62 YEARS IN RETROSPECT: SENATOR ADEGBENGA SEFIU KAKA (ASK) Distinguished Senator Adegbenga Sefiu Kaka was elected into the senate in 2011 to represent Ogun East senatorial district on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) now All Progressives Congress (APC). He serves in the senate committee on agriculture and rural development as vice chairman as well as senate committee on constitution review as the member representing Ogun State. His placement in these committees perhaps is a reflection of his rich private sector experience which spans decades before his foray into active politics. Senator Kaka’s background as a former deputy governor amongst other top positions he held in the executive arm of government in Ogun state surely accounts for his notable contributions in the senate. Though not given to much talking, Kaka’s contributions to debates during plenary are generally perceived as mature, germane and positive. This has earned him the confidence of his colleagues, the senate leadership, especially the presiding officers who hardly hesitate in recognizing him to speak. At the level of committee assignments, Kaka is prominent in contributing to bills processing, oversight functions and analytical examination of submissions. BIRTH AND EDUCATION: Senator Kaka was born on May 14, 1952, in Ijebu-Igbo, Ogun State, South-west Nigeria. In 1978, he graduated with a Bachelors of Science degree, 2nd Class Upper Division in Agricultural Science from the University of Ibadan. Between 1983 and 1985, he attended the University of Lagos, where he bagged a Masters of Business Administration, MBA. WORK LIFE: Upon graduating from the University of Ibadan in 1978, young Kaka started off as an Agricultural Officer with the Agricultural Development Corporation, Abakaliki, where he underwent the one year compulsory National Youth Service programme. Between 1979 and 1980, he worked briefly as a Teacher at the Muslim High School, Sagamu. He then moved on to work for Livestock feeds from 1980 to 1988 where he rose through the ranks from the position of Technical Sales Representative to National Sales Manager after putting in 8 years of focused and dedicated service. Senator Kaka was privileged also to serve on his first political appointment, one which he got in 1988 as Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources in Ogun State, and held until 1991. After making his exit as Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, he was also Commissioner for Lands and Housing and Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning in Ogun State. Until his venture into active politics, a move that saw him becoming Deputy Governor of Ogun State between 1999 and 2003, Senator Kaka held Directorship and Chairmanship positions of several companies, all of which attest to his leadership qualities. Prominent among membership positions held, Senator Kaka is a Member of the Ogun State Cabinet Committee on Commercialization and Privatization; was a Member of the Ministerial Official Delegation to the 10th Regular Session of the Executive Committee and 6th Ordinary Session of the Governing council of the Centre on Integrated Rural Development of Africa (December 1990) in Arusha, Tanzania; and Member of the Ministerial Entourage to the 6th National Farmers Day in Wenchi Brongo, Ghan (December 7, 1990). Between 2000 and 2003, he was also a Member of the National Cocoa Development Committee and Chairman of its Technical Sub-Committee; Member of the National Rice Production and Improvement Committee; and Member, Management Board of the Catholic Hospital, Ijebu-Igbo. Senator Kaka was also Leader of the delegation of National Cocoa Development Committee, on Fact finding Mission to C’ote de Voir and Ghana on Cocoa Matters in 2002. Making the list on Chairmanship positions held, the astute lawmaker was Chairman of the World bank Sponsored Ogun State Agricultural Development Project Board; Chairman of the World Bank and African Development Bank Sponsored Ogun State Forestry Plantation Project Board; Chairman, Ogun State Agricultural Land Allocation Committee; and Chairman, Ogun State boundary Commission. POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: The Political foundation of Senator Adegbenga Sefiu Kaka was laid when he sought membership first into the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), and then the Social Democratic Party (SDP). His passion for political activism saw him becoming a member of both the Afenifere Renewal group, and Afenifere Social-Cultural and Political Organization. A year before he became the Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Senator Kaka was the State Vice Chairman of the Alliance For Democracy (AD) between 1998 and 1999. In May 1999, he was sworn in as Deputy Governor of Ogun State, a position he held until May 2003. Senator Kaka also contested the Governorship seat of Ogun state under the Democratic Peoples’ Alliance (DPA), Ogun State in 2007. As a party leader, he was the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Mega Party in formation. His political exploits however earned him the needed popularity which he built upon towards becoming elected as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Ogun East Senatorial District in the upper chamber of the National Assembly. MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONAL BODIES: As a professional, Senator Kaka holds several fellowship and membership of Professional Organizations and Societies such as the Nigerian Institute of Management, Nigerian Union of Journalists, Nigerian Institute of Animal Science, Nigerian Society for Animal Production, Animal Science Association of Nigeria, amongst many more. Senator Kaka is also a philanthropist whose generosity has seen to the development of his community through gestures that have impacted upon humanity in large proportions. He is a devout Muslim married with Children.
Posted on: Wed, 14 May 2014 06:11:11 +0000
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