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Tag: dad

  • AJANI AJIKOBI: Lessons dad taught me about women

    AJANI AJIKOBI: Lessons dad taught me about women

    He is imbued with the qualities of an actor. But he will never touch the make-belief profession with a long pole. His first love was mechanical engineering, but fate played a cruel joke on him, and he found himself in a geology class. Today, Ajani Babatunde Ajikobi, the CEO of Real Drill Hydrokonsult, has made fortunes from geology. His expertise has endeared him to many organisations in Osun State and beyond. In this interview with GBENGA ADERANTI, Ajikobi talks about his journey into the business of finding water from under the earth, why he is engrossed in humanitarian services, the mystery of the gold deposit in Ilesha and many other things. Excerpts:

    HOW did you come about geology? I think my deficiency in physics made me find myself in the geology department at the Polytechnic Ibadan, I wanted to study mechanical engineering though. I eventually passed my physics, but I’m fulfilled as a geologist.

    If you say you’re fulfilled as a geologist, but are you aware that some geology graduates are teachers in secondary schools?

    The fulfilment I have is that I started generating income for myself at the early stage of my career. I had not become a full graduate before I started earning money. I started gaining monetary reward from geology, courtesy of the four months industrial training I was exposed to after my OND. I saw myself being great before I finished my career. I will never forget Alhaji Oluwatoyin Yusuff; he exposed me to the rudiments of the job. At a time when I was not supposed to be on site, he took me to different sites for drilling and installations and equally shouldered me with a lot of responsibilities. Also, I happened to have a brother that studied geology and he was doing fine, that really encouraged me.

    At what point did you decide to practise as a geologist?

    When I was exposed to the practicability of what I had been taught in class, that was when I went for my internship at the Rural Water Environmental Sanitation Agency (RUWESA). I had many bosses who were doing well. That really encouraged me to practise geology and to really establish myself as I’m today.

    You said you began to make money before you started your own company, what you were doing to make money?

    When we were doing our IT, they used to give us stipends and I was so fortunate then that the company had a project called special presidential project. The owners of the project paid us what was called site allowances. This really motivated me and boosted my morale. It also allowed me to have more interest in the profession.

    When you talk of geology, what readily comes to mind is petroleum. I want you to tell me other things a geologist can do

    There are several things a geologist can do, just like what I’m doing now. I’m into hydro water. We have minerals, we also have sedimentology. Geology has several sub divisions. Where I’m right now is hydro geology via borehole drilling. It has become imperative and important for people to have water, you know water is life. Compulsorily, you need water; there is no option to that. Electricity has option, but water does not have any option. Hydrology is what you can practise till eternity. But for the petroleum industry, there is competition there, it is highly competitive. Even if you have first class, to get a job in the NNPC or any oil company is not easy, except you are highly connected, or God’s intervention. You, as a geologist, know what is under the subsurface and you unravel it through geophysical survey and you recommend appropriately. It is not only in the oil companies that you can work and see yourself as a successful geologist. There are so many sub- divisions in geology. For me, it is hydrogeology that I have found myself.

    Do you ever feel you could have done better if you studied engineering?

    I wouldn’t have done better. I’m proud to say that I am the CEO of Real Drill, the company that can afford to employ 40 people, and we are doing well. We have an array of sophisticated equipment here. We have graduates working with us. This is a rare privilege. This is what I have not asked from my God. He has done more than what I have asked for and I have no regret not studying engineering. I’m always thanking God for putting my path on this right course.

    Considering the economy of Osun State right now, what advice do you have for the state government regarding the gold deposits in Ilesha?

    The gold in Ilesha is an alluvial, powder gold. It involves a lot of things before you can mine. You must get mining licence and other approvals before you can mine. I think the problem now is from the centre, the federal government. I think the exploration of oil has not allowed us to mine other mineral resources. Minerals are not as valuable as oil. So many people have worked to know the economic value of gold in Ilesha, but the government is not interested. The oil has blinded us and we no longer have interest in mineral exploration. For the Ilesha gold deposit, I doubt if the economic value is all that great, because it is powdered gold, they call it alluvial.

    You said the gold does not have much economic value, yet we hear of illegal miners. How do you explain this?

