The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Magazine

  • ‘Nature forced me to become a mother at 11’

    ‘Nature forced me to become a mother at 11’

    Mrs. Theresa Adeola was calm and smiling self when ‘The Nation’ encountered her in Abuja recently. Although she did not look it, she said she became 90 years old on Wednesday (February 2, 2022). She spoke with ERIC IKHILAE about her early years, her teaching career, and her love for God and humanity, among other issues.

    THE birth of a child ignites a certain feeling of joy and fulfillment in the heart of the parents of the newborn. The feelings become more intense when it is the first child.

    Such was the case in the family of Mr. and Mrs. Cyril and Elizabeth Arogunmasa (now late) at the birth of their first child, Theresa, in lwaro-Oka community in the then Western Region (now Ondo State) in 1932.

    For Theresa (now Mrs. Theresa Adeola) growing up was beautiful, particularly being born into the home of a caring mother and an educated and loving father.

    Her father was educated in Kafachan (now in Kaduna State) after which he worked as an eloquent interpreter with British Reverend Fathers of the Catholic Church in both his home community and the northern part of the country.

    Nature however saddled her with the care of her siblings early in life when her mother died while she was only 11 years old.

    “My mother died after giving birth to a set of quadruplets. So, the duty of caring for them fell on me as the first child,” she said

     

    Early education

    The task of caring for her younger ones delayed her early enrolment in school. With her father’s support, she was enrolled at St. Peters Primary School Iwaro-Oka around mid-1940.

    She said: “I got inspired to go to school when I saw the choreographic display of the pupils of St Peters Primary School Iwaro Oka, who were beautifully dressed on Empire Day.

    “Empire Day, in our days, was the celebration of the British Empire and the Commonwealth. It is like today’s Independence Day.

    “I was particularly impressed with the display and match past by the pupils. So, the next day, I dressed up and went to school.”

    She added that with the support of her father, she was eventually registered as a student of the school, which made her happy, because to send a girl child to school was considered as a waste in those days.

    While in school, she was a brilliant girl and well behaved. She distinguished herself in academics by coming first. She was that girl that the school relied on to handle some onerous tasks, which explains why she became the Head Girl while in Standard Five.

    Mrs. Adeola explained that her days in primary school were quite interesting. She recalled with nostalgia some of her schoolmates and teachers.

    “One of our teachers then is Mr. Edward Ologunagba, who I learnt is still alive and kicking. Some of my classmates include Leo Dare (now Emeritus Professor), Reverend Father Patrick Arowele and Mr. Oguntolu,” she said.

    After her primary education, she wrote an entrance examination to the famous St. Andrew’s College, Oyo in Oyo State. Although she passed, she could not attend the school owing to paucity of funds. She, however, did not allow the disappointing development to tame her quest for education as she attended the Teachers’ Training College in Epinmi-Akoko, Ondo State, where she acquired her Grade 2 certificate.

     

    Starting a family/teaching career

    Adeola explained that a series of events trailed her meeting with the man she eventually married and her decision to marry him. Although she could not recall the exact year, she said she was either in Standard Three or Four when a boy accosted her on the way to school one morning and threatened to beat her without any provocation.

    “While the boy was at it, a senior male student came and intervened and threatened to beat the boy should he lay his hands on me. That was how I knew Augustine Adeola.

    “Subsequently, I would go to him and greet him and thank him for what he did for me the other day, and he would tell me to stop thanking him; that he did nothing unusual for me.”

    She recalled she later found that Augustine rescued her from the boy who was always bullying her because he wanted her, as he later asked her to marry him; a request she promptly turned down.

    “I told him no; that I was only concerned with my education at that time,” she said.

    She recalled that because of her performance in the academics and her good conduct, she was made the Head Girl at Standard five. Incidentally, Augustine also became the Head Boy in the same school.

    On account of their new portfolios, they started interacting. But at a point, some people who were displeased with their friendship manipulated their photographs, cropped their images from two different pictures and brought them together to appear as if they both posed for a shot.

    “I did not know what their intention was. They took the manipulated picture to my father who, on seeing it, said he was convinced that his daughter could not be involved in such act.

    “We had white teachers then. One of the teachers, who was a Reverend Father and the school Principal, was not happy when he saw the picture.

    “He called out Augustine on the assembly ground the next day and caned him openly before other pupils.

    “The Reverend Father, a white man, subjected him to public disgrace by giving him 12 lashes before the other students on the assembly ground for what he did not do.

    “I did not witness that incident because I was absent at school on that day. But I was told about it.

    “Still not done, the Reverend Father failed Augustine and made him to repeat his class in Standard 6. We then became classmates.

    “When I thought about all he went through and the injustice he was subjected to, I decided to marry him, because I felt he was unjustly punished.”

    They eventually got married in 1954 and the marriage was solemnised at St Patrick’s Church Mission, Oka in 1956. It was the same church where her parents wedded in 1931. The church, built in 1889, exists till date.

    They later started a family and were blessed with 10 lovely children eight of which are still living. She, however, lost her husband in 1995 when he was 62 years old.

    Adeola’s teaching career spanned about 35 years and she retired in 1986. Reputed as an extraordinaire disciplinarian, she is called a teacher of teachers who did not spare the rod at any given opportunity, be it on her children or on her numerous non-biological children.

    Due to the nature of her husband’s job, she was transferred to many towns of Akoko and Ekiti in the old Ondo State. While in each of these towns, Mrs. Adeola left her footprints, as a dependable teacher to whom parents preferred to hand over their wards.

    Asked whether she would have loved any other profession besides teaching, Mrs. Adeola said no.

    “I loved teaching and I have always been a teacher. I gave all my life to teaching because I loved it. Apart from raising my children and being with my husband, there was nothing else that occupied me other than grooming people in all the places I worked.”

     

    Her religious part

    Mrs. Adeola did not only assist in the academic development of many as a teacher, she also led and is still leading many to Christ as a devout Christian. In concert with her husband, they established a Catholic Church in Oyin Akoko, where they also organised correction marriage for couples who were merely cohabiting. The unions were perfected at Our Lady of Good Counsel. And as marriage counselors, God also used them to revive some dead marriages.

    After the death of her husband, she relocated briefly to Lekki in Lagos, where she encountered the late Reverend Father Patrick Adegbite, the parish Priest of SS Philips and James. She then served as a church warden and a member of Immaculate Heart of Mary.

    Everywhere she goes, Mrs. Adeola demonstrates love to people and to the service of God, because for several years at SS Peters Lekki, she was known by many for her church activities, including being a marriage counsellor and a member the Youth Committee.

    She later moved from Lekki to Gbagada (also in Lagos) to live with one of her children. There, she aided, along with others, the establishment Our Lady of Queen of Peace Parish. She was among the nine parishioners that pioneered the parish, where served as a member of Rosary Congress, Christian Women Organisation and church warden, among others. She worships in the church whenever she is Lagos.

    While also in the United Kingdom, she worshipped at Our Lady of Good Apostles, Welwyn Garden City, London where she served as a member of Saint Bonaventure among others groups in the church.

     

    Her political part

    Mrs. Adeola also has a political part. She engaged in partisan politics at a time in Ondo State. She explained that she was one of those who introduced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in lwaro at the time it was an aberration to identify with PDP in the state.

    She said her motivation was borne out of her determination to help her immediate community. She then became the Woman Leader of the party in the area.

    “I was particularly concerned with the fact that there were few women involved in politics. I took it upon myself to plead with and encourage the men to allow their women to attend political meetings.

    “We succeeded in encouraging more women to become involved in politics,” she said.

     

    How it feels to be 90

    On how she feels being 90 years old in this part of the world where life expectancy is pegged at about 50 years, Adeola said she feels fine and well. She thanked God for sustaining her.

    “I feel fine and happy. God has been kind. God has taken me this far. I thank God. I still feel fit,” she said.

     

    Advice to today’s teachers

    Drawing from her experience, she admonished those want to teach to ensure that they love the profession and are well prepared for it.

    She said: “Anybody who wants to teach should take teaching as a profession and go through teachers’ training, whether at the College of Education or at the university.

    “There, you are taught how to teach, how to impart knowledge. Because when you are a professional, you will know how to do it better than somebody who was not trained in that field.

    “If we do that, the quality of the students that will be produced, whether at secondary school level or university, would be better.

    “The foundation is part of the problem. The government should look into to that. I loved teaching and I was so devoted and committed to it. So my advice is that anybody who wants to go into teaching should do so because they love it, not just because they want a source of income. Otherwise, they will not be committed. Teaching is very demanding.”

    She also advised the government, at all levels, to pay closer attention to the training of teachers “so that there will be more qualified teachers to train our children and properly prepare them for the task ahead”.

    Mrs. Adeola also admonished the government on the issue of poor remuneration for teachers, noting that the saying that the reward of the teacher is in heaven could no longer apply because a teacher needs to manage his family and manage his career. He/she has social responsibilities and also needs to train his/her children so that they could also be well prepared to manage their future.

