Retired Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration, Mrs Funmilayo Odubela-Aduroja, in this interview with KUNLE AKINRINADE, shares a riveting story about her childhood, career, lifestyle and opinion on national security.
At 65, Mrs Funmilayo Odubela-Aduroja’s physique bellies her age. She walked briskly and flashed winsome smile at staff members of the prestigious Ikoyi Club 1938, Lagos, as she led the reporter to the swimming pool side section of the exclusive club on Tuesday.
The Ijebu Ode-born former Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration clutched two bags that drew the curiosity of her interviewer.”Oh, you are glancing at my bags? I have got loads of documents and books there. May be I didn’t tell you that I am a voracious reader, especially when it comes to biographies. I have read quite a number of books about great men such as former President Bill Clinton; his wife Hillary; Nelson Mandela and General Collins Powell, a former chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff of US, whose family migrated from Jamaica to the United States. If I read, write and get tired, I would come to this club to swim for many hours until I am satisfied.”
Where does her strength lie to do so many things? “I am the only daughter in the family but I was not over-pampered. My mother was a disciplinarian and she ensured that I carried out domestic tasks and chores. She was a food vendor and I had to wake up early enough to help her out in her business. I was raised to be up and doing and there was no time for pampering at all. Working hard has become part of me; despite my age, I still don’t like to idle away.”
A peep into one of the bags revealed one of the books she is currently reading, a book on 9/11 terror attack on the World Trade Center, US, by Islamic militant group, Al-Qaida. She would later reveal that her fancy with books was caused by her mother, who made it a duty to instill discipline in her, in her early years.
“I was a tomboy in my childhood, I have two elder brothers and I am the only girl of the family. And that is why I am usually free with men. In fact, I was happy to hear from your editor that a male reporter would be coming to interview me. However, my mother was responsible for my fascination with books and it was because I was so stubborn she thought I might not face my studies. All the time she kept advising me to face my studies and get educated so that I can become rich in life. She was a food vendor in Yaba, Lagos, where we lived and we had neighbours such as the former deputy governor of Lagos State, Alhaja Sinatu Ojikutu, and her husband and renowned novelist, Buchi Emecheta. She would point at the Ojikutus and admonished me to face my studies in order to live the good life that the couple had. Mrs Ojikutu had a Volkswagen Beetle car, while her husband cruised in a Peugeout 404 car.
“My father was a casket maker at Sabo, Yaba, and people used to call us Omo Baba Oniposi (children of a casket maker); I lost him when I was just three years old. My mother was a disciplinarian and she subjected me to rigorous upbringing by registering me at the British Council Library opposite Casino Cinema, which was stone’s throw to our house and I had a planned timetable that I followed religiously. I would finish up my housework by 2pm and go to the library 4pm and would not return home until 8pm when the library closed. I decided not to disappoint my mother by facing my studies and that accounts for why I am a voracious reader to date. My strict upbringing has also made me to be time conscious; I can’t come late to work or for an appointment.”
Giving a graphic account of her childhood, she disclosed that she was heady and full of pranks.” I used to be loquacious because I was an extrovert right from my school days in Our Lady of Apostle Primary School and the secondary school in Yaba, Lagos. I used to be reprimanded by my teachers for talking too much. I recall that in my Primary 4, I was too troublesome, to the extent that I was asked to bring my mother to school. The teachers told my mother that I was too stubborn and always making trouble and that report earned me a lot of beating from my mother because she was very upset with me.
“In another instance, I was asked to bring my mother to school again but I pulled a fast one on my teachers. Instead of bringing my mother, I wrote a note and presented it to my teachers as if it was my mother that wrote it. The letter read:
”Dear Teacher, I am very sorry that you said I should come with my daughter to school. I just got a letter from home that my mother is sick and I am travelling to Ijebu now. When I come back I will come and see you. Thank you very much.” I was just laughing in my mind when my teacher accepted the letter. However, I had pleaded with one of my brothers before writing the letter in my own little English.
