The Nation Newspaper

Category: Life and Style

  • Don’t be scammed, your boyfriend might be lying

    Don’t be scammed, your boyfriend might be lying

    Attention, attention, attention, girls! Remember that earring you found in his car, but he said he bought for you? Well, it could be that his side chic forgot it in the car.

    And the last time he dashed into the kitchen to inform you that his friend, Emeka, just called him to say that the filling station 10kms away was selling fuel and he had to go, that could just be his other girlfriend calling to confirm a rendezvous. A perfect lie for this season of no fuel.

    Oh my dear, be sure that he did not cancel your last hangout because the other woman insisted on spending time with him. And he might have told you that his boss gave him an emergency call. Of course, you’d let him go because you don’t want him to lose his job.

    Truth be told, scamming comes in different packages and identifying the ruses used by your boyfriend, is key in determining whether you want your relationship to progress or not.  I’m not being partial. I am sure the statistics exist somewhere under the sun, which proves that men lie to their partners more than women do, (don’t ask me for the survey results though, because I don’t have it).

    Don’t get me wrong, lying is universal and one of the sins everyone from every race, regardless of gender or profession, commits. But the male species, especially boyfriends are in a different category.

    So, here are some lies you are likely to have been told and fallen for.

    • When you’ve never met any relative (especially mom): Before you ask, no, friends, “buddies” and colleagues don’t count. Your boyfriend should be proud of you and willing to show you off to important people in his life like his mother, his mentor, the high school teacher that saved him from the life of drugs and living under bridges, his little sister, and so on. Most ladies believe that when their boyfriend introduces them to friends, he is staking a claim. But that’s not true. In fact, some of these so called friends haven’t even been friends with him for long. He might have just met them at a bar and they bonded talking about football and how many girls they’ve conquered. Be wise. And realize that if he hides you or discourages you from meeting his family, then he might be lying to you about something.
    • When you find articles of female clothing in his room or car: We must have all encountered this scenario. You “innocently” open a drawer in his room and see a pair of female underwear that’s definitely not yours. Of course your mind goes wild, you start thinking murder and swear it’d rain fire and brimstone. Finally, when you confront him with the exhibit, he says the underwear is for his sister, she must’ve packed it with his clothes when she was doing laundry. Huh! Like seriously… His sister did that? Dear, don’t be too sure that is true.
    • When a particular phone number keeps calling his line: Of course he won’t save the number with a name you can easily suspect and you will be accused of checking his phone. But girls, do not be deluded into thinking it is wrong for you to do that. In fact, I can assure you that people who claim they don’t check their spouse’s phones are the most culpable.

    So check away. Expectedly, he’d say it’s a friend or a new business partner or his mother’s new line. Don’t be scammed. Granted, he could be telling the truth, but he might be lying too. So copy the number and call. Just hear the voice and cut the call. Now you have your answer. What will you do about it?

    • When he comes home later than usual: It’s a rule of thumb that as soon as your partner starts keeping late night, he has a secret. Do you want to find out what the secret(s) is or are? Then don’t ask him. He might lie, he was out with the boys, the meeting took longer than he expected, there was traffic, the car broke down, there was an accident on the road, blah, blah, blah. All lies! Believe them at your own peril anyway. Trusting your boyfriend should come naturally. When it doesn’t, believe your intuition, sister.
    • When he stops eating your food: Every woman will agree that cooking for your beloved is not always an enjoyable task. But we do it anyway, out of loyalty, love or just because you feel it’s your responsibility. So I can imagine your perplexity when said beloved doesn’t eat the meal you labored over. Excuses are always at hand. He’s tired, he had a late lunch, he has a stomach ulcer, etc. Proceed with caution. If he still doesn’t eat the delicacies you’re preparing, then another woman might be feeding him. Just saying. We all know the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

    To add insult to injury, they will claim they were shielding you from the truth or that you weren’t in the capacity to accommodate the truth. Really! A lie is a lie and saying you didn’t want to hurt me with the truth does not make me feel better. Right?!

    Don’t come to the worst assumption. For every lie you suspect, keep it to yourself and gather enough evidence to support your cause. Being harmed with enough exhibits, he won’t be able to deny your liberation. And you know what they say; the truth will set you free.

    I rest my case… for now at least.

  • Beauty of tradition on display as Igboho monarch hosts Alaafin

    Beauty of tradition on display as Igboho monarch hosts Alaafin

    Igboho, a town in Oyo State, was the host of many traditional rulers in the state when the ruler of the town, Oba Rasheed Adetoyese Anikulapo Jayeola 111, marked the fifth anniversary of his ascension to the throne.

    As a former abode of the Alaafin of Oyo, Igboho occupies a very important place in the history of Oyo people. In fact, three of the most powerful past Alaafins were said to have been buried in the town. Naturally, therefore, many predicted a grand ceremony when Oba Jayeola decided to mark his fifth anniversary.

    As early as 7 am, the indigenes of the town had started trooping into the venue of the event in order to secure seats at vantage positions. They came in their different ceremonial uniforms, known in local parlance as aso ebi.

    Hours before the event commenced, the guests were entertained by traditional drummers, who had come from different quarters of the town to celebrate with their king, popularly known by the title Ona Onibode. The event assumed a new tempo with the arrival of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111, with his entourage. A thunderous shout of Kabiyesi! Kabiyesi! Erupted as he alighted from his black SUV. Both the low and the high hailed the royal father. The women went down on their knees, the men prostrated while the other traditional rulers joined in welcoming him.

    Billed to commission the palace of the Ona Onibode, he walked with majestic splendour into the place, clutching his walking stick as he trod softly with his white walking stick.

    While the Ona Onibode was the host, the Alaafin was the a cynosure of all eyes. He was sandwiched by his two beautiful wives, Ayaba Jelilat Oluwabunmi Adeyemi and Ayaba Memunat Omowumi Adeyemi, as he was ushered into his seat. Clad in white iro and buba with red headgear, red shoes, red beads and red hand bag to match, they walked majestically under the royal umbrella with the Alaafin to their seat.

    The Alaafin, reputed for his powerful dress sense, did not disappoint. His white agbada was immaculate and its sparkling nature was reinforced by the unique embroidery befitting a king of his class.

    The host, Ona Onibode, also did not fail to make an impression. His uniquely designed blue aso oke, were complimented by his wives’ blue lace matched with red beads.

    Aside the popular Yoruba poet and panegyrics expert, Ajobiewe, who added colour to the event by going down memory lane to tell the history of the past Alaafins, Olori, Alaafin’s wife was an instant star when for more than 10 minutes she recited the traditional ruler’s panegyrics without pausing. Even the Alaafin could not hide his admiration while fulfillment was evident on the woman’s face.

    It was the day the President of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) in Oyo State, Comrade Bayo Titilola-Sodo and his wife were honoured with the traditional title of Mayegun and Yeye Mayegun of Igboholand.

    Ona Onibode, who described his ascension to the throne of his forefathers as divine, said during the selection process, out of the 11 votes cast, he polled nine while the person that emerged second polled two votes.

    While preaching continued peace in the town, the monarch said he was happy with the peace the town has been enjoying since he ascended the throne.

    According to him, it was the first time the people of the town would be coming together to celebrate their king.

    Praising the Ona Onibode for building a palace befitting a traditional ruler of his status with his private money, the Alaafin noted that things had changed in the town and there is peace.

    “You have to support him. The palace is not for him only but will be left for those coming after him,” he said.

  • It’s hard to admit that I’m 53 —Yeni Kuti

    It’s hard to admit that I’m 53 —Yeni Kuti

    Yeni, the gorgeous daughter of the iconoclastic Afrobeat musician, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, recently clocked 53. The occasion witnessed a milder celebration than the one that took place when she turned 50. PAUL UKPABIO met her cozy home on the outskirts of Lagos, and the popular dancer spoke about life as Fela’s daughter, her spinster status and her love of dogs. She also went down memory lane to recall the invasion of her late father’s home by heavily armed soldiers in the 1970s; an incident in which Fela’s aged mother, Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti was seriously injured after the invading soldiers allegedly threw her down from the upper floor of a storey building. Excerpts:

    HOW does it feel to clock 53? In a way, I feel different. Because once you reach my present age, people give you the kind of respect they would not give you while you were in your 40s. Now they don’t look at me as another omoge (young lady) or something like that. They see me now as someone above 50 years. I prefer being over 50 to get that respect.

