It was victory celebration last Sunday at the Adeleke’s country home in Ede, Osun State. The celebration was necessitated by the recent victory of Senator Isiaka Adeleke at the recent election, where he won a seat to the National Assembly in the next political dispensation. Though, impromptu as the party was, the turnout was large, as the spacious compound was filled with family members, party people, friends and well-wishers. At the middle of it all was Nike Adeleke, the Senator’s amiable wife, who co-ordinated the hosting and ensured that laughter and merriment flowed all through the evening till late night. Nike Adeleke hails from Osogbo from the family of Omidiran, the second girl in the family of eight children. In this interview, the Abuja-based fabric merchant tells us about life as a mother, an international business woman and wife of a popular politician. She spoke to PAUL UKPABIO.
Tell us a bit about your background and what attracted you to being a business woman?
My dad was a cocoa merchant; so when we were growing up, he was always telling us that business was in the family. I guess that just stuck in me. And today, I am a businesswoman, I deal in fabrics, I go to Austria, Switzerland and every other place in the world where good fabrics can be found. I think I got all that from the kind of background that I grew up in, although my mom was a full time house wife. She was not going outside the home to work. However, she used to tell me that it is not good for a woman not to be occupationally involved in the society. She was actually a nurse before she got married to my father. She was always telling me how she missed the lifestyle of a working lady. That encouraged me to be a working mother. My father is still very much alive, we thank God for that; his name is Alhaji Ahmed Omidiran; he is the Asiwaju of Osogbo.
Your marital home is in Ede, Osun State, but you live in Abuja, any special reason for that?
After my marriage, I decided to live in Abuja. That was because I found Abuja to be very quiet, very much like Osogbo, so I chose to stay there. I actually had to choose between Abuja and Lagos. So, I opted for Abuja because of the serene nature of the city. That was in year 2000.
Why did you choose to deal in fabrics?
It is because I love fashion. When I was young, I stayed with my aunt at a time. She used to sell fabrics. That must have been the time that I fell in love with the business. I lived with her for about two years. Within that period, I learnt the in and out of the business. So it was easy for me when I wanted to set up in business, that was after school.
So after school, you berthed a store at highbrow Adetokunbo Ademola in Abuja, and decided to clothe the rich?
(Laughs) Not particularly. At my Abuja store, for instance, you can find clothes worth N10,000. Just as you can also find in there clothes worth N500,000. It is a one-stop shop where you can get everything you want. But you know, I am also into tailoring business. I have tailors; we make clothes for the high and mighty and of course for everybody. That aspect of the business helps to occupy my my time a lot because it involves lot of work, constant thinking, creativity, dealing with people and so on. I like the tailoring business. When I first got to Abuja, I wanted to start with both aspects of the business. That is, sale of fabrics and tailoring. But my husband advised me to start with one. So I chose the sale of fabrics. It was after about 10 years that I included the tailoring aspect to the business. That aspect has always been a passion for me.
How are you coping with both now?
It is not exactly easy, but I thank God. It is actually wonderful because it allows me to do what I love doing. So I cannot complain.
Do you actually take part in sewing the clothes too?
Yes I take part, but I must also confess that I am still learning and learning fast too every new day.
Let’s talk about family life; how do you cope shuttling between Abuja and Ede in Osun State and then also your travels abroad, more so as your husband is also always on the move?
It’s the grace of God. It’s been God who has been there for us. We have somehow been living ‘apart’ in the last four years; so you can understand that it’s really been the grace of God shuttling between Ede and Abuja. It has not been easy. Moreover, I do not like flying, so I was always on the road. Also my children, I took them to Offa, but had to take them back again to Abuja because the travelling was just too much. They are all with me now and there are three of them.
Do you have time for relaxation and leisure?
(Laughs) Yes. Once a year, I close my eyes, take the children, leave everything behind and go on holiday for a month. That is when I am always assured of personal relaxation and leisure.
Does your husband join you on such holidays?
Yes, he does even if it is for few weeks.
Tell us about some of your best moments so far in life.
Best moments, I can say that God has been good to the family, so we are always having good moments. For instance, on the 28th of March, we had another good moment in the family when my husband contested for a senatorial seat in the National Assembly and won. It has been a thing of joy to us. God has been wonderful to us, we had weddings in the family, we have had many ‘best’ moments. God has been gracious to us. To Him be the glory.