“When I was in Form Four in my secondary school, I was rude to one of my teachers who was always criticising students. I rebuked her for abusing us instead of correcting our mistakes and I was again asked to bring my mother to school. Again, I connived with one of my brothers to present a fake note from my mother to my teacher.
The note written by my brother read:”I am not happy with my daughter’s conduct, her performance was actually discouraging. However, I will make sure I see you, but presently I am travelling out of Lagos.”
If her elementary and secondary school years were full of troubles, her university days were no less. This she said was because”I was among the first set of students admitted to the University of Benin (UNIBEN) in 1970. Some of us who came from Lagos became objects of bugging from some students because of our stylish dressing. So I walked up to one of those behind the bugging and warned him to stop forthwith or be prepared for my trouble. I made him to realise that I am from Lagos and that we abhorred slackness. I later heard that the concerned students were planning to lay ambush for us but I still continued to give them trouble.
“Sometime in 2002, I ran into one of my schoolmates while on a trip to Lokoja and he asked me if I was still troublesome. Although I was embarrassed by his question but told him that age has completely erased those things from me.”
With her stubbornness and pranks, how come she chose to work in a para-military agency that required a lot of self-discipline?, the reporter asked.
Hear her:” Like I told you, I grew up among men; I mean my brothers and their influence was my greatest motivating factor. My eldest brother, Neye Odubela, joined the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), while my immediate elder brother, Yemi Odubela, joined the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and once served as the Lagos State Commissioner of Police before he retired a few years ago. So growing up among the duo in a way influenced the choice of my career and I did not have any reservation when the opportunity to join the Immigration Service beckoned after my graduation in 1974.”
She explained that her path crossed with that of her husband in the course of her early years in immigration service. She attributed their meeting to fate, saying: “My husband complements me a lot. I am an extrovert, while he is an introvert. We met while I was a young immigration officer and he was an officer in the State Security Service, where he served for 18 years before he ventured into agro-business. My husband has been my pillar of support; he is unassuming, very caring and supportive. He is from Ilesha, while I hail from Ijebu Ode; he knows how to cool me down whenever I am taking things too hot. Even though I compounded my name because I believe that there are a lot of things attached to my father’s name but whenever my husband wants to write my names on a cheque, he normally stylishly avoids mentioning Odubela by writing ‘Funmi O Aduroja’.”
The mother of three, all boys, explained that she had no regret not having a female child, despite the prompting of her husband after their last child was born.
“Regret ke? I lost hope about having a daughter after I had my last son and I have no regret at all. I did not go for scanning when I was pregnant with my last son, I thought I would have a girl child and I was buying pink clothes and other baby items which is generally accepted as girl’s colour. At last, I was disappointed when the baby turned out to be a boy. A few years later, my husband asked that we take another shot at childbirth because he said he wanted me to have a daughter but I told him I was too old to have another child.”
Popularly called ‘Iron Lady’ in immigration service because of her workaholic and disciplinary comportment, Odubela-Aduroja, who retired in 2010, recapped her years in service with a sense of pride.
“I was the first female Controller of Immigration in Ogun State and the Muritala International Airport, Lagos, and retired as Assistant Comptroller General of Immigration in charge of Zone ‘F’, which comprises Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti States. I was nicknamed ‘Iron Lady’ by younger colleagues because I was a tough and no-nonsense officer. I was so much engrossed with my work that my busy schedule took toll on my children. I was invited on a number of occasions by some of their teachers because of their failings in school work.
“For example, in 2002, one of the teachers of my last son, Tosin, asked me to come to his school in respect of her poor attitude to school work. I was told that he was lazy and was avoiding his assignments in school. On getting to his school, I quickly struck a deal with the principal to call the assembly so that I can beat Tosin in the presence of his schoolmates. On hearing that, Tosin started begging me with a promise to be serious with his studies and that was how he subsequently put up brilliant academic performances till he finished from the school. But then, I felt guilty that I had not been there for him and his brothers owing to the demanding nature of my job. Interestingly, Tosin and his two elder brothers, Deji and Seun, later read computer-related courses in the university. My eldest son, Deji studied Computer Science and Electronic Engineering while Seun and Tosin read Computer Science and Computer Engineering respectively and they are doing well for themselves.”
