Category: Sunday magazine

Osezusi Bolodeoku is the creative director of FOS Studio. She started her career in International relations, moved to the financial sector as electronic banking expert and she is currently an Autism specialist equipping children with skills and resources to thrive. In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about her working with children with special needs, entrepreneur, why she quit banking, turning point in her career, challenges during the COVID-19 lockdown and breaking stigma as a specialist.

Tell us about life as Founder of FOS Creative Arts Studio for Children.

I am a certified Special Educational Needs Expert and an Advanced Certified Autism Specialist. FOS is an inclusive Creative Space and ABA Centre that caters to Neurotypical and Neurodivergent children. We help to nurture creativity, social skills, emotional intelligence, and other practical skills that all children need to succeed and thrive in the world. The facility is also a SENCO (Special Education Needs Coordinator) Centre, providing support for children and families with SEN (Special Education Needs) including Autism, ADHD, Dyspraxia, and other neurodiverse needs.

Life as a founder of FOS Creative Arts Studio is a busy-yet-fulfilling one. I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love as a career.

In addition to being an entrepreneur, I have the additional responsibility of being a wife and mom. Sometimes, 24 hours seem not to be enough for me to accomplish my daily goals! But still, I do the best I can, and I’m also blessed to have a great support system.

What inspired you to go into the sector?

What inspired me is a combination of a variety of factors, but the most influential factor that inspired me, can be traced back to my journey as a teacher. I realized that children have different abilities to learn. When I started working with children in Standard-Bearers school in Lekki, a few years ago, I came across different children, the neurotypical and the neurodivergent. That was where I first had a feel and an experience about special needs. I am an empath by nature and a motivator. I realized that I could naturally work with these children at school. However, I had my set of twins who were anxious to come into this world, so they came earlier than expected. The doctor told me to keep an eye on my son. So, the journey from just being a teacher helping other children progressed to being a mother to be on the lookout for my child. I started work on my son immediately.

Some years down the line, there was a calling that I should help and encourage and motivate other parents to start interventions for their children. Furthermore, due to my temperament, it pains me to see parents suffer because they have children with additional needs. That is how my journey into this sector started.

What was the experience like working with children with Special Education Needs at the beginning?

My first-hand experience was awareness. I was not really aware that there were children like that. When I first joined the school and saw children who have autism and ADHD, my default response was, “how do I help this child to learn?” I remember meeting a child who could not sit. I would go around with him, carefully showing and demonstrating things to him, and he would learn that way. My initial experience was a good experience, and I learnt a lot – knowledge that still helps me at the FOS Creative Arts Studio for Children, till this day.

You worked in the financial sector for five years before. What was the experience like and how would you compare with what you do now?

I worked as a banker, and I loved my salary. Although I am from a big family and the youngest of the family, my salary made me more financially independent of my family. This gave me joy. Kudos to the bank! However, I do not miss the banking sector for anything. It was not my calling, it was just a job. I am glad I found my calling as a Special Education Needs expert and practitioner.

How would describe the present state of breaking stigma as a specialist in the sector?

It is heartbreaking that there is a huge culture of silence surrounding Special Education Needs in Nigeria. Though I will say we have come so far, one will ask why it is that the rate of neurodevelopmental disorders has increased. For instance, why do we have more people with Autism? The fact is that we are more aware. I remember we had a child of a family friend that has Down syndrome. She was described with different derogatory words like “imbecile”. That doesn’t happen so much now because people are more aware. It is good that we are collectively becoming more aware. However, the important question to ask is: Is there acceptance? No. Is the government making accommodations for children with developmental abilities? No. Have they made adequate provision for individuals living with physical disabilities? No. If there is no adequate provision made for individuals with physical disabilities, how much more is the case of people living with hidden disabilities, like Autism? These instances simply show that although we might be aware, we still have a long road to acceptance.  I wonder when we will move from the point of awareness to the point of acceptance.

Even though awareness has increased, we still have a lot of work to do, because people living in rural areas need to be as aware as people living in the city, about children with special educational needs.  Awareness and acceptance will reduce the level of stigmatization.  Until there is awareness and acceptance, parents will not think they are the reason why their child has autism or ADHD. There is so many stigmas when there is no awareness and acceptance. So, we have to deal with both (awareness and acceptance) first before we can record a reduced significant level of stigmatization in our society.

