The Nation Newspaper

Category: Saturday Interview

  • ICYMI: ‘At 59, I gave birth to a set of twins. I thought they said people that have cancer cannot give birth?’- Olori Olusola Adedoyin Alao

    ICYMI: ‘At 59, I gave birth to a set of twins. I thought they said people that have cancer cannot give birth?’- Olori Olusola Adedoyin Alao

    Olori Olusola Adedoyin Alao is a former Managing Director of the now defunct City Express Bank and wife of Oba Francis Olusola Alao, the Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oyo State. In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, the daughter of billionaire businessman, Samuel Adedoyin,  among other issues, spoke of  how she survived breast cancer after medical doctors had told her that she had no more than four days left to live and asked her to name anything that could make her happy for the few days they believed she had left.  Excerpts:

    What memories do you have of your time as the MD of City Express Bank?

    My memorable experience is that we had the best of business development, and when people came and succeeded, we celebrated them. Those are my memorable experiences. There are so many people that we made billionaires. I am not a billionaire, but to the glory of God, the Lord has used us to build their businesses. They don’t know me today. They don’t even know that I am alive. But at times when I see people in the bank that I have worked with, they will say do you know so, so person that we did XYZ for? I would say thank God. I am happy and I feel comfortable at this level.

    Do you miss the banking industry?

    That is a difficult question for me. I miss not having a career. I miss my career being cut short.  But whether I miss the banking industry or not is another question, because I don’t know if I want to be part of what the Nigerian banking industry now is. When we were in the banking industry, we were concerned about profit because investors wanted profit. That is why they invested. But we were more concerned about development and building a nation than what banking has become now.

    Banking in Nigeria is gradually becoming faceless and they don’t offer developmental support. If you have a startup, for instance, I don’t know if you can get support. The way we were then, if you brought a startup for us, we would work on you developing. We would look for financial solutions and help you to launch yourself and grow. I am not in the industry but I don’t think they give that kind of support.

    Banking now seems to be more about profit generation which I don’t know would have defeated my own desire. Money is good, but it is not everything. It is only good for what you can do with it.  If you cannot better people’s lives with it, of what good is it? Actually, I don’t see the banks performing that role that I would have wanted or what we were.  City Express consequently had the best export desk. We were known for export. Our export desk was fantastic because we would start from the scratch to the finish and ensure the money turns back and it is turned around the year. I don’t know if the banks are still financing exports.

    There are so many things I would have wanted them to do that I don’t see the banking industry doing. It is becoming faceless and too mechanical. It is only the savings aspect that I see getting to the grassroots. If I were in banking, I would be more interested in something like Peoples Bank or something that can touch the masses and not just about profit.  That’s not my interest. I don’t have that in my personality and I think I am born to serve.  Thank God I am always in a serving capacity. As an Olori, I am serving. In everything I do in my life I want to serve, I want to impact.

    What is your experience dealing with cancer patients?

    My experience is that we have intelligent doctors, skillful, knowledgeable but no equipment. The only way you can fight cancer is early detection, which is what I told you that abroad, they are investing heavily on prevention and detection. If we can do the same thing here, we will beat cancer. In Nigeria, people don’t even know till now that there is something called cancer and that it can affect them.

    Pancreas and liver are very dangerous and very difficult cancer, and you cannot detect it until it starts to be painful. It is either you go through prevention or investigative medicine, which means going for a test all the time, and you need good machines to do the test. Colon cancer and jedi jedi (dysentery) have the same symptoms.

    When people have colon cancer, they think it is jedi jedi and they are taking herbs which makes it worse because if it is not adequately measured can be damaging too. It could weaken the liver, weaken the kidney, and once those things are weak, the cells would spread very fast because your body is already weak. A lot of our parents abuse herbs.

     What prompted you to establish a foundation on cancer?

    I am a cancer survivor. Between 2005 and 2006, I was diagnosed of breast cancer. After I went through the treatment, they now came out and said they were sorry, that what did I want for my life, and I said which life? They said you only have a few days left on the face of this earth and what do you want to do? They said there was an Angel Foundation that could arrange anything. They said do you want to meet with the Queen of England, the Prime Minister, see the president of America; whatever would give me joy for  the few days that were left.

    You know white people honestly can be callous.  If they want to break such news to you here, they would call your grandfather, grandmother, your pastor, your alfa and everybody, that before she dies from shock, please be present. They would pray and fast. The whites don’t care about all that. I call it callousness because it is  not in my culture that you will just call me and say that I have just four days to live. What kind of madness was that?

    They gave you four days to live? How many days have you lived since then?

    I have stopped counting. I just gave birth to a set of twins. I thought they said people that have cancer cannot give birth.

    Which of the happiness options they gave you did you choose?

    I didn’t choose any. I just wanted to come back to Nigeria. Even if I was going to die, I didn’t want to die in a foreign land. I was even too confused and just wanted to come back to Nigeria, because it was a shock and I couldn’t digest it. But fortunately, my father in the lord, Pastor Adeboye, called me and said, “Sola, how is your health?’ I said Daddy, they told your daughter to go home and die. They said all treatment had failed.

    The following day, he called and said that the Lord told me to come and lay hands and rebuke the cancer from the cells. He had a revival in Enugu that same day. He laid hands on me and two days later I went to the hospital and they didn’t see anything. When they didn’t see anything they said it had gone into remission. Something you don’t see, how do you know it has gone into remission? It is something you see you know where it is. They said it had gone into remission. I don’t know the meaning of that.  That means it is no longer functioning, abi?

    When you were told you had four days to live, what was your immediate reaction?

    Honestly, I went cold, almost dead, because I couldn’t think, I didn’t know where I was.  That day, I didn’t even process what they were saying. It was not until Pastor Adeboye called that it dawned on me the meaning of what they had said. I didn’t call or tell anybody. I was just numb. I didn’t even hear anything. I heard and understood, but I couldn’t process anything.

    Have you been relating with the doctors that diagnosed you and what has been their reaction?

    The statement my oncologist, I would never forget her name, Dr Margaret Spittles, made then, I was very fortunate. The head of the Oncology for European Union, now retired, was the one that treated me. He was a Jewish doctor. My family doctor then happened to be a Jew. He used his Jewish connection to get the best doctor for me in England. What they said was that you Africans are very strange. That was the first reaction. What did you eat? What did you drink? I was staring at them because I didn’t understand what they were saying.

    They told me I had four days to live, and you didn’t see anything after that and you are asking me what I did. What could I have eaten? When you have chemotherapy, you can’t eat, you can’t drink, you are uncomfortable. What chemotherapy does is that it kills your good and bad cells together. You are uncomfortable and nothing goes right in your system because poison is being injected into you. So how can you be normal? People lose memory in the process of treating cancer.  Afterwards, it starts to come back gradually. They cannot access if it is everything you will get back. It is a very difficult and painful treatment.

    I became a Guinea pig. I was going to the hospital usually every week. Then it became every other week, then every month, then every quarter and then every six months and every year. After five years they just told me to be coming for my yearly routine check.

    Aside being an Olori and running a foundation, what else do you do?

    I am a student.  I am a Ph.D student and also a master’s degree student in Maryland University in the US. I am also a financial consultant. I am a mother. I just gave birth to twins, one of the greatest joy of this year, even though I have had so many tragedies this year. I am going to be 59 in November.

    You had children before now. Why did you decide to have more?

    Did I decide to have more children? Interestingly I don’t know if that decision is my or God’s. It made me very happy because I had always wanted an equal number of boys and girls but it never happened. I had just one boy and three girls.  Now I have two boys and that makes it equal.  That is one thing that has been my greatest heart desire.  I now have all the boys on one side and all the girls on one side.  I had a medical challenge last year and we thought the cancer had come back. My stomach would just be hot. I was having pains internally.  We didn’t know what it was. One of my doctors said you use Zoladex meant to stop your hormonal production when I had cancer. I thought I would die but fortunately, I did not die. They thought maybe it was the effect of the medication. But the doctor said it should have gone since but since it is still happening, it may be a brain function or whatever. We are going to now put you on hormone treatment but anything can happen from there. Anything and everything happened.

    What are the challenges in cancer management?

    At the same time, they are very strong on preventive, i.e. they have developed machines that can easily pick the minutest cancer cells in the body. It can be picked up by pet scan and not MRI. But how many pet scan machines do we have in the world?  You can find it a lot in the UK. Even in London, you can’t find pet scan everywhere. You have to book, be on queue before you can get a pet scan done. In America, you can easily get a pet scan done within a week or two. But here, I don’t even think we have a single pet scan machine, because it is an extremely sensitive power consuming machine. In a place where they take light all the time, it will break down. When you talk about radiology machine, how many of them are functional in Nigeria? Very few. Because the problem is an extremely expensive to treat, a lot of foundations like mine, MariaSam Foundation, would not survive for too long. But because I am a survivor and I have personal interest, I keep evolving and keep holding on to ensure the foundation is alive despite the cost it takes to manage it. That is the greatest challenge of cancer.

    The foundation came into existence in 2006, and to the glory of God we are still around. When I am buoyant enough, we will go and do free screening.  Nigerians don’t like to give except there is a show. I am not a very showy person. I am not a loud person. That contrast is there. My husband does not even like the idea of me soliciting for money.  So, what I have I give. I found it easier to help manage and coordinate treatment because the foundation has been around for a very long time.  We have a good doctor-network- doctors that we have worked with in the past, doctors that one way or the order we have organized a training for, so it is a bit easier for me to continue my networking with patients and doctors.

    How much help did you get from corporate bodies and wealthy individuals in the treatment of cancer?

    Yes, we had initially. You know when you start and you have assisted one person or the other that they know, they would be eager to assist you. First Bank had assisted us before. A few other corporate bodies too. And once they do it once, they don’t do a yearly thing. Two years ago, the Bank of Industry assisted us once. I spoke with one of the former MDs of First Bank and he said sick people don’t open accounts, so what benefit is there for them? Where they want to put their CSR is where they can be seen, heard or there would be returns. It is a bit challenging except you get another survival that shares common passion in assisting. Cancer is so expensive and after, even you survive, the trauma chemotherapy, because there might be certain organs or tissues that chemotherapy might destroy in the cause of the treatment. You still have to spend money.

    Some people may have damaged thyroid gland. If their thyroid gland has been affected by chemotherapy, they need to keep taking medication, going to see the doctor, check up from time to time or most of the time. It depends on the level of the damage. They will keep spending. To now find somebody that instead of spending their money on their own survival now give it to you to run a foundation can be very difficult. That is why basically to get a sponsor for cancer is a bit difficult.

    Is the government forthcoming in assisting cancer patients?

    The government is not forthcoming in too many things. If the government is not forthcoming in feeding its people, which is an everyday essential, when government is not forthcoming on electricity, when government is not forthcoming on water that you need to survive, isn’t it a bit strange expecting them to be forthcoming when it comes to cancer treatment?  Every house in Nigeria is a factory. You are basically providing everything you need.  Why would you be expecting them to be forthcoming when it comes to medicals?

    Talking about that, would you say our leadership has failed?

    I would not say they have totally failed. Nigeria is still together as one. So, we should give them credit.  As failure, yes. But as in totally, that is 100 percent, then there won’t be Nigeria.

    As a former bank MD, what do you think is the solution to the declining value of the Naira?

    What did Ghana do?  Ghana woke up one day and decided their currency would be one to one. Did they devalue? Must we listen to the World Bank and all the IMFs of this world? You mean we cannot be innovative. Our brain cannot function unless there is a white face to it. Even when our forefathers were doing trade by batter, they were prospering. The Europe that we are following they have fantastic economy. Why are we not getting it right? Can’t we think that it is exploitation? They are still colonising us indirectly.

    What is the interest rate in America? The maximum you can get in America is three to four per cent. What is the interest rate in Nigeria?  Call Godwin Emefiele today, I worked with him, he was my staff. Call him today; nobody has the correct inflation rate for Nigeria. Is it the risk rate that you want to mention?  Look at Carlifonia’s economy- how many trillions? Their economy is bigger than that of Nigeria as a whole because they are practising true federalism. The day Nigeria starts to practise true federalism, we will be the greatest nation alive, and that is what they are trying to prevent. Talking about the dollar rate, if I am the minister of finance today or the governor of CBN, I am telling you, within two years, Nigeria would be the wealthiest country in the world.