    “So, the government should ensure that teachers, at any level, are well remunerated to ensure that they put in their best,” she said.

  • Udom Emmanuel and the uncommon anointment

    Udom Emmanuel and the uncommon anointment

    All is not well within the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State. At the centre of the looming crisis is leader of the party Governor Udom Emmanuel.

    The governor and the state chapter of PDP have been trending since last Sunday, when he caused serious consternation among politicians in the state by officially presenting Commissioner for Lands, Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, as his anointed successor when his tenure expires in 2023.

    Sources say the governor’s action took many leaders and chieftains of the party by surprise and “there is serious anxiety and agitation within PDP in Akwa Ibom as we speak. What happened is simply unusual. Many people think it is too brazen.”

    The announcement and formal presentation of Eno by Emmanuel at a state PDP stakeholders’ meeting at Governor’s Lodge in Uyo, the state capital, ending months of speculation on who the governor may have in mind to succeed him.

    But the announcement, rather than put an end to the aspirations of some of the governor’s men, has merely strengthened their resolve to fight for the ticket and in the process, confront Emmanuel himself.

    Making the formal presentation of Eno to party stakeholders, former governor Obong Victor Attah who is chairman of PDP Stakeholders, said the choice of Eno to succeed Emmanuel was the best as he will seamlessly carry on legacies of the incumbent.

    He added that stakeholders, comprising leading political chieftains from the three senatorial districts, were all in support of the governor’s choice of Eno and have resolved to work together to make sure he succeeds Emmanuel.

    Social media commentators are also trolling over a picture of Eno kneeling down before Emmanuel. The picture emerged on the internet shortly after the controversial endorsement. Many, including clergymen within and outside the state have faulted the photograph. But it is unclear when or where the picture was taken.

    Reacting to the governor’s action, PDP’s former national legal adviser, Emmanuel Enoidem, said the choice of Eno came after series of consultations with relevant stakeholders and prayers to God to reveal the right individual that will continue the incumbent’s legacies.

    “God has revealed to our dear Governor Udom Emmanuel that Pastor Umo Eno will be the right person to succeed him after his tenure in 2023,” he said.

    But barely three hours after the public endorsement of Eno, a federal lawmaker from the state, Onofiok Luke, who represents Etinan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, reacted defiantly saying, “my aspiration to serve the state in the capacity of the Governor remains on course.”

    Luke, an ally of the governor and a former Speaker of the Akwa Ibom House of Assembly said he totally disagrees with the way Eno was presented.

    “It was at the said meeting that I heard of the agenda and choice for the first time and no one held any discussion with me prior to the meeting. My supporters and those sympathetic to my cause should please note that we are as resolute as ever in our desire to give our people purposeful leadership in the office of the governor come 2023,” he said.

    Many people are worried that Emmanuel may clash with many of his political allies over his decision to back Eno.

    Already a prominent religious group, Akwa Ibom Council of Ministers, has rejected the choice of Eno and described the governor’s action as an act of imposition.  Apostle Joseph Nyong, the group’s President, said Emmanuel did not “display equity and fairness in endorsing Eno. Such endorsement does not only smack of imposition and direct affront on the political will of majority of Akwa Ibom people, but it is also a clear violation of the longstanding and immutable zoning arrangements in the state.’

    Time will tell if Emmanuel pulls off this uncommon anointment or gets his fingers burnt like Attah – the man who introduced Eno – who once upon a time anointed his son-in-law as successor, only to see him lose out to Godswill Akpabio – the one who would dub himself the Uncommon Transformer!

  • It’s love on the rocks for Jennifer and the Turaki

    It’s love on the rocks for Jennifer and the Turaki

    Love has turned sour for former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 76 and estranged wife, Jennifer Douglas (in her 50s).  This week, the fair-complexioned erstwhile wife of the Turaki Adamawa, unexpectedly set off shockwaves when she broke silence to speak on divorcing the politician.

    Prior to their separation, Jennifer had campaigned for Atiku during the 2019 elections especially across the Southeast region. She also appeared at high octane events, making her the cynosure of all eyes.

    In the heat of their messy separation, the Anambra-born lawyer disclosed that the divorce was finalised on June 26, 2021.

    In her lengthy statement, Jennifer said she decided to give her own account of the issue to address the various speculations trailing her efforts to get a divorce.

    She chronologically highlighted the bone of contention between her and the former vice president, revealing their union broke down due to disagreements over her continued stay in the United Kingdom, amongst other long-standing issues.

    According to her, she needed to play the role of a mother to the children who have gone through the absence of both father and mother growing up; especially, with the passing of her older sister, who used to look after them.

    She further highlighted the role of some of Atiku’s friends including Peter Okocha, Senator Ben Obi, Tunde Ayeni, Captain Yahaya, and Senator Ben Bruce who tried to mediate and stop the divorce, but their efforts failed.

    Jennifer has three children for Atiku – Abdulmalik, Zahra and Faisal, and the union lasted over two decades.

    Although she acknowledged being aware of his marriage to a new wife, despite not being officially informed, she said she supported Atiku’s 2019 presidential race and also invited them (her ex-husband and his new wife) to her son’s wedding in 2018.

    She justified Atiku’s move to marry another wife, saying that he is a Muslim and at liberty to marry as many wives as he desires.

    Jennifer, a Nigerian Television Authority News correspondent in the 1980s, claimed her life was threatened after requesting to divorce her husband. She also noted the threat made her leave the country, adding that she had to exit her law firm and sell assets in Nigeria.

    She further claimed that Atiku requested to collect an asset previously given to her, adding that the property in Dubai is now a subject of litigation.

    A trip down memory lane shows Atiku married Titi in 1971. In January 1979 he married Ladi. In 1983, he married his third wife, Princess Rukaiyatu. He then married Fatima his fourth wife in 1986. He reportedly divorced Ladi, allowing him to marry his now-estranged wife, Jennifer.

    Now, Jennifer has opened a can of worms and set the records straight against Atiku, who is nursing a presidential ambition in 2023. Perhaps the former VP is too busy consulting to respond to his wife. One thing is clear though, the last thing he needs now is the distraction of a matrimonial drama.

  • The adventures of Mason Greenwood and Isbae U

    The adventures of Mason Greenwood and Isbae U

    This week, two prominent stars; a footballer and a comedian were ensnared in the web of sexual scandals.

    Manchester United star, Mason Greenwood, 20, is being investigated for an alleged attack on his ex-partner Harriet Robson, after she published several images on her social networks of bruises and blood on her lip that allegedly caused by her lover.

    With blood flowing from her mouth in a video, a caption read: “To everyone who wants to know what Mason Greenwood actually does to me.”

    Greenwood, who made his debut, for the club in March 2019, signed a four-year deal in February 2021 after rising through the ranks of the United academy.

    United, England and Sportswear giant Nike all suspended tied with the player while the allegations are being investigated. His colleagues like Cristiano Ronaldo, Marcus Rashford, David de Gea all swiftly unfollowed him on Instagram. Greenwood is currently out on bail.

    In a related story line, skit maker Adebayo Ridwan, popularly known as Isbae U, was accused of demanding for sex from girls before featuring them in his videos.

    The popular Instagram comedian became a topic of discussion — sex-for-skits – after blogs shared videos and pictures concerning his alleged sexual encounters with ladies.

    The term ‘sex-for-skits’ connotes a situation where an up-and-coming actor or actress would be asked to engage in a sexual relationship with a higher colleague before being given a role in a skit or performance.

    The screenshots included moments where he was alleged to have begged the girls for inappropriate videos and photos.

    Isbae U took to his Instagram page to put out screenshots of his conversation with the accusers showing he had paid them off.

    The comedian whose relationship with another fellow comedian Kemi Ikuseedun, popularly known as ‘Mummy Wa’ the fictional wife of Mr Macaroni, has been made public, took to Instagram to share his apology with his over 600,000 followers.

    He blamed himself for everything that was going on, as he went on to share screenshots that suggested that the lady behind the accusations was blackmailing him.

  • SEGUN ODEGBAMI: I’ve no scandals, polygamy is part of Egbaman’s life

    SEGUN ODEGBAMI: I’ve no scandals, polygamy is part of Egbaman’s life

    Chief Segun Odegbami, a recipient of national honour as member of the Order of the Niger (MON), was one of the Super Eagles players known then as the Green Eagles, who won for the country the African Cup of Nations for the first time in 1980. Since he retired from football, he has had his hands on many pies including running a football academy, vying for the chairmanship of the national football association and taking a shot at the governorship seat of Ogun State on the platform of Zenith Labour Party. Currently the proprietor of Eagle-7 radio, he shares his experiences in this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI.

     

    You are into many things including sports, education and consultancy, to mention a few. How do you muster the energy to engage in so many ventures?