    The illegal miners have been able to survive because they don’t have licence and they don’t use big equipment. To start a mining industry is highly capital intensive and you need heavy duty equipment, expatriates, and the methodology is expensive. The illegal miners use diggers and shovels. They don’t buy equipment, they are using manpower and they could be caught. This is because we live in a country where it is tough to enforce the law. Things would be difficult for illegal miners if there is enforcement. The illegal miners can only thrive because they have little or nothing as investment. For you as a miner, there are so many licences that you will get and it is a kind of business that is full of uncertainties. You have to do your survey, and you might end up getting less than half of your investment.

  • My son’s killers must not go unpunished, says dad

    My son’s killers must not go unpunished, says dad

    Family of a late technician with LG electronics, Uyi Uwagboe, have called on the Nigerian Police to as a matter of urgency investigate the death of their son, who was found dead in his pool of blood in Satellite Town, Lagos.

    The late Uwagboe, 31, an Edo State indigene, died on January 24. He was buried last Friday.

    According to the deceased’s father, Mr Kennedy Uwagboe, a trader, his son went to work in the morning but by 9:30pm, he received a phone call asking him to come that his son has been attacked by hoodlums in Satellite Town.

    He said: “The person also called his younger brother and fiancée. We were thinking if he could have been kidnapped. So the police patrolling Satellite area from Agboju Police Station accompanied us to the scene. We met Uyi dead in his pool of blood. His phones, laptop and money were taken away. He was seen with the young man that called us to inform us of the incident.

    “We later moved to Agboju Police Station. From there, we took his body to the morgue of the Nigerian Navy Hospital in Ojo, around 1am.

    “I went back to the police station the following day, wrote a statement and the officers sympathised with us, saying they will see what they can do on the matter but, till today (last Thursday), we have no information on what the police has done about the case..

    “My wish is that government should do something on the issue, because I want to know who would have cut his life short, a young promising, upcoming boy, who the whole family is looking up to, and was supposed to get married this year.”

    He said the family has ordered the release of the man who called him to tell him of the incident, saying the man may be innocent to have stood by his dying son.

    “The man said he met Uyi in his pool of blood begging for help, and that if they had picked him earlier, he would have probably survived. But, everybody was running because of bad boys in the area. By the time we got there about an hour, it was too late. Uyi was the one that gave the guy our phone numbers.

    “The only information we have so far is that the police have arrested one person, who knows the people that killed my son. The person mentioned five names to the police officers who told us they have taken the suspect to the houses of the other suspects, arrested another suspect and father of one of them.  So the case was transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Yaba, Panti, Lagos Mainland.

    “They said they will pursue the case so as to get the hoodlums, but we have not heard anything from them. I would have loved if those people were apprehended and prosecuted.”

    He described his son, who will turn 31 this year, as easy going.

    “He hates trouble, he will never fight, he loved peace and he is always concerned about everybody,” he said.

    The deceased’s fiancée, Fatimah Junaid, said she has lost hope in what government can do on the matter.

    She described Uyi as a good person, God fearing and loyal.

    “He had a giving spirit, he forgives and forgets. He was always there for me and my family. We have been dating for about eight years and we hope to get married this year,” she said.

    The late Uwagboe’s younger brother, Henry, described his late brother as the best in all ramifications, saying he would miss him for everything.

    He said his brother’s journey to and from work does not usually have anything to do with Satellite area, wondering how he got there.

  • How a deal I struck with dad shut my mind against women —Ex-Seven Up Executive Director Femi Mokikan

    After 23 years of active service with Seven Up Bottling Company, Femi Mokikan retired last year as an Executive Director. But the lawyer was far from tired. Immediately after his retirement, he went straight into politics where he found himself mixing with strange bed fellows. Left with no choice, he retired into more work, setting up a company known as Interventions and Resource Limited, a consultancy outfit on human resources. He told PAUL UKPABIO that he does not need politics to live a full and comfortable life.

    Tell us about your stint in the corporate world

    I started my career as a lecturer in a federal polytechnic. There I worked for about five years, then joined the private sector, which took me to five different companies. I worked at Training and Conference Centre, Ogere, before moving to Arthur Anderson now Accenture. It was, however, at Seven Up Bottling Company that I spent the longest time and eventually retired. I worked there for 23 years and retired last year. I worked there in the human resources department. I was in charge of that all over the country. After some years I was promoted to the board and I retired as an Executive Director.

    You must have seen a lot of changes and development in soft drinks bottling in the country.