    Could you share your idea with the CBN governor, being your ex-staff member?

    He does not need my idea. If he needs it, he knows where I am. He does not need my idea. If a leader succeeds, what percentage of his decision makes him a success? Go and do that research.

  • We’ve demoted lecturers on account of infractions against students – Rector

    We’ve demoted lecturers on account of infractions against students – Rector

    Rector of Federal Polytechnic Nekede, Imo State, Dr. Michael Chidiebere Arimanwa, speaks on cultism, the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues concerning the school in this interview with CHRIS NJOKU

    You are already three years in office as Rector of Federal Polytechnic Nekede. How has it been?

    It has been a challenging time. When I came in 2018, I already had a direction and a focus, and I made that clear during my inauguration on 3rd of October 2018. I made it clear that we were going to digitalise the institution. I made it clear that we are going to turn the institution into a smart campus. I made it clear that we would get relevant government agencies to give the school befitting access roads. The roads leading to our school were impassable when I came in. I made it clear that our operations would run on digital technology thereby reducing human contacts between students and staff to the barest minimum, because the issue of extortion or all kinds of bribery will only happen when you see people. If you don’t see them, you cannot collect money from them.

    We have been able to significantly achieve that because now, our students can register online, check their results online and pay fees online. By what we have done so far, we are in the direction of achieving all the goals we set for ourselves, all the focus that we established and the promise we made during the inauguration. It has not been an easy thing because some people have intentionally tried to stop us, tried to slow us down. But all the obstacles are being overcome, and by the grace of God, I can inform the entire world that we have done very well in these three years.

     What do you mean some people want to slow you down?

    It has to do with civil service mentality. I have a private sector background. In the private sector, we do not give excuses; we must achieve results. There are people who started their career as civil servants, and the idea of civil service is you have work to do, you go on break. When you come back, it is 4 O’clock and you go home. Tomorrow, you go for burial. The next day, you go for something else. The job that can be done in 10, 20 minutes or one hour will remain on your table for two weeks because there is always something else you prefer to do.

    Also, it is difficult to sanction civil servants. It takes a lot. But we are in a public service; we have to follow the rules. A lot of people are creating issues where there is none. I remember that when we launched the Smart-campus initiative, some people didn’t want to go that way; they preferred the manual method, contacts with students because of things falling out from such contacts. Some people were saying I should buy them generator, laptop and data for them to queue into the vision of Smart-campus, and of course, you know that it is not possible for management to buy laptops for all the staff of the institution, give them generator, data and maybe buy fuel for them to power their system before they can queue into the vision.

    So we have such people who keep trying to bring difficulties along the road, but we are overcoming all of that because we also had opportunity at some points to contact some people like Chief Leo Stan Ekeh of Zinos Computers who subsidised laptops for staff. He brought HP laptop and offered it to us at N60,000, which was very cheap because he was subsidizing. It was made open, but only about 130 members of the staff bought because only 130 pieces were sold when he was ready to give us 600.

     Within your tenure, the school has witnessed the outbreak of COVID-19, EndSars protest and other challenges. How have these affected your administration?

    Read Also: Protests as residents reject new Ibarapa polytechnic acting rector

    Thank you very much, the challenges seriously affected us. In 2020, we couldn’t do much because the Coronavirus came and crippled all activities. In fact, apart from payment of fees, we really had it rough with our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). We really struggled and the effect of the Covid-19 outbreak is still on us. Till now, we are not able to meet certain financial challenges because of the difficulties created by COVID-19, but we also rose to the occasion. Immediately after Covid-19, there was EndSars protest, and after that, there was a strike by Academic Staff Union. So the entire 2020 was almost unproductive for us. But we rose to the occasion when COVID-19 came.

    We developed devices to fight COVID-19. The first one we developed was normal bucket water. The second one was semi-automated hand washing device which was pedal operated because we didn’t want people touching anything. We also developed fully automated device, which works by sensor and is solar powered. We developed that and we applied for patent right because we believed it was original to us, and the government, after going through our submission, granted that patent right. Today, we have a certificate for that.

    At what stage would you consider using the devices as revenue generation for the institution?

    It would be a very good revenue source for the institution. We gave two copies to the Imo State Government and we were commended for it. A number of people have come to buy, but it is not an easy thing for us to turn it into a commercial venture because we need money. We don’t have the resources. In fact, the first one that was produced was produced with my personal money. We have sought assistance from the State Government, the Federal Government and the agencies of the Federal Government. We wrote to the Central Bank, we wrote to the Ministry of Education, we wrote to NCDC, but we have not received any positive response.

    The ones we developed, we distributed them round the school. It has not been sustained because we’re not able to produce in large quantity. We haven’t made an effort in trying to sell the patent rights to maybe bigger manufacturers. We wanted a situation where we will produce another version of the device we have, when we get that version where we can make the units in single forms and then couple on site and then maybe package in a cartoon so that it will be easy to convey. Right now, to transport it is not an easy thing.

     During your inauguration, you talked about how you were going to take care of students and staff welfare. In what other ways has your administration affected the staff and students?

    We have done a lot even for me to mention in a moment. There are so many things we have done. For example, we have been able to facilitate the employment of more than 500 people. In fact, in my heart, that is the most important achievement, and that is the largest number that this institution had ever employed. So we have taken people off the streets. We have empowered families. Some of those people employed are relations of staff and relations of host communities. We have made it possible for staff to be promoted. We have a lot of our staff who are being trained in the UK, US, Australia, virtually all parts of the world, and also in Nigeria. We have staff who are being trained here to obtain masters, Ph.D and all that. We have a long list of them who are not with us here because they are undergoing one training programme or the other. We really have done quite a lot for staff.

    For students, we have ensured that individual students are protected. We came up with laws and policies of anti-sexual harassment. Against extortion, students have a reporting mechanism. When we met with students, we gave out three phone numbers that they could send reports to us and a number of reports are coming which we are handling. As a result of those reports, we have suspended some people. We have demoted some people. We have denied people promotion on account of infractions against students.

    A lot of time when we talk about welfare, people zero it to how much I am going to get. Welfare is not only about money, because the management doesn’t have money to share. But we make sure that in this environment you are protected; in this environment you are not molested. Almost 80% of our students leave outside the campus, but we didn’t just abandon them. We have organised conferences on two occasions for landlords and caretakers of the hostels outside the campus to meet with us. We invited the Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, we invited the DSS Director, we invited other security agencies. The whole purpose was to ensure that the hostels outside the campus are not exploiting our students and that they are in good living conditions. We have asked them to register with us so that from here we will be able to send students to them, because we found out also that a number of people who are not students come into this environment, rent rooms like every other person in a hostel and stay there. And some of them stay there and commit all kinds of crime. Because of that, those that are registered with us, we now supply students tenants from our school. For the first time, they have designated hostels outside there for female and male. Before, male and female used to live in the same place. In fact, in some cases, the same room. But now we have male hostels and female hostels outside our school and those who have registered with us are getting patronage because we’re sending students to them.

    We have also informed our students that it’s safer for them to patronise hostels that are registered with us because those that have registered with us cannot take tenants from the side. We have provided scholarship for students of our school. Every matriculation day, it’s almost statutory that some people are given scholarships. But the rector on his own has also given out scholarships. In fact, since I came, beginning from 2019, I have given school fees scholarship to about 40 HND 2 students who are not able to pay. We are still going to do for 2021. And that is apart from polytechnic scholarship that happens on matriculation days.

    We have also provided opportunities for our staff, students and the host communities to receive vaccination. We started with COVID-19 test at no fee. Nobody paid one naira, and the Rector was the first to be tested. Those who were positive from that test were isolated and given further treatment. We have also provided opportunities for vaccination. I have taken two jams of the vaccine. The vaccine is also free. Anyone who is able to access our facilities on the days that they are here receives test or vaccination as the case may be free of charge.

    We have also paid stipends to physically challenged students who cannot walk or are having visibility challenge. We give them hostel accommodation at no charge. These are some of the things we have done to ensure that both staff and students are doing well and are looked after in our environment.

    We have done so many other things. If you go round the institution, you will see that we have provided physical infrastructures. But we have spent more money in equipping labs and workshops. We have also maintained a clean environment, which is very important for the health of everyone. For the security of students and staff of this environment, we provided six motorcycles to various vigilante groups. By the way, apart from the police, DSS and other security agencies, we have vigilante groups working in this environment. Our staff who are drivers, we provided tricycles for them so that when they are off duty, they can use it to run around to make more money.

  • OLUWO OF IWO: I’m not in hurry to remarry

    OLUWO OF IWO: I’m not in hurry to remarry

    Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi is the traditional ruler of Iwo, Osun State. Regarded by many as controversial, the flamboyant monarch spoke with GBENGA ADERANTI on many issues including his estranged former queen, his war experience in Liberia and the need for monarchical revolution. Excerpts:

    You seem to be bringing a kind of revolution to the monarchical institution by doing away with some traditional practices. How receptive are your people to this?

    Change is something that is not easy. Everything in life is about sacrifice. Sacrifice means to make yourself uncomfortable for the benefit of others and to impact the future generation.  When you want to make a change, you are trying to take people away from oppression; you try to open peoples’ eyes. I don’t want to oppress my future. My future is the youths of today. What they were used to that make them to be in this situation today, should we continue doing things this way that is not working or should we toe another path? When we keep doing the same thing, you don’t expect different results.

    If some leaders of today even know that their generation failed these youths, are the youths of today going to follow the path of the failed generation or will we find our own paths by ourselves just like the slaves that we sold but found their own path to make a living? Some of them studied Law. Some of them went into the army, and when they came back, they became leaders. I will not oppress my future which is the youths of today. I would rather free them so that I will meet a free people; a people that have room to grow. Those are the things I want to meet in the future in 30, 40 years I’m on the throne. I want to look back and say yes, these people have been liberated and they are happy.

    It is going to be a pyramid effect, a domino effect which is going to work on larger population, even people that are not mine; the black race entirely. My own idea of monarchy is that we have to define our position. If my forefathers did not define their positions, I want to define it. Yoruba culture, Yoruba tradition is deeply rooted in the existence of Olodumare (the Supreme Being). It is deeper than what the eyes can see. It is deeper than what you can talk about in the physical. We are so deep that our culture and tradition is the best in the world. We must be free from the myths and superstitions of idolatry and deities which are bastardising our culture. Idolatry and deities are not a culture; they are tradition. It is a religion. The idolaters and deity worshippers want what we call our own existence which we call our culture and tradition, which came from kingship. They want to put it under their own religion.

    What is kingship? It is not about Christian God or Muslim God; it is about one God, Olodumare, the creator of heaven and the earth. When it comes to God, it is not about race, it is not about colour.  We have a supreme being that is the creator; that is the king. He is the real king. The Yoruba are the only ones that call their king by the name of God, that is kabiyesi … ka bi o ko si (you are unquestionable). That is the way they greet their king. No other race in the world greets their king like that. Who is Kabiyesi Olodumare? That is the real kabiyesi.  So who are these earthly kings in Yorubaland? They are the representatives of the Almighty Olodumare. They are more than humans when they are elevated from humans and princes to a king.

    Olodumare is the one that appoints these kings; it is not by votes. He is the one that will make the king to get there. So when you are a king, you are representing God. Pastors, prophets, alfas, babalawos (priests) are all messengers. Is a messenger greater than the representative of God? No. So, we are working with our head in Yorubaland. Power must go back to the kings. I’m not telling the olorisa not to worship their orisa, but the kings have the authority of the land in their hands that rules the land. Olodumare told them to represent Him. God is the owner of the land.

    The palace is the home of God on earth. So in the home of the Almighty on earth, should we have two kings there? There cannot be two kings in the palace. When there is a deity or idol in the palace, we have two kings. That is why I said kings can have idol worshippers as subjects, but a king must not bow to idol or idol worshippers. In Yorubaland, they call the king the deputy of the deities. Does a deputy have power? It means we are deputy to the deity and idols. Then it means that a king does not have power as long as the orisa is still there, which they want to use our throne to promote. As long as the orisa is still there, it means that kings will never be relevant. Our own father that brought the crown even fought Orisa Obatala. Obatala prostrated and he ruled over Obatala. How can the kings worship idols? The only enemy to the crown is the deities.