    I have to do things to survive. I have to work to eat. I have to live. I have to be engaged. And the only thing I can do to engage gainfully is to do the things I know about, the things I’m passionate about, so that I don’t get fed up. The things you have listed are just part and parcel of my life. They are the things that make me survive. I earn a living writing sports. I fulfill my obligation to humanity by running the school, and now I’m embarking on a project that I wanted to do many years ago but never happened until now. It is just part and parcel of daily life for me. I don’t need to get energy from anywhere; it is just part of my daily routine.

     

    What really brought about the idea of your new project: a radio station?

    It was the opportunity 20 years ago when the federal government liberalised the ownership of broadcast houses and advertised that those who were interested should secure radio and television licenses. That was when I did. I applied for the radio licence. My friend, Danladi Bako, was in charge. He was the Director- General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), so I went to him in Abuja. I was supposed to be part of the second batch of licencees. I told him that I had applied and he told me clearly that it was not possible for me to get a licence because I was seeking the licence for Lagos. There was no frequency for Lagos at the time. There was no way I could get a licence. He made it clear.

    And after that, I had the other chairmen of the NBC. Bolarinwa, who was my school mate, when he became the chairman, I went there again thinking that these were my friends. He was also categorical that they were not giving anybody licence in Lagos. Despite all my protestations, it never happened throughout the time he was there. So, that was what I faced.

    I was angry deep down because people were getting licences everywhere but they never gave me one. I just accepted it as part of my fate till another friend, Kawu  Moddibo, again became the director-general, and I pressured him. He too was looking for licence before he became the DG. So, when he became the chairman, I thought it was going to be automatic, but I found that it was not going to be. Until the tail end of his tenure, I still kept in touch with him.

    I almost blackmailed him when there was a big conference of broadcasters in Abuja and I was invited to come there. I saw all my friends in broadcasting, including Ambassador Yusuff Mamman. I complained to everybody: ‘How could you people treat me like this? It is me now. All I want is a radio licence.’  For 18 years, they couldn’t give me.

    He couldn’t believe it. Danladi Bako, Bolarinwa, all the people who didn’t approve it were all there. I think he must have thought about it that it was unfair. I even told him that I was willing if the station could be changed to Abeokuta, if Lagos was the problem. There was

    only one sports radio station in the whole country then. He was the one that influenced it.

    I got the licence after 18 years of waiting. I got it less than two years ago. Since then, I have been working to actualise it to set up the radio station. I’m not a financially rich person. I can’t afford tens or hundreds of millions of naira one needed to set up a radio station from the scratch, so I had to get some few friends to join hands with me so that we do it together. That is it.

    What next now that you have the licence?

    We are on an adventure to take radio station to where it has never been before. We want to make this radio station do what any radio station has never done before. There is new technology. With the technology you can achieve what you have never dreamt about before. We are on that trajectory right now. I don’t know where it will take us.

    Definitely, we are exploring all new areas in digital broadcasting. We are getting the best production equipment, best broadcast equipment and now we want to add best broadcast content so that people would hear a radio station that they can also visualise.

    In one year’s time, the world will know about Eagles 7 Sports Radio that is different, that is fantastic, that is the global radio station only located in Abeokuta which is the new emerging rural urban city.

    You said you don’t have the money to procure equipment. One would think that with your personality, you could get things done more easily, particularly with your closeness to people like Otunba Mike Adenuga, the owner of Globacom…

    Most people know me. I also know a lot of people. We had interacted in the course of life. Like Otunba Adenuga, he is my brother. We know each other. But we haven’t spoken to each other for some years because nothing has actually brought us together either socially or politically. I don’t have access to just call him and just speak with him.

    When I worked for him for about a year, we were almost on a daily basis having conversations. That was work as a consultant. These people who have money and resources don’t just take their money and invest in another person’s ideas or businesses. They are running their own businesses. He is into telecoms, oil and banking.

    They wouldn’t invest in my business. My business is too small. What I need to run a radio station is change money; the money he uses as change every day. Me I have to work and work, look for friends, do like ten different jobs to earn small, small monies. Nobody gives away their money, no matter how rich they are.  Dangote will not just come and say, ‘Segun, because you are a nice guy, take, go and do your business.’ Even though they know me, we are not in that kind of relationship.

    A few friends that have come to join me, I have invited them to see what I want to do, and I want them to be part of building this, because it is going to be profit making and they are going to benefit from it too in small small ways. It is not big money. As a matter of fact, one who is a shareholder, the moment he heard that I had got the licence and I put it on one of my write-ups, he just got in touch with me immediately and said, ‘Oh Segun, this is wonderful. I’m giving you for free five million naira for you to take and support what you are doing.’  I couldn’t believe it.

    We had only ever met once in the home of the Sultan of Sokoto when he came to Lagos. He is a well known Nigerian. He just said I will give you five million; just tell me where to pay. I shed tears because that was the first person that would ever do such a thing for me. I didn’t ask for anything. He just saw that I had a licence and he was giving me five million naira to support it. Nobody else has done that but he did it. I said okay sir, thank you very much. But for whatever it was worth, I said let’s covert this five million naira into some shares in the company I’m going to set up. He said no, I said no sir. I said don’t even do it because five million naira is nothing to you. I said you have even given me an idea, put it in the name of one of your children. It won’t be long I will go. We pray for long life, the business will go on. Let our children benefit from it because it is not a now project alone; it is going to go on for so many years. Let our children be the ones to inherit this.

    He said Segun,  that is beautiful. I now went, brought a business consultant to fashion out for me an ownership plan where I would involve a few of my friends in the business so that they could also bring in their children,  because the money to invest is so small that if we put their big, big names there…it is better we put our children. They agreed. A few people that have joined me and they have made contributions. I didn’t want a lot of money that would become a burden to anybody. I have been managing using a lot of goodwill.

    I managed and we have managed, with the help of friends, to put this together. So this model radio and TV, because part of this innovation is that it is not just audio you will be hearing in your car, you are watching on your phone and very soon we are going to get terrestrial TV licence. That makes it exciting.

    There are things we want to achieve with this. I got help from so many people and I must mention Baba Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. He has been of immense help. He was God sent. I’m not talking about money. At times there are so many things people do that money cannot buy. He is my father here in Abeokuta. I didn’t know he would go to such extent just to make sure that my dream of modern radio station comes into being.

    What were the initial challenges you faced at the beginning of this project?

    COVID-19.  I got a licence in March 2020. That was the month COVID-19 struck, and we are still not out of it. I have not been working. I lost all my consultancies. I was a consultant to some organisations. These organisations were going through economic problems because of Covid.

    For the past two years, I have not been working and I have not had the resources to do much, but I have just been managing. This was my biggest challenge.  But rather than see it as a hindrance, I had to think outside the box and work with the challenge COVID-19 brought with it to still solve problems that came with it. I couldn’t wait till after COVID-19.  You would wait forever.

    Even with COVID-19, I was still doing things. But it slowed things down a great deal. The radio station could have started a year ago, but COVID-19 slowed it down. COVID-19, coupled with the fact that I wanted to use a mast that was in my village, because the location of the radio station was supposed to be in my Wasinmi village. I wanted to put the mast, which would have been the biggest structure in Wasinmi, but I found that there was an existing mast in Wasinmi. I said, ‘Ah, this is God-sent. I went to find out the ownership of the mast and I found that it is owned by the Ogun State Government. It is an abandoned old technology mast. Nobody uses that mast anymore. I got some engineers to help me look at the integrity of the mast; they said it had height but we would still need to do a lot of work.

    It is in my village. The place had been abandoned for 40 years. The inside was the home of reptiles. The small structure there had been interwoven with trees. It was terrible, but it was in my village. If it is something we can fix, it becomes one of the vehicles for social development; for social engagement. I was excited. It has taken almost two years, for some reasons I don’t know,  my government would not give it to me, would not lease it to me and it is dragging and dragging. I felt maybe there is something there I did not know, because it is abandoned and they will never use it. I said I better seek my fortune somewhere else. That was another challenge. But it was just a challenge. I know they must have their reasons.

    We give God all the glory because I have seen another mast, and in the next one month, our radio station will be on air. The station is not a local station. The content is not local; it is a global sports station. It will be located in Abeokuta. Its focus will be Afrocentric. We are not going to have a word of politics. We are not going to promote religion.

    I have known you since I was a little boy, and only a few things have changed about your appearance. What is the secret?

    I see myself in the mirror. Yes, life has been good to me. I don’t know why; maybe it is just in my genes and the grace of God that I’m physically active and mentally active also. I am always doing what I like. I do my sports, my writings, I read a lot, I engage in different activities that I’m passionate about.

    I don’t know what you see, but the bones are creaky, the pains are there. I have all manners of small, small illness, but it is all good. It is all part of life. I’m enjoying my life. Nothing is disturbing me. I’m grateful to God. Without the grace of God who am I? I’m not different from other people.  Somehow, I have responded to the universe giving me opportunities and I have made use of opportunities to the best of my ability.

    Thrice you tried to be NFA chairman, thrice it didn’t come through. What went wrong?