    What was your impression of people who were more than 50 years old when you were much younger?

    I used to see them as old people (laughs).

    Would you consider yourself an old woman now?

    I remember an incident a few years back when I was to travel and had to fill the immigration form. I was already 50 then. Afterwards, I said to myself: ‘So, you are 50? Wow!’ It is okay when you are 50, but when you actually have to write it, it becomes a different ball game. Then when you are 53, like I am today, you look and say the person is old. That must be how our kids look at me now. My daughter says when you are old, you are old. But I tell her, ‘Will you shut up?!’ I now know how my parents felt when we called them old at over 50. But I guess old is old. Surprisingly though, I am still doing some of the things I used to do when I was much younger. For instance, I still dance professionally.

    How is your body now?

    My body talks to me every day. The other day I was training the girls and I was doing the dance routines and realised that I was panting. I told myself that yeah, this is old age. Even when I try to do exercise, my body pains me for like three days. So, the body talks to me.

    Does that mean you no longer dance on stage?

    Not on stage anymore. I just train the girls and do choreography, though I danced on stage some months back when one of the dancers did not come. So, I danced the whole routine. I felt good after because it was as if I had shed some weight. That is one good thing about dance; it keeps you trim.

    Do you still control your weight?

    Yes, I try to control my weight. But since I turned 50, I’ve done a bad job of taking care of my weight. I turned 50 and just let it go. But weeks before I turned 50, I trimmed down because I wanted to be an omoge at my 50th birthday celebration. But after the celebration, I slowed down. Three weeks after the milestone event, I started exercising again. Since then, pressure upon pressure has affected the size of my body from time to time. I know that I have to always put my shape and size in top form. I lose weight when I need to. Right now, I’m not fat.

    You are the woman at the centre of everything at the Shrine. How have you managed to keep it going?

    I’ve done so with the help of my staff. I can’t say it has been easy, but I don’t believe that our Creator would put anything on our table when we are not able to deal with it. Right now, we are dealing with it. Yesterday, I had a meeting with my staff till late in the night. We are always having meetings to deliberate and re-strategise on some things that disturb us at the shrine from time to time.

    What are the challenges that you face managing the shrine?

    One of the challenges is the boys outside the shrine. We can’t seem to get rid of them no matter the amount of grammar we speak. When we first moved there, there were so many empty plots and a lot of the boys stayed on the empty plots. But now, the owners have claimed their lands and are now building. So the boys have moved out to converge in front of the shrine and it is so difficult to move them and people are complaining about them. The boys, on the other hand, feel it is their birthright because Fela was a man of the people and this is Fela’s shrine. So, one is trying not to make enemies with them. So, that is one of the difficult challenges we now face.

    Are you afraid that it may turn out to be another Pebble Street affair, which occurred while Fela was alive?

    We will never allow it. For instance, we don’t allow shops outside the shrine. If you allow it outside your property, it’s your business. But again, more people are building, so they will soon be driving them and I don’t know where they will go then.

    Inside the shrine, it is written that drugs are not allowed. How are you able to checkmate drugs?

    It’s very difficult, but we do.

    The music at the shrine is very interesting and comes with a lot of energy expressed in gyration. It is so with the kind of music Fela played and Femi now plays. What has drug got to do with music?

    I really don’t know. I suppose that a lot of artistes who take drugs do so for inspiration. But I don’t know because I don’t compose. It can also be because musicians have hard times. For instance, they are on the road for months on end while on tour or shows. Maybe it is an outlet for them to just smoke. You would find that a lot of artistes take one drug or the other. When it is soft, like igbo (marijuana), it is not that bad, unlike when they are into cocaine or heroin. Those ones kill a lot of them! They think it makes them to relax, but they get addicted to it. Which I think is very sad.

    Are you saying that consumption of marijuana is not alien to African culture?

    You know our land is very rich. Anything can grow here. Even English apple, which people thought could not grow in Nigeria, grows here and other parts of Africa. I don’t know if it is an African thing; I just know that our soil is very rich. Government should pay attention to our vegetation; not concentrate on oil alone because oil profits their pocket. Let them encourage the planting of food across the country.

    Having said that, maybe that is why we have marijuana farms everywhere, because it is profitable for the people that are doing it. Since I don’t own a marijuana farm, I don’t know about the profit and I don’t ever intend to do that.

    So why do fans take drugs more than the musicians whose songs they enjoy?

    I think that is an assumption. I don’t think it is a correct assumption too. I know a lot of people who come in to listen to Femi play, who do not even drink beer and have never taken a joint (wrap of Indian hemp) before. I know a particular guy who comes every Sunday, who I have never seen with a bottle of beer. So, that assumption boxes everybody together, and that is wrong. Femi performs and he doesn’t smoke or drink. It is about individual’s taste.

    Let’s talk about your childhood…

    My childhood has helped me because we didn’t grow up as silver spoon kids like a lot of people think. Fela did not spoil us with money. I had friends who were spoilt with money. Even to get school fees from my father was war, not to talk of enjoyment money. But that taught us to appreciate what you have. It has helped me a lot because when my friends were going to London, my father said to us, ‘London for what?’ So, he didn’t let us go. We were here. It taught us to appreciate more.

    I used to wash my own clothes. What they didn’t allow us to do was to iron our clothes. We did all those things without house helps and that helped me a lot to become who I am today. That helped my brother too because he grew up the hard way. My mom is from the Taylor family. They are Lagos people.

    Did your mum spoil you?

    My mum?!

    Some people say you are tough. Did that come from the kind of childhood you had?

    I don’t know. It is the people who don’t know me that say I am tough. Those who know me say that I am just too soft. It is easier to get to me than my siblings. If Femi says no, it is no. But my compassion is much. I don’t even know where I got the title Iron Lady from, because I am not an iron lady.

    Is it then because of your soft nature that you are the one that manages or oversees the family business?

    I think it was just a natural progression. I don’t think I was allowed; it came naturally perhaps because I am the oldest in the family. I don’t know how it came about. That is why I said earlier that God would not give you what you cannot handle.

    Did your parents see that relationship qualities in you?

    I don’t know. And did I even see that in myself? I don’t know. I just do what I have to do. There are even things that I do not because I like to do them, but I have to do them whether I like it or not.

    In a family with name, talent and some people you don’t even know but tell you they belong to your family, how easy has it been to carry everybody along?

    It hasn’t been easy, but we have managed. We have learnt to adapt to the situation.

    What gives you the stay power when you are under pressure?

    The determination to succeed gives me the stay power. I hate to fail. I know that as a human being I say, ‘hey, the wahala is too much.’ But when I get to that point, I tune off, rejuvenate myself and move on again.

    How did you come about being a dancer?

    I’ve always wanted to dance from the time I was 5. When Fela’s dancer was dancing, we were there learning from her. She used to teach my sister and I. We loved the way she danced. In secondary school, I was in the cultural troupe. I wanted to go to an advanced dancing school then, but my father couldn’t afford it. They had burnt his house by then. So what I did was to do a secretarial course, worked as a secretary for a while, and when Femi said he was ready to start his band, I ditched my job. The rest is history.

    Tell us briefly what life has been as a dancer…

    I enjoy dancing, so it has been a pleasure to dance. It was fantastic going all over the world. Places I would never have gone to.

    Would you say you were too young when the Kalakuta incident occurred? Did you understand what was going on?

    I was not too young; I was about 16. We had gone to school. We were not living with Fela, but Sola’s school was on that path. So we used to stop over there since she had to pass through there to get to her school. Femi and Sola rushed home from school that day and woke up my mum. It was in the afternoon and she was having her siesta. They chorused that there were many soldiers in front of Fela’s house. My mum thought it was like one of those other times, when they came home like that and said the same thing, and they would go round looking for where the soldiers had carried him to. But this time around, Femi and my sister said that the soldiers did not allow them to enter the place. We tried to get to Kalakuta. It was about 2 pm.

    In those days, school closed at a reasonable time: 1.30pm and not 3pm when the brain is tired. On the road, the traffic was bad, so we went back home. Femi was outside playing when some boys were passing and said to him, ‘You are here playing, your father’s house is burning!’ So, Femi rushed in and told my mum and my uncle. His message was taken literarily as we do in Nigeria whenever there is trouble. We didn’t know that it was real fire.