    The palace had been in existence before Islam and Christianity. We are the representatives of God on earth and we are put under orisa. Show me any deity Oduduwa worshipped. If they can bring one, then I will remove myself as king.

     

    What have been the reactions of your people to this reform in the palace?

    Some are falling in line. Many believe that I’m their voice to take kings out of slavery of these olorisa who are just few. They try to use stool to promote their own deities and many kings have now seen that we can get our powers back, if we do away with these deities. How can a king worship deities? Any king that worships deity in Yorubaland can keep on worshipping it. There is no hierarchy, any king that worships deity, I’m bigger than them. You are laughing? That is for real, because we will do it according to the dictate of the real king.

    Our subjects say they are better and greater than deity. They don’t reckon with idol worshipping. So if you, a whole king, are a deputy to the deity, you are a slave to the deity. Which one would you prefer: to be a representative of God or a deputy to a deity? To be a representative of the Almighty will bring more respect. Do you know how the Yoruba greet their kings? They lie down and say, ‘Kabiyesi ooo.’ That is the name of God.

     

    You are the most reported Yoruba traditional ruler. How do you feel about this?

    It is the definition of monarchy in Yorubaland to be a servant, day and night, to your people. When you serve the people, you are planting a seed of service. The service will grow for you. When you see something wrong in the country and you don’t care whose ox is gored, you said I’m going to make things work; I’m not going to remain silent. Fools will multiply when wise men are silent. So, if you are a wise man and you don’t want fools to multiply in your land, which can even impact your child, you talk. I am a father; you can see my age. I’m a father to this race and I would always act as a father regardless of what you think. Most talk about, most social media friendly; yes the social media is the thing of the moment. Let them shut down instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, you will see how your life would be. You call me a social king; that means I’m the king of the moment.

     

    You have fought so many battles, but one way or the other, you have managed to survive. What is the secret?

    The secret is Olodumare, the creator of everything. I hold Him high. It is a king that exalts a king; a king does not exalt orisa. When you start raising God, God will raise you in truth. Not that you say you are praising God and when something happens you are scared. You see a little storm and you shiver. Faith comes from being confident and bold. Confidence and being bold is equal to faith. When you have that absolute faith in the unseen God, the almighty will never forsake you. It doesn’t matter what you do.

     

    You preside over a community, a town where they believe so much in Islam. In one vein, you said you were not against tradition. But you are against worshipping of idols and idolatry…

    I’m against what is bastardising our culture.

     

     Where do you draw the line? Some of the traditional practices are against Islam…

    Tell me what is against Islam and Christianity in our tradition?

     

     

    The mode of dressing, for example. In Islam,  a woman is expected to cover her head, but in our culture, it is not compulsory

    Are you talking about culture or are you talking about manners?

     

    Way of life…

    When you are talking about the way of life of some people, that is what they prefer. Some people prefer that their women should be covered. They don’t want people to see the shape of the body of their wife. I actually like it. I like it when women are covered. They don’t see the shape of my wife. Everybody looks, even if a man is passing, people look. If a woman is passing, people look, not to talk of a woman showing her shape. There are many women who can be a side show, but when you are a wife at home, I think that one should be for your husband. That is my belief. As a way of life, it is good for a married woman to be covered. And if any other person decides not to cover up, that is their own way of life; that is the freedom to dress the way you want. When it comes to my own wife, I think I will like her to cover.

    There is nothing against our culture that is against anyone. The only one I see against our culture and tradition is Olorisa who never made our people wear adire, ofi. They want everybody to wear white. Orisa is against the culture and tradition of the Yoruba people. Orisa promotes their own. If they had their way, they would make everybody wear white in Nigeria. You will never see an olorisa that wears ofi, sanyan, alari coloured dresses. They will tell you to wear white. They themselves don’t understand what they are doing.

    Even Ifa tell you to wear white, but it is not telling you to be wearing this white clothes; it is telling you that your inside should be clean and your outside should be clean. Your ways should be clean to man. Deity worshipping is a religion. It is not our culture, and it is not our tradition.

     

    Should I then assume that you appear colorful always because you don’t want to associate with the orisa?

     

    I’m so colourful because it is our identity. I’m so colorful because I’m odidere (a colorful kind of bird) personified. Iwo is odidere and I talk because odidere speaks the truth. I represent the full odidere. Odidere is the only creation of God that speaks apart from humans, nothing else. Odidere is the only one that speaks the truth. And I get the inspiration of the true Yoruba history from Olodumare. When you are a king and you are close to Olodumare, everything will be given to you. You will see things. You will hear from God and you will see what God wants you to see. You don’t need any oloris. You don’t need any babalawo (herbalist). The authority is in you, you only need to say let this land be great and it will be great. You tell your children who are sick to be healed. The God that blesses is the God that takes.  The God that gives good health is the God that takes good health. You can even say the bad health that is in you should come and take the king, because I’m not the king, God is the king. I do that with testimonies. You can ask the people that work with me.

    An Oba should bring alleviation of poverty. He should serve his people and make the land grow and develop. A king should be a servant and treat his subject like a king. You should be the best servant to be the best king. I want to be the best king, that is why I want to be the best servant ever.

     

    Read Also: Just In: Oluwo of Iwoland divorces Jamiacan wife

     

    Sometimes you get criticised in the media. When you read such reports, how do they make you feel?

    When I’m doing the right thing, I see this as ignorance. There was a time, I don’t know, I would criticise people. But since I became a king, God has given me a lot of wisdom to know the right from wrong. When I see those things I ask what about when I didn’t know, I would like to make them known. Common sense is not common, not to talk about special sense. You let them know, you have to let people see what common sense is, you teach them.

    When I see that, I don’t pay attention to that as long as I’m doing the right thing.

     

    What has been your greatest challenge as a traditional ruler?

    My greatest challenge is that I know the work God has given me to do is a lot but I have signed. I want to serve my people. I left Canada. Imagine me leaving Canada as a Canadian holding a Canadian passport, to come and sit in Iwo to come and serve my people.  I want to build Iwo just like the fathers of other nations that built their nation. I will stay in Iwo to build Iwo to modern day. I will suffer for it. I will strive for it. I will serve my people. I will make Iwo great by the grace of God, and God is doing it. I’m going to be six years on the throne in November. In six years, there have been tremendous achievements in the history of that land.

     

    You mentioned your civil war experience in Liberia during the civil war. What was it like?

    It was a real physical war. War of guns, ambushed, bombed. When you see people dead by your side, people you saw one minute before they are dead, your friends, your acquaintances, when you see how bombs split people into two, you see jet fighters blow people’s brains off, you can look at yourself and say it could have been me.

    You are ambushed. In a war there is no wife, there are no children. Even you will leave your children, your wife and run. During war, you don’t change clothes. During war, no kings, no government, no president; the only spirit that is there is the spirit of evil, looting, destroying even when people don’t need to destroy things. Things that they can need they can destroy because it is a kind of different spirit. Children, even the President will become refugees in other countries. People will be looking for food, handouts from the sky.

    Nobody wants war. I’ve seen death face to face more than eight times. I’ve been shot at. Gun has been put to my head. Gun has been put everywhere. I was taken to where I was to be killed but I’m still here, I’m still surviving. War kills, war destroys, war loots, war rapes. War destroys humanity.

    I fought war; I became a commander in a war. I know what war is. I survived.

     

    Oluwo of Iwo
    Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi

     

    You said a gun was put to your head. How did you manage to escape?

    I survived. It was God. I became a king today because God wants me to see things to be able to experience things. Rags are not riches; they are experienced. May Nigeria not witness any more war. This is why we want peaceful resolution to any problem we have in Nigeria.

     

    What do you think should be the role of traditional rulers in this dispensation? It is like the traditional rulers have been relegated…

    The Yoruba traditional rulers have relegated themselves to the second in command to the deities; deities that cannot move. Deities are for the past. You can only reference history, you can’t apply it. Many things have relegated the traditional rulers, especially in the South West. We have to stand up. We have to break the shackles of enslavement we are in. But the Yoruba own is more spiritual; they have offended Olodumare who they represent. They said it was what their fathers were doing. Who do you represent? Who are you working for? If you work for a chairman and you don’t take orders from the chairman, you are fired.

    Why are you complaining that your kings are relegated? You have relegated yourself already and we are trying to take you out of that enslavement. Some of them are fighting it. Some of them are saying it is because it is Oluwo that is saying it. Because I’m the one saying it, you can keep on being in slavery.

     

    You were once suspended by the Osun State Council of Traditional rulers. Initially you said it was not going to work. At what point did you make a u-turn to listen to the council?

    That was a media charade. Forget it; I’m not going to talk too much about it.

    I’m a paramount ruler with over 30 kings being crowned by the Oluwo. I’m not just a paramount ruler; I’m a natural paramount ruler in Yorubaland, one of the crowns since inception in Yorubaland. I’m not a crown that was made by a white man. I’m not a crown that was created by elevation. I was not elevated. I’m a crown from the inception, Oluwo of Oluwo. I was one of the king’s in the Western House of Chiefs. My number is three. Oba S.O. Abimbola, one of my predecessors, was a minister without portfolio in the Western House of Chiefs. How many kings were ministers without portfolios then? We were not more than three.

    A powerful stool in Yorubaland is the stool of the Oluwo as a paramount ruler. When it comes to paramountcy, no king has power over me.  

     

    Majority of Yoruba Obas are polygamists but you prefer monogamy. What is the reason for that?

    It is not that I prefer monogamy. Polygamy is a cultural thing. It is a way of life for some people. It did not start today. If you check the bible, you will see that Isaac, Jacob, they all had many wives. It is the way of life of some people. Our fathers used to have many wives. But me as a servant of the people, it is not that I prefer monogamy. I have a lot of work to do as the servant of the people, so I will like to stay just with one wife. If I can have the strength and power later, maybe I will take one more. But if you have a lot of work to do outside, you have to rest; you have a lot of work to do inside also. You have to satisfy your wives. But if it is only one, we can still be managing out of love. We serve the community together.

     

    How much pressure are you getting from your community to marry another wife?

    No pressure, because I’m serving them. That is my personal life. Kingship is different now; you have to be able to serve your people. Getting a wife is a personal thing. I know that they don’t want another wife that will poison me again. A wife that because she is not getting enough money, she wants to poison you, she wants to sell you out to people that contested the stool with you; a wife that wants to take ransom since she came into the palace on contract basis with her handlers.

    I didn’t know her from Canada; I knew her from Nigeria. She had handlers who set her up for the palace. Guess what they told her to do? Many things. Since the day she got in, she had been recording. Why would a woman be recording for four years? When I got her and I said this is what you have been doing and she started asking for ransom, threatening that she would release the video to the public, I said go and put it out. If God is the one that put me on this throne, nobody can remove me. Olodumare, God vindicated me.

     

    How soon are we expecting another queen?

    I will take my time. I’m not in a rush. Let everybody go and take it easy. I’m not in a rush. I will take my time; I will have a great wife.

  • ADEDAYO OJO: I have had to fire staff for lateness

    ADEDAYO OJO: I have had to fire staff for lateness

    Adedayo ‘Dayo’ Ojo is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Caritas Group and its subsidiaries.  Before setting up shop over 13 years ago, the graduate of the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), who also holds a 1984 Master of Arts Degree in Communication Arts from the University of Ibadan as well as a Diploma in Public Relations from Public Relations Business School, London, spent 15 years with ExxonMobil’s Nigerian affiliate, Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), where he retired in 2006 as Country Government Relations Advisor and Head of Abuja Office. He also had a stint as pioneer Vice President in charge of Corporate Relations with Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), to mention just a few. In this interview with IBRAHIM APEKHADE YUSUF, the integrated marketing communications expert, an alumnus of Lagos Business School, who has contacts across different verticals of the business landscape, speaks on his management style and philosophy, likes and dislikes, among other sundry issues. Excerpts:

    The God-factor in everything

    The first impression you get from engaging with Mr. Adedayo Ojo is that here is one man who considers the God-factor in all he does. In fact, he believes very strongly that God should lead in the affairs of men. Little wonder he says as a man of Christian faith, he starts off his day with prayers. To him, praying is a bounden duty of sorts he owes to His creator and this devotion to God reflected all through the chitchat as he punctuated every response with memory verses from the holy book.