    I don’t know. I just did not succeed. One of the few things in my life I tried and I never succeeded. It is not an area I’m good at because it is politics. To become the president or chairman of NFF is politics, not merit. It is not because you are good. You may have the qualification, you can do it, it has nothing to do with it.  It is all politics. And it is not small politics, it is big time politics; it involves people from all over the country. These are people who are passionate about football. They may not necessarily need to be footballers, and you have to convince them, you have to bribe some of them, you have to cajole some of them. That is a totally different world where I did not succeed.

    It is not that I failed; I did not succeed because I’m not good at it. If I was good at it, maybe I would have wangled my way through. What it takes to become the president of NFA in Nigeria is not about you know it or you have the qualifications,  etc; it is about other unseen considerations and factors I have no control over. I don’t have money to bribe anybody. I don’t have money to spend like that. Everybody knows what I do. I don’t have the godfather behind me to take up the case. That is not a problem for me at all. My life is going on. I wish I had been so that at least I had a good vision for what I would have done for the Nigerian football, coaches, administrators, the youths, the grassroots. I’m not sure I would have been able to do them; I don’t know. But I had a clear vision. That would have been exciting to take the Nigerian football to the highest height.

    You also tried to govern your home state but you didn’t get it. What happened?

    When I wanted to be the governor of the state, it wasn’t that I thought I would win the election. I didn’t win the election to become the FA chairman; I now think I would win election to be governor when I knew what was required to become the chairman or president of FA. I‘m living and working in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, which is the source of knowledge, the source of culture, the source of black civilisation. I saw all of those in this place and this place can be the take-off point for the rest of Nigeria. Make the state the model of development in education, health, sports, industry, literature, because this place is so rich of people. The human capacity, it is unbelievable.

    I came to the realization what is going on? Why can’t we tap into these resources and change our environment. We have leaders who should have taken that to another level. Why are they not doing it? I wanted to go into it to see, to explore what is it in politics that people are running into?  That was the good intention for me to go in there and see what was there. I knew you don’t go into election without having money. I had petrol money in my pocket to run the election. I lost all of that. But the experience I gained, you can never buy it with money. When I went to visit Baba Obasanjo after the election, the man laughed and laughed. He said, ‘Segun, you are a brave man, you went and did this. But it is an invaluable experience for you.’ He said he was just watching me and he was interested in what I was doing. Not because anybody thought I would win, but as I was doing it, I was also reporting it. I had a diary, I was writing in my diary. I knew I was not going to win. Who would vote for me?

    There were 5,000 polling booths, and for you to win, you must man all the 5,000 polling booths, and you don’t put just one agent in a polling booth because you have to protect your vote and you have to protect the people coming to vote for you. You have to pay each of them to do the thing they have to do. You cannot monitor them, you cannot enforce anything. You give them all the money and they would do something else because somebody else will give them more. It was an impossible situation. There was no way I could monitor everything. I didn’t have the resources yet I had in all 5000 polling booths with my representatives. It was not that they were going to get people to vote for me. It was not that they were going to do anything. They were just to tell me what was going on in all the 5,000 polling booths.

    As I sit here, I have a reservoir of information or data. If I had the resources, I would unleash the biggest political force ever seen in Ogun State. And I’m not boasting, because I understand it now and the army is there now. I can identify them: angry people, hopeless people; they are disengaged completely from the governance. That was the motivation: to go and see and learn more. I have seen, I have learned more to be governor of Ogun State.

    People who win election don’t win by votes. Democracy is a big failure in this part of the world; it cannot work as it is stated, one man, one vote. We must create and domesticate our own solution. I don’t know what it is. It is like what Chief Obafemi Awolowo said; the situation is irredeemable.

    Does that mean there is no hope for this country?

    Me, I don’t see it. That is the truth. If I see that some things are happening correctly now I can start to have some hope. Nothing is happening. What is happening that gives you hope that we are going to have a country where things would work? There is no hope.

    Celebrities, important people always have bad press. How have you managed to stay without scandals?

    That is not true. I have had my own scandals in the past, if that is what you are saying. ‘He is going out with one celebrity woman’, one newspaper reported. ‘He had six children from four women.’

    That is not scandal for me. I’m not a thief. I don’t steal money. I don’t do crooked things. I don’t do illegal things.

    I’m just a hard working person, and everything I do, I try to do it correctly. I’m not a celebrity. I admit that I have lived a kind of life in the past, but not scandalous like that. Because when you say something is scandalous, by whose standards? I’m a Yorubaman. I come from Abeokuta.

    Do you believe in polygamy?

    It is not belief; it is an integral part of the life of an Egbaman.  When I came here, I saw it, even though I didn’t live here. My father told me before he died that you this man, how can you be living alone in your house? This is unhealthy. Meanwhile, my family, my wife were abroad. He said this is unhealthy; you either bring the woman back or you get married again. I’m just giving you as an example. Here, you find out that it is everywhere. The management of relationship, the Yorubaman got it perfect. The Yorubaman knows how to manage religion better than any tribe, any  race in the world.  Religion, the relationship between man and woman, marriages, we manage it better than anywhere in the world.

    The Yorubaman man, our history is too deep, our culture is too deep, our language is too deep, our knowledge base is too deep, our understanding of the world, our spirituality, you can’t match it.  So also is our customs, of which the marriage institution is one. The Yorubaman mastered it. Our colonial masters brought their own and they now told us that our own was bad and so we now started embracing their own, and what we did and handled well, we abandoned it and we now followed their own.  See where it has led us to. Now the things that worked for us and kept the society peaceful, we have abandoned because somebody said they are crude.

    They brought their own ways to us when our ways were better. That is it. You were talking about scandal; there is nothing like scandal. Everybody makes mistakes in their lives, and it will be wrong for people to judge you. Now I know better. I can handle things differently now in my life. I can do things freely without feeling guilty or carry the burden on my head. I could have fixed my life better but because I was a product of indoctrination by outsiders so don’t judge me by their own doctrines which are not working for them.

    Any regrets?

    Not in the classic sense of it. The past is gone. When you are talking of regrets, that means you are x-raying the past, saying I wished I had done certain things. The past is gone. Regret is a burden you carry. Life is too short for you to live with any regret because you have done it and it is gone. Everything that has happened in my life followed eternal order; the way I’m built in the universe.

    May 7ven was doing very well, then suddenly she vanished from the public space. What is happening to her?

    She is doing well. She is not active as a singer or an entertainer for now. For a brief period, she came and sold her genre of music and all that, but she now retired to do other things. She started to manage artistes. She started to manage shows. She bought her own franchise. She owns the Afrobeats trade mark. She is coming back. She is doing well.

    I thought she should have done more for music in Nigeria. Because she spent most of her life in the UK, she was influenced too much by western music. She wasn’t influenced much by our own African, though she was doing afrobeats. She has gone to research some Nigerian artistes from the past who did music properly. Because she left early and she couldn’t speak the language well, she couldn’t sing in local language. All of that is over now. She tells me she is coming back. This time, she thinks she will go to another level.

  • How herdsmen chopped off my two hands, snatched my motorcycle — 25-year-old mechanic

    How herdsmen chopped off my two hands, snatched my motorcycle — 25-year-old mechanic

    YAHAYA Mohammed, a 25-year-old automobile mechanic and father of three, sat sober and pensive on his bed at Dalhatu Araf Specialist Hospital Lafia.

    He was surrounded by sympathisers who were there to share his pains and encourage him after his two hands were amputated by some killer herdsmen on his way back to his home in Kilema part of Lafia, Nasarawa State capital after fixing a broken down vehicle in Angwabo community, Doma Local Government Area of the state penultimate Thursday.

    Yahaya, who is without any form of formal education, specialises in repairing J5 vehicles. He had received a call from the owner of the broken down vehicle and decided to honour it very early on January 27, bidding his set of twins as well as his last born farewell and promising to return early to join them at home.

    Although he did return, it was not in one piece as his two hands were severed off his arms on his way home.

    Having successfully fixed the broken down vehicle, Yahaya was returning home on a motorcycle alongside his 13-year-old apprentice, Salisu Haruna, at about 7pm when they ran into five heavily armed herdsmen who promptly blocked the road and started flashing torchlight at them.

    Sensing danger, Yahaya made an attempt to beat the blockade mounted by the herdsmen, but one of the herdsmen struck them with a big stick and they fell.

    Yahaya said the herdsmen focused their attention on him when he and Salisu had fallen down, matcheted him with their sharp cutlasses and left him for dead.

    But just when Yahaya thought that his attackers were done, one of them drew his sharp cutlass and raised it in a bid to cut off his head. He raised his hands to block the cutlass and they were promptly chopped off.

    Mercifully, his attackers made no further attempt on his life as they left him in a pool of blood to writhe in pains while Salisu watched helplessly.

    Speaking with our correspondent amid tears on his hospital bed, Yahaya was much concerned about the future of his wife and three lovely kids as he wondered who would now feed them or pay their bills.

    He said: “It all happened between 7pm and 8pm on the 27th of January 2022. I was with one of my boys, Salisu Haruna, who had followed me to Angwabo community in Doma LGA.