What was the turning point in your career?

The major turning point for me in my career, was finding my true calling. I am still experiencing turning points. For me, I am describing turning points as highlights.  One of the highlights is seeing that intervention is working and children are making measurable progress.

What were the challenges you encountered during the lockdown last year and with the COVID-19 pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic was a challenge to us because children had to stay at home for a long time, and it disrupted the treatment plan we had for our clients.

What are some of the memorable moments in your life and career?

Giving birth to my twins is a memorable moment for me. In my career, daily memories of kids achieving important milestones are priceless experiences for me. Recently, after a tough therapy session with a child who doubted his ability and was resisting intervention; with encouragement, he eventually did the presented task. While he was leaving the therapy room, he came back to say, “I love you Ladylight.” For me, this is very memorable. This made me feel that the child understands and cherish the expression of love during the therapy session.

What are some of the other things that occupy your time? I spend my time working with children who are neurodivergent and neurotypical as well as on the creative aspect. I also try to balance things up by creating time for my family. I am a reflection of the philosophical doubt, which is an attitude in science. Also, for best practices in my field, I always make good use of my time by studying.

Who or what do you consider as the greatest influence in your life?

The greatest influence in my life is Christ. I ask myself what Christ will do in this situation. And I find myself hearing the voices of my parents on a daily basis. My parents raised us with many proverbs. I can remember some: “Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well,” and my mummy says, “… if you want to eat a toad choose fat and juicy one.”  My parents and Christ are the greatest influences in my life.

What advice do you have for young people who want to go into the sector?

Young people should please come along. We want more hands in this sector. I would emphasize true passion for the field, the right certifications, and the right mindset. When you are passionate and you empower yourself with the right education, then you are good to go.

How would you assess Nigerian youths today?

Nigerian youths are smart people. It’s not surprising how Nigerian youths are successful outside the country. We are used to being resilient and persistent. Fortunately, these are good character traits. Unfortunately, the system is not helping. We cannot utilize the best in the youth where the system has failed us. I will not say anything derogatory about the youth. We need to provide opportunities for the youth. I see a lot of youth being discouraged, I see a lot of potential wasted, a lot of struggles, and a lot of people giving up because of the system. It breaks my heart to see Nigerian youth with so much potentials being discouraged by the system.

Tell us about the people you admire?

I admire different people for a few reasons. I am drawn to academicians. People who have gone ahead of me in the search of knowledge. Knowledge is a quality I admire in people. And for public figures, one of the people I admire is the owner of Standard Bearers School, Mrs. Oni. I admire her heart and the passion she puts in the way she works with children. She taught me that every child is intelligent in their own unique ways. I admire Mrs. Nwokolo, the only Board Certified Behaviour Analyst in Nigeria. She is the owner of Shades of Life, an A.B.A centre. She is a woman who has fought to do it right in Nigeria.  I also admire Michelle Obama.

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, speaks on efforts of his administration to expand the economy of the state through quality infrastructure building and the connection between the ongoing infrastructure revolution in the state and the vision to reposition other critical sectors. Our Correspondent Bisi Oladele was there. Excerpts:

In less than two months, your administration will be three years in office. How will you rate your performance in office so far?

Naturally, I would have expected that you ask members of the public to do the rating, because a lamp cannot adequately illuminate its own base. However, there is always a place of self-evaluation.

As you said, by May, we will be counting three years in office, and we will be presenting our scorecard on what we have been able to do so far. The good thing is that our scorecard is not hidden. In road construction alone, we have over 550 kilometres of roads, both completed and ongoing. I can say that we have successfully laid the proper foundation for engineering a modern Oyo State.

Just about three months ago, we were in Oyo to officially flag off the 34.85km Oyo-Iseyin Road. Today, everyone can see that the work is going on well in terms of quality and value for the people of Oyo State; the road is already around Fashola Farms and that is more than midway to completion.

The Gedu-Oroki-Sabo-Asipa Road that was commissioned by my brother-governor, His Excellency, Governor Bala Mohammed, is 5.25 kilometres. Though I am sure that when people hear the length of the road, they might say, oh, it is a small road. But when you look at how important it is to Oyo people, then you will realise what we have been able to do. The road links two local government areas of Oyo- Oyo West and Atiba LGAs and it also links the North-South Federal A1 Road, route 2, connecting Oyo-Iseyin and Ogbomoso-Iseyin Roads.