    Management style and philosophy

    As manager of men and resources, he says his management style and philosophy lends itself to democratic tendencies rather than being autocratic. “I believe in managing people by democratising the management process. I don’t know if that exists in the books. But my approach, given what I have experienced in the last few decades, is that whilst setting directions for the team in terms of giving a broad guideline as to what to do, I like to allow every individual and everybody to decide how he or she would be managed. And that’s what I call democratising the management function.”

    Speaking further, he says, his responsibility is to make it clear where the company is headed and show understanding of how the team can get there and then let each individual plot what they need to do to get there.

    “I believe strongly that if you know the deliverables and the timelines, you will follow through on them,” he further emphasises.

    However, one thing he doesn’t compromise is punctuality. As someone who naturally sets stores by the ideal and idea of hard work and dedication, there is no room for indolence at the workplace.

    “As they say, punctuality is the soul of business. I believe that for anyone to succeed in what they do that individual must be punctual. If you’re not punctual, several other things will not be in place. So, we make that ground rule and everybody is attuned to it. At Caritas for instance, each individual is allowed to set his or her goals in terms of how you accomplish the identified deliverables within time limit,” he noted.

    “Every individual on the team got his or her position on merit and is not based on who you know. It is interesting that two of our new team members, I never met them until may be two weeks ago and they have been with us for months. Because when they came for the interview it was done online and all of that so, every individual having achieved his or her position by merit, is allowed to decide how he or she wants to work because the deliverables are clear. It is only those who then show signs that they need help that we help. But of course, every individual is given timely feedback on performance so that people will know where the weak link is and people will know where they are doing well. We give constant feedback as to what’s going well and what’s not going well so that individuals can set goals at his or her own pace.”

    A talent hunter

    He believes that God created every individual as the bible says, in His image, so everybody is good, everybody is competent and everybody has potentials. “As such, once you allow people to know what they are supposed to do, they’ll do it. I agree people need to be mentored and people need to be guided. Everybody has a certain level of skills and then those who have more experience like me have a responsibility to share lessons from their experience.”

    He says with so much conviction that everyone was created with a deposit of innate talent and ability which get improved with the value of learning and education that every individual has gone through.

    Delegating and micromanaging people

    Asked to elucidate on whether he delegates or micromanage people, he admitted that he does both all depending on the work at hand.

    “Sincerely, I would say I fluctuate between delegating and micromanaging the team members. Experience has taught me that you have to delegate and I do delegate. That’s why on a daily basis, I actually do not deal with all team members. At Caritas, the person that runs the day-to-day operations of the company is the Chief Operating Officer. He also has people with specific responsibilities. Except there is something that an individual is doing directly with me, I don’t deal with them. So to that extent, I would say that I delegate because everybody has a clear description of his or her job. However, there are some responsibilities that comes across given the nature of our job as an agency where we have to do a lot of creative, independent thinking, and the kind of ideas we are called upon to bring to the table to support clients’ eclectic briefs’ to get that done, you really have to once in while allow people to be themselves because people can’t be creative if they’re not themselves and then creativity cannot be taught, it’s innate. “As you know today, most of what we do, is around people just being natural, telling stories to get what you want done; telling stories to bring out the good part of an organisation, an individual and to do that the individuals’ idiosyncrasies would come in. The way I would do it is different from the way my colleague would do it. But the important thing is that at the end of the day, a story is told convincingly, timely and it’s effective communication and at the end of the day the overall goal of the recipient of that communication is fulfilled.”

    Good team player

    On whether he considers himself a team player at all, he says that’s a no-brainer. “I don’t know who you’d ask and who would say he is not a team player. But let me put it this way, I realised that to achieve the organisation’s goal I cannot do it alone. That’s the whole idea of trying to build a company, and we have been trying to do that for some 13 years now.  If I do not believe that a team is necessary, then I would have a one-man company that would never grow beyond me as an individual. And if there is a way to measure if we’re a good team player or not, a simple illustration is that we have clients that we have serviced for more than 10 years consistently. And most of the jobs that is done and delivered to them were not done by me. And the truth is that today where we are as an organisation is that there are some clients I don’t get to talk to for a month or two.  And yet, modestly, we can say that we’re meeting the expectations of the clients and in many cases, we’re surpassing the expectations of the clients. So that would be my modest way of reacting to the question of whether I’m a good player or not.”

    Staff motivation

    Talking about staff motivation, he admits ahead that it is been a very daunting task to motivate staff in the last 12 months or so since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Expatiating, he said, “For me as a CEO, one of the things I’m most proud of is that since we started Caritas, I would say that we’re probably not the highest paying agency around but one of the companies in our sector that pays what we promise to pay timely and we have done that consistently for 12 years plus. I think that every employee deserves his or her wages, and the holy book supports that. It’s a sin to hire people and not pay them their wages. So I think the primary way to motivate people is what you promised to give to them, you give to them. Just like you expect that their commitment to deliver on the specific responsibilities of their office and once that is done, you must not only pay them, you must pay it timely. So, in my view, to the best of the competence of the company in terms of resources, we meet those expectations. Based on my experience, I also try to make sure that when employees do well, we commend them. You not only tell people about the areas they need to improve, you also commend them when they meet their goals and when they exceed expectations. That’s a good expectation and in good time, we would go out of the way occasionally to give gifts in kind and in cash when they are necessary and all sorts of things within the limit of the reality of today.”

    Besides, he revealed that before the pandemic struck, one of the things the company did regularly was hosting quarterly get-together, social functions for employees to just have a TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday!).

    Regretfully, he says the pandemic put a stop to all that. “We haven’t been able to do that in the last 18 months.  But I’m looking forward to us doing that as well. We also have inbuilt into employee benefits, some packages, when they have events in their personal lives that are worth celebrating. For instance during marriages, child births, birthdays, etc.”

    Applying the stick and carrot approach to staff

    “Every organisation wants to survive, and for sustainable growth, you have to encourage staff and discipline where necessary,” he says matter-of-factly.

    But he says there is a caveat: “It must be done with due recognition to the individual. You must recognise also that individuals are different. You must also strive to understand everyone who works with you and recognise the best way to correct them when they need correction. Because the way you deal with an individual to get the best from a particular individual is different from what you can do for another individual to get the same result. It is only the leader that is able to do that that is a leader indeed.”

    On what has been the turnover of staff since he set up shop some 13 years ago, he emphasised that, “What I’m proud to say is that in our company, we have had staff who have been with us for upward of 12 years. But we have also had people who have moved to other jobs and they are doing very well. We have our staff who now work on the client’s side, and we’re very happy for them. For everyone who has passed through our organisation, we have always encouraged them to give a good account of themselves. We are happy to support them to leave and if they want to come back, they’re always welcome.”

    Not a boss who hires and fires at a drop of hat!

    Yes, he has had cause to fire a recalcitrant staff but then it was justified from all account.

    “I remember we have had to ask a staff to leave because he was not ever punctual. You need just come to work on time, because every individual has to deliver on time. My mantra is punctuality is the soul of business. From day one, that’s one thing I tell every new employee. To work here, you must be punctual. So, we have had to fire people basically because of punctuality. We have also had to fire an employee because of dishonesty. But if you look at the number of people that have worked in the organsation, the numbers we have asked to leave are infinitesimal, less than 2 per cent. So, when people talk about the challenges of getting the right fit of staff, at Caritas, we have been extremely fortunate. I’m especially proud of the team we have here. A relatively smaller team than we had two years ago, but I’m very proud of the individuals working here today because they’re a good fit for the corporate culture.”

    Best decision in working career

    On what he considers the best decision in his working career, he says without mincing words that it was the day he decided to take the plunge and get behind the wheel as his own boss.

    Upbeat, he said, “I would say that the most important thing for me is the decision to start a company because it has been exceedingly rewarding. The very fact that there are people other than myself whose daily bread comes from working in the company, is exceedingly rewarding for me. So, I can look back and say that every employee we have had gets paid on time. To recall that there are organisations who have recorded their goals because of the professional support they have gotten from Caritas is equally rewarding. So, from a professional point of view, I think the idea of founding the company is exceedingly rewarding because what led to founding the company itself was that I found out that while I was in paid employment, some of the quality of services and the range of expertise around serving them was not available from the companies that provided services to us and I thought that that was a deficit. I can say that in the last 12 years, as a service provider we have closed that gap.”

    Worst decision

    Looking back in time in his career trajectory, he says every experience he has had was a learning curve and not one to rue over. “I don’t consider any particular decision the worst and I would explain that. What life has taught me includes the fact that every experience is an experience to be learnt from. There is not one that is good and there is not one that is bad in principle. “Every experience is what it is; it is to be learnt from. It’s either how to do it or how not to do it. There have been a number of decisions that we have taken and the lesson I took out of them was that don’t do it that way again.”

    Life lessons

    On how he sees life, he waxed philosophical. “I don’t take life too seriously. That’s my view. I start the day by praying. I continue to pray as I live every day that, God would help me to understand the people, things that are within my ability to deal with and the ones beyond my control, I pray about them. Those that are within my ability, I work on them. I get along with family members and those who work for me.

    “I remain a student of life. Basically, what life has taught me is to take every experience as a learning opportunity. Of course, related to that is the fact that I believe that as I mentioned this earlier on that God created every person to be good. There is no bad person in my own view. That’s part of the lessons that life has taught me. Every individual should be focused on doing good. Every individual should do good as you can to every individual so that things will work out for you. Do as much good as you can, do no evil to anyone, work hard, pray hard and everything will work out. So, my philosophy is that; do as much good as you can to people, do no evil to anyone, work hard, pray hard.”

    Greatest influence

    His greatest influence in life he says are his parents with regards to his Christian upbringing. “I would say that every individual is a product of their background. I thank God that I have parents that subscribed to the Christian faith and brought us up along that path for the strict catholic upbringing. Like many other individuals at some point one deviated, but the important thing is that training and discipline helped. Added to that strict Christian upbringing is education. My parents never questioned when it was education. For me one of the fondest memories I had of my father was after I first finished secondary school and I didn’t do well I thought it was the end. He looked at the result and said, ‘tomorrow you’re going back to school.’ So, I repeated Form 5 and within the next nine month I was in the university. That was his focus on education. If he had a different attitude such that he had beaten me, I was prepared to pack my bag and run away from home. Maybe I wouldn’t have gone to college and the story would have been different today. So, I thank my parents for that focus on education. So, I believe that whatever anybody would do based on my experience, education is a prerequisite. If you have a very good education, your chances of success would rise astronomically.”

    Definition of success

    Success for him is happiness and not measured in material terms. “Every individual is responsible for their own happiness. The richest people are not the happiest people.  But I think that success should be determined in terms of having good people around you, being thankful to God, and then for the gift of all the people around you, you moderate your view, your needs and within that circumference, you will find happiness. And that’s what I define as success.”

    Self-motivation

    “I’m motivated by the word of God that says, ‘I will be with you all the days of your life.’ I’m particularly enthralled with the early part of the book of Joshua, chapter one.”

    Golfer for life

    Like a typical epicurean who loves the good life, he sure knows how to catch fun when he wants to.  “Other than golf, I love travelling. I love visiting the countryside. Driving along and sitting with friends and making merry. I love music but unfortunately I’m not blessed with a good voice.”

    Pressed further as to his holiday destination outside the country, he says the southern part of Spain is it for him.

    Regardless, he says matter-of-factly, “For me, there is no beautiful destination if there is no opportunity to play golf. Golf is life and life is golf. Don’t ask me whether I’m a good golfer or not. What I can tell you for a fact is that I have been playing golf for over 25 years. So, I enjoy it. I love golf. I have a passion for golf and I’m happiest when I’m on the golf course because golf teaches you about life. You make a mistake you get punished for it, you play a good shot, you’re rewarded for it. And every day on the golf course is different because every shot is different. So, I love golf, I enjoy golf. I play golf a minimum of three times a week if I find the time. It helps me to be mentally focused and relaxed.”

    Favourite meal

    As a typical Yoruba man from upcountry his favorite meal he says is yam flour known in local parlance as amala. “So, if you’re going to take me to an island, where there is only one meal that must be served throughout the duration, it must be amala.”