    Yes, that is true. When I joined, we were doing only bottles. We did that for a long time. Later on, we added plastics to it. There have also been changes in volume. We used to have 30cl, then 35cl and later we moved to 50cl. Seven Up was the first company to introduce 50cl, bigger packages in addition to adding flavours to both Seven Up and Pepsi. We didn’t have Mountain Dew when I joined. We brought that and others in, and many other changes that were carried out but later dropped.

    The company also later changed its system of distribution…

    Yes, from time to time, we changed the model. For a very long time, we were doing door to door distribution. After a while, it didn’t make business sense because of the cost of distribution and maintenance of the trucks, which was heavy. We decided to take major dealers in selected places to carry that bulk on their shoulders for final distribution to retailers, who then pass it on to the consumers.

    What about the volume of production?

    Initially, the company had five plants. But by the time I left, we had increased it to nine. That also meant that volume had gone up. I can’t say exactly what it was then, but we moved from the position of doing 20 million to 100 million. So it was a huge volume of drinks that we were doing. Nigeria is a big country and I can say that even with the combination of Coca-cola which is even a bigger company, we are not doing enough yet, because the country is indeed big with a population of over 170 million which, no doubt, is a huge market.

    What memories of early childhood do you have?

    I grew up in the rural area. The first few years of my life were with my parents. Later, I was moved by dad who said I needed more experience outside the rural area. He wasn’t educated and didn’t want his children to be uneducated like him. The only way he felt his children could move up in life was by living with people who were already educated. So he sent me to his friend in the then Western Region where I spent four memorable years. The man could have been said to be the neatest man in the town, and he was disciplined. That showed in the lives of those of us that lived with him. Our school results were very good. Of course, any opportunity I had to go back to my parents on the farm in the village was always a great time of enjoyment for me.

    My relationship with my dad is also something that I will always cherish. He kept telling me that he was not educated, but that it was my brain that could stop me from going to school, not his pocket. Which meant that whatever level of education I wanted to attain, he was ready to provide for it.

    So who influenced you most?

    My dad had a great influence on me. He didn’t have the formal education. If he did, he would probably have become a professor, because most of his sayings then are even today still applicable. I used to call him a philosopher.

    You stayed for many years at Seven Up Bottling Company. What was the secret of your staying power?

    I would say the staying power was the environment, which I can also say provided a stimulant for me. What I realised was that Seven Up was a place that anyone who had his shoulder in the right place would see something to contribute, more so for one who was in the human resource department. That is because for an organisation that was coming from zero system on ground meant every aspect of the organisation needed contribution and improvement. And again, the people I worked with, from the chairman to my colleagues, kept me going. I was happy where I was. Even another company came calling with better remuneration and opportunities to move around different parts of the world every year, but I looked around and just couldn’t leave after 15 years, and I still stayed another eight years.

    You know there are some companies you go to and they are already very well established with systems and procedures, and you reach there, you cannot put in much contribution; you just flow with all that has already been put in place. For me, I didn’t feel that I should just go and sit down anywhere. I wanted to contribute, to create. And we didn’t have a parent company to go and borrow from, so everything had to be done locally. That alone was tasking and was also a big stimulant for me, because I had to come up with creative ideas. I am glad that in that situation, we were able to make a difference, and I was part of those who created the difference.

    What is life like in retirement?

    The name of my company is Intervention and Resource Limited. That is to say that we can be called upon in any area of a company’s life that requires intervention. And when we come in, results must follow. What I am doing is to also organise seminars for companies where I train people at retreats, in addition to being a lawyer.

    At what point did you become a lawyer?

    When I joined Seven Up, I had to rely on the legal department for many of the issues that I had to handle. At times, they told me things that did not make sense to me, but that was the law. So whatever they told me, I had no choice but to accept, especially if it was something that I did not know anything about. But we had a scheme in the company which allowed one to go back to school if one wanted to, and the company will support with some kind of subsidy. So I took advantage of that and in 1997, I went back to school. Then, we had the benefit of evening programmes, unlike now. That was how I joined the pursuit of another knowledge. And by the grace of God, with a little sacrifice here and there, I was able to complete it. In 2005, I was called to the bar.

    In which university did you study Law, and how did that affect your family life?

    I did that at the University of Lagos. I was shuttling between work, school and home. As for family life, there was no way it would not have affected it. As a matter of fact, at some point, I had to pack some of my things from home to camp in school. Of course, for that period, they were not seeing me at home. Also, when I got to Law School, I moved out of the house again. That somehow caused a distraction from my regular family life. But again, I had to remind my family that it was for our tomorrow to be better. I assured them that each member of the family had to endure and make sacrifice for our tomorrow.