    The traffic was heavy but we didn’t know that it was the fire in Kalakuta that was causing the heavy traffic. This was about 5 pm. We finally got there at 8 pm. When we got there, my mum started screaming. We couldn’t drive down there totally. We walked and people had their hands over their heads. It was my mum that told us to crouch on the floor because we thought they were looking for the Kutis. My mum was shouting that they had killed them. It was a really emotional day for us all.

    We didn’t find Fela until three days later. He was in a military hospital. It was really sad. So I remember very well. It was 1977.

    Was he able to make a comeback after ‘government’ destroyed Kalakuta?

    He lost everything. Fela was a very resilient man. He told me about his dreams while he was in jail that when he got back, everything would still be there. But in reality, everything was gone. He didn’t have anywhere to stay and he had about 70 people to take care of. He had one hotel that he had been using for his girlfriends. The owner allowed him to stay there. What happened was that because he was spending so much money on hotels, he eventually ran out of cash. And he had some aides who were duping him. He lost virtually everything. He started from the beginning again. He never got back to that state financially but, at least, he was able to survive.

    How was Fela’s relationship with your mum?

    My mum loved him very much, but Fela had plenty of women. My mum accepted his women. She loved him. Towards the end, she gave him a gap. My mum never divorced him but gave him a wide gap because of his wahala. I guess towards the end of his life, he realised how so much she loved him, because each time we went to greet him, he used to send to her rolls of Marlborough cigarettes, peppermint and trebor. My mom loved these things, and when we brought them to her, she used to exclaim, ‘Wow!’ That was the extent of their relationship at that time.

    What do you miss about Fela?

    A lot of things, particularly the gists. I miss him. He was my father. But I’m also an old woman now; I’m 53, so I have to forge ahead.

    What can you say about Femi’s career?

    I think it is a misconception for people to say I play a big role in Femi’s career, because Femi is in charge of his career. I can help out where I can, that is, in the dancing and also act as an intermediary in booking him for a show. But that’s about that. He is a strong man. He always knows what he wants. I’m just an assistant.

    What does the Afrikan Shrine mean to you?

    It is a legacy. It was built as a memorial to Fela. It is a continuation of a legacy our father left for us: a legacy for Africa.

    How different is the Shrine today from what it used to be in Fela’s days?

    I guess it is better managed. We try to make sure the toilets are always clean and drinks are cold. Fela was playing, so he could not manage as well.

    Apart from dance and music, what other passions do you have?

    I co-host a TV show, which I enjoy doing.

    Will you ever marry again?

    Not too sure. I am happy the way I am.

  • How I survived two attempts on my life —Alaba Lawson

    How I survived two attempts on my life —Alaba Lawson

    Iyalode Alaba Lawson is a woman of many parts. She is an educationist, a business woman and at present, the Chairman, Governing Council of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY). In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, she recalls how assassins twice attempted to take her life, the crisis concerning her Iyalode title and how it was resolved, as well as her current relationship with a former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, with whom she fell out while the former held sway as governor. Excerpts

    WHAT was your growing up like? I had a Christian-like upbringing. My father was a no-nonsense man. With my mother, you must do all the chores in the house before you leave for school. One thing I would also want to say about my parents, which you can see in me, is that they always put others first. All these helped us to make sure that our environment was well taken care of and other people’s interests came before ours. My upbringing with my parents was a very strict one and I am enjoying it today. I was never a rebel to my parents. I have been a blessing to them all the way.

    Would you say you are satisfied with the heights you have attained in life?

    I am contented with what I have. I always pray a lot for Jehovah to give me that guiding principle because we were taught at home when we were younger to pray as the first thing in the morning. After that, you take up your daily chores one by one. As I grew up gracefully, one thing I have enjoyed is that I allow each day to take its shape. In all the places I have been in my life, I always put the right people in the right place. I put the right peg in the right hole and we come together to discuss once in a month, because a tree never makes a forest. If there is any urgency, we call each other.

    Another hallmark of my life is honesty. It is an important aspect of my life, and it goes a long way. When we were younger, if we did anything wrong and owned up to it, we would be scolded but would be allowed to go scot free. But if you told a lie, my father would flog you mercilessly and for many days, you would be in pains. We have learnt to be honest, and that has kept the integrity in us to keep us going.

    How do you relax?

    I enjoy listening to Christian music, gardening and cooking. The other one is travelling to historical places of note. One I was enjoying in the 60s and the 70s was visiting the aged and listening to their old ideas, but I haven’t got time for that again. If I can still do it once in a month, I would adore it, because they have wisdom. Those elderly people have experiences that can lead you into another life.

    How do you feel to be appointed as the Chairman, Governing Council of MAPOLY?

    I feel very great to be the Chairman of this great institution.

    Do you think the government is doing its best in funding polytechnic education?

    They are trying, but they can do more. We don’t want to feel as if polytechnic education is inferior to university. One is technical-oriented while the other one is theory-based. The polytechnic is technical-oriented, and that is what we really need in Nigeria now that many graduates are unemployed.

    What are your objectives for the institution?

    My objectives are to ensure that we improve more on the standard of education, the welfare of the staff and as well as trying to make sure our students do not go into cultism. When I came in, we met with the council and the management of the institution, and one of the most important aspects of my objective was to make sure that students are well taken care of by having their lecture rooms well structured to suit their purposes. I also canvassed the same thing for the students’ hostels in order to make them feel at home. I also picked interest in the welfare of the staff, because it is the welfare of the staff that can make them to work efficiently and make it possible for the goals and objectives to be achieved.

    We are going to transform the institution into a university of technology. We are going to do that by the special grace of God and the cooperation of the government, especially now that we have a governor who is an old student of the institution in power. We are going to transform it and make the graduates employers of labour instead of looking for white collar jobs after their graduation.

    You appear to have a soft heart for the development of children. Where would you say you got this from?

    This is something that God must have endowed me with. Every person is endowed. I have passion for the younger ones. If you can look after the younger ones properly, the future of this great country will be well positioned, because the young shall grow. When you are able to guide them in the right way, they would never depart from it. That is why it is better to train them from the tender age and make sure that they are well disciplined.

    For the young ones, what we usually do is to give them manners and good morals. By the time they now get into the tertiary institution, they will find it very difficult to go into cultism. They would find it very difficult to do anything that would not be good for the development of the country. I have passion for it, but it has been an endowment from Jehovah God.

    When the abduction of Chibok girls happened, someone like you must have been greatly disturbed. What was your feeling like?

    Of course, I am still disturbed. There are works that I have done with the government and so many groups. These are girls at puberty age. They have emotions and should never have been taken into captivity for any reason. That is a very wrong signal, because these are children who still need everyday monitoring by their parents, especially the mothers. Most of them at this puberty age need counselling. I have been deeply touched and each day, we have continued to pray for them. We have constituted ourselves into prayer groups and will continue to pray.

    What is your take on the lingering ASUP strike?

    Well it is very unfortunate that we keep having strike after strike. I don’t believe in strike because it is something we can discuss on the table. Most of the striking lecturers I believe need to have a change of heart, because we are dealing with the future of this great country. We have a situation where students who are supposed to spend three or four years end up spending eight years. It is unacceptable. I think we should all sit down and iron it out properly. Those in government and the lecturers need to put an end to this incessant strike. I think some of them have hidden agenda. I think it is unacceptable because it is drawing this great country backward.

    Before, when our students travelled abroad, they used to place them on higher levels. Now, even if you have a first class, they will still demote you so that you spend another two years to reach the level of that country. Why are we embarking on strike when what we are asking for is still going to be given to us? And those who are supposed to give what is being asked for, what are they waiting for? It takes two to tango. They need to resolve the problem and put an end to all these strikes. I don’t like it and I don’t believe in it.

    Don’t you think that the demands of the lecturers are justifiable?

    Excuse me! I don’t want to know what they are demanding. They are really playing with the future of the youths of this country. What they are asking for is something that they can talk over, because whether you like it or not, all these strikes have really affected the lives of some youths and have derailed many. It is not all the children that went home when this strike started that would go back to school. I can tell you that. Whatever made them to embark on strike, for me, is not worth the lives of these young ones that they are toying with.

