by Damilola Jagun
Facebook user, Francesca Onomarie Uriri, posted a moving message on how the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, Jimi Agbaje, inspired her through his JayKay pharmacy.
Read below her post:
“On the corner of Calcutta street in Apapa is a pharmacy that has served the community for almost 30 years; if not more. I moved into Apapa when I was 6 years old, so it may have been there longer.
I remember going there with either of my parents to buy a wide variety of medicine and knickknacks – cough syrup, methylated spirit, malaria medicine, pain killers, birthday cards, novels, nice key rings, mugs, etc. Occasionally, as a child I would meet the owner, manning the till and attending to customers.
He was always smiling, polite, courteous, humble, and very empathetic. It was, and still is a very inventive and imaginative store, not just a pharmacy really, and in Apapa, you can be sure to ALWAYS get original stuff there.
The name of the store is JayKay pharmacy stenciled in beautiful, bright blue letters. It would take me years to realize that it was owned by Jimi Agbaje, that same smiling and humble man. That same man who didn’t care to be an “oga” or “master.” Who never felt the need to yell or berate his staff, who ensured (for a very long time), that we in Apapa had a place to buy original medicine from.
For these reasons and many more, I’m voting Jimi Agbaje this Saturday. I don’t care what party he’s in, or what side of the fence he’s on. That little, thriving store on the kerb, that he has run successfully for all these years, tells me, that this is a man I can trust with my vote. No theatrics, no drama, no gimmicks.
Just quiet, consistent, competent leadership. I’ve trusted him for over 20 years with my health, I’m taking it further and trusting him with my vote. JK I KNOW, and JK, I TRUST!
P.S: PDP apologists, please note that this is in NO way an endorsement of your party, so biko, stay off my wall.”
So running a pharmacy for 30years automatically equips him to lead a state as diverse and complex as Lagos? I might as well vote the uneducated chemist in my area, he never sold fake drugs and i never saw him shouting on his staff! This article and its motive just jumped to number one on my list of silliest reasons why Nigerians vote. It beats religion and tribe hands down because those motives are at least GROUNDED IN SOME REALITY. I maintain that political ignorance is the reason why Nigeria is the way it is today. Lagos state is the nerve centre of the country, a melting pot of tribes and religions, a state with so much potential. You would have us hand this state over to a man who has no knowledge of the internal workings of government, a man who has deliberately used tribal differences to try and win an election, a man who could not add an extra branch to his JayKay Pharmacy since 1985 in a state where Medplus, Bola Pharmacy and others have bloomed. You would have us place our precious state in uncertain hands because he sold you drugs as a child. This article should be removed because of how misleading and irresponsible it is!