    At what age did you do all that?

    I was 43 years old when I went back to study Law.

    But you were already comfortable working with Seven Up?

    Yes, I was somehow comfortable. I went into Seven Up as a senior manager, being the head of human resources.

    That means moneywise, you were loaded even at that time

    (Laughs) That actually depends on what you mean by ‘loaded’.

    With your level of comfort, campus ladies must have swarmed around you. How did you handle them?

    (Laughed again) I didn’t go there to look for ladies. First of all, when you are working and combining academics, you already have a big challenge on your hand. At that point, it was difficult to allow any distraction to come my way. It was either one went the way of distraction and messed up or focused on academics. Also, I was comfortably married. There was no need to allow one small girl to mess things up for me. Or how would it have sounded if I had gone to school and returned home to tell my children that I had failed my examinations (laughs). I didn’t think it was something I would love to live with, so that made me to focus on the academics.

    You must have been one of the oldest people in the class

    Yes. But, of course, there were many other people who were far older than me.

    How easy was it for you to relate with the younger members of the class?

    The class was a leveller for everyone. Everyone was seen as equals. Age didn’t matter at that point. We all saw ourselves as colleagues. But you also have to remember that even if someone is 70 years old, as soon as you get into school and into classroom, you will start behaving like the average student (laughs). So, it wasn’t difficult for us to adapt to the environment, and many years after leaving school, we still maintain that friendly relationships between us.

    I’m glad I did well and I attended Law School here in Lagos. If it had been in Abuja, that would have been strenuous for my marriage. My wife was very accommodating. They used to visit me at the Law School once in a while. She would come with the children and we would spend Sunday evenings together. I have five children: one boy and four girls. I also have one who is also my child. He is my father’s son, but he was six months old when my father died. So when he was three and a half years, I went to pick him. He has lived all his life with me before he settled into his own home. He is a married man now. He didn’t know his father, so he calls me father.

    You have a sportsman figure. Were you ever a sportman?

    I abandoned sports a long time ago. I used to be an active, award winning sportsman. I used to play hockey for my state. At the very first sports festival in 1973 here in Lagos, Gowon was the Head of State while his counterpart in Niger Republic came over on a visit and was there with Gowon at the opening ceremony. We all lined up, small boys that we were, and they shook our hands. When it got to my turn, I held General Gowon with both hands and said ‘go on with one Nigeria (laughs).’

    Hockey was my specialty. I was also the goal keeper for my school at Federal Government College, Warri, and I also played basketball for the same school. I had interest in other sports as well. I used to tell myself then that if I ever built a house in my life, I would fix a lawn tennis court in the compound. Unfortunately, I built a house, but I didn’t have enough resources to build a lawn tennis court there. I love lawn tennis, but the sporting zeal died immediately I entered University of Lagos. I got there late, and therefore had accommodation problem. I had no clue that sports men got preference for accommodation. So I was staying in Surulere and going to school from there. I didn’t even go near the sports area until a month later when I saw our former football captain in Warri on campus. He got there earlier than I did. He was the one who told me that he got accommodation because he was a sportsman. That was how I abandoned sports.

    How then do you keep fit?

    I think it is God that keeps me fit. I don’t do anything g about fitness. My doctors have complained. Most time when I go there to see them, they say I should go and do exercise. I bought facility for exercise and kept them at home. I bought tread mill, bicycle, but if I buy today, you will see me there for the next two weeks and after that, my interest in them fades off. I have a room where I keep those things. Some days, I go in there and look at them and laugh. I thank God for the way He has packaged my body.

    How about socials?

    Almost every Saturday of the year, there is always somewhere to attend a party or an event. That is because of ties and loyalty to friends, family and colleagues.

    What influenced your choice of a wife?

    No girl could come home to visit me because of my dad. I was in primary 3 when my dad called me and said he had two agenda for me. The first was education and the second was to get me a wife. But he said he wanted me to finish my education first, then he would give me a wife. He said. ‘If you want to change the order, you are free. If you need the wife first, I can get you a wife now. But once I get you that wife, forget about education. I laughed, but he told me that I didn’t need to laugh; that it was a serious matter. I told him I would go for education first. So he said since I had decided to take education first, if any day he heard that I had impregnated any girl, that day, my education would end. That caution really helped to check me throughout my years in school.

    Did your father fulfill his promise to get you a wife?

    He died before I got married, but he had already shown me who I should marry.

