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.
Between 2020 and 2024, he ran the Federal Housing Authority, fast-tracking affordable housing projects across all six geopolitical zones, proof that his interest in shelter extends well beyond policy papers.
He has since documented his career in a memoir, “Truly Distinguished: A Life of Service to God, Country, and Humanity,” and continues empowering young Nigerians through the Gbenga Ashafa Trust Endowment, which funds scholarships, training and seed capital.
His birthday did not end at the outreach. Ashafa also visited the Love Orphanage in Magodo, spending time with the children and offering support to their caregivers.
At 71, Senator Ashafa appears to understand something simple but often forgotten in public life: the truest celebration is the one that leaves someone else better off than they were the day before.