She described her style as simple, saying: “I have been living a moderate lifestyle; I am not a party freak and I don’t wear expensive dresses. You cannot catch me with expensive clothes and as a principle, I don’t buy aso ebi (uniformed dress for outing).I buy relatively cheap jewelry that would even put off thieves or make them regret stealing from me. I like being simple at all times and this accounts for why I don’t give out aso ebi when I organise any party. Instead, I ask invitees to turn out in specific colours of their own choice.”
Before the interview wound up, she did not fail to touch on the challenges facing the security of the nation and the need for proactive measures to tackle the festering challenges militating against Nigeria’s internal security.
Hear her: “There is Boko Haram; deadly activities of cattle rustlers, oil pipeline vandals, kidnappings, communal clashes and attacks by herdsmen on innocent people in villages across the states of the federation. The army, which has a constitutional mandate to defend the country against external aggression, has now been saddled with securing pipelines and chasing cattle rustlers, fiendish herdsmen and Boko Haram insurgents. This means that the army is being overstretched instead of being allowed to face its primary responsibility of securing the country from external threats. Therefore, there is need for the establishment of national guards to curb internal threats to security of lives and property. The creation of National Guard will also help secure our waters from sea pirates while the land and the air will be protected.
“In 2003, while I was studying at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), I read a book: “9/11 Commission Report”, published by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States. On page 366 of the book, Nigeria and Mali were cited as the countries in West Africa where terrorists may find a safe haven. I was deeply touched and I ordered for over 30 copies of the book, which I gave to top government functionaries, including former President Olusegun Obasanjo; the late President Umaru Yar’Adua; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Dimeji Bankole; former Ogun State governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, among others. I was, however, surprised when the late National Security Adviser(NSA), General Patrick Azazi, said that the Boko Haram insurgency took the Federal Government by surprise. That means the country did not do anything about the matter for six years until Boko Haram became a national problem in 2009.
At a point, the embassy of the United States in Nigeria asked me why I was importing the book and I explained that I wanted the Nigerian authorities to be acquainted with the problems that may likely confront the nation soon.”
Odubela-Aduroja, who is now a border security expert, said the insurgency thrives because we have porous borders, urging the Federal Government to establish a Ministry of Homeland Security to secure the country from lawlessness.
“The porous nature of Nigerian borders calls for serious concern and all kinds of foreigners are cashing in on that to move into the country to carry out their nefarious activities unchecked. Yet, the Nigerian authorities are not doing enough to checkmate the unpleasant situation at our borders.The current refugee crisis in Syria is affecting European countries such as Hungary, Germany and Europe cannot cope with it. As we speak, Hungary is fencing her borders to prevent the influx of Syrian refugees into her territory.
During the first anniversary of the 9/11 terrorists attack in US, the then Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said that United States of America had firmly secured her borders, water and airspace against threats by terrorists and that is what I want to see in Nigeria too. We must fence our borders to prevent unscrupulous foreigners from gaining access to our territory. As we speak, Nigeria’s cash crops such as cocoa and groundnut are being smuggled to neighbouring countries like Benin Republic and Niger. These countries in turn export the crops and make a lot of money from our collective sweat and the only measure to stop this is to properly fence our borders like US did to prevent people from her neighbouring countries such as Mexico from coming to her territory through borders.
“I am also calling for the creation of a Ministry of Homeland Security, where all para-military organisations and agencies, excluding the police, are merged and coordinated to provide maximum internal security for the country. This would make the running of the country even cheaper in the face of a battered economy caused by the crashing prices of crude oil all over the world,” she added.