As a government, we are determined to continue to fulfil our mandate to our people both in small and big ways. In less than three years, we have delivered the 65 kilometres Moniya-Iseyin Road, the 9.7 kilometres Saki Township Road, the 3 kilometres Stadium-LAUTECH-2nd Gate (Under G) Road and we have also embarked on rehabilitations of major and minor roads within Ibadan metropolis and in other towns of the state. So, in both big and small ways, we have stayed true to that commitment to fulfil our mandate and part of that mandate is to stem rural-urban migration by ensuring good road network and interconnectivity outside of Ibadan Zone.

As I have said repeatedly, we believe that anywhere roads go, development follows. And so, when we promised that we would move the good people of Oyo State from poverty to prosperity, we knew that a lot of our plans would be hinged on creating a viable road network through rehabilitations, reconstructions, and constructions. So far, we have done a lot of work around the Oke-Ogun-Oyo-Ibadan axis. And we are seeing how much this development has brought in less than three years. Development means that more businesses are seeing Oyo State open up, and they are coming to site their companies here. When these companies come here, they pay taxes and that is why we have been able to raise our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) by a record N15 billion in two years.

More recently, we are expanding the road network and linking Oke-Ogun to Ogbomoso through the Iseyin-Fapote-Ogbomoso Road. This 76.7-kilometre road will serve the same purpose as the Moniya-Ijaiye-Iseyin Road by providing a vital link between two zones. Now, we have successfully linked four zones of the state: Ibadan, Oyo, Ogbomoso and Oke-Ogun zones. I am sure you would want to ask what about the fifth zone…

Exactly, because there is the view that your administration has neglected Ibarapa Zone in your programmes?

As I have always said, our administration has been developing Oyo State at a pace that leaves no zone behind. In our bid to engineer a modern Oyo State, the people of Ibarapa will not be left out.

We have re-awarded the contract for the reconstruction of the 58 kilometres Omi Adio-Ido-Eruwa Road. Also, we have approved the limited rehabilitation of the Igboora-Igangan-Iganna Road while the reconstruction of the Isaba-Ogundoyin Road, Eruwa is currently ongoing.

Someone once told me that we are supposed to concentrate development in Ibadan, and I told the person that our concept is to spread development to all the zones in the state and that is what we will continue to do. That is why it will now only take 45 minutes to move from Iseyin to Ibadan. If you are conversant with Oyo State, you will notice that we have created a ‘Development Triangle; Ibadan to Iseyin, Iseyin to Oyo and Oyo to Ibadan. So, you see the triangular concept is for development and, in between that, you have the rail corridor as well, which means with the Circular Road, rail corridor and Airport Road dualisation, a solid plan has been put in place for the speedy expansion of our economy.

My belief is that if we are looking at real development and creating opportunities, one thing we must pay attention to is our road network and connectivity. Ibadan, the state capital, grew out of being a nodal city because those travelling to North and other states pass through Ibadan. So, that was how Ibadan grew and we have paid attention to that as an administration.

Those of you who often go to the Ibadan Airport and pass through Iwo Road, you would have observed that there is an ongoing work around the axis up to Old Ife Road and Onipepeye, which has made some parts to be blocked but let me assure you it is just for a short time. We are attending to them because we want to free Ibadan from the same problem Lagos State is having. Our idea is to create an economy where businesses can move to Oyo State and Ibadan, and we are succeeding.

What exactly is the plan of your government, especially with the dwindling revenues from the Federation Account?

Thank you. As a government, when we came in, we promised to rest the administration on four major pillars, which are health, education, security, agriculture and economic expansion through agribusiness and infrastructural development. I have also added two more legs after we came in, which are solid minerals development and tourism, due to the comparative advantage we have in those areas.

Now, if you look at these pillars, you will realise that all the first three pillars and the two I just added can only be effectively achieved if and when there are financial resources, which means that the expansion of the state’s economy is central to the other pillars. So, with the road infrastructure that we have been building, where we are going is that since we have an economy that is competitive, then we must harness the opportunities to achieve our administration’s vision of moving the state from poverty to prosperity.

As I said earlier, we have been able to increase the IGR of the state by N15 billion in two years. When we came in, the IGR was N1.7b monthly but now, it is well over N3b on a monthly basis. So, whenever people raise eyebrows about where we are getting money to do projects, we will always confront them with facts and figures of our increasing IGR.