  • Toast to Lawal : Pedro at 60

    Toast to Lawal : Pedro at 60

    It seems like yesterday that we first met, but it is over 48 years. When I say we, I refer to members of the 1977/78 Set of Anwar-Ul Islam College Agege Old Students Association (ACAOSA) who entered the school either in January or September 1973. Those little boys of yesterday are now men in their own right. This is why today, all roads lead to the Civic Centre on Victoria Island, Lagos, as friends and family members gather to celebrate a member of that set, Alhaji Lawal Alade Pedro (SAN), at 60. Peddy, as he is fondly called by friends, no longer belong to the set alone as he is today the President-General (PG) of ACAOSA. A true Omo Eko, Pedro grew up on Lagos Island, where he spent most of his formative years. He was born to the families of Libento Momoh Pedro and Ojikutu-Ambose branch of the Akinsemoyin royal house in 1961.

    Pedro was born to lead, impact and touch lives. He started exhibiting these traits  from childhood. Today, these traits have blossomed as he shines as a star wherever he is.  Pedro, who retired as Permanent Secretary and Solicitor-General of Lagos State Ministry of Justice in 2015, has been PG of ACAOSA since 2011.

    He had his elementary education at Christ Church Cathedral Primary School, Broad Street, Lagos Island, between 1966 and 1972 and proceeded to Ahmadiyya College, Agege, now known as Anwar-Ul Islam College, between 1973 and 1978 .

    As ACAOSA PG, he has been mobilising the old students to join hands with him in restoring the glory of their alma mater, which is the first Muslim college in West Africa. Under his leadership, the school has undergone tremendous transformation with landmark infrastructure all over the place.

    H isis achievements have not gone unnoticed. The owners of the school, the Anwar-Ul Islam Movement of Nigeria, led by Alhaji Mubashiru Ojelade, a lawyer and also an old student, have been working closely with the Pedro-led ACAOSA executive committee for the betterment of the college.

    Pedro is a tireless warhorse. Under him, ACAOSA has been growing from strength to strength. Among his numerous achievements are:

    • Registration of ACAOSA with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
    • Registration of UK ACAOSA M.I.S. Funds Enterprises on behalf of ACAOSA UK Chapter
    • Settting up of multi-purpose committees on education, sports, infrastructure & renewal to serve as a blueprint for the college’s development.
    • Revision and adoption of the association’s constitution
    • Renovation of one-block of building comprising nine classrooms and the Principal’s office.
    • Built and equipped the college’s clinic with the assistance of the UK chapter.
    • Construction of a mosque now nearing commissioning.

    Standard laboratories built and equipped by the Federal Government under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

    Read Also: Shina Peters sings for Dudu Heritage amid burial

    • Renovation of the football pitch with fund from the estate of the late J.K. Randle.
    • Assisted the college’s football team.
    • Encouraged formation of sets by old students which led to many projects executed by different sets.
    • Renovation of the basketball pitch into a multi-purpose pitch as well as donation of nets, balls.
    • Donation of laptops embedded with WAEC and JAMB past questions from 1978, in addition to hiring of a computer instructor. Subscription of internet facilities for 1year.
    • Tiling of dinning hall floor, changing of louvres, doors , windows and painting.
    • Provision of textbooks and other writing materials for students.
    • Painting of the laboratories.
    • Institution of scholarship to assist indigent students by Bashorun Femi Pedro, former Deputy Governor of Lagos State.
    • Provision of solar electricity for the college by the USA Chapter. This is the first of its kind in the history of secondary schools in Nigeria.
    • The PG went to court as a stakeholder and obtained an order to allow his alma mater to resolve the internal strife within Anwar-Ul Islam Movement. The judge surprised him by granting the alma mater of all other group of schools established by the movement the same power. The affairs of these schools went well till they settled the internal strife.
    • Expansion and renovation of the college’s library named for Principal emeritus, Alhaji Jimoh Adisa Gbadamosi, OON.
    • The 65th & 70th anniversaries of the school were celebrated with fanfare.
    • ACAOSA BOOK, which depicts the rich history of the college was reviewed after 30 years of the maiden edition.The book has been registered with the National Library in Abuja

    Pedro is not alone in the arduous task of remaking our alma mater. Other old boys working with him in this regard are Justice Ishola Olorunimbe (rtd), Bashorun Femi Pedro; Senator Musiliu Obanikoro, one-time commissioner in Lagos State and current Lagos APC chairman, Alhaji Tunde Balogun; Assistant- Inspector- General of Police, Kokumo Johnson; Alhaji Rahman Alarape, Hakeem Ogunniran, Dr Adelaja Omofade, Alhaji Jide Tairu, Mr Charles Obazuaye (ACAOSA UK Chapter president), Musbau Halid (ACAOSA US Chapter president), Taofik Aromashodu and Alhaji Olayiwola Tijani, among others.

    In a tribute, Assistant Inspector-General of Police Shina Olukolu described Pedro as “an energetic achiever with a great dream for our alma mater who will stop at nothing in seeing the college at the top of ivy league schools in the country”. To Ogunniran, Pedro “is not limiting his impact to the college. Wherever he goes he stamps his feet in the sand of times”.

    Tijani, who is ACAOSA General Secretary said Pedro is unassuming and always thinking about how to make the better. “He is zealous about making our alma mater primus interpares”, Tijani added. He should know as they work together.

    Pedro graduated in law from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria in 1985. He joined the chambers of Dele Akinmusuti & Co where he cut his teeth as a legal practitioner after completing his one-year mandatory National Youth Service (NYSC) as a Legal Officer in the Ibadan Western Regional office of First Bank of Nigeria Plc. He joined the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in 1987 and worked in various directorates. He rose through the ranks to become Director of Civil Litigation (2006). He was appointed Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the ministry in April 2008.

    Pedro was called to the inner Bar in December, 2008, as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). He is a fellow and an examiner of the Chartered  Institute of Arbitrators Nigeria. He is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and International Bar Association (IBA). He is the author of:

    Jurisdiction of courts in Nigeria.

    Nigeria’s quest for egalitarian federalism.

    Contemporary issues In Nigeria Constitutional Law (Contributor).

    Pedro is now into private practice. From your ACAOSA family, we say Happy Diamond Anniversary, Peddy.

  • Woman impregnated twice by her twin brother insists on marrying him

    Woman impregnated twice by her twin brother insists on marrying him

    If it were possible to turn back the hands of the clock, Amos Kunde would be the happiest man on earth. He would do anything to reverse an adventure that culminated in getting his twin sister Juliana pregnant twice, culminating in her being delivered of two babies for her twin brother.

    The 29-year-old native of Guma Local Government Area, Nasarawa State is in a dilemma as he says he is thoroughly embarrassed by the development while his twin sister and mother of his two children insists that she is married to him and has reached her destination as far as marriage is concerned.

    Born to the family of the late Patrick Kunde and his wife Torkwase, the family had settled in Awe LGA of Nasarawa State as farmers until the couple and other relations were killed during the farmers/herders crisis in Nasarawa State in 2013. The twins, however, survived the attacks because some merciful ones among the herdsmen who attacked their community decided to spare their lives.

    Orphaned and without any formal education, Amos and Juliana adopted farming as their source of livelihood. But because of the unsafe nature of Awe area at that time, they decided to relocate to Doku, a village in Doma Local Government Area of Nasarawa State sharing border with Benue State.

    For three successive farming seasons, Amos and his twin sister were blessed with good harvests, prompting their decision to stay put in the area. Although Juliana was deflowered by a boyfriend of hers who incidentally was also killed during the herdsmen attack, in Doma, she found solace in the brotherly love exhibited by Amos until the devil visited and they started an amorous relationship until Juliana became pregnant sometime in 2015.

    The twins, however, tried to keep it secret and made several attempts to abort the pregnancy without success and Juliana was eventually delivered of a baby girl. The widely held belief in the community, however, was that Juliana was impregnated by someone other than her twin brother, particularly as she had told some members of the community who cared to know that the man that got her pregnant had run away.

    Since the twins are not Doku indigenes, not many people in the area were really interested in whatever they chose to do with their lives. But curiousity was provoked in the village last year as Juliana took in again and came up with the same story as the first pregnancy.

    As the 2021 farming season approached in April, they took advantage of the farmers/herders crisis in Doma which claimed the lives of more than 50 farmers and displaced virtually the entire inhabitants by moving to Tse Ugba village in Keana LGA of Nasarawa State to continue their farming activities.

    Because Tse Ugba was a new environment and life was disrupted in many settlements around Nasarawa State during the April/May crisis, many of the people in their new settlement concluded that they were husband and wife. They settled down in the community and Juliana was delivered of a baby boy about three months ago.

    The bubble however burst last week when Amos decided to take a legitimate wife from the proceeds of the farm produce they had both laboured for. He met a stiff resistance from Juliana, a nursing mother who demanded to know her fate and those of her two kids when the new wife arrives.

    Unfortunately, Amos’ response to her poser was far from encouraging as he allegedly told her that it was high time she began to look for a husband, adding that he was done with her and needed a legitimate wife.

    Irked that her twin brother could seek to dump her for another woman after sleeping with her to produce two kids, Juliana resolved not to have any of her brother’s antics. Both of them are now in a fix as to what to do about the ugly development since Juliana decided to spill the beans.

    Our correspondent, who got wind of the development, visited their new settlement in Tse Ugba, a border community with Benue State to enquire into the scandal.

    Upon his arrival in the village, the twin couple was seated under a mango tree alongside their first born baby after an intense quarrel.

     

    How it all started

    First to speak with our correspondent was Juliana who did a summary of all that had transpired between them since they started an amorous relationship. She said it started as a joke on the farm which later resulted in the both of them having sex at home later that night.

    She said: “Then, we were stranded in Doma because Awe was no longer safe for us as orphans who are purely farmers. Relocating from Awe after losing our parents and relatives to herdsmen killings, we were in the farm arranging harvested yams when his trouser tore as he made to sit down to eat, and I saw his big and long manhood and smiled.

    “When he noticed that I smiled, he asked why and I told him that his manhood could kill someone’s daughter. We both laughed over it.

    “That same day, after we returned home from the farm, I was trying to turn food in our local kitchen in the night and he entered unnoticed to check whether all his chickens had roosted.

    “I was not sitting well and did not have any underwear on as I was turning the food. I only put on a wrapper. Then he saw my private part because he was flashing a torch to check his chickens in the kitchen.

    “Then he saw my pussy and shouted in appreciation of how big it was. I told him that we are twins and that we were bound to have the same features; maybe we took that from our late parents.

    “The incident later resulted in sex in our thatched house. He came to my room in the night, asking for a razor blade. From there, I agreed to his request for a sex test since both of us appreciated each other’s private organs, though it was also a bid to satisfy our sexual urge since both of us had not had sex after we relocated amidst herdsmen crisis and lost contacts with our loved ones.

    “But somehow, it became regular as both of us enjoyed it.”

    Juliana said from that point, the affair continued and they both agreed to keep it secret. Within the period, she said, they had two kids together.

    She said: “He never promised to marry another woman. What he told me was that we would make efforts to send them to school since both of us never went to school; that we were tired of moving from one settlement to another since sex was secretly involved in the relationship and he became my husband and from the blue.

    “Them he suddenly came up with a plan to take a wife. I asked him about my fate and those of our two kids since the new wife would come in and may not accept the development on ground.

    “I told him that with two kids, it is as good as we are married and there is no need bringing in somebody who would frustrate the kids.

    Read Also: Herdsman impregnated my wife, vows to take my life, Nasarawa farmer cries out from hiding

    “He told me and the kids to find our level. I won’t accept that. He lured me into this mess and he can’t abandon me now. His insistence on marrying a new wife without convincing me brought about the current crisis.”

    Juliana also told our correspondent during a one on one conversation that she could not afford to share Amos with any woman because he is too good in bed.

    She said: “He is quite good in bed. My former boyfriend, I mean the one who deflowered me in Awe but was killed by herdsmen is not anywhere near Amos in bed. He was quite gentle when we started, but what attracted me to him was the size and length of his dick. But as we move on much more regularly, I realised he was an expert in bed, and that really speeded up and tightened the relationship.

    “He would throw me unto the bed, rip my clothes off and start the game in a very crazy way while slapping my boobs. He does it well and straight and did all other things to my satisfaction that it made me forget that we are brother and sister.