    MAPOLY has been in session all along. Does it mean that the lecturers are not members of ASUP?

    We are part of it. When I came on board, I made them to understand that we would give them all their outstanding packages; which we have done. Therefore, there is no need for them to go on strike. We are part of ASUP but we are working. Before we gave them the package, the council met and we told them we would look into it and we gave them our words. We have put our words into practice and have given them the package and we have to work. We have even told them we have to work more than before.

    For us, any demand by ASUP has been met. We have resolved it and that is exactly why I want the other polytechnics to make sure that the welfare packages of their staff are given to them. There is no point allowing them to go on strike. As a way forward, I want ASUP and those in government to put their heads together and resolve the problem.

    There was a time you wanted to float a vocational university. Is the plan still on or you have jettisoned it?

    How can we jettison it? This is going to help our students. When you get vocational training, it will make you an employer of labour, because what you have learnt will help you to start your own business. As time goes on, you will not be able to do it all alone; you will begin to employ some other people. It will help you to make money on your own and stop looking for white collar jobs from office to office.

    Once upon a time, the white collar jobs were there. When I left school, I had eight good jobs to myself. But now there are no more jobs. If going to study Accountancy, Law, Medicine, and so on was the way then, let us now change to vocational training and education so that we can now change the orientation of looking for white collar jobs.

    What would you say are your achievements so far in MAPOLY?

    We have tried, because with Jehovah God, all things are possible. I have told you about the welfare package of our staff, we have brand new buses for our students, renovation of old lecture theatres and construction of new ones for our students, fencing the school to ensure the security of lives and property and avoid encroachment on our land. We have a petrol station we are proposing to take off very soon. We have new ambulance for our health centre and the renovation of our auditorium. All these put together tell you that we are working. I believe in quiet achievement. We are also thinking of halls of residence for our male and female students.

    As a woman occupying top positions in many organisations, what is your relationship with the men who work with you, because women leaders are generally regarded as bossy?

    It depends on your upbringing and home training. I was trained to be polite. Like you rightly said, I am in the Chambers of Commerce and where we have about 20 men sitting down, sometimes, I am the only woman and I don’t feel bad. I just see it as a challenge that I must rise and live up to expectation. That doesn’t mean I should shout or become bossy. We can always work as a team.

    It is the team work that is making MAPOLY to work. And I thank God for the kind of rector that we have. He is a very experienced professor. Working with him and his management team, we can move MAPOLY to greater heights.

    As a frontline business woman, what challenges do you think confront women entrepreneurs?

    By the special grace of God, come 2017, I will be the first female national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Maritime and Agriculture. Chambers of Commerce came into Nigeria in 1898 and NACCIMA came into being in 1960. So, for one to become the first female president, it must have taken some challenges. I have passion for women and I got it from my maternal grandmother. She really took care of us. The challenges indeed are about finance and how they can breakthrough where you have the male dominating.

    The only way women can do it is by networking, and we have been able to do this very well. We meet policy makers and we lure them to let them know that women must be well taken care of. We also use advocacy and it is helping them a lot. So many of our women now are into export business. We work together with the Export Promotion Council. We just came back from Gambia, networking globally. Next year, we would be in Burundi. When we were in the Gambia, our people who were doing adire and those who were into recycling got MOUs and are supplying them now. That is the result of networking, and you can see the result in our women. We also hold seminars and workshops to enlighten them and they progress from there.

    Why are you called Iya Gomina (the governor’s mother)

    I have known Governor Ibikunle Amosun for more than 30 years, and I have known the honesty in him and his fear of God as a religious man. Since I have known him, I have known him to be fasting 24/7. We don’t appreciate something in anybody until another person realises it. I have taken interest in him, his wife and their children since then. When you see their children, they are well trained. I know this because I have lived with them for four years. You will see a high level of respect in the children. You can never see any act of hooliganism in them. All these attract me to the family.

    A few years back, for being what I am, never calling black white, I was made to go into self-exile. With all the things that culminated in my coming back, people now say Iyalode is Iya Gomina. My answer to them is yes. Because if it is during Governor Amosun’s era I feel secured enough to come back to the town where I was born and bred, then I am Iya Gomina. I will continue to pray for the goodness of this state and for the progress of everything there in. I came back during his tenure back in 2000.

    Why did you go on exile?

    I went on self-exile because my life was being threatened.

    Who were the people threatening your life?

    I would never know, but they know themselves. My house was invaded twice and they tried their possible best to come into my house. They even slaughtered my guard. I still have the picture. Thank God, I am alive today. The first time they came in, my dog chased them out. The second time they came in, they had already planted somebody in my house who caged all my dogs and even covered them up. The dogs could not even bark. The four Alsatian dogs could not bark because they knew the man that was planted in my house. What else did I need to wait for? If I had lost my life, I wouldn’t be talking to you today. So, I ran for my dear life. I can admit that it was a self-exile. But if you run away, you are coming to fight another good fight another day.

    You never planned to travel out of the country at that point in time. What were you doing while you were on self-exile?

    I was in Nigeria. I only moved away from Ogun Sate where my life was being hunted for. David in the Bible ran away to save his dear life. I also did the same to save my life.

    What lessons would you say that life has taught you?

    Life has taught me that at any point in time when you feel you are insecure, you should take the back seat. That is something that I have learnt and it has helped me a lot. But if you can keep your head when all are about you and losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when men doubt you but make allowance for their doubting, if you can wait and not be tired of waiting or being lied about or being hated, don’t give in to it and don’t look too good on top of it. Don’t let your integrity slip away even in the midst of any challenge. That is something I have learnt and it has helped me to the point I am today.

    You have been mentioning Jehovah since the beginning of this interview. As the Iyalode of Egba and Yorubaland, the popular belief is that you must be fetish…

    When I was to be installed the Iyalode in 1999, by the late kabiyesi, Oba Oyebade Lipede, the then Alake of Egbaland, I told him that I didn’t want any fetish thing and he agreed with me. You heard me mention Jehovah here because I was born into an African Church family but my parents joined Jehovah Witnesses along the line. You can see that all that I have been doing in my life has been guided by the biblical principles, if you know what the Jehovah Witness sect stands for. I also went to an Anglican school and was trained by people of high moral standards. You can see that I am into all of African church, Jehovah Witness and Anglican.

    On January 15, 2008, you were deposed as the Iyalode of Egbaland. How did that come to you?

    It had no effect on me because I did not get any letter to that effect. I only heard it on the radio. What you did not give to anybody, you cannot remove from him or her. If they had written to me, I would have taken it up legally. But for something that was just being mentioned on the radio and in the newspapers, it had no effect on me at all. Anybody can say anything, but as you can see, I am now back as the Iyalode of Egbaland without any written letter, because I was never removed. Those that were doing that were doing so for their personal gains. As the Iyalode of Yoruband, the truth has prevailed, because time will always tell.

    Some people are how you could be the Iyalode of Egbaland and that of Yorubaland. Some even say the Alaafin does not even have the power to make you the Iyalode of Yorubaland. What is your take on this?

    If anybody feels that the Alaafin has no right to do so, let them query him. He has said it over a thousand times that he has the power to install anybody with the titles in Yorubaland. He has done it for Afe Babalola. He has done it for the late Aare Arisekola Alao. He has installed so many in the Yorubaland. He has the power and the authority. And I am saying it categorically that HRM Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo kingdom, has the right to install anybody. I got the Iyalode of Yorubaland on my own merit. Everywhere I have gone with him, he always asks anybody to challenge his authority on the titles he has given out as Iyalode Yorubaland, Baamofin of Yorubaland, Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland or anyone of Yorubaland.

    Back to your question on being Iyalode of Egbaland and Iyalode of Yorubaland, the first Iyalode title I took was in 1990: the Iyalode of Ake Christians. Then I got the Iyalode of Egbaland in 1999 and then Iyalode of Yorubaland. It is in stages. As we moved from one stage to another, Yorubaland captured more territories. Egbaland was one of the territories captured from Yorubaland, whereas, Ake is one of the territories conquered by Egbaland. You can see how it happened. Always do things as the Lord has made it possible. Yorubaland, Egbaland and Ake are within a territory of which a woman and a girl herself knows that she is doing her job judiciously.

    What are your regrets in life?