    “We had gone there on my motorcycle to work on the vehicle of one of my customers as his (Peugeot) J5 had developed some mechanical fault.

    “On our way back from Angwabo, around Rukubi before Yelwa, we were ambushed by some herdsmen.

    “We didn’t know what was happening, but they blocked the road to prevent us from passing. Our efforts to beat the blockade made them angry. They hit us with a big stick and we fell off the motorcycle.

    “Salisu, who was the one riding the motorcycle, sustained injuries on his left leg, but they did not hurt him.

    “They descended heavily on me after collecting my handset and all the money I had with me. They tortured me and I rolled on the road as one of the herdsmen raised his sharp cutlass and cut off my two hands after inflicting several machete wounds on me.

    “They then took the motorcycle from Salisu and told him to run for his life.

    “I bled profusely while crying for help, but help was not forthcoming. They left me in a pool of my own blood.

    “I concluded that I was going to die, but I woke up in DASH where I was told that it was the police, through Salisu’s efforts, who later came and took me to the hospital where doctors battled to save my life.”

    Yahaya, a hardworking automobile mechanic who said he used to make an average of N7,000 a day,  is worried that without his two hands, all that has come to a painful end.

    “My main concern is my wife and kids,” he said. “Who will fend for them and even myself?

    “With my two hands cut off, I can’t do anything anymore. It is this mechanic work that I do to make money and even render assistance to my mother who is a widow.

    “The future looks dark for me.”

    Yahaya’s mother, Hajiya Rahamatu Mohammed, told our correspondent amid tears that she was at home when she was informed that some herdsmen had attacked her son and he had been rushed to the hospital.

    “I came to the hospital and realised that his two hands were cut off, ” she lamented.

    Gazing at the ceiling of the hospital, she said: “Yahaya is the breadwinner of the family. Although he is the second born of my three children, Yahaya grew up as a motor mechanic to fend for himself since he didn’t go to school.

    “The attack on him has left me devastated

    “He got married and had three little kids. As a vehicle mechanic, he was already taking care of himself and the little kids. He was already building hope in his family and what they would become in future

    “Yahaya is very hard-working and obedient. Their father died so many years ago, leaving me to suffer alone to raise them up. He is a cool headed young man and would never cause trouble.

    “It is unfortunate that he had his two hands cut off. My Joy has been stolen. I’m only managing to hold myself. Now I feed him any time he is hungry. He cannot bathe himself and we clean his anus for him when he goes to the toilet.

    “It is not easy taking care of somebody like that.”

    Hajiya Mohammed said although she had been hearing news of herdsmen cutting off innocent people’s hands, she never expected that his son would be a victim.

    She said: “Nobody thought that such a thing could happen. Personally, whenever I heard news of Fulani herdsmen killing or cutting innocent farmers’ hands, I felt very sad. But all of a sudden, it is me that is at the receiving end. I’m badly touched about what has happened to my son.”

    Asked whether she had forgiven those who cut off his son’s hands, the old woman said he had accepted her fate. She, however, called on the authorities to ensure that Justice is done at least to appease his wife and kids.

    Cutting off Yahaya’s two hands has also left his immediate family distraught. His wife, Fatima, wept uncontrollably when she spoke with The Nation.

    She said: “It is really painful, but we pray to God to strengthen us.

    “My husband worked tirelessly to fend for his family. He provided our daily needs. Now, who will do that for us? His two hands are gone.

    “We are helpless. We don’t know who to turn to. Our lives have lost meaning and there is nothing to look forward to in life again. He can’t struggle anymore. His two hands are gone.

    “Death is much better than the situation in which we have found ourselves. It would have been better if we were dead than live like this

    “Life would never remain the same as the breadwinner’s wings and weapon has been cut off. My husband is dead alive.”

    She appealed to Governor Abdullahi Sule to provide security in the rural areas in order to check incessant attacks by herdsmen.

     

  • Mercy Aigbe’s marital soap opera

    Mercy Aigbe’s marital soap opera

    Popular Yoruba actress, Mercy Aigbe, was all over social network this week. After many weeks of speculations about her marital status, “Agbeke Aya d’owner” as she’s fondly called by her teeming fans, let the cat out off the bag on January 24.

    Aigbe seized the moment to celebrate her ‘new boo’. On her Instagram page, she wrote: “Finally I said Yes to ‘D’ Owner Thank you, God, of many chances,” which suggests that Adeoti was the ‘owner’ all the while.

    The Edo-State-born actress and film producer, who enjoys immense social media attention, did not fail in keeping fans and followers intrigued with every move she made, and this was why her Instagram page of over 10 million followers felt more of her heat.

    The grand unveiling of her ‘new boo’ Adeoti Kazim automatically changed the “silent” personality status as many kept on digging about the new lover.

    Kazim became an overnight celebrity himself, as Aigbe’s fans followed him on Instagram out of excitement. All of this sounds like the synopsis of a movie but it is not; it happened in real life.

    Adeoti, a movie marketer, founder of Adekaz Productions and CEO of Ibaka TV has produced some of Aigbe’s movies. They include ‘Prima Donna’ (2021), Raboni (2021), and ‘Traffic’ (2020), Ayomi (2018).

    Although Aigbe’s marital journey has not been smooth, very little is known about her first marriage and husband which produced her daughter, Michelle.

    While this is the actress’ third shot at marriage, she is a proud mother of two children – a girl and a boy. This is also Kazim’s second marriage. He is a father-of-four while his first wife, Funsho, who lives in Minnesota, U.S., is a notable fashion designer and owner of Asiwaju Couture.

    Aigbe was married to hotelier and auto dealer, Lanre Gentry, but the union crashed in 2017 over domestic violence and infidelity allegations. The union produced a son, Juwon. Her experience prompted her to release a movie titled  ‘Victims’, which had domestic violence as its theme.

    Regardless of her past traumatic experiences, Aigbe moved on against all odds. Unknown to many, she secretly wedded Kazim at a Nikkai in Lagos on New Year’s Eve. There, she was reportedly christened “Aminah”.

    Her estranged husband Lanre also remarried his new bride, Oluwabusayo in September last year.

    Aigbe’s latest marriage became a subject of controversy when different narratives made the rounds on social media that she got married to her ex-husband friend.

    Joining the fray, Lanre shared an old photo of himself, Aigbe, Adeoti, and an unidentified woman. The photo — said to have been taken while the pair were still together — is believed to be a subtle dig at the actress and Adeoti.

    Also, many social media users raised concerns over the resemblance of the actress’ son and her new lover.

    But Lanre confirmed his fatherhood to their son, Olajuwon, which they had during their seven-year marriage.

    Also, Aigbe maintained that her new husband — Adeoti, and her ex-husband — Gentry, were never friends.

  • Kumuyi: The reformer faces unusual push back

    Kumuyi: The reformer faces unusual push back

    Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry, popularly known as Deeper Life Bible Church, is unusually in the heat of controversy.

    The respected cleric is currently facing stiff opposition from some members of his church following his decision to tinker with some of its doctrines. For example, he has shifted from his earlier objection to the use of some musical instruments in the church.

    Popular foreign gospel singer, Bob Fitts, was invited to join him at his next global crusade scheduled to hold this weekend in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    The pastor had commenced a series of global crusades with many people saying his intention is to bring some changes he desire in his ministry to bear on the Deeper Life church and its members.

    Amidst surprise and even open resentment by some of his followers, Kumuyi has been using the global crusades to unveil a number of changes into his ministrations, notably the introduction of music and musicians.

    In furtherance of his new position, the Deeper Life founder had invited some music ministers, hitherto prohibited by the church to minister along with him to the amazement of many.

    Such music ministers included Don Moen in Enugu, Nathaniel Bassey to minister along with him in songs during the Showers of Blessing Through Christ crusade in Port-Harcourt and Pastor William McDowell in the Wonders of the Cross crusade which held Uyo.

    But the opposition to Kumuyi’s new ways from within his church intensified during the week ahead of the Ibadan crusade with some of his ‘children in the Lord’ rising in protests against the invitation of Fitts and other musicians.

    They argue that unconventional music has never been part of Deeper Life’s mode of worship, and should not be introduced now; not even by the sagely Kumuyi.

    Prominent human rights activist, Prince Dele Banjo, who is also a member of the church, alongside a host of others, staged a peaceful protest at church’s headquarters at Gbagada, Lagos, during the week.

    Banjo, who vowed to continue his protest until he gets result, noted that Kumuyi who is like a father to them, did not raise members of his church with such music. He insisted that the cleric’s invitation of local Christian musicians who are not advocates of modesty was unacceptable.

    The activist and his co-travelers are not alone in the opposition. The famed preacher is also being challenged in Port Harcourt, the Rivers state capital, by a group of Deeper Life members.

    Peter Nwaoboshi, leader of the group, said they plan to meet Kumuyi in Ibadan and ask for explanations about the recent developments in the church.