Recently, your government reintroduced the School Governing Board (SGB), a policy initiative of your predecessor in office, to secondary schools, with many holding the view that you should not have cancelled the policy in the first place, how do you react to this?

For us as an administration, we have professed our commitment to using science, logic, and data to solve problems and we have remained true to that profession. At the time that we dissolved the SGBs, it was clearly stated that the decision to dissolve the SGBs was taken to reposition them.

Late in January, when we inaugurated the members of the Oyo State Schools Governing Boards for all the 643 secondary schools, I also heard and read many things about how our administration should not have dissolved the boards and all that. The simple take is; if a policy is introduced by a previous administration and it has challenges or bottlenecks, do you continue to implement it because you are afraid of the backlash or criticisms from people or you retool it to serve the purpose of the state? For us in Oyo State, we have never been afraid to take the bold decisions and that, I think, is why we have been getting all these positive results. I am happy to inform you that all policies we have instituted to improve access to quality education have been yielding great dividends.

You will recall that at the inception of this administration in 2019, we expressed our desire to improve the quality of education available in the state and to make it easily accessible to all, irrespective of social background. Today, there is an enrolment explosion in our public schools and there are improved learning outcomes, as confidence has been restored in public education.

So, after a carefully-thought-out process, we have decided to reintroduce the SGBs to reinforce the benefits of our reform policies, because we know that there is the need to ensure that the management of our public schools is sufficiently conditioned to administer the delivery of even more accessible quality education for the development of the state.

What we did with the reintroduction of the policy was to put in place a broad-based participatory management structure for our secondary schools, not only as a means of attracting alternative funding sources for education in the state but also as a means of ensuring a more prudent and transparent utilisation of available resources for maximum impact.

So, the institution of the SGB is our quest to further the achievements already recorded by this Administration in the education sector.

A major point of that keeps coming up about Oyo State is about how you have been able to get resources and manage them to achieve so much within a short while?

There is no magic. What we have simply done was to preside over a most focused, prudent, and responsible management of available resources for the maximum benefits to our people. We ensured that underpinning every step we have taken has been a desire to deliver quality dividends with the available resources and if you look around the state, you will see enough evidence of this with regards to the provision of infrastructural facilities and policies, across all sectors, which are designed to last. Just as Education and Health, for instances, have benefited from our pragmatic approach so also has Sports and other sectors.

Now our schools are adequately staffed with contented teachers who are remunerated as and when due every month without fail, access to medical care in our hospitals continue to improve and everyone is aware of the new status of Adamasingba Sporting Complex as a sporting monument befitting the status of Oyo State as the Pacesetter. Only recently, I was in the stadium to watch a match that was played under the floodlights and apart from that Stadium, we are embarking on an aggressive sport development across the state, with six mini stadia being constructed in different locations across the five zones of the state.

The secret of our success as an administration is that we did not come into government without a plan. As you may be aware, when we were going round the state to canvass votes, we had consultations with different segments of the society and we came up with a policy document known as the Oyo State Roadmap for Accelerated Development, 2019-2023. So, we knew what we wanted to accomplish. I am happy that you are all seeing a modern Oyo State develop before your very eyes; an Oyo State where no zone is left behind in our development plan; an Oyo State that we can all be proud of.

Look at what we have been able to do in Oke-Ogun, for instance, we have successfully linked the zone, which is the food basket and agricultural arbiter for the state, to the state capital and other city centres. Roads that can be useful for transporting agricultural products from the zone to Oyo and Ibadan and from there to the Port for export are being attended to.

We have also established the Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency (OYSADA) in Saki Township and what we did there was simply to return the Oyo State Agricultural Development Programme, which was moved from Oke-Ogun. So, linking Oke-Ogun up to the rest of the zones means we can easily move our clothing for export either by air through our airport or by sea through the dry port at Moniya when it is completed. Since we fixed the Moniya-Iseyin road, we have been able to cut the travel time from Saki to Ibadan to almost two and a half hours as against the former five hours.

But what is informing this drive to extend development to the hinterlands as against the usual tradition of government concentrating attention on the state capital?