    I have no regrets in my life. I am a positive-minded person. I don’t believe there is any mountain that is insurmountable in my life. I don’t have any moment of regret because I believe that Jehovah will give you the right instinct and you will do it. I don’t have any regret in my life and I will never have one.

    What is your relationship now with former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel?

    We are very cordial. We met at Sport Club recently and we accorded each other respect. I am at peace with him. We have a very cordial relationship.

    But it was during his tenure that your house was invaded. Don’t you have mistrust for him?

    I don’t think so. He will never hurt me and I don’t think he will hurt me.

  • TUNJI OYEBANJI: My word is my bond

    TUNJI OYEBANJI: My word is my bond

    Tunji Oyebanji, Chairman/Chief Executive, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, has come a long way. He started off as a mere petrol attendant in Mobil, and now leads one of the most successful multinational companies operating in Nigeria. In this interview with IBRAHIM APEKHADE YUSUF he shares his philosophy of management, among other views. Excerpts:  

    Tarting off at Mobil

    I started working with Mobil Producing close to 34 years ago. Interestingly, I worked as a petrol station attendant on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi. I started my training there for six months, selling petrol among other things that I did. So, I actually started by selling petrol at the pump. That was the basic training that I received and of course, from then I have done many other things.

    The first assignment after the training was to sell kerosene. You may have seen kerosene sold in small trucks of say 8, 000 litre trucks. I used to have a driver and myself and we will drive into the hinterland and sell kerosene to people in 200 litre drums. And basically, that was the job I did for about two years.

    One of the lessons, of course, we learnt is the fact you should never despise days of small beginnings.

    Everybody starts small somewhere and if you have a vision of where you want to go, the sky is just the beginning, as I always like to say. So, I progressed from selling kerosene to become what I will call a proper marketing rep.

    At that point, I graduated to having my own Peugeot 504 car. I had a sales territory. We started on like that and I moved to various other assignments.

    At some point, I decided to take time off work to take a masters degree in the UK. So, I did that for a year and half and I came back to the same job.

    First breakthrough on the job

    The first breakthrough I had in my career, I think came from networking. I recalled we had a group of visitors who came from the United States. And basically, like I said, I came back to my old job after my masters degree and I felt I needed to move from the department where I was working. So, these visitors came and as is our usual practice, we took them on tour of our retail outlets and luckily, I was in charge of the particular sales territory they visited.

    Normally, small people like me were not called to attend the dinner at the end of such visits. But in this particular occasion, I was very lucky my boss asked me to join the crew. And I told myself, well, this is a unique opportunity.

    So, naturally, what I spent the evening to do was to disturb the men who came from the United States. I was just moving around and saying, well, in your own country, if you go and take a masters degree, will you still be working in this same department, shouldn’t you be moved into another department and all that? I pestered them a bit.

    Anyway, they left and about a week later, I got a call by the Corporate Planning Manager of Mobil, an American. Before you know what was happening, I had been moved to Corporate Planning.

    I progressed through that subsequently. I went to the United States for a couple of years, where I worked at the company’s global headquarters. When I came back to Nigeria, I was posted to the north as the Regional Manager for about three years. I came back to Lagos, took on some additional assignment.

    Eventually, I was called to the board in 2002. After that I had some assignments. For instance, I went to head the operations in Cameroon. I also went to head the operations in Ethiopia and later became African and Middle East Manager for industrial and whole belts. In 2007, I was called back to Nigeria and in 2008, I took on my current role as Chairman/Chief Executive.

    Experience managing a multinational company

    For many years I have to stand in front of the shareholders and give account of my stewardship. I know that if I don’t make a profit consistently over some years, the people will begin to throw chairs at me… (laughs). But the organisation can still continue to run even if it doesn’t make profits.

    But if it doesn’t have any cash and it cannot meet its obligations anymore that is the end. Then, it would have to close its doors because it cannot meet up to its creditors. Therefore, how you manage the cash is very key. No matter what the size of your organisation is, whether it’s a big or small organisation, multibillion naira company and what have you, if you don’t manage your cash well, between what is coming in and what is going out, you’re in trouble. And the key element of managing that cash is how you manage credit.

    I have had to speak with small business owners, especially people who are into buying and selling and the complaints they always give is that people often defaults when it comes to making payment and as a result they run into serious problems and they are not able to withstand the shock simply because they have given all their products out on credit.

    The question I usually ask is, what is your policy on credit and they say if we don’t give credit, we won’t be able to sell. Well, to me, it’s a yes and a no. No because you can still sell without giving credit. The difference is yes, you may not be able to sell as much as possible.

    But the fundamental rule in marketing is that if you have not collected money, the sale is not complete.

    In downstream sector, our retail margin today which is fixed by the government is N4.60 kobo. If you sell a truck of PMS, which is about 40, 000 litres, the cost of that is close to N4million. So, the profit you ought to make per litre is N4.60kobo. Assuming you sell that truck close to N4million to somebody and the person doesn’t pay and goes away with that money, how many litres do you have to sell at N4.60kobo to make up for that one truck?

    If you do the maths, it’s about 21 other trucks to make up for what you have lost, if you don’t manage your credit process very well.

    One of the reasons for the demise of many institutions, especially government institutions in the past such as Nigeria Motels, Nigeria Airways, Nigeria National Shipping Lines and many more had one weakness: all these institutions, to a large extent, collapsed because of the fact that they had offered credit to various other institutions without collecting their money back. So, to succeed in any management endeavour, always know when to apply the breaks.

    Management style

    Well, l think if l was to talk about my management style, l’ll say l have an open management style. I believe in taking feedback, getting people involved because l believe everybody has some value they can add to the system. You get better ideas from the people who are actually doing the work; they give you better ideas sometimes than what you have.

    I know that as a person because l started from the grassroots. I know a lot of the fundamentals that drive the business. So, l’m able to know those areas l should focus on.

    Another thing is that as the boss; make sure your word is your bond. So, if you promise something whether internally within your organisation or externally, make sure you meet up to it. That way you build a reputation over time as a performer.

    On micromanaging

    No l don’t. What l do is set boundaries for people within which they should operate. So, within those boundaries you’re at liberty to achieve the goals and objectives in whichever way you deem fit.

    So as long as you operate within those boundaries l set for you, you’re free. For instance, if you have a particular budget, you have to be able to operate within that budget.

    But how you go about it is entirely left to you.

    On staff motivation and punishment

    I think l motivate people by challenging them, expecting more from them than they think they can deliver. Sometimes until they’re pushed and challenged, they don’t know they actually have the ability to do much more than what they do. But when you show them that this thing is possible and challenge them to go and do it, you find that many people rise up to the occasion and perform.

    Well, for punishment, it’s always the last resort. I don’t like talking about punishment per se. But at the end of the day, what l try to do is to make sure that l put people in a situation where they themselves will know that they have not performed or delivered on their given targets. So it makes it easy.

    The fact that they have found out that they have even disappointed themselves is sometimes enough punishment for them.

    Worst or toughest decision as CEO

    Well for me, there is no perfect or worst decision. I think what is important is that you always strive for the best. Not doing anything at all is always worst.

    For me, you can’t always get every decision right. It’s not possible that 100 per cent of your decisions would be right. Some would be good and some would be bad.

    But you’ve got to take action rather than sit on the fence because if you have problems you face them squarely rather than wish and hope they will disappear and go away. So what l have found out is that you must try to take decisions whether they work out or not

    And l’ll be honest to say, sorry this or that didn’t work, so we need to try a different approach.

    Legacy

    Well, l want to build a stronger company than l met. You know we have existed for over  100 years. So, l want to build a company that can have the basis of existing for another 100 years. We’re looking constantly into the future, making sure that we bring new, fresh blood into our organisation, making sure that we train people, so that if we put adequate investment in place the company can continue to remain strong into the future.