    Recently, Kumuyi explained why he is taking certain steps which are being crticised by his members. He said he could not continue behaving the way he used to do if he’s to fulfil the mandate of God upon his life. .

  • BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSWOMAN TITI EJIMAGWA: How varsity official denied me admission for rejecting his sexual advances

    BILLIONAIRE BUSINESSWOMAN TITI EJIMAGWA: How varsity official denied me admission for rejecting his sexual advances

    Titilope Olubisi Ejimagwa is a wave-making businesswoman and currently  the First Black 5-Star Director and Global Icon of Longrich Bioscience.  She is called the ‘Mother of Network Marketing in Africa’ for the fact that she is one of the most successful marketers to emerge from the continent. In spite of her immense wealth and influence, however, she has humility and simplicity written all over her.  In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, she spoke about  how she chose to keep her dignity intact by forfeiting  her university admission because a university official demanded sex as a condition for offering her admission, how she tricked her vibrant Christ Apostolic Church member mother to become a Jehovah’s Witness member and how she ventured into business as an undergraduate,  among other issues.

     

    You studied Physical and Health Education but you are now a business woman. What is the correlation?

    I was talking with my children recently and I told them I wanted to be a lawyer. But guess what, I was a very bad stutterer and could hardly call my name. Later, I wanted to be a journalist like you and I am like I can’t communicate.  The things that interested me are not meant for me actually, but I kept on daring myself. When I got admission to study at UI (University of Ibadan), I didn’t want to go to UI because I wanted to leave Ibadan and stop being mummy’s pet. In the long run, I got to know about LASU (Lagos State University).

    I didn’t even know there was a school called LASU. A friend of mine who lived in my area came and said, ‘Titi, I am in LASU.’ I asked what is LASU and  she said a university in Lagos. That was how I headed for Lagos.  When I got to LASU, I wanted to go for PDS but the admission officer wanted to have sex with me. I went there with a friend. Then the officer said if I would not have sex with him, he would rather admit my friend and leave me out.  I said instead of giving me admission and abandoning my friend, let them give my friend admission.  That was how I lost the admission and he gave it to her.

    As I was leaving the admission office that day, I  saw one man. The man was my family doctor’s best friend. He stopped and said I know you, and that was how we reconnected. He was the registrar then in LASU. He asked what I was there to do and I told him I was there to seek admission.  That was how the man called them to bring my form. Unfortunately, the other man had torn my form and trashed it. This was in 1988.  The registrar now said I should take a diploma form for PHE that would be coming out.  I had to wait behind to get the form. He thereafter handed me over to Prof Okebukola. I eventually got admission. That was how I studied PHE.

    How did you get your seed capital to start business?

    I didn’t have a dime to start a business. I was so poor that I could not even afford to eat. I started business when I was in LASU as a student. I could easily go to Cotonou and Togo to buy earrings and sell them in the school. I was making money.

    Alas, I became broke at a point. Later, a friend told me about a product called NONI, and that was in 1997. I said Margaret, I don’t have money. She gave me some cartons which I sold and made money. Later, NONI had an issue because the federal government thought it was a juice and therefore banned it in 1999.  That was how I moved into selling Forever Living Products (FLP). That was where I started real multi-level business.

    There was a man called Baba Oloko. He is late now. A friend of mine told me to go and meet him. When I met him, he borrowed me N150,000 for a month without interest. I used the money to buy FLP products, which I took to Kainji. I sold the products for more than half a million.

    I was not dishonest. I told the buyers that my own aloe vera gel was N4,000 whereas the selling price of the product was N2,500. When they argued that it was expensive I would say yes it is but I would tell you exactly what you need. God just helped me. Everybody that I touched got well.  When God wants to bless you, He will just bless you without looking back. It is not about how good I am in sales. I am a bad stutterer (laughs). It was just God that wanted to bless me and I was equally determined to be blessed. I was available to be blessed.

    I took products of N150, 000 or less to Kainji and sold it for N500,000. I bought the biggest fish from Kainji. I bought two and local groundnut oil. I would drop in Ibadan to give one to my parents. They would pray for me and bless me and I would give them money as well.

    The next day, I boarded a bus to Lagos to see Baba Oloko. I returned the loan and he said, ‘I gave it to you for one month, why are you returning it so soon?’ I said but I have finished using it now; why would I be keeping your money? He said this had never happened before. He was always having to look for people who borrowed money from him to get the money back. He said I was the first person who would borrow money and return it to him in one week. He said I should come any time I needed money. I said I would need another loan by month end. That was my turning point.

    Why Kainji?

    When I started selling FLP, I went to my friend’s dad who was formerly with printing and minting.  He said he didn’t need the products but that I should go and meet my friend, but he would pay.  That was how I went to Kainji. On getting to Kainji, my friend did not buy even tooth paste from me. The husband too did not buy anything. But the husband said their Assistant General Manager Operations had an accident and that he might need my products. He took me close to his office and asked me to go and meet him.

    When I knocked, the person who opened the door had tribal marks. I greeted and knelt down. He asked to know what I wanted. When I told him, he asked me to fill the form.  When I entered, the boss told me he was taking care of himself and already feeling okay and that he didn’t need my product. Along the line, an angel walked into the office. ‘Wow!’ The man that entered screamed. These drugs, I have been looking for them. In short, do you have this, do you have that?  Before he finished, the boss that said he didn’t need my product  said, ‘Would you drop it and get out of my office. Is that why you are in my office? Do what you have come for and get out!  The man apologised and while leaving asked me to see him in his office.  That was the angel that God sent to me.

    The boss did not just end up packing everything. He said your products are very good, abi? What can you recommend for me?  He bought for himself, his wife and his children, and I doubled the money. I am not that nice when it comes to money (laughs). I always told them my products are more expensive because I will give you exactly what you need.  So if you want value, come to me, but if you want anyhow product, go somewhere else.

    I read Physical and Health Education  and I major in Physiology. So I am not just a marketer; I am telling you how your system works.

    How were you able to sharpen your marketing skills?

    Have you forgotten I am a Witness? You can’t be a Witness without really knowing how to be convincing. We learn all this.

    What gave you the idea to start making money right from school?

    I am Ijebu now. I love making money. I don’t like begging. I don’t like asking for money.

    Who showed you the way to Cotonou to do that kind of business?

    I was getting N2,000 per month as pocket money. A lot of my colleagues were getting N500 per month. I was  really, really a big girl, but at the same time, I don’t like going broke. I like making money.  Who gave me the idea? I was in sports because I did PHE and we always travelled. We were always going shopping each time we travelled. In the process, I saw some Alhajas selling GL. ‘Alhaja, this GL is very beautiful, I can sell this thing in the hostel,’ I would say to the women.  I stayed in the biggest hostel in LASU then. That was how I started buying them. It wasn’t that there was any idea. I had the money with me. I had a tip from the school that they would give us. I had a tip from the state that they would give us. I fought judo for the country. I participated in sports back then, especially NUGA. LASU then was doing very well in NUGA and Law.  Those were the two things that brought LASU  to the limelight then.  We were always the best in judo and tennis,  but we struggled with other schools in football.

    When did you join the Jehovah’s Witness Christian denomination or have you always been a member?

    People are always against them. Actually, my grandmother was the one that was actually talking against them. I saw them preaching and I asked who are these preaching, and she said don’t mind them, awon alakatakiti eniyan (cantankerous people). I asked her what alakatakiti means and she said people that turn the Bible upside down.

    I was still very naive and wondered what it means to turn the Bible upside down.  I had to run after them and asked how they turn the Bible upside down. They started laughing and asked if I wanted to know more and I said yes.  We had a bakery in our house in Ibadan then, so I just took them to the bakery.  They told me about birthday and that in the Bible it is not right and it is not real. I said oh, really? My own bible telling me that there are only two places in the Bible, one by Pharaoh and another by Herod. Pharaoh killed his sword bearer during his birthday. That was the only birthday mentioned in the Hebrew scripture. The second that was mentioned is in the Greek testament where John the Baptist was killed by Herod.  These two, were they Christians? No. Did they believe in God? No.

    Who is a Christian? One who follows Christ’s footsteps closely. Christ lived on earth for 33 years. Abraham lived for how long? Lot, Noah and so many others lived for how long, but none of them mentioned birthday throughout the scripture. Paul, John, Mathew and other disciples  lived after Christ but none of them mentioned birthday for once.  That was it for me.

    Were you born as a Christian?

    My mother goes to CAC Oke Felele, Ibadan. My father was born as a Muslim but got converted to Christianity. I went to a Catholic school. My mum was a strong member of CAC. She would beat you if you don’t go to church on Sunday. My father worked with Ogun/Osun River Basin as an engineer. He would come home on Fridays and go back to work on Mondays.  He is late now. Jehovah’s Witness people had been inviting me to their meeting but I couldn’t go because I had to attend CAC.

    What was your dad’s attitude to it?

