Birthdays in Nigeria often come wrapped in champagne and confetti. Senator Gbenga Ashafa chose a different wrapping paper this year, one made of stethoscopes, eye charts and free prescription glasses.
To mark his 71st birthday, the former Lagos East senator organised a Free Mega Medical and Eye Outreach at F’s Club in Yaba, Lagos. By the end of the day, 534 people had received consultations, medications and eye care they might otherwise have gone without.
The eye services alone were extensive, covering vision assessments, glaucoma and cataract screening, and eye pressure checks. Eligible beneficiaries walked away with free prescription eyeglasses, a small object that, for many, restored both sight and daily independence.
This kind of gesture is consistent with a career built on infrastructure and administration rather than showmanship. As Executive Secretary of Lagos’s Land Use and Allocation Committee, and later Permanent Secretary of the Lands Bureau, Ashafa digitised the state’s land allocation system, credited with significantly reducing violent land disputes.
In the National Assembly, representing Lagos East from 2011 to 2019, he chaired the Senate Committee on Land Transport and pushed so hard for railway modernisation that colleagues nicknamed him “The Rail Man.” He also sponsored the National Transport Commission Bill and tougher penalties for drug trafficking.