    And is that the lady you eventually married?

    No, she is not the one. But he wanted me to marry the one he picked and then add my own choice to her if I so desired. But he died before all that could take place.

  • I GO SAVE TO BURY DAD

    I GO SAVE TO BURY DAD

    CELEBRATED Nigerian comedian, Otagware Otas Onodjayeke better known as I Go Save, has announced that he will be laying his dad, the late Evangelist Joseph Pender Onodjayeke, to rest today.

    The comedian, who is the second son and fourth child amongst seven children, described his father’s death as a great loss to the family.

    Close to tears, the comedian explained how his father laughed at him the first time he told him he wanted to be a comedian.

    “The sound of his laughter was very loud that I almost left the room. I still remember how I was standing in front of you him in the sitting room, back in the 90’s.

    “It was not even a joke. He only asked if I loved this act of making people laugh, and I answered yes; and his loud sounding laughter was what followed. He laughed so loud and it was a beautiful mockery laugh. He refused to allow my desire to crack jokes interrupt my education. He motivated me to strive hard in everything I did. A practical disciplinarian per excellent; he tactically adopted several pattern to guide me through life,” the comedian recalls.

    On how he felt when he heard the sad news, he said; “The first thing I heard after the sad news of his demise was that loud laugh. That same first laugh. I know I won’t see him again but I have decided to put aside the pains of his death and hold on to that same laugh.”

    Late Onodjayeke died on the first of June at 74. He will be finally laid to rest on Saturday, October 22 at his home town in Kokori, Delta State.

    I Go Save also revealed that some of his friends in the entertainment industry will be present to support him and his family.

  • Dimeji Bankole plans big for dad’s 75th birthday

    QUIET birthday celebrations are unheard of in the circle of elites in Nigeria. It comes as no surprise then that former speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, is planning to pull all the stops to ensure his father’s 75th birthday celebration is marked with as much fanfare as possible.

    While Dimeji Bankole shot into fame as the youngest ever speaker of the House of Representatives at 37 in 2007, his father, Chief Suarau Alani Bankole, is a formidable figure in his own right. He is a former vice chairman of the All Nigeria Peoples Party. He established the first freight company in West Africa, and currently chairs the West African Aluminium Products (WAAP) Plc. Chief Alani Bankole is heavily involved in the politics of his Egba ancestral home. He holds the title of Seriki Jagunmolu of Egbaland and doubles as the Oluwo of Iporo Ake, while his wife, Atinuke, is the Ekerin Iyalode of Egbaland. He recently launched a book, Alake of Egbaland: The Succession Dynamics, wherein he revealed his unquantifiable knowledge in the royal matters of his people.

    To mark the elder Bankole’s 75th birthday is a lecture titled Bankole the Great Builder. to be delivered by Justice Dahiru Mustapha (CFR), a former Chief Justice of the Federation, at Park Inn by Radisson, Abeokuta on September 17. The crème-de-la-crème of the politics and business sectors are expected to attend.

  • Dad wanted me to be an engineer – Jidenna

    Dad wanted me to be an engineer – Jidenna

    While many would know him as the musician with the song, ‘Classic Man’, Nigerian-American star Jidenna Theodore Mobisson who is in the country for a homecoming tour has said that his father always wanted him to be an engineer.

    Speaking to Bella-Naija, the artiste who is popularly known as Jidenna, said that he initially studied Sound Engineering at Stanford University before switching to Ritualistic Arts, knowing that “Stanford had a ‘million-dollar studio which at the time was not typical in schools.”

    Jidenna who is signed to Wondaland Records however, later switched courses.

    “So what I wanted to study was the art of rituals – Why do people paint their face before performances, why do we brush our teeth, why do we sing/dance and what does it do to our minds and how do you do this on a larger scale,” said Jidenna.

    Jidenna, whose other singles include ‘Yoga’ and ‘Little Bit More’ in the interview also admitted to wanting to do collaborations with Nigerian musicians such as Tiwa Savage, Davido, Wizkid and others.

    The artiste also disclosed that his homecoming would be detailed in a documentary.

    “It’s also about me going to where I grew up Enugu,” said Jidenna.

    “Even though I’m from Imo State but Enugu was where my entire perspective was shaped. As a young child seeing the world, Enugu is where I remember.  I think the documentary will focus on me coming home and enjoying the experiences. Going down memory lane and I’m sure new memories will be created.”