    One day, I told my dad that Jehovah’s Witness people came to me and I wanted to attend their meeting. He was shocked that I wanted to go to their meeting. How would I confuse mum and not convince her that I wanted to attend the service. I said I learnt that when you put onions in your armpit you will start having temperature. I did it and started running temperature. Daddy said, really? Okay, go and do it.

    Sunday morning when I was asked to get ready for church, I started showing signs of being unwell. Mum asked  what the problem was, I said it was malaria. My dad said let her stay at home and rest.   When it was time, I told my dad I was going to the Jehovah’s Witness meeting, and he said he would go with me.  We went for the service and sat in the front seat, and for every question, I would raise my hands up. I enjoyed the service and they came to greet me and ask if I would come again.  I never knew my dad was a witness but left. My telling him that I was going for the meeting spurred something in him and that was how he followed me and came back to the truth.  Then I had the courage and talked to my mother and my father was there. That was how I became a witness.

    What is your business philosophy and who is your role model?

    You want me to say the truth? I have only one role model: Jesus Christ. He is the best teacher that ever lived. What do you need to know about teaching, about marketing, about convincing, about anything?  Everything, Christ has it. There is nothing new that I am doing. I give no credit to myself. All glory goes to Him.

    After you finished with FLP, what was your next line of action?

    I left FLP in 2001 because there were no more sales. I was buying so much without really recruiting. In FLP, I grew to a senior manager level. But if you do not meet a certain target monthly, you will not earn. Why would I keep buying what I would not sell? I thereafter moved to Tianshi. Since 2004, I became the best on the continent.

    What really informs your fashion style?

    For me, it’s just making it simple. I love simplicity and being well covered. Diamond is not seen at the bus stop. You don’t see gold on the street. Beautiful things, things that are inspiring are well hidden, so hide it. Being a Witness, I have to live what I preach.

    You are into real estate. What differentiates your own real estate from others?

    While I respect and appreciate everybody, I believe in quality. Like my rice, I can’t sell what I cannot eat. I believe that anything you want to do, do it very well. I wanted to go into real estate early but I know for sure that the cost of land is the difference.  The  cost of cement, plumbing works, electrical is the same. The only difference is the cost of land. Being a business woman, I like to make money.  I ask myself, how much will I make in the next 15 years? Anything I am building and I don’t make my money back in 10 to 15 years does not make sense.  Anything I am buying, if I don’t make my money back in the next 10 to 15 years, it doesn’t make sense.

    We are building one in Ikoyi. I just believe in quality, right price, right place. It is actually Eko Towers that built for me. I may only have to build one in a year but that one would be worth my name, my time and efforts.

    When I asked about your role model, I was thinking you would mention your dad. What kind of person was he?

    I love my dad so much. He was a man of wisdom; he was an honest person. You can’t know my father and get wrong. He would tell you the truth no matter what happens. If you see me, you see my dad. We are only two that look like him. My dad influenced the choice of everything I did.

    How many children did your father have?

    My dad had five. We lost one. I am the first child to my dad and to my mum the second. My mum had a child before marrying my father.

    How do you unwind?

    I love reading. Of course, I read the Bible.

    I read it every day. Apart from that, I read things that influence me. Since 2004, 18 years now, I have been leading the continent, having over 10 million people in my network. I have the best brains around me and I must be a step ahead of them. If not I would not be worth being their leader.  They must have something to gain from me every day of their lives. So, I read books that add value. That is why I don’t really do parties because I don’t have the time.

    Talking about your time, you travel a lot, how does your husband cope?

    I love my husband. My husband is the best man ever, trust me. Without my husband,  I wouldn’t be where I am today. He gave me the wings to fly. All my success is attributed to his permissiveness.

    Do you have any succession plans as a business woman?

    I was talking with someone today and she said aunty, your kind of wealth is different. Yours is about empowering people.  How many wealthy people do we have in the country and even the continent that have churned out millionaires like them? Very few, if there are. People like to give fish to others without teaching them how to fish. That is the difference between me and other people. Many people in my network are multi-millionaires monthly. Well over a million of them are earning millions. I don’t want to say weekly because you may think I am exaggerating. Trust me, hundreds of thousands among them are earning multi-millions weekly or at least millions of them are earning millions monthly.

    That is enough for me. I come from a sharing environment where you don’t eat the bread and give the crumbs. We share the loaves. That is what makes me very fulfilled. When I travel to any state in this country, you will think it is the governor that is coming. I won’t even see my handbag or phone. Somebody will be holding this, another will be holding that.  That has been happening for almost two decades now. If I go to the UK, it is the same thing. In the US, it is the same thing. In Asia, it is the same thing. The crowd at the airport waiting for me. What again are you looking for?

    How did you meet your husband?

    Actually, my husband is my uncle’s friend. I went to see my uncle who is a very nice guy. He said we should go and see his friend. His friend, now my husband, told my uncle that he likes me. My uncle screamed. He said Titi, you cannot carry her load.  He tried, sneaky, sneaky and then he was able to confuse me to marry him.

    He had told my uncle that he wanted to marry me but he didn’t come toasting me. He came as a friend.  He is a Witness too.

    There is no perfect marriage. How have you been able to tolerate each other?

    We have to tolerate each other every day. We are two different individuals coming from different environmental and cultural backgrounds. We disagree but we are quick to settle our differences.  The most important thing is how fast you are able to settle it.

    You are an Ijebu and he hails from Abia State. What was your parents’ reaction when you took him to your house?

    My parents are really not bothered about tribe. As a Witness, we don’t have boundaries or tribes. We are one united family.  My mother loved him the very first day.

    What took you into rice business?

    I just believe in my country. I don’t believe in importing things. Most of my clothes are ankara. I have more than 1000 ankara fabrics in different styles, colours in my wardrobe. I love locally made things. Mine is a locally made rice and I try to do it right. There is so much abuse in food nowadays. There is so much chemical added to food that makes food become poisonous, and I want to eat food without getting poisoned. I want to be sure of what I am eating. We are not here to compete. We are here to feed ourselves.

    How can people join your business network?

    To join my network is simple and quite easy. I make it as affordable as possible. You know I am also into Longrich products. It is not meant for the poor but I did my best to make it possible for everybody to afford it. You can start the business with N14,400. Everybody in the world is under me. If you brush with the product anywhere in the world, I am earning without leaving my bedroom. I achieved this through a lot of tenacity and determination.

    Were there times you almost gave up in the business?

    Business is like marriage. It is having children and your child is misbehaving. Are you going to throw him away? You need to call and hold the child. That is the way I see my business. If it is easy, there is no money in it. You have to be determined and intentional to make it work.

    What’s your advice for those in business or aspiring to be?

    Winners never quit and quitters never win. When you quit, you start afresh again. It’s never rosy outside there. People face same thing even abroad. What people cannot do here they go abroad and do. All the money is here.  What are the Americans, Indians, Chinese, Lebanese and so on doing here? It is because the money is here.

  • Crisis rocks Rufus Giwa Polytechnic over non-payment of salaries, pensions, others

    Crisis rocks Rufus Giwa Polytechnic over non-payment of salaries, pensions, others

    The failure of the management of Rufus Giwa  Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo  State to pay the salaries, pensions and gratuities of the institution’s staff as and when due in the last five years has pitted it against the workers, GBENGA ADERANTI reports.

    The just concluded yuletide was a bleak one for the workers at Ondo State owned Rufus Giwa Polytechnic (RUGIPO), Owo. The failure of the institution’s management to pay the 13-month salaries owed the workers besides unpaid pensions and gratuities of its retirees made the yuletide holiday very dry and uneventful.

    It was only in the afternoon of January 4 that the accounts of the staff of the institution were credited with the balance of January 2021 salaries as well as those of February and March.

    Even at that, the payment of the three-month arrears of salaries was not done until a threat was issued by the institution’s chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Polytechnics (SSANIP) to embark on what it described a massive protest to express its displeasure at the “obnoxious and authoritarian action of the school’s management.”

    Although a source said the money had been with the management on Friday, it only waited till Monday, January 4 before it was disbursed.

    SSANIP had in a letter dated January 4, 2022 communicated its communiqué, signed by union’s Chairman and Secretary, Comrade Olowolade Chris and Comrade Ojo Akinyemi, to the school’s authorities, respectively, asking the state government and the RUGIPO management to consider the grouse of the union and do the needful.

    But the crisis in the institution took another dimension when the management of the institution, while responding to the threat, suspended the activities of the union.

    At the time of filing this report, the workers in the state owned institution were still being owed 11-month salaries, excluding deductions.

    Reflecting on the poor state of the school’s financial institution, a source close to the institution explained that things are so bad that the institution has shut down its staff school because of its inability to pay staff salaries.

    “Some of the children of the staff of RUGIPO who were before now students of the staff school are out of school as the staff school is currently shut and the staff members don’t have money to pay for their children in good schools,” the source added.

    The Nation gathered that the staff school was closed down because the management of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic felt the staff school was not productive. Unfortunately, when the staff of the school were about to be sacked, the RUGIPO management did conversion and absorbed some of the staff that were close to the management into the institution and closed down the staff school.