    “He really gets me exhausted each time we play game, so I really felt bad and sad that someone else would share such with me. It is giving me a headache.”

    She said she never thought that she could get pregnant when they started. “But when pregnancy came and I told him about it, we made fruitless effort to abort it to no avail. That was when we hatched this plan to keep it secret, and moving from one village to another due to herdsmen attacks helped the secret a great deal. That also took us far into the relationship.”

     

    ‘How my sister seduced me’

    Amos, who reluctantly spoke with our correspondent, said his sister was the one that seduced him by always exposing herself while they worked together on the farm and whenever she was preparing food in the kitchen at home.

    He said: “She knows that I always check on my chickens at night, so she would sit half naked before me. At first, it was embarrassing to me, but later I discovered that her actions were deliberate since she saw my private organ on the farm. “I noticed that her actions were an open invitation, and as a man, the devil visited me that faithful night when I needed a razor blade from her and the temptation came, leading to something else. We continued from that point with the result of two kids.

    •Juliana and Amos with their two children

    “My major reason for deciding to get married is for the woman to help me on the farm since she is nursing a baby. I didn’t mean to dump her. But she refused.

    “Secondly, I did not understand how I would marry my own blood sister. It is a taboo and abomination in the land, though the thought came late. But I wanted to correct it and she is raising genuine issues about her future and the kids.

    “But I thought she could get married and leave the kids with me while I remain with my wife who will take care of them, because it is a taboo. The kids may not survive in the future. That is what a friend told me and we need to correct it now.”

    “I regret what happened and the shame my conduct from day one has brought to me, her and our late parents and relations. We never bargained for this when our parents and relations were murdered in cold blood by the herdsmen.”

    Amos insisted that nothing would stop him from taking a new wife because he is reliably told that the children he is having with his blood sister may not survive.

    “It is a taboo and abomination in the land. They may one day die mischievously. That is my fear. That is why I want to take a wife, but she does not want to understand my own views,” he added.

    One of the elders in the village, Elder Kertyo Abiin, who is privy to the development, told our correspondent that what is happening is a taboo in the culture of the land.

    “The two kids will not survive. It is not done anywhere. But these people are foreigners here. They only came to this place a few months ago from Doma during the crisis. But I am discussing with them to find a solution to the problem.

    “He actually pleaded to keep the matter secret and resolve it without inviting security agents because there is nothing they can do as the harm has already been done long ago.

    “There is nothing any security man can do, and no court in the land can resolve the issue because the relationship has already produced two kids.

    “So I hope to handle it in the traditional way,” he said.

  • ‘It’s not every person with disability who wants to be offered money’

    ‘It’s not every person with disability who wants to be offered money’

    Dare Dairo is a Nigerian living with disability and General Manager, Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs, LASODA. In this interview with Daniel Adeleye, the English graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University assessed the experience of people living with disabilities (PWDs), the efforts of successive administrations in Lagos State towards bettering their lot, amongst others.

    How would you describe the experience of people living with physical disabilities in Nigeria at the moment?

    The experience of people living with disability in Nigeria is not pleasant and the discrimination against them is real. And this is one of the reasons people with disability constitute 80 percent of people affected by chronic poverty, according to the United Nations and World Bank. And it is quite understandable. They can’t enter places where the ‘normal’ people enter. They were born in a society where it’s practically difficult for them to access basic education, healthcare and they have no political representation. So poverty is guaranteed. People living with physical disabilities are synonymous with poverty. Look at the entrance doors to our banks for example; can a person on wheel chair enter through them?  How many banks have provision for sign language? Those are the issues. Being a person living with physical disability is not a palatable experience. But I’m really happy that the world has gone far ahead of this. It’s just unfortunate that we are still where we are today in Nigeria. However, it’s not as bad as it used to be.

    What is your assessment and expectation from the Disability Bill?

    Assessing it in terms of how much of it has translated to bettering the lives of people living with physical disabilities? Yes, it’s not yet in vogue but it’s improving and getting better. What we desire is the structural change in the institutional capacity. There are people who have just decided that the persons living with physical disabilities shouldn’t have beyond certain privileges. So how do you begin to work with change with that kind of orientation?  These are the major challenges. For instance, my alma mater, Obafemi Awolowo University that was built way back in the ’60s, has dedicated accommodation for people with disability. There is ramp access to the hostels, and their conveniences were specially built. But today the school authority is over riding all that.

    What’s your assessment of Lagos State government’s support for PWDs; do you think they have done enough?

    Lagos State has been like an activist state because there is this continuous romance between the civil societies and the government. The Disability Bill has been signed into law for over a decade in Lagos before it became law even at federal level. However, there’s been a buildup since the days of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as governor of Lagos State. Even though there was no full-fledged law, there were constitutional guidelines that guaranteed some levels of inclusion for people living with physical disabilities. It was Gov. Babatunde Raji Fashola who signed the Disability Bill into law, and that gave birth to LASODA. Now with the current administration, the focus is on institutional capacity. For instance, talking about laws on free health care, how do you deliver it? At the level of execution, a lot of ingenuity, creativity and knowledge will be required, because this is Lagos where on daily basis there is high influx of people into the system, creating a huge stretch on existing infrastructure. So government is doing serious catch-up in terms of planning to meet up with the daily growing complexity of the demand. So building institutional capacity is something that’s very challenging. Take for instance the area of health care; when you look at the economic survey, how do you begin? The United Nations stated that between 15 and 20 percent of a certain population are made up of people with disability and what’s the population of Lagos State? About 30 million. So what’s the 20 percent of that? That’s about 6million people; the size of the population of some countries in Africa. So giving such huge population free healthcare needs a lot of economic planning enactment. And some of the things that the Lagos State government has done during this current administration are to ensure the fraction enrollment of people living with physical disability into the health insurance scheme. The governor started upfront the enrollment of 2,500 in the pile-up scheme alone, as more data are being gathered of people with disability to enroll and again to improve on the package. Because there are some health conditions that are peculiar with disability that are not captured in the initial package. The governor paid for upfront of 2,500 in the initial pile-up scheme, and that number has been increased to ensure that everybody is captured in that health scheme. And you know that health scheme is a business solution to a social problem and Lagos State government is improving on that. The challenge is humongous and this administration has been up to task in creating institutional capacity to respond to the demand of inclusion and empowerment of people living with physical disability. Are we there yet? Not quite. Are we making progress? Yes we are.

    How do you think the Nigerian government can support people living with physical disability?

    The first way of supporting them is through acceptance of what and who they are. It’s okay to ask questions. They should not assume that they know what people living with physical disabilities need, because it’s not every person living with physical disability that is a beggar or looking for miracle cure. I had a particular scenario in Abuja in one of the government facilities where commercial vehicles are not allowed. I wasn’t driving and I needed help with a ride from where I was to the public areas. I was there trying to flag down the passing cars and at a point a car stopped and I heaved a sigh of relief. But to my surprise, the person rolled down the window and stretch money at me. I was furious. Now what miracle is money going to perform in a situation like that? Will the money carry me from that place like a flying carpet or what? I could pay for my own ride but at that place, I couldn’t get public transport; so all I needed was someone to get me to the public area. So this person got angry and drove off. People just need to accept PWDs for whom they are and meet them at their points of need by creating enabling environment, so that they too can experience freedom of humanity.

    When you talk about creating enabling environment, what could that mean?

    By making our buildings accessible with ramp and learning a little bit of sign language. Incidentally, my agency, LASODA, did sign language workshop for bankers recently for a week. I am happy that technology is also making things happen for the people living with physical disability by creating Universal Access in Design. So we need to have the right understanding and be a little more accommodating and think out of the box.

    Religion sees disability in this part of the world as bad omen and this has led some people seeking miracle cure; what’s your take on this?

    There are a lot of superstitious beliefs around disability. Some people even believe that the parents of a person living with physical disability had offended the gods. Some even believe that a person with disability in his previous life offended the gods and has now returned to pay for his wrong deed. I have a lot of problem with opportunist preachers who come to me and say, ‘Do you know that Jesus can make you walk?’ I tell them ‘Look, let Jesus give me a Lamborghini for example, I can drive. That’s the kind of miracle I need. Let Jesus give me a Lamborghini, good house, I’m okay; I don’t need the legs again.’ I have accepted my disability status. I could even go to the Olympics even on the wheel chair. I can still be a weight lifter and many other things, so why are you so particular about my legs? I don’t need them anyway. Disability does not make one any less in the creature image and likeness of almighty God.

    Conjugal relationships are often tough calls for people with disability, as no parent wants their children to get married to them; what’s your take on this?

    The issues of relationship, sexuality and identity are what we don’t begin to associate with people with disability, because they are issues that have always been in existence. Before I got married, I had a friend; one day she was with me, pushing my wheelchair and a beautiful lady going in front of us stopped and offered me a N20 note. My friend was very angry and said, ‘How dare you? Does he look like a beggar to you? He can pay your salary…’ Of course, the lady was very embarrassed, so I approached her and apologised for my friend’s outburst. I, however, could understand where she was coming from. Then I told the lady, would you mind if I took you out on a date and buy you lunch? It was a shocker for her because this was somebody she was looking down on and even offered N20 a moment earlier. Yes, I’m married, but it was not easy, because my wife’s family were like ‘how come of all people in the world you have to choose to marry a crippled? My wife was a young beautiful lady, but she stood her ground that she was not marrying me out of pity and that she knew what she saw in me. She also said there was nothing anybody could to stop her from marrying me. So here we are; it’s been 12/15 years and the family are now appreciating her for that decision.

  • FERDY ADIMEFE: I work with Africa’s brightest minds

    FERDY ADIMEFE: I work with Africa’s brightest minds

    Ferdy Ladi Adimefe is a film maker and creative entrepreneur who has spent the last five years building an ecosystem of companies within the media, entertainment and technology space. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, he talks about focusing on games, animation, storytelling, his first book on campus and more.

    Let’s talk about the things you do and working in the digital space?

    Imaginarium Creative is a creative technology company powering incubation to develop viable products that can solve Africa’s 21st century problem and create jobs. There are also magic carpet studios, a fast growing innovation storytelling company, focused on animation and games. There is IDA, a digital design agency focused on building modern brands and helping brands connect to the biggest spending market segment.  I also seat on the board of Slum to School, the electoral college and The Tribe Assembly.

    Tell us about your career path and how you became a successful entrepreneur.

    I started my career in advertising as a copy writer. It was a discovery phase for me, because I realized that there was just so much that was possible. I fell in love with strategy and was eventually moved to strategy. It was at this time I heard about the school of media and communications, so I enrolled. For me, it wasn’t really about a degree, it was about expanding my understanding of the world, and how I saw the world. I honestly gained a lot from my master’s program. After the program, I worked as a communications executive and left as the brand and communications manager of that company five years later. After that I began my entrepreneurial journey. It has been an interesting adventure ever since.

    What does a typical day look like for you as CEO of Imaginarium Creative Global Limited?

    A typical day for me is a quest. I work with some of Africa’s brightest minds and talented people. We see every day as an opportunity to create stories or products. We are very developmental as a company and that for me is its own reward, we constantly seek growth in every way. We believe that there are endless possibilities unfolding every moment. It can get a little unpredictable, but every adventure or misadventure is a discovery. I can go from a product launch to a story review session to crafting a campaign for brand all on one afternoon.

    Your first book was about campus living and values among youths. What is your advice to students living on campus and the values they should imbibe?

    I think we can easily get fixated on the fact that campus is about obtaining a degree, but it is more than that. It is about practicing how to live in the real world, it is about expanding your thinking, revisiting your biases and allowing yourself to venture into unchartered territories of interest and knowledge. It is about learning to become a global mind and a global citizen. It is about learning to create, solve problems and contribute in every way, after you have gotten these things then add the degree to it and you will be unstoppable.

    How does your work impact the youths in Nigeria? Do you have any youth initiatives going on?

    Across my various spheres of influence, either through my companies or the faith-based movement I lead. I have been privileged to encourage and inspire people within the median age of 22 or 25. I believe every young person needs to be taught how to think and not just what to think. My work is about consciousness, propagating awareness and inviting people to discover within them a worthiness and belovedness that is essential for creativity to thrive.

