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Tunde Oyedoyin

TUMO6566@aol.com London, UK

UK: Olayiwola gets the nod for parliament

ondon Borough of Southwark Council Chair of Licensing, Dr Abdur-Rahaman Olalekan Olayiwola has been given the go ahead to stand as candidate for Westminster by the Liberal Democrats, Lib Dem. He is the first black Lib. Dem to be approved for the position of contesting as a Member of Parliament, MP, for his Borough which comprises of Camberwell, Peckham, Dulwich, West Norwood, North Southwark and Bermondsey constituencies.

Olayiwola's approval took place recently during an all day Development Day at the London Wimbledon Community Centre. The legal practitioner passed all the pieces of practical exercises, tests, assessments and interviews at one sitting, a feat often not achievable by many. His huge success at the exercise was described by the Shadow Home Affairs Secretary, Simon Hughes, MP, as a miracle, judging by the fact that many applicants have to make three or four attempts before being given the green light.

His series of tests covered areas such as: values and beliefs, public profile, judgement, party policy and knowledge, strategy planning, constituency issues, media, team building and electoral expectations. His knowledge was also tested on: one-to-one interviews, time commitment, health, education, crime, environment, Europe, community involvement and transport, among several others.

According to a party source, the exercises were designed to provide the six member assessment panel with sufficient information about applicants' qualities, abilities, knowledge, skills and experience so as to decide whether they should be added to the list of approved candidates to be considered for selection as Prospective Parliamentary Candidates, PPC.The exercise was also aimed at helping them in their performance and competence and to identify their respective personal and development training needs. These would be used as a springboard for their-applicants-continous development, irrespective of being added to the list of PPC or not.

Olayiwola, whose performance earned him a Grade 1 approval will now be eligible to stand for a by election anytime there is a vacancy in the House of Parliament. It should be recalled that he was recently re-elected as councillor and made political history as the first black African Lib. Dem Councillor in Chaucer Ward in 40 years. An indigene of Elelu village, Egbeda, Ibadan, he had the second highest votes in the London Southwark Borough beating the other councillors by scoring 1,534 votes in the process.

He was first elected in 1994 as the first African to occupy the then Liddle ward since the introduction of local politics in 1835.A former academic journalist and University lecturer and now a practising lawyer, he recently said: 'This shows that there are many Nigerians and Muslims who can prove to the World that they are good in all facets of human endeavour. Anyone who has contested an election will readily agree that it is not easy to warm the hearts of the electorate in the face of divergent views and beliefs"

His track record also includes, being a former senior Editor with the Broadcasting Corporation of Oyo State (B.C.O.S), he has served as a member of the National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Political Science Association. He was also a former team leader examiner for the West African Examination Council, WAEC, and President of the Islamic Society at the University of London's School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Now a consultant and researcher, Dr Olayiwola is a member of the Law Society of Great Britain. He has published a Book titled: 'A Detailed Introduction to the Element of Politics," and has also written numerous articles in learned journals coupled with the presentation of many papers at several National and International conferences. He was also a member of the International Executive Committee, International Political Science Association Research Committee on Global Political Communication. Olayiwola has degrees in Philosophy and Law. He's a married father of many children, two of them being graduates of Chemistry and Physiology, while another is pursuing a degree at the University of London.