    The sacked 53 members of the staff school lost their case in court because they were not able to present enough papers to back them up.

    Justifying the sack of the 53 teachers of the staff school, the source said, the school could only generate about N5 million and was using N25 million to fund the school.

    Faulting the claim of the management, a staff of the institution said “is there any place the government has been able to break even in the educational system?”

    To worsen matters, the source said, the institution’s intake has reduced drastically as it has increased school fees twice in the last seven years due to what it called “the financial recklessness of the management of the institution”.

    As at the time they made the increment the school had over 12,000 students, right after the increment the student population dropped to less than 2000.

    Though the fee was reviewed as a result of drop in the enrollment, this did not assuage the applicants.

    Aside from increasing the school fees, the management jerked up some of the fees being paid by the students. A student that did OND at RUGIPO, and wants to do HND there is charged N11,500 for transcripts.  “You don’t expect them to come back to that institution. Apart from that, the act is fraudulent. You don’t do or pay for transcript to continue your education in the same school.”

    Our correspondents gathered at the time of writing this report, members of the school’s staff were owed about six-month cooperative deductions.

    Some members of the staff who retired about 17 years ago, at the time of writing this report, were yet to be paid their entitlements.

    Not minding the precarious financial state of the institution, the present management employed over 500 staff without any advert or interview even when they are unable to pay the salaries of the existing staff, said another source.

    In the heat of the crisis, the management suspended both the chairman Comrade Ijawoye Dare and the secretary Comrade Arikawe Ade of the academic union ASUP, even when the court asked that the parties in dispute should return to status quo, only the secretary was reinstated.

    It was gathered that the Chairman and the Secretary of the union were initially sent out of the school because of their insistence in making sure that the cooperative deductions were paid. “The governor gave the institution N524 million, the money was enough to pay two months salaries, the union had  meetings with the Rector where he promised pay one month and the balance of N250 million, N100 million for the retirees and the rest 150 million for the cooperative, as we are speaking, they have not paid it,” a member of the institution disclosed to The Nation.

    Another issue the staff are not happy about is the promotion policy of RUGIPO source who is close to the institution wondered why the council and management policies of non-promotion of staff since 2017 as well as the 2012 notional promotion of workers, contrary to the state policy of workers motivation in the area of staff welfare in the state and local government respectively.

    The management came out with a policy, hinging promotion of academic staff to the ability to bring investors to the institution. “It is only when you bring investors that can enhance your promotion and there must be a vacancy academic staff before promotion.  Academic staff members don’t require the existence of a vacancy anywhere before they are promoted; they only need to publish required number of papers whenever they are due for promotion.

    “We are suffering, that place has sunk,” an academic staff of the institution said.

    Retirees lament

    If the non-payment of salaries is bad for workers, withholding pensioners’ entitlements is worse. For retirees of the Ondo state government owned tertiary institution, life has been brutish.

    Many of the retirees are said to have been sent into early graves as a result of paucity of funds to take care of their basic needs, especially health. Some of the retirees are praying to die quietly rather than continue to live in shame and suffering.

    As at 2020, the institution was alleged to owe more than 1billion naira in pensions and gratuities. While many of the retirees were ready to speak about their plight, they declined revealing their identities for fear of not getting their pension and gratuities.

    One of the retirees, who exited the institution some years back, complained that ever since he retired from the Ondo State owned institution he had not collected his gratuities and pension.

    “Fortunately for me, I have nobody that I’m training now. My children are independent. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues are not that lucky as most of their children still depend on them one way or the other.

    “I understand that sometime in 2019, one of my colleagues died because he didn’t have money to buy drugs to manage his ailment. It is as bad as that,” he said.

    Read Also: How kidnapped Plateau poly students, one other escaped from abductors

    A source also said that as at July 24, 2020, 29 retirees had died without being paid any fraction of their retirement benefits. Another retiree who is based in Akure also said that each time he thinks about his colleagues who have nothing to fall back on, he feels bad.

    “The state government has to be proactive in handling this matter. For the retirees, pay them half of their gratuities. Pay the salaries up to date,” he counseled.

    The retiree also advised Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to pay a visit to the state owned institution because some people are not telling him the truth about the situation in the school.

    “The governor should go there and find out the truth,” the retiree said.

    A group, Owo Generation Next, in one of its statements about the situation in the polytechnic, had expressed deep concern about what they described as the ‘impunity’ the management of the institution had been perpetrating.

    It also alleged that the management of the institution is enmeshed in contract award scam as contract awards are usually advertised in newspapers that are only found in the Northern part of Nigeria.

    The group called on the governor of the state to intervene urgently in the affairs of the polytechnic by clearing the salary arrears of the workers and by dismantling “the nest of fraudsters” in the Polytechnic.

    Why present management team should not be blamed

    While many would not blame the current Council Chairman of the polytechnic, Barrister Banji Alabi, for the situation of things, others are of the opinion that things were already very bad at the time Alabi assumed office.

    Findings made by our correspondent revealed that the 42-year-old institution is heavily indebted.

    Staff members averse management’s financial secrecy

    While the precarious financial predicament of the institution did not start with the present management, a source said it became pronounced with the present management because of what a source termed ‘financial secrecy’.

    Unlike the former management of the institution, the present management is not trusted with the finances of the school.

    According to the source, if the welfare of the staff had been taken care of, nobody would look or talk about how they manage the finances of the but because the welfare of the staff are not well taken care of, there are bound to be issues. “We had past rectors; we never knew how they ran the school because the staff members were satisfied as regard the welfare. In this case we have never had it so bad in that institution,” the source said.

    Why RUGIPO is crawling

    The Nation gathered that the main challenge facing the institution is the over bloating of employment and employment racketeering.

    At present, two traditional rulers are currently under the payroll of the institution. Though one had been in the system before he was selected to be king, the other one was employed on the throne. “The honorary thing for one that was in employment was to resign after he became the king. He didn’t, he is still in the institution, taking two salaries at the same time. The other king is from the town of one of the principal officers of the school.

    “This same principal officer has two wives, the two wives work in the institution. His children are working in the institution. Six of the family members of the principal officer are working in the institution.”

    Unfortunately for the institution, the subvention is not enough to pay the workers’ salaries, yet the institution has continued in its employment drive without recourse to due process.

    A source disclosed that the problem started from the day of the former rector because he employed more than necessary in the institution, he employed close to 400. “Though he employed to recourse to due process, he was able to manage it because the school had enough Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). The former Rector would pay salaries before getting subvention from the government.”

    Another source also told The Nation that with the present management in the saddle, things may not work.

    According to the source, the current rector was already 63 years when he came on board contrary to the NBTE regulations that say he must not be more than 59 years because he has a single term of five years.

    In the advert placed in the newspaper before the present rector was engaged, the part concerning the age limit as prescribed by the NBTE regulation was removed from that column that he should not be more than 59 years of age.

    The source disclosed that the governor is not aware of most of the infractions in the institution as most of the people that are supposed to tell him the truth are being blocked.

    He disclosed that the past rector spent a 5- year- single term, but the present Rector made his own and other principal officers 4-year renewable contrary to what is obtainable in all other institutions and that has been the NBTE regulation.

    The source argued that the Rector being 65, ought to have retired way back.

    Earlier in January, there was a protest whereby the staff of the institution asked the council and the rector to go.

    According to the source, the protest was part of the reason the money paid in January to staff was paid. “The money that came was for eight months, as recourse to our subvention which was N199 million, but we use N250 million to pay salaries because of the mass employment they made. The money would have been enough to pay for the eight months’ salary but we cannot. Even if the government pays us 100 percent of our money, allocation, by the time this gets to school the management will be forced to pay 35 per cent.”

    Getting out of woods

    A source disclosed that it is not as if the problem of the institution is not unsurmountable and for the institution to survive, the state government should look at the staff and the manner at which they were engaged.

    The source disclosed that the institution will continue to struggle financially as long as some people are still in the system.

    “The best thing that should have been done is something in management called, Last In First Out (LIFO), if they can do that things will be better. The over 600 newly employed should be disengaged first, restructure the system and look whether there is the need to engage people or not.”

    The Nation gathered that the only solution to the predicament of the institution right now is for the government to jerk up its subvention to N300 million. “That is when they can now accommodate everybody. Unfortunately the government is not ready to jerk it up because it did not ask them to employ more staff into the institution.

    Management keeps mum

    Calls and WhatsApp messages our correspondent sent to the Rector of the institution were yet to be responded to at press time.

    The Rector of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic neither returned the call made by the writer nor react to the questionnaire sent to his WhatsApp wall on January 6. Neither did he respond to the reminders sent to him January 7 and 13.

    Efforts also made to get some management staff of the institution to react to some of the allegations yielded no result.

    The Public Relations Officer of the institution,  Mr Ojo S.O., asked the reporter to call him back after missing a call made to him initially, saying he was about to run out of call card.

    The reporter later called back but the PRO said he was driving and promised to call back.

    He had not done so at press time.