    Tell us about your family life?

    I am married to a very lovely woman, Lily Adimefe who is also an alumni here. We have three boys and that’s hopefully the wrap. Our home is fun and playful. We are also confronting the challenges of two working class parents trying to raise three kids, navigating traffic and juggling ways to keep a beautiful and balanced life, is an on-going conversation. But my family is my escape from the world, I am glad to have it that way.

    How do you keep up with your work and family life?

    Being intentional. Things can easily creep up on your schedule or demand more of your time. I make my decision about life and then allow my work to revolve around that.

    How has your schooling in SMC impacted your career and family life?

    It really did impact me in very significant ways. It expanded my options and in fact my decision to become an entrepreneur was born out of that. I mentioned in media enterprise, I developed a deeper sense of self-awareness that allowed me see my innate sense of restlessness as a gift. It wasn’t about staying within a segment, but finding ways to create using different tools, moving from skill to thinking strategically did a huge leap for me.

    Read Also: You can succeed in life without sleeping with a man!

    What are the qualities you seek in young people and prospective employees?

    A sense of curiosity and adventure is important; because without that you won’t let creativity take you places. Once people have embraced their sense of freedom, only then can they give themselves the permission to try, to discover, and to also hold space for others to also grow and discover as well. I strongly value character and discipline, without it the creative spirit will never birth, and only produce still born projects. Lastly I look for a mind that embraces possibilities.

    Fermy Adimefe

    What three books would we find on your bookshelf at home?

    The alchemist was a magical one. The black boy by Richard Wright. The bible for me sounds trite, but I think it is one of the best metaphysical resources out there, with a right lens of interpretation one will uncover ancient principles for life.

    Was it easy at the beginning?

    I had interest in story telling but there was no capital at the time. I had to establish a hybrid model and we were offering services to agencies doing things  for organizations like banks and we got funds to buy more computers , train more people and literarily there was nothing left, everything was reinvested. At a point, we realized that we had to get our documentation done. We had to get a professional consultant. It wasn’t cheap but at this point we could afford it.

    The consultant had to work with us to get the business model together with everything that we needed. Also there is a suspicion here in Africa about the creative industry. It is not said in the open but you can see this in the conversations. But again, this is a multi-million dollar industry anywhere in the world. So, why should it be different in Africa? If the movie is a multi-billion industry in the world, why should it be different for us? If artist can sustain themselves, if writers can make money from their works, why is it different for us? We can do the same in Africa, sell our content but again piracy is high. We need to address and advocate for policies that can value our works and what we do we need to unlock the great economy and access capital. There is also the need for us to have structured capital that is peculiar for the great industry. That is designed for the creative sector and we need to derisk that capital , understand the gestation period , understand that you have to establish ecosystems for communities, have a community of creative’s  then begin to talk about taxes, access to finance, markets and the other issues that affect us.

    What are the challenges working in the sector?

    The cost of training is expensive.  Even to get desktops or laptops for training runs into millions and the infrastructure has to be right. We believe that African can create something that is remarkable like we have with Disney and other parts of the world. So, let’s start thinking of exporting the best of us and contribute to the global economy. We started in 2017 and this is where we are. Our mission is to put Africa on the map. The global animation market is worth 259 billion  US dollars and we are making  less than one per cent of that number.  Based on the population we have in the world, there is no reason why our contribution should not be more than this. The big question now is how we expand our markets. We should get amazing people in Africa who are doing amazing work as well as get consistent infrastructure to scale up the sector.

    Many of us have to start to see ourselves differently. Most times, we define ourselves through the colonial era. Africans have a lot of stigmatisation and issues around the colonial Masters. But the question we need to ask ourselves is what if Africa was never colonised. We should start to see ourselves as empowered, not as victims of history. The other question I want to ask is what if Africa colonised the world.  I actually think that Africa colonised the world.  Every music has its footprints in Africa. Jazz, hip hop and Soul.  The first university in the world is in Africa.  The third question I would ask is if we can call it a world if Africa is missing in it. It won’t be a world. But Africa is missing in creating an economic map globally and yet we have the potentials. We have the raw materials, talents, skills and other ingredients. The fourth question for me is what state would an uncolonised Africa be like. Somehow, along the line, we still think civilisation is westernisation. But, westernization and civilisation is not the same thing. Civilisation is authentic to you and we need to export the best of us. In your primary school, if you speak your native language, they would say don’t speak vernacular. But therein lies our rich culture, parables, ancient wisdom, proverbs, wit and traditions. They are so rich and apt for storytelling.

  • From grass to grace: The story of my life, by Reps Deputy Chief Whip Onyejeocha

    From grass to grace: The story of my life, by Reps Deputy Chief Whip Onyejeocha

    As Deputy Chief Whip, Nkiruka Onyejeocha is one of the principal officers of the House of Representatives and one of the few women to have risen to that position in Nigeria’s political history; others before her being the former Speaker, Patricia Etteh and former House Leader, Milikat Akande. Behind her trademark glowing smile is a woman of strength and character who is never afraid to fight to get to heights that only determined people can. TONY AKOWE writes on the journey of the Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives through life in general and the murky waters of Nigerian politics in particular

    Nkiruka Onyejeocha hardly comes across as someone who has ever tasted hardship. Yet she is one woman who has had a good bite of both sides of life.

    Without the love of a biological mother, having lost her mother at a tender age, and without a father figure to teach her the right ways to live life, having been practically abandoned by him, she was left with the choice of the warm embrace of her grandmother.

    Her grandmother took upon herself the triple responsibilities of a mother, a father and a grand mother in respect of Onyejeocha and her siblings, bringing them up in the best way she could and inculcating in them the values that have seen her risen to stardom.

    Today, she is about the longest serving woman in the National Assembly. Since her election for the first time as a member of the House of Representatives in 2007 on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), she has had an unbroken run in the House.

    Now serving her 4th term, she is easily one of the longest serving federal lawmakers.

    Speaking on the journey of her life and the experiences inherent in it while she hosted a group of young women in politics under a political mentorship programme, she said she had to struggle through school as it was always difficult for her to pay her tuition fees. She also recalled how she broke into the world of clearing and forwarding, a business dominated by men, as a young graduate confronted with the harsh reality of caring for her bedridden husband shortly after marriage.

    Her ultimate vision, she said, is to see Nigerian women rise to the highest level in their chosen careers.

    She said: “Everyone who knows me knows that my vision is to see Nigerian women rise to the most elevated positions in life and for the women in Nigeria to be treated as competent as the men.

    “I went to school with the men and we went through the same process. Many of us were reading more than the men and came up with first class.

    “I had a second class upper. I know some men who came out with third class and today, they are leading in several places. That is just to say that as women, anywhere we find ourselves, we are equally competent.

    “My vision is to get to the highest level in Nigeria as a woman, no matter what anybody says, and be treated as equal with men, no matter the religious or ethnicity divide they belong to.”

    Narrating her experience in life, Onyejeocha, who is currently the Deputy Chief Whip of the House of Representatives, said: “My journey started like any of you here.

    “My father was what you could call a rich man, but my mother died early and my father remarried. So, I didn’t have that support from him because the woman would not let him.

    “I can tell you that I graduated from University of Nigeria, Nsukka without paying fees because I could only raise the money for hostel accommodation, which was N110 at that time. After paying for hostel, I would not have enough money to pay my tuition fees, which was N45.

    “Whatever money I had left, I would use it to do 0-0-1, meaning that I would only eat at night. Sometimes, I would eat in the morning and skip the rest of the day.

    Any time the school authority came to check the receipts for tuition, I would find a reason to go out, and once they left, I would come in.

    “So, I can tell you that I am somebody who graduated without paying school fees. But I paid after I had graduated and done with my youth service, because you had to pay your fees to get your certificate.

    “Thank God for University of Nigeria, Nsukka, because they were lenient enough not to push people like me out of the exam hall.”

    Speaking to the young ladies on the intrigues involved in politics and how to become a successful politician, she said: “One thing that you need to know is that you don’t read politics in textbooks but from your family and from the character of your family.

    “Politics comes with recommendations. Forget about people who are not qualified character wise or by the value system of their family who are finding their ways into different offices. I am talking about the normal way of getting into politics.

    “The character of your family matters. If you are from a family that is on the other side, you need to work out your salvation.

    “What that mean is that you have to develop a good attitude, develop discipline and do not have to copy the bad things that your family may be known for. I started from that background.

    “I was privileged to have a very good training right from the beginning. So, I was doing exactly what my grandmother was doing, because I lived with her after my mother died.

    “Once she woke up in the morning, we must do the morning devotion before going to the farm or do other chores or go to school.

    “I attended a village primary school called Isorchi Central School, and a village secondary school, Obingwe Girls and a village university, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

    “So, I was not born in America, London, Abuja or in Enugu or Lagos. But I am here today and can fly to any part of the world. Don’t look at anybody up and say I can’t get there. Just say you can because when you look at me, you will know that you can.

    “My grandmother was a strict disciplinarian. You do not go out of her house to visit any friend, and I never did.

    “Till now, my friends are always angry with me, because I don’t know how to visit. And I know they will always forgive me because that was what I grew up with.

    “If somebody came to our house, my grandmother would ask whose child are you, and if there was anything fishy, she would send that person away.

    “Everyday, she would cook with a big pot because there was no time we were fewer than 20 in the house.

    “Anytime she saw people quarrelling, she would go and pick the one being victimised.

    “If you are a wife and your husband beats you, she will go and bring you to our house until your husband comes and pay restitution and write an undertaking. So, we were always cooking big.

    “When I was in the university, I didn’t have anything. But my friends knew that if I bought biscuits, they must share with me. So, you must learn that act of sharing and don’t be greedy.”

    A former Commissioner and Local Government  Chairman in Abia State, Onyejeocha also spoke on life after graduation, her marriage, how she found her way into clearing and forwarding business and her rise to stardom.

    She said: “After my university education, I was on my way to youth service when I married my husband.

    “I married him when he was staying in a one-room apartment at Ilasamaja area in Lagos.

    “In the morning, we had to queue up to use the toilet. Even when he said he could not marry me, I said please marry me, because I was already a graduate and was confident that after my youth service, I would get a job. I was confident that with my certificate, I would get a job.

    “Few weeks after my marriage, armed robbers shot my husband and then I entered another phase of suffering, because the people he was working with started treating him as if he was dead already.

    “One day, I called the typist and learnt how to type. One day, the driver refused to take us to the hospital because he said he had to close for the day.

    “I said to myself, this man did not go to school and I am a graduate. It was only when he wanted to drive us to the hospital that we would go. So, I started asking him questions and he was teaching me without knowing it.

    “One day, when he repeated his action, I took the vehicle and took my husband to the hospital. But when we got there, to reverse the car became a problem and it caused a lot of traffic hold up. I told them it could not enter the reverse gear and somebody came and reversed the car for me. Today, I can drive from here to Lagos.”

    She also recalled a day she had to spend a night in a mechanic workshop in the heart of Lagos because her father would not allow her into the house.

    She said: “I slept in a mechanic workshop one day because my father sent me out. I came asking for school fees from him and his wife said who gave me the permission to come from the East to Lagos, and so they pushed me out.

    “I was on the main road till midnight and I had to enter a mechanic workshop, open a 504 car and stayed inside till daybreak.

    “I could have asked for lift or go to the club or knock on anybody’s door. But I decided not to do that because of the training I got from my grandmother.

    “We were from a Christian family. We attended Sunday school in church. I was Scripture Union secretary in my school, Obingwe Girls, and that also nurtured me to Godly ways, which later became a strength for me in politics.

    “Sometimes, people ask me, how do you join politics with Christianity.

    “This is a personal experience. I did not just come to be where I am today. I passed through a lot of processes which came with challenges.

    “No matter where you come from or the family you come from, if you hold onto God and His principles, you will excel whether you are a Muslim or a Christian.

    “The dos and don’ts of Islam are the same with those of Christianity, and once you are able to learn them, you will pull through.”

    On how she ventured into the male dominated world of clearing and forwarding, she said: “When I first entered the port, people were asking my husband if I was his sister and my husband didn’t know what to call me.

    “He was incapacitated and could not do anything. He was bedridden for two years. I took over the clearing of goods from him. I was serving in Osun State during the Adeleke administration and had to redeploy to Lagos to take care of him when armed robbers shut him.

