Political comebacks rarely arrive with such quiet confidence. Yet Adefunmilayo Tejuosho, once deputy speaker of the Lagos Assembly and now freshly named Executive Director of the South West Development Commission, has reemerged as if she never left the stage at all. Expectations, of course, are sky-high.
The Ogun State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Motunrayo Adeleye, called her appointment a victory for capable women in governance. Others describe it as long overdue.
Tejuosho is no stranger to the public square. She made her mark as a four-term legislator, lawyer, and advocate who championed the landmark Lagos Domestic Violence Law of 2007.
Her career has not been without turbulence. She was impeached as deputy speaker in 2009, yet even that setback did not blunt her drive. In fact, it seemed to sharpen her resolve. By the time she stepped away from the Assembly, she had left a legislative footprint that still shapes lives across Lagos and beyond.
Born in Lagos to a family of public servants, schooled in West Virginia and Buckingham, and later earning a PhD from the University of Lagos, she stitched together an education that feels almost global. Perhaps that explains the poise with which she moves around politics’ sharp edges and the patience to draft laws from academic papers.
Now, at the South West Development Commission, she inherits a different canvas: infrastructure gaps, social programs, and the perennial challenge of aligning six states under one vision. Will she bring the same tenacity that turned a dissertation into a law protecting women from violence? Allies insist she will. Sceptics wait.
Politics loves a comeback story. Yet Tejuosho’s reentry feels less like a return and more like a reinvention. The woman who once battled through impeachment now carries a mandate tied to the “Renewed Hope Agenda.” For those watching closely, the question is no longer whether she can deliver, but how brightly she chooses to shine.
Leave a comment