  • My travails for three and a half years over child trafficking allegation —Bisket

    My travails for three and a half years over child trafficking allegation —Bisket

    Bisi Dan Musa, a.k.a. Bisket, bestrode the social scene like a colossus in the 80s, 90s and early 2000. Now 66, her life is one that movie makers can make a fortune from. As a fabric merchant, she was already comfortable enough to build her own house at 24. And by the time she clocked 30, she was already a mother of eight children. Tall, graceful and endowed with benevolent disposition, it is no surprise that celebrities were always flocking around her. As a matter of fact, her business office, called Bisket Store, on Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, was always a beehive of activities. It was the first to run a 24-hour schedule. She later became a born-again Christian and before any of her top society friends knew it, she had become seriously involved in ministry work. She founded a church and intensified her work in humanitarian services, picking up orphans and destitute and rehabilitating them. It was a success story that turned into a nightmare when she was arrested for alleged child trafficking in 2001. It was one incident that shook her life to its very foundation and forced her into a quiet life when she got over the storm that lasted for three and a half years. She went down memory lane as she discussed these and more with PAUL UKPABIO

    IT is not unusual to hear that you are in Jerusalem, Rome or some other holy cities on pilgrimage. How does one reconcile this with the fact that you were once accused of child trafficking?

    I believe that in the journey of life, God will always take you through different phases. The Bible tells us that there was a time in Joseph’s life that God gave him a vision, the vision backfired and he went solo like I did. But that did not deny God’s promises upon his life and the vision was made manifest. When God wanted him to go solo, he went solo. When God wanted him as a slave, he became one. When God wanted him in prison, he was in prison. But the promise of God upon him, he never missed. And those channels of suffering became the channels through which God elevated him.

    A vision is like a divine promise. Before something can materialise in your life, you and God must share a vision together. He will first give you a vision; not necessarily in a dream. It may be an idea in your heart. It may be something that you visualise that is coming to you and you are excited about it.

    You went into fabric business early in life and made great fortune from it. How did you get involved with the poor and the destitute?

    I did not go into fabric business, I was born into it. I am always a dreamer. I diversified into supermarket line and I happened to be the first to run a 24-hour supermarket in Nigeria. Up till now, nobody has achieved that feat. I did the business when Nigeria was tensed up during the military era. There were guns everywhere and I did a 24-hour supermarket business because God gave me the inspiration to do it. And anything I have an inspiration to do, I go for it and I achieve it.

    God also gave me an inspiration to serve him. Up till now, people cannot understand the calling. Not even my family members, my children, my husband, my late mother and other people who are close to me. None of them could understand why somebody at the highest level of her career would suddenly divert into taking care of the ordinary people on the streets. They believe that most people who divert into such callings do so out of frustration or career breakdown. But I was still in limelight and at my prime, because at the time I answered the call, I was still in my 30s.

    I did so many things very fast in life. Even my tenants thought that my building belonged to my mother. I had been delivered of eight children before I reached 30. Some preferred to believe the rumour that I had no children. In between all that, I was still working, travelling overseas and importing goods in containers. I was fine and I already had five branches of the supermarket. At 20, I was doing all that. I was never a wayward woman. No man in Nigeria can stand up today and say he invested in me. No man can say he has gone out with me, and no governor or minister can say he helped me or gave me a contract. I have never gone out for such largesse in my life. It was my sweat and the benevolence of my husband.

    As a wealthy woman, what is your take on success and wealth?

    My children are in their late 30s and above now. They tell me that I am a genius. They compare me to Bill Gates. They and others who know me would tell you that money is not my priority. If I were to value money, I would be one of the richest women in Nigeria today. I see many opportunities I can make money from, but I don’t go for it. Rather, I give out to people. Many whose lives I have touched are living witnesses to my generosity. I am rather careless with money. I give out more money than I make. That is why I say I don’t value money the way other people see it as a matter of life and death. Some people are so eager to achieve and do not care if they hurt anybody in their shrewd desire to make money. People hurt me. Even those that I have helped hurt me, but I just look at them and laugh. They don’t even know how to say thank you.

    Money is nothing in this world. It is only those who God has given the vision that understand the power of the source. They are the ones who know the value of life and also know that money is not everything. Money is good. I pray for it every day. I pray for my generation not to taste poverty. But one thing I used to tell my kids any time they feel bad and say, “Ah, Mummy, you are nice to a fault,’ is that life and power are transient. Everything that has a beginning also has an end. Nothing is too big to gain and nothing is too big to lose.

    I was in the office of an influential government official who is close to retirement. He was telling me that all he needed in his life was N3 million so that he could retire to his farm. I looked at him and I felt like weeping, because I know what that means. Some months ago, I gave someone a property worth N8 million free of charge. My children were angry, but I pacified them that God has favoured us and we have never lacked. I told my children that the ones they needed, I had already given them.

    Tell us about your background

    I was born into affluence. My dad and mum were very rich. My father, Chief Zacheaus Adekoya Okeowo, brought power to Ijebu-Ode. He owned the first petrol station in Ijebu Ode, and at a time, he was one of the finest politicians in the progressive politics of that era. And my mother, Chief (Mrs.) Christiana Alaba Okeowo, was one of the pioneers of the fabric business in Nigeria. She started in Lagos and went up to have her own factory. She didn’t stop employing foreigners to work in her factory. So I grew up with silver spoon. I have never tasted poverty in my life. I don’t even know what they call poverty. My parents bought me my first car at the age of 16. So, I have never tasted poverty. Maybe that is why money is not a big deal to me. When I see people running after money like life and death and they are ready to hurt anybody because of money, I feel sorry for them. Even when they accused me of stealing children, I just laughed. The question I first asked is how much would I sell them? As an individual I built my first house at the age of 24. I know how much I get from rent alone. Up till now, I live on rent because I decided not to work again. I retired at the age of 40.

    What has life has taught you?

    There are some positions God put us in, though they make us unhappy or uncomfortable, they are part of the packages that will locate our destiny. I always tell my kids that I know I may have hurt you, you may not be happy with me as your mother, maybe I wasted opportunities in which you would have been swimming in money, but it could also be that I am preparing your future. You will enjoy it. I tell them to trust me that my seven generations will reap the fruits of what I am sowing. I may not reap it, but I pray that God will give my children the grace to reap it. That’s because He works according to His grace.

    If Jesus can die at the age of 33, who am I to query God for my own cross? Jesus’ short time on earth did not deprive Him of God’s promise upon his life. Today, He is worshipped and adored globally. Before Adolph Hitler died, he confessed that Jesus was the greatest and most popular entity in the world. Even Times magazine at a time adjudged Him the Greatest Personality of the Century. Even Muslims appreciate Him. They say He is not the son of God, but they still accept him as a prophet of God. I just came back from Jerusalem and I visited where Jesus was buried. It is Muslims that are watching over the place. And it is a mosque that is beside Jesus Christ’s burial ground. They said the land is owned by Muslims and the Muslims were very careful; they were watching us. They didn’t want us to damage the place or do anything evil to it. So, they hurry you out so that you don’t overstay your visit. They say they open the place in the morning and close it in the evening. They are very watchful of the place, so that nobody will come and bomb it or do any evil to it.

    So, if God can glorify Christ up to that level and Christ promised us as His followers that ‘when you take my step, I will never owe you,’ I say that God will not owe me. It may take time for people to realise who this woman is, but God will never owe me.

    Do you regret helping abandoned children and destitute after you were accused of child trafficking?

    Thank God, one of the children they said I stole is in The Bells University today. We spend over a million naira on him in a year, but the papers are not reporting that, I don’t care. All I care about is what God asked me to do. That child (points to a sleeping baby) is a child to one of the children they said I stole. I am taking care of the mother and I am taking care of the child. Nobody is seeing that. They accused Jesus more than that. People fight what they don’t understand. My children too don’t understand, but I know with time, they will understand that I have a purpose on earth. I have a vision that I am pursuing. Nobody is seeing that vision, but I don’t care. It is not about money. God has given me a time to enjoy. I have enjoyed money. I have entered presidential jets many times. I have been to places in England where it was white people that opened the gates for me and white executives chauffeured me. So, God has given me my good times.

    Even now, I am still having my good time because at my age, I have no sickness: no diabetes, no high blood pressure, no headache, nothing. People see me and they cannot believe my age. Some people even see me and they say it to my face that all your friends are old, why are you looking young like this? It is the grace of God. Because what I have gone through, they have not gone through it. They have stayed in the limelight. They have enjoyed their lives. They are mixing with their likes while I have been mixing with the low class for the pass 20 years. I still enjoy being around them and I am not complaining. I don’t want to be in the limelight. But I do tell my children if you want the limelight, go for it.