As I said earlier, we decided to stem the tides of rural-urban migration and we also realised that we have to take development beyond the state capital, as we cannot afford to continue in the trajectory where one part of the state is generating the revenues that all the other parts of the state benefit from. If we continue in that trajectory, it will only create another Nigerian situation in Oyo State. So, it is time to diversify, and a proper good linkage is the first step in the diversification process.

Also, when we say we are engineering a new Oyo State, this is exactly what we mean. Indeed, we are building and designing a new Oyo State and the foundation of the design is a proper road network. This is why we did not ignore viable projects started by our predecessor. As

I have said in the past, we will finish all uncompleted projects, which are strategic to the development of our dear state.

As I said earlier, we had a plan before coming into government and we have continued to stick to that plan, to make Oyo State the proof that good governance is possible in Nigeria. We have embarked on an infrastructural revolution across the state; that will make people say, once again, that they are proud of our state.

Penultimate Friday, you presented the staff of office to the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland, finally putting an end to the crisis that engulfed the Olubadan Chieftaincy System since around 2017. How were you able to settle the crisis amicably?

From the outset, I realised and said it that the crisis rocking the Ibadan Traditional System was needless and that it shouldn’t have arisen if political office holders in the past had allowed themselves to be guided by the reality that political whims should not be introduced to the Olubadan Chieftaincy System.

That said, we thank God that we have put that challenge behind us with the coronation of His Imperial Majesty, Oba (Dr) Mohood Olalekan Ishola Balogun, Alli Okunmade II, as the 42nd Olubadan of Ibadanland.

As I said at the event, the coronation of Kabiyesi was a victory for the sons and daughters of Ibadanland and the restoration of our traditional systems, which is one of the best succession lines in Yoruba history. I have always taken a stand for the integrity of this system, and I am especially delighted that the sanctity of the century-old dynasty has been restored.

I am equally delighted, and I made this clear at the event, that Kabiyesi, having seen the challenges that political office holders could pose to the chieftaincy system, when they decide to take decisions based on their whims and caprice, is in a great position to defend the traditions of our people and ensure that we do not have this kind of crisis again.

I am sure everyone must have learnt a lesson or two in the scenario created by the needless chieftaincy review, which we have, of course, revoked. But the custodians of our culture, in this case the Olubadan and his chiefs, must always take a stand against politicians tinkering with age-old traditional systems. They must work to ensure that the laws having to do with the ascension to the throne of Olubadan remain sacrosanct and if there are to be any amendments, they should be self-conceived.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has released its schedules that would lead to the emergence of candidates for the 2023 election, when do we expect you to launch your re-election campaign?

Well, you would recall that I have always told anyone that asked me about 2023 that whatever will happen is in the hands of God. In 2019, when I was seeking the office, I said it everywhere that let God’s will be done. I will not deviate from handling myself and the affairs of the state to God.

During the last campaign, part of the agreement we reached was to run this government together and I am happy that we are all running it together. Also, I can remember that I told everybody that worked for my emergence as governor that I may not be able to satisfy them at a go, but I will keep trying my best and doing the needful wherever we need to, as the administration progresses.

As party members and politicians, we will always follow the processes and guidelines released by our party, and so, you will hear from me in line with the released guidelines.

You hosted the extended South-West Zonal Caucus of the PDP last week, where you emphasised the need for unity in the zone. At a period that the discourse on zoning is rampant, what direction is the South-West zone taking?

As you said earlier, the time-table is out and candidates for various positions will emerge within the next eight to nine weeks. So, I have posed the question to the leaders of the PDP in South-West zone, what exactly are we looking for?

I had to emphasise the need for us to unite, put aside our individual differences because we have been through this path before, where we allowed individual differences to rob our zone and eventually we lost the Presidency, because as you know, if the South-West and Yorubaland is not peaceful, things would not also be settled nationally. As a result of our disunity in the past, we were left out in the scheme of things.

When the founding fathers of the PDP came together, they spoke about fairness, equity, justice and they decided that the six major positions nationally must be shared among the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. That has always been the case until 2011. But because of the in-fighting, disunity, South-West did not have a single position out of the six national positions: President, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and National Chairman of the PDP. The South-West lost out completely and we don’t want to walk through that path again. It has happened to us before and we don’t want it to happen again and we know that the only way it won’t happen again is for us to unite and de-emphasise whatever issues we have with ourselves individually.

So, you asked which direction we want to go. It is clear- we want to unite and collectively ask for what is due to the South-West Zone.