for his WAEC exams. His fees were paid — not by government policy, not by a campaign promise — but by one man acting on personal conviction. Impact.
The story did not end there. Another young person from the same constituency started university. By the time he reached his final year, Apere had sponsored every level — 100 to 400 level — completely. No contract. No conditions. Just belief.
These are not stories told by a campaign office. They are the words of the people themselves: Mathew Peter of Ifelodun LGA, and Olajumoke Ayoola Saheed, who spoke without prompting and without political motive.
Most politicians ask for your vote before they offer anything. Ayo Apere did it the other way around. For years, he has funded scholarship programmes across the constituency. He has supported student unions with donations and sponsorships. As recently as this campaign season, he provided free JAMB registration slots to students who could not afford to pay. He promised full university scholarships to the best-performing among them.
Aliu Abdullateef Adebayo, President of the National Association of Sharé Students, confirmed this. He noted that Apere’s support for students has never stopped — not even now that he is asking for votes.
That is not politics. That is character. That’s genuine desire to impact.
The testimonies from Ifelodun, Offa, and Oyun are consistent. They use the same words: honest, compassionate, fair, accessible. They say he listens. They say he never forgot where he came from.
In Nigerian politics, these words are often used loosely. But when ordinary people — a student leader from Sharé, a woman from Ifelodun, a man who watched his university fees disappear every semester — use those same words independently, it means something.
It means the record speaks louder than the résumé.
Ifelodun/Oyun/Offa Federal Constituency deserves a representative who understands the cost of being poor in that community. Who knows what it means to give a better representation. Who has personally invested in changing those outcomes.
Ayo Apere does not need to learn the constituency. He has been living it. He brings professional standing — a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors — and the kind of practical empathy that cannot be taught in campaign school. He understands governance, accountability, and the value of structured investment in human capital.
He has done it with his own resources. Imagine what he can do with a mandate.
Then, Nigeria’s problem has never been a shortage of politicians. It has been a shortage of people who serve before they are asked to.
Theophilus Ayo Apere built his record long before this election season. The scholarships, the sponsorships, the open-door access, the respect for culture and community — these did not start because of a campaign. They started because of who he is.
The All Progressives Congress has in him a candidate who does not need to introduce himself to the people of Ifelodun/Oyun/Offa. They already know him.
And they are ready to say yes. Ayo Apere’s politics of impact is enough to give the ruling All Progressives Congress a convincing victory as we approach 2027. Let’s go for the man with track records of impact. Let’s go Ayo Apere.
Abdulwaheed Raheem is an educationist and community development facilitator. He’s a proud indigene of Oyun LGA.