    As a popular society figure then, a lot of people must have swam around you…

    From youth, I was happily married and started rearing children. I have never lacked anything. So, nothing prepared me for such a huge challenge. I was giving birth to children every year. Some people even said to me, pretty women like you don’t normally have kids, how come you are having children every year? God has been too kind to me. So, when the other side came, it was like a big blow. It knocked me on the floor that I couldn’t even pray. There was a time I was no longer praying. Since I gave my life to God, I have never done anything fetish and I will not do it until the day I die. But in that period of tribulation, I was just blank.

    It was not even the incident per se, but the way people disappointed me. It was something I never thought could happen. The first day they took me to court, I was thinking that I would see thousands of people waiting there to fight my cause and say, ‘No, Bisket is not like that!’ But I got there and saw only those who wanted to persecute me. The mob was shouting. They were carrying stones. I looked into the heavens and said God, I am not Jesus Christ. Jesus is your son, you both died together in heaven, but I am a child of faith. This woman is about to break to pieces. I was praying to God in my heart.

    That is why my husband, Dan Musa, no matter who they say he is, I can never leave him. My marriage to him may not be a bed of roses. People said I should leave him, but I will never because during my trying moments, he was there for me. God used him. He stood as a man to the last minute, and for that, I can never abandon him. He is with me and we will be together for life. That is my destiny. But the whole episode made me to see life from a different perspective and that really weakened me for a couple of years.

    So, how was the issue resolved?

    I pursued the case for three and a half years before I was discharged and acquitted. They could not prove any case against me because God knows that I don’t have any case, and I proved myself in the court of law. No policeman or law enforcement person can say that I bribed him with one naira, and the heavens witnessed that. I intentionally did it so that I can still trust God. If I had bought my way out, I might not trust God again. I wanted to see whether the righteous would be punished, because according to His word, the child of the righteous will never be a victim of misfortune. I wanted to establish that biblical fact.

    When I first came, the Magistrate was very hostile. But when I proved my case that I take the children with me to England, I take them on holidays, and how much will I sell them in Nigeria? Even if they say they are selling children every day in Nigeria for N500,000, the money I spent on their return ticket to London for holidays alone is more than that. So, any magistrate who knows her onions can see the proof, with their passports. The hospital they were attending was Eko Hospital. They were not going to General Hospital. And I told the magistrate to go there and check the records. There was another hospital we used on Norman Williams Street, Ikoyi. I said go and check. So, how much will I sell them? The magistrate became sympathetic. I read it in her. But she was hostile when the case started. They even begged her to give me a seat in the dock. But when she saw the reality of the case, she changed.

    Chief Rhodes insisted that I should go into trial, because they wanted to set the case aside. I have forgotten the term they used in law, but Chief Rhodes said if what I had told him was true, I had no case. He said I should not go for the easy way out because my enemies might bring the case back in 10 years’ time. He said, ‘Let them put you in the dock. If you have passed through this and you have not collapsed up till now, you can’t collapse again.’

    So, I went into the dock. By the time we finished the case, people were on my side. When I am testifying, people shed tears. By the time I was discharged and acquitted, the whole court was jubilating. People were clapping. If they didn’t believe in the discretion of the magistrate, they would have hissed or protested. But when they counted charge one, discharge and acquitted; charge two, discharge and acquitted up to charge 21, the whole court started clapping.

    People said you cried on TV

    That was because the children were not allowed to follow me. I couldn’t clap, so I was crying. That is why people who saw the television footage thought I didn’t win the case. They saw me crying on TV and thought I had been sent to jail. And you know after that case, I went into my shell. So, everybody thought I went into jail. They never knew that I was discharged and acquitted. But my joy was not completed because I said I am going home but these children are going into detention with no care and love. As a mother, what is my joy?

    It was three and a half years later, through the favour of God under Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, Barrister Opeyemi Bamidele, who was the Commissioner for Sport and Youth Development, assisted and the children were returned to me. May God continue to favour these two people. One of the children is at The Bells University. Others are in other higher institutions.

    We hear that you have a new passion caring for animals…

    That is funny, because I never grew up in the village. I grew up in the city. But I have the tendency to love not just animals but anything that has life. I don’t play with life. I don’t also believe that it is my doing. It is God that creates human beings and He will just create you the way He wants you to be. I always explain this to my kids that the fault you see in me is exactly how God created me. There was a time my daughter’s friend came from England into my house. She saw me spoon-feeding a kitten. She looked and went to tell my daughter that ‘your mother has a problem o. She is now spoon-feeding animals.’ I appreciate anything that has life. That is how God created me and that is who I am.

    And your beauty has stayed over the years. How do you do it?

    There is no secret to it. I relax. I don’t worship money. If one has stroke, that means wheel chair. You can’t enjoy that money again. God didn’t allow me to beg my enemies for food. That means I am a rich woman in the Lord. So, I always thank God.

    And how is life in retirement?

    My husband lives in Kwara State, and where a man stays is where his wife takes as her home. But I am somebody who cannot just stay permanently in Kwara because of my kids. They are in the stage where they need me most. So, I need to be around them even though they may be older. They are actually in their 40s, and late 30s, but a child, no matter how old, still needs the native wisdom of the mother. Moreover, many of them are just re-settling in Nigeria. They are just returning home from the UK and the US, and they don’t know much about Nigerian way of doing things. So, I make sure I shuttle between them and my husband.

    And thank God, I have a reasonable husband who is very accommodating and caring. I live in his house here in Lagos. Dan Musa gave me a whole house I live in here in Lagos. So, I shuttle between Kwara and Lagos. I live on rent. My husband has a rice plantation with a factory in Ilorin. It is such a huge agricultural investment. He produces all brands of rice. I also have a store in Ilorin because my family is into buying and selling.

    What advice do you have for young couples?

    I believe that no woman should break up her marriage, because I believe from experience that there is no perfect human being. Anybody God has given you, just take him as your destiny. Even when you change, you will not find perfection in your new partner. So why change? And the changes always affect the children. Like I always advise my kids, the love story you see on television is different from reality. Don’t believe it. Don’t even expect it! Marriage is a reality show, and reality means no perfection.

  • JASON NJOKU: ‘Every staff idea counts’

    JASON NJOKU: ‘Every staff idea counts’

    As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Jason Njoku, 33, is the co-founder of  iROKO Partners, an online media stream aiming at becoming the world’s largest distributor of African entertainment. The 2005 graduate of Chemistry from the University of Manchester, USA, told JOKE KUJENYA that since set-up over two years ago, the company is still working harder to build a global audience to reach more countries where it is yet to make a presence.

    Management style?

    I would say it is super in the sense that it is decentralised. We agree on key performance, sharing strategy in which we allow everyone to open up on what he or she is trying to do, how we are going to do it, then, determine which teams are going to figure out how what is going to get done. So, there is no kind of commander or controller or any hierarchy in which you would say there is one head of management. As you can see, we are very open, everyone can see everyone. And we keep communications cordial as much as possible.

    The visionary?

    The vision here, I would say, is not about one person. We share the vision amongst everybody a hundred percent. We spend a lot of time reinforcing our vision and we allow our staff to take initiatives on the vision as well. So, here it is not just “what Jason says” or “what Bastian Gotter says” or management. It is more about what each person thinks makes sense. We allow everyone to express themselves. And as you can see, it’s a two-and-a-half years old very young company. The team is on the first and the floor underneath. I am just in my early thirties, so, I’m not like a ‘dinosaur’ here. In fact, most of the people that work with me here are older.

    Staff motivation?

    We pay very well and we look after our staff. And we make this place safe, clean and healthy environment for the staff. In terms of motivation for their contributions, we make financial rewards available. As for individuals, we motivate them in the area of education, training, and we provide needed tools like internet connection available so they can equip themselves, not just at this company, but wherever they would be for the rest of their lives.

    Staff strength?

    Currently, we have about 110 staff in our offices here in Lagos, London, New York and Johannesburg, South Africa. We are currently looking at where we are to go next. But I think with our headquarters in Nigerians, our founding team are here, I guess I’m just like the ‘face’ in Nigeria. Bastian and I started the company together, really. And there were lots of helps from the beginning. Bastian actually spent the early years, whilst I was building, using his time helping me structure my ideas and providing that sound awareness around how to put the company together. Yes, he was partly with me for the first year, but every week, he would like 10 to 15 hours working through the business lines, profit and loss and setting strategies. I don’t think there has been any major decision made in this company from its founding day without my co-founder having a strong opinion observed. We’re a co-family all through.