What is it like being married to a successful politician like Senator Isiaka Adeleke?
I am sure you can see what it is like here in the house. You can see the crowd. And it is like this 24/7. Sometimes in the night when my husband is coming into the bedroom, I will hear him telling people, ‘Please go back, or do you want to follow me into my bedroom? Or don’t you want me to sleep?’ And that would probably be around 3am. (Paused a while to reflect) It is not easy though, I am part of it now. I do not mind because that is his life. It is a sacrifice that I am happy that I am making for the family.
The general elections are over and your husband has been victorious, he is now Abuja-bound. How do you feel?
I must say that all the glory goes to God. I give Him the glory because it is wonderful that he won. Four years ago, it was not the same story. That is the reason why we have to thank God. I am very happy about his success.
With the new development, that means he is going to be fully Abuja based once again.
Oh dear (laughs), that is a prayer answered (laughs heartily again). It is a good development, I am happy about it and I also know that the children are happy and very excited about it since the children and I live in Abuja, he is going to be with us. However, I also know that we should be expecting the crowd too (laughs). I know that I will have to accept him and also accept the crowd that will follow him.
What do you remember about childhood?
I was the eighth child in a big family. Growing up was a delightful experience because being a big family, I had brothers, sisters, cousins, to play with. There were even some of the extended family members who lived with us. There were lots of children to play with; so I enjoyed my childhood.
What appeals to you?
That I will say is being in the presence of God. That indeed appeals to me. That is just what I like doing. I like to be among people, family and friends who influence me to do positive things, who give me ideas on how to do positive things in order to contribute to the development of our society, and also to help the less-privileged around me. That actually makes me happy. I love to give. I learnt that from my husband. He is a giver, well known for his giving nature. I like doing that as well.
What fashion things attract you?
Now, that is my department. I love shoes and most good fashionable things. I can tell you that women love either shoes, bags, clothes or jewellery.
And what vanities of life have you found difficult to resist?
I feel bad when I spend money on things that are mostly considered unnecessary. Sometimes I later on scold myself on why I spend such money on what I really didn’t need to spend money on, especially when I later on realise that I could have used that same money to help somebody.
In your opinion, are Nigerian ladies fashionable?
Yes, Nigerian ladies are fantastic. Sometimes, it is not easy to catch up with Nigerian fashion. That is because it is always on the move. Nigerian ladies are very fashionable; they are exposed, they go out a lot and buy. When you enter a shop abroad, and they get to find out that you are a Nigerian, they get excited. That is because they know that they are going to sell. It is like that in my store as well. I keep buying and keeping a good stock because you just cannot easily meet the demands of the Nigerian women. We are very fashionable.
If you were not a business woman, what else would you have loved to be?
I would have loved to be a permanent house wife! That is because, sometimes when I return from work and I look at the faces of my children, I shake my head and I tell myself the truth that I would love to be with my children more and more. That is why I try to make up to them by being with them all weekends; that is when I stay at home. On Monday to Friday, I get busy with work at the store, but on Saturdays and Sundays, we are always together.
What is your view of marriage?
Marriage is an institution (laughs). It is work, but not necessarily hard work, that is because with God on your side, all things will be possible. Marriage, I must let you know, is an institution of its own. To keep a home, a woman must always pray, like it’s said, a prayerless woman is a powerless woman. Keep believing God for everything that you want in your home and always know how to listen, do not talk too much; be vigilant to know what is happening around you. As a woman, you must always be on top of everything in your home.
For someone like you who travel abroad for work and also go abroad for holiday, how do you differentiate when you are at work from when you are on holiday?
When I am on holiday, I switch off totally, even switch off the phones and concentrate on my husband and children. At such times, even the people in my store may not be able to reach me because I may not talk to them for a whole week. I focus more on the family during holidays.
Where can you say that you had the best holiday so far?
Well, I can say that Atlanta is the place. That is because Atlanta is my husband’s second home. If he is not in Atlanta, then he will be in Nigeria. So I love it when we are holidaying in Atlanta. He feels more at home there and he also takes our children out freely since he knows everywhere there. He is always having time for us in Atlanta. So we love the place. But if we are in another country, he will likely be indoors, sleeping. So for me Atlanta is it.
Tell us about your spouse, how did you meet, was it love at first sight?