    “I took over the business and the goods they were clearing in one month, I started clearing in seven days.

    “One day, one Eucheria called me and said, ‘Madam, go and wear something corporate because something big is coming your way.’

    “I usually wore shorts and free top because I was climbing trailers, and she understood that I was not the type that would dress corporate. I was dressing like somebody ready to do the work.

    “She forced me to go to Balogun Market to buy a dress. The deal day came and we were invited to an award ceremony. It was a customers forum at Agbara in Ogun State because we were clearing for Nestle Nigeria.

    “When we got there, they started calling from the fifth position. They got to the second and I didn’t hear my name. And then it came to the first position and the Chairman of Nestle, a Swiss came up and said the first position goes to FDS Spot, which was my company, and he read out why I got that position and the award.

    “He said the average money I used to clear a container was N88 and within five to seven days average and I never paid demurrage.

    “Nestle Nigeria had 21 days free demurrage and I did my clearance before it entered demurrage. You have to be efficient to do that.

    “I didn’t say I am a graduate, why should I follow these people to run around the port?

    “That was the day our fortune changed. He said the reward for FDS Spot was 90 per cent of all the imports of Nestle Nigeria. That was how we became billionaires because our fortune changed.

    “Every day, I would carry about 20 containers and sometimes about 200 in a week. Even if it is N20,000 that is your service per container, it is a lot of money.

    “We left that one room to hire a flat at Isolo, and from there, we went to hire a duplex. Today, we have many duplexes. It was in the midst of these that I had my children and travelled out of the country.”

    Speaking on her foray into politics, Onyejeocha said: “I was in America when I was called from my village to come and host my state governor. That was in 2002.

    “I came and hosted the governor and my traditional ruler handed me over to him and said I should be appointed a Commissioner. That was how I became a Commissioner.

    “Even though I was not interested in politics but in love with the wharf, I performed well.

    “As Commissioner for Resources Management and Manpower Development, I didn’t have any work schedule and the office was inside government house.

    “I developed a work schedule and used that position to establish skill acquisition centres across the state, graduating over 200 students with certificates.

    “When I became local government chairman, it was my traditional rulers that said come and represent us. What I was doing as Commissioner was what I was doing as local government chairman.

    “When I finished my tenure, I was happy to go. But in 2006, they (traditional rulers) came and said I should come and represent them in Abuja.

    “The structure moved to another party, but I remained in PDP, and that was when the real struggle started. It was like, who the hell are you? Why won’t you follow us?

    “I knew that if I followed them, somebody would determine my fate. So I decided to remain with my people in the PDP.

    “My primary was conducted five times because each time I was about to win, they will cancel it, until the fifth one when we had to involve security agents and I won.

    “Another thing happened because I was no longer with the governor that appointed me commissioner and we were always fighting.

    “But I was already grounded in Christ and so my faith was unshakable. I believe that nobody can speak when God has not spoken.

    “Even when they changed my results on the day of election, I still won in my local government with 1000 votes. I was fighting against the government of the day, the commissioner, the local government chairman, the security and everybody in government.

    “When we got to the other local government, they were already rejoicing. And when I got out of the car, I said, who will speak when God has not spoken? And since then, I have been here.

    “When I got into parliament, I continued with what I was doing, attracting projects to my people.

    “When God blessed us, I remembered where I was coming from and established a scholarship scheme for indigent students. I was running it before I became commissioner. You can be doing something good in your own little ways.”

    She has some kind words for aspiring leaders and leaders alike: “You must be ready to serve people, because people are looking for who to send and who is ready to serve.

    “Take the back seat always; God will spot you there. Those are the little things I was taught as a child and they pushed me forward.

    “As commissioner, the then Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Ogbuagwu called me to his office one day and said I was too humble for the job and that I was not supposed to go to the Permanent Secretary to take or return files.

    “But I wasn’t going to ask an elderly Permanent Secretary to come to my office to take files. Those little things speak volume.

    “As somebody who is aspiring to go into politics, you must not remove the values we are known for as Africans.”

    She also preached the principle of forgiveness, saying: “Even with what I passed through with my father, at no point did I ever thought he was doing me anything bad. I would always wash their clothes and cook for them whenever they came home.

    “Eventually, we reconciled and my father confessed, asked for our forgiveness and we forgave him and he started blessing us.

    “If I had joined issues, only God knows what would have happened. Even when you come from a family where you seem to be hated, love them back, do what you are supposed to do and leave the rest to God.”

    On how to make it in politics, she said: “No matter how good you are, it must take somebody to recommend and trust you.

  • Why pastors’ kids are often rebellious — Prophet Abiara’s son Isaac

    Why pastors’ kids are often rebellious — Prophet Abiara’s son Isaac

    Bishop Isaac Abiara is eldest male and one of the first set of twins of the former General Evangelist Worldwide, Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Prophet S.K. Abiara. Isaac, who arrived Nigeria from the United States of America recently, speaks with GBENGA ADERANTI on his relationship with his father, the future of the CAC and the pains of being a pastor’s child, among other issues.

    WHAT was it like growing up as a pastor’s son?

    My childhood days were very uneventful. We were always in the church premises. Our house then was within the church premises and growing up was church focused or church related. I even joke and tell people that while every other person would visit other parts of the world, we would spend our vacation on the mountain at Olorunkole, a community outside Ibadan, Oyo State. Because we lived in the church premises, we had to go to every service. There was no time to play as one would have loved to.

     What about your secondary school days?

    You would go to school and come back home.

     Were you not in the hostel?

    I wasn’t living in the school. We were always going back home. It wasn’t a hostel situation.

     Did you miss anything living a structured life?

    Let me frame it like this: it got to a point I began to miss some things, and because of that, I began to rebel. You know at times people say that pastors’ kids are bad kids. It is not that pastors’ kids are a bad kids, it is just that they grow up in a strict and controlled environment. When you see your friends doing stuff, you would want to do it. In essence, you would have to rebel. I rebelled. When I was in Form Four or Five, I started going out, hanging out with friends. I started exhibiting youthful exuberance kind of stuff.

    I didn’t get into trouble because when we were growing up, Baba would always say to everybody, ‘If you get yourself into trouble, don’t call me.’ So, with all the ‘rebellion’ I did, I always knew that there was a boundary I could not cross. After secondary school, I went to the United States for further studies.

     As a pastor, would you have preferred to do something else?

    Initially, yes, especially when you see what pastors’ kids go through. Most times, pastors’ kids are not given a chance to grow up as normal children, so if I do anything a typical 10 or 11-year-old would do and everybody would say he is just being a kid in Yoruba language, if it were to be a pastor’s child, they would say, ‘Ah, Pastor’s son!’ He has become a bad kid, or something like that.

    There was a resentment towards the church, because when you look at it, you can’t even make a mistake. If you do something right, you have not done it enough. There is so much pressure on you. Because of that, many of the pastors’ kids would tell you that they want to run away from the church environment, especially their parents’ church. For me, I didn’t want to do ministry work. I can’t speak for everybody.

    But one day, in my rebellious way, I did something bad in the choir and Baba punished me. My dad, Prophet Abiara, can flog people. When I was growing up, 80 per cent of his flogging was on me. And after every flogging and punishment, the next thing he would ask me to do was to go to the mountain for three days with three days of dry fast.

    There was one incident that I will never forget. One day, I messed up in the choir. I had a fight in the choir. My dad punished me and, in his usual practice when he is flogging you, he is flogging you with scriptures. Every strike of the horsewhip comes with a scripture. He would whip you and say, ‘It is in the heart of a child that madness lives…’ He would whip you again, and say, “But the Bible says it is through cane, he will drive it out.’

    When he finished doing that, he told me to go to the mountain. We got to the mountain and for three days, no food, nothing. But I must say this: throughout the period I was on the mountain, wherever my father was at that time in Nigeria, the man would come and make it to that mountain. I was never alone on the mountain overnight. On the third day of the fasting, he now came in the morning. Of course, I was upset. He would pray but I would not say amen. As we were going, he called one of the prophets to pray for me, and the prophet now prophesied and gave a word of knowledge and said: “This boy, I see him blowing trumpets among the white people.” This was 1985, 1986 when I was 14 or 15.

    The moment he said white people, I felt the man had missed it. If my father was to send anybody abroad, it was not me with the way I was behaving at that time. He now said that the Lord was telling him that I would become a minister, and if I didn’t become a minister, whatever certificate I got, God would put a black mark on it and I would not be able to work with it. Baba asked me, ‘Did you hear what the man of God said?’ I said what did he say? The man is your friend. I saw both of you talking earlier; maybe you had told him some stuff.

    When I got to the United States, things became tough because I made up my mind that I would not do ministry. My school in the US was a theological school, and you would not believe it, the first semester, I flunked it. It was really terrible. Why? I didn’t want to do ministry. I wanted to study computer. But guess what, I couldn’t make ends meet. Initially, I didn’t want to get into it. Then I remembered that if there is something God has told you to do, until you get back to it, the struggles will continue. But when I got back into it, there was a difference. Initially, I didn’t want to go into ministry. No way!

     You said Baba was very strict with you. What impact did that have on your life?

    It had tremendous impact on my life. It gave me boundary. I could rebel or do whatever, but I knew within my head that there was a certain boundary I could not cross. As much as I rebelled when I was growing up, I never smoked, drink or sleep around with women. I never did any of that. It was more or less a disobedience act. That shaped me. Up until now, there are some things that people find okay that I will never touch. I will never do it because that strictness, that guide is always there.

    How often does your father’s name open doors for you?

    I have to thank God for that. Almost 60 years in ministry, God has helped him to build a good name and the name is not tarnished. I know for sure that there are some doors that will not open if not for him and for the name God has helped him to build. I say that in an humble manner, giving all the glory to God that this is what has happened and that is why I guard than name jealously. I always make sure that I’m not in a place where people would say, ‘Ah, are you not the son of so, so, so?’ I instill that in my children too.

     Many pastors struggle with different temptations, women, money and so on? What has been your biggest challenge?

    Thank God that the grace of God has covered me with that because of the examples of Baba that I see. He and my mummy were married for 50 years before she passed on. When we were growing up, he would tell us, ‘I don’t have a girlfriend anywhere. I don’t have any child anywhere. Everyone of you, one man one wife.’ Number two, he was always instilling it in us to be content with whatever we had. So whatever God gives to me, I gladly accept it without coveting. If there are pastors doing well where they are I celebrate the grace of God upon their lives. In our church in Dallas, I always tell them I’m a pastor that will not use gimmick to  get money from anybody. The way I see my father, he is not a greedy minister. Baba could have been riding a jet, but he would rather give his money and serve the poor.

    Do you sometimes feel that life could be better if you were doing a secular job?

    No. It has never crossed my mind like that, because I believe that there are things God is bringing my way now that would not have happened in a secular world.

     It is an open secret that the church is polarised. You belong to the new generation of CAC. What are you doing to bring the church back under one roof?

    It is an unfortunate thing that happened several years ago. But the current generation of leaders is working seriously on it to bring the church together. We the new generation or the next generation, we must be one. When Jesus Christ was praying for his disciples, He said so that they may be one. It is quite unfortunate that it is the Christendom that we have a lot of factions. We have created identities: Cele, Redeemed, Winner. God said you are one in Christ.

    I know that as far as the CAC is concerned there has been a challenge; there is no doubt about it. They are working on that.

    Before we started this interview session, you placed a call to your wife, sounding like someone deeply in love. How did you meet her?

    Yes I’m in love. I met her in the early 90s. I was living in a different state from where my wife was. My wife was living in Maryland. Baba had a church in Maryland and when Baba would come, my wife was the one that would interpret for him. She had been a wonderful interpreter from a very small age in her father’s church herein Ojodu, CAC, Ojodu, Lagos. She was a Sunday school teacher and also an interpreter. When she came to the US, Baba would speak and she would be the one to interpret. I don’t know what happened, one day, Baba just asked me, ‘Can you relocate and help one church there?’ I was the music director. I play instruments. I got there and I started to notice that whenever I was with her, everybody would just leave us alone.

    The first day we met, it was in church that we met, because she was living with her pastor then. We started to talk and one thing led to the other. We got married in 1999.