    Tough decisions?

    Towards any process of making decisions, I think as a young company, to find your simple re-occurrence scalable revenue must be really very difficult. You know, to make a hundred thousand dollars a month is a very hard task. And we’ve passed that very long time ago. But to make the same amount a week, again, is even more difficult. Then, you have to bring getting a hundred thousand a week to how you can get same in a day, which is where you have the big scale issues. How can we build a company in a couple of years which is genuine even if you have that kind of opportunity? We are far away from being there. But we kind of believe that we stand a good chance. We have a great team, market opportunity, and a great team of investors who help to put us on the journey.

    Personal motivation?

    It’s like if you have a child, you want to see that child grow. You don’t want to think in terms of what that child would do to give you. You just think about this is my creation, this is an expression of my business personality, my team’s willingness to try and capture what should be like a massive kind of opportunity. We’re just two-and-a-half years like I said, but it’s been like we are 10 years old. We really start to look back and reflect and think on what we’ve been able to do and where we’ve reached. It’s very difficult for companies get beyond their fifth year, but we want to still be in the game and say, what more can we do.

    Kind of business?

    We bring people in to handle specific tasks that are kind of novel to Nigeria because it brings some sort of fresh creativity to help grow the economy so far. So, we get young and ambitious Nigerians who are very excited to be a part of this new wave of intelligence. And it’s really not a must that they be IT experts before we get them on board, like, I am not. So, it’s if you are young, smart, go-getting and willing to learn new things, you can basically do anything. Yes, we have traditionally technology savvy people that we are happy to be contributing to them. Each of them are doing amazing things as well as the wakanows of this section of the world.

    Corporate philosophy?

    The key thing for me is, you’ve got to be really smart. But if you are smart and not working really hard, you’ll end up nowhere. But if you are not that smart and you can still work really, really hard, you can actually end up quite successful. I’m very interested in honesty and integrity and hard work. You have to combine hard work with honesty. If you are working, work on the right things and if you are making mistakes and you are honest with that, you’ll be known for that. And with what I’ve seen in Nigeria so far, honesty in the workplace is super important.

    Media background?

    Yes. I’ve predominantly been a media guy. I started with offline BRASH magazines. I did that for three years. I also did online magazine. I’ve always been interested in the media. I’ve always tried to influence how people perceive the media and seek more efficient ways to bring media to the people. I think irokotv.com is just my personal evolution of how I view the media. It is the next step.

    How iROKOtv’ functions?

    What we need to think of here is, if you think about Africa Magic online, you have to place your subscription monthly. That’s the simplest way of explaining this. That gives you access to over 10,000 hours of Nigerian content at your own pleasure to enjoy. We have built a company which has most of our users or viewers in the west. We expect that would change over the next two years. And we have to position ourselves for that massive change. There are so many things we’re planning to do in the nearest future would help position us significantly more in our world. But the fear is, people want content and that’s very difficult to get in Nigeria, at least legally. We’re trying to create a platform which encourages and enables that. We do this as the largest buyers of Nollywood contents online because we believe it is a cultural phenomenon. Our focus is that something so popular must have a presence online. We buy the online licences of movies and music directly from producers and recording artists and stream them online to our global Diaspora audience. We’ve also assembled the world’s largest online library of great African content which has inadvertently made us West Africa’s top emergent Internet company. We promote African movies, music and messages as sent out by Africans to other Africans in different parts of the universe.

    Clienteles’ response?

    Pretty much from the international end, but mostly, they are those who have good internet facilities and are themselves, good with the internet. It is compulsory for those that would enjoy our services have great internet. We put ourselves in a situation where if you don’t have good internet, you will not have to access these contents. So, we are making ourselves as much as possible to prop up our Nollywood and we are doing everything possible to improve that situation.

    The profits?

    Honestly, we’re not making profits yet. We’re still investing and re-investing. And we’re still going to have a few years of investment before we would get near that goal of being profitable. We’re making a sort of tough choices today for a brighter future. We also try to be as cost effective as possible with our services. Basically, that’s where we are.

    Any plans on a TV stations?

    We’re not going into traditional TV setting. We feel that in time, viewers would come on line to get great quality image resolutions and content.

    Nigeria’s digital TV idea?

    For me, that’s ultimately a great concept. I think it’s really cool that Nigeria’s thinking of going digital. It’ll open up more channels to reach more people and give them fresh mixes and contents. A time is coming when where we are now will no longer be fashionable. I’m really excited about thinking of an opportunity to be a 110percent digital.

    Next five years?

    Yeah, we’re going to be here and bigger in business. I’m absolutely sure about that. It’s just like the same way 20, 30 years ago, when they placed TV on satellite, it was a new idea. Now, we’re starting something that will be more relevant beyond five years.

    Connectivity hassles?

    It’s tough. Infrastructure is very limited in Nigeria here. We would have thought it would improve ten years ago. GSMs weren’t even available. That was an impossible. But we’re quite hopeful that the connectivity will improve because there’s really been a lot of invested into this. We’re waiting for that day when connectivity will be much better than what it is at the moment. I have no doubt about seeing that happening.

  • Gorgeous geometric styles

    Gorgeous geometric styles

    Most of us, if not all, would agree that Mathematics is not one easy subject to pull through with as all the calculations keep our heads busy, and because of this, we try as much as possible to run away from it. But this one in connection with fashion would surely interest you.

    The geometric dress comprises of bold prints that combine shapes like circles, octagons, triangles and the like. The whole combination is lovely and a little tutorial will pave your way to rocking the trend like a chic. Here is how to go about it:

    Geometric prints can be very tricky as dresses with larger prints make your curves appear bigger, while those with smaller prints make you look taller and still show the sexiness in you.

    You can mix prints, but this requires skills. It’s easier when you dress your top or bottom part in geometric prints and pair them with plain dresses. Dressing in geometric trousers and a plain peplum top looks adorable.

    If you are the office kind of girl, pick a knee-length geometric dress or skirt and do not overaccessorise. A piece of jewellery is fine. Try not to make your outfit look boring by adding a pop of colour to your outfit. Colours like orange, red and yellow would make the outfit look brilliant.

    For formal events, geometric dresses can go with a nude clutch and pumps. Playing to-match with your clutch and shoe is allowed

    Opt for mild make-up which includes a smoky eye and bold lips.

    Still scared of wearing geometric prints? Your homework has been done.

  • Stella Oduah returns to base

    Stella Oduah returns to base

    Stella Oduah may have been eased out of power with her sack as the Aviation Minister by President Goodluck Jonathan, but she is far from bowing out. The woman, who had taken over the ministerial slot of her husband, has gone back to Neighbout2Neighbour, the project that gave her fame and influence in the administration of President Jonathan.

    According to information scooped by Celeb Watch, Stella has already started oiling the machinery of the organisation, which was said to have spent billions of naira to sell the candidacy of President Jonathan in the build-up to the 2011 presidential election. Neighbour2Neighbour is said to have started recruiting people to man strategic units of the organisation across the federation.

    Although it is not yet clear what Stella intends to do with the organisation this time around, some insiders say its activities might not be unconnected with President Jonathan’s re-election campaign for 2015. The organisation had bought pages of newspapers (including cover pages) to make case for fuel subsidy removal when the country rose against the attempt by President Jonathan in January 2012.

  • Koko Ita Giwa comes into her own

    Koko Ita Giwa comes into her own

    The marriage of Senator Florence Ita-Giwa’s daughter, Koko, may be seven months away, but the senator is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that the day turns out to one of her best ever. As you read this, plans are in top gear for the marriage of the only daughter of Mama Bakassi. The 22-year-old lady is scheduled to walk down the aisle with her fiancé, Chimaobi Shawcross Obioha Jnr in September.

    Chimaobi is one of the sons of the late Chief Shawcross Moore Obioha, former Chairman of Continental Sales Ltd, a big player in the nation’s oil sector. One of Nigeria’s top event planners based in Lekki, Lagos, is said to have been contracted for the event.

    Top music arts have also been booked, three of which have signified their readiness to feature at the event. DJ Jimmy Jatt is said to have been penciled down as the official DJ of the event. Koko is a graduate of the University of Essex, United Kingdom. She only recently completed her second masters.