When I first met him that was in 1987; I met him at a friend’s house. He is a friend to my friend’s uncle. I was passing when he said ‘my wife!’ I turned around and I was like, ‘What is this man saying?’ I didn’t even know him. So, I walked away but later asked my friend about him. She told me that he is her uncle’s friend.
Three years later, that is 1990, I met him again and he asked me, ‘Do you remember me?’ I replied ‘no’. The next thing he said was, ‘How can a wife not remember her husband?’ That was when I remembered him. So, that was how we met.
Do you dance?
Yes, I do. I dance a lot. We are both good dancers. We both love to dance and we dance a lot. We also party a lot too and I go with him to parties most of the time.
In what ways would you say that women are relevant in today’s society and governance?
Like the saying goes, ‘behind every successful man, there is a woman’. So I think that now even the politicians know that they cannot do everything by themselves alone. They have come to realise that they need women with them in public administration. It is true that women are more vigilant and diligent. So in today’s politics, we can see that more women are involved. And more and more women are urging and supporting their husbands to get involved.
Now that you are involved, are you looking at becoming a politician too?
I love politics, my sister in law is in politics, she won her seat again as a honourable of the House of Representatives, although my father isn’t a politician but a pure business man, but somehow I am involved in politics now. However, to take on the plunge and assume it as a profession is what I do not think that I will do. I think I have enough with my husband being a politician.
What can you say about the girl-child education? Do you think that girls are getting more educated in our society these days?
What a man can do, women can do better. Our parents these days realise too that ‘girl-child’ are important in life. Unlike before when it was thought that when you educate a girl child that it can liken to a waste. But these days, it is not so. People now know that the girl child needs to be equally educated. It is now a case of equal gender.
With your hectic schedule, do you still find time to attend to feminine house duties like cooking?
I love cooking but I don’t find that much time to cook. So I cook but not as often as I would have loved to because there is no time. But even then, I find time to cook for my children and my husband.
What are the kinds of food that you love to cook?
I love to cook beans, it is my favourite. I love to prepare moimoi. No one prepares my moimoi for me. I always have to do that myself. My husband loves to eat egusi and okasi; so I cook those a lot.
Where did you learn to cook okasi?
He actually taught me how to cook it. Of course, that means he can cook very well. He loves cooking. He actually cooks for me too. When we are in America, he does all the cooking.
So what is your style, what kind of clothes do yo love to wear?
I love our native dresses, I love Iro and Buba. The clothes I wear in a day are determined by my mood. I always want to be free, without any dress or clothing holding me down. That is why my clothing depends on my mood. I wear casuals too when occasion demands it.
What fashion accessories do you not do without?
That will be my earrings. I wear them all the time. I can do without all other things, but my earrings and my wedding band, I cannot do without both.
How do you describe success?
I believe that success is God; it comes from God, and you cannot be successful in anything without God, even in marriage too. So success really belongs to God. He gives to whomever He pleases. There is no one that can say that he knows all or he is successful because he knows all. It is God that guides all successes.
How are you coping with personal pressure and challenges?
In fact, I do not know how I am coping. For instance, I have not slept for five straight hours in the last three days. That is because before the victory party, we had been on the road, travelling from place to place. It’s been hectic but then I thank God for everything. I am always packing my bags into a car and hitting the road. I am now used to it because I have been like this for the past 16 years.
As a woman, do you think that politics is a dirty game?
With what I have witnessed from my husband’s experiences, I can say that it is a dirty game. What happened before he fully joined APC with a few other experiences like the shooting incident he encountered during the gubernatorial election here in Osun State recently, I cannot but say that it is a dirty game. Though I was not there when the shooting incident took place, I was at Abuja and had to come to Osun the next day, when I heard about it. That was a frightening incident for me.
Although I saw him the next day, I knew he must have gone through a lot. And as a wife, I had to advise him to play it a little safer. We thank God for His mercies. In this life, one has to keep listening to wise counsel, his brothers, sisters and other family members and friends too have advised him to also play it a little safer, especially his brothers and sisters, they have always been a pillar of support to him and me as well. They are always there for both of us. They have really been of great support to me; they treat me as their little baby.
So as the country warms up for a new political dispensation, what do you have to say?
I pray for the peace of Nigeria, I pray for the success of General Mohammed Buhari, the president-elect. I pray for wisdom and guidance for all the other elected politicians who will soon be in charge of the affairs of the country. I pray that God guides them all.