     

  • STRANGE! My mum and dad died same day, same time, same age, two years apart —UN Peace Ambassador, Princess Moradeun Ogunlana

    STRANGE! My mum and dad died same day, same time, same age, two years apart —UN Peace Ambassador, Princess Moradeun Ogunlana

    LAGOS born Ambassador for Peace of the Universal Peace Federation at the United Nations, Princess Moradeun Ogunlana, is a woman with many titles and good international recognition. Fondly called The Bridge by friends and associates, Princess Ogunlana grew up in the back streets of Lagos Island. Today, she is easily a world citizen.

    “I grew up here in Nigeria,” she said proudly in a conversation with our correspondent. “I was born and bred on Lagos Island. I lived the better part of my early life in Lagos. My father is the son of the late Obanikoro of Lagos, Oba David Ajasa Ogunlana. My uncle is the late Oba of Lagos, Pa Oyekan. That is my lineage.

    “I tell people who care to know that I am what can be regarded as a four-sided princess, because my father’s mother is the granddaughter of a former Akarigbo of Remo. So, I am bonded to Ogun State as well. And my mother is a princess from the Republic of Benin. Her mother is a daughter to one of the prominent kings. Her grandfather is from Ilorin. His mother was a Fulani woman and his father was an aborigine of Ilorin. That is why I am classified as a four-sided princess.”

    Growing up

    Like her ever-travelling ancestors, Moradeun’s father found livelihood in being a personnel of the Nigeria Air force. So, home was everywhere daddy worked or was transferred to! They lived briefly in Enugu, especially with their mother. At another time, they lived in Zaria.

    “My mum had a house in Zaria and Kaduna. Also at some point while I was growing up, she had a cold room in Funtua. Mother was a linguist who spoke about seven languages, including French, Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa. She was very fluent in Hausa, and that enabled her to do so much business in the northern part of Nigeria.”

     

    Family life

    Back in her parents’ house on Lagos Island, if you choose to call young Moradeun a tomboy, you would not have been too far from the truth, having grown up with three brothers even though the rest of her six siblings were girls.

    She said: “I have a brother that is older than me and I have one that is right immediately after me. The other ones are younger. So the three of us older ones saw ourselves as the ‘three musketeers.’ As the middle one, I was the troubleshooter and mediator between them. They are very gentle and not so troublesome like me. They later studied medicine and both of them are in the medical field. They are very quiet. I am the one always making trouble in the middle.

    “My younger brother has a clinic and they are both doing fine in their field. So, I am the one that will go out and say ‘we need some hospitals built over there.’ If my brothers hear, they say ‘okay, what can we do?’ And I would say, yeah, you can do this, you can do that. I can get somebody there that will help us with this. That is one of the good things I do, and I think that is one of the good things that has brought me this far, connecting people and connecting abilities.”

    But who did she really end up taking after? Her mother or her father?

    “Both in a way,” she said. “My father was ‘The Gentle Prince.’ That is what I call him. He was a man of courtesy who had deep respect for women. We were talking to a very prominent citizen during a recent meeting, and whenever I was getting inside the car, her son would open the door for me and I had to tell him, ‘You know, the last man that did that for me and the only man that ever did that for me was my father while I was in Nigeria in the late 70s and even abroad.’

    “At a time, my father was in Canada and when he came to pick us at my grandmother’s place, he opened the door for me to enter the car. That image never left my mind, and it is going to stay with me for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, my father passed away recently. We lost him.

    “The last four years of his life, he lived with my brother and I. The three of us were all in Texas then. So, we all took good care of him. He was very proud of the fact that he was ill and we were able to stand by him to take good care of him.”

    Her parents’ love story

    “My dad was 70 when he died. But I will tell you the story that is even more puzzling. It is the fact that exactly two years later, something happened. My father passed away in 2014. He died on May 19 at exactly 2:31 pm. This year May 19, at exactly 2:31 pm, my mother told my sisters that were there with her that she was so tired and that she wanted to go and lie down. She lay down and that was it. She passed away exactly the same time, same day two years apart.

    “That was how close they were. They knew each other when they were little, when they were young and they were really much in love with each other. So, when I got the call that she was gone, I was taken aback because I was even getting ready to make a post on the social media that two years ago, we lost a gem in the person of my father. I wanted to do something like that in his honour. I was getting ready to write the post when I got the call that my mother was gone. And all I kept saying was ‘the same day, the same time! I kept on saying that in great bewilderment. She was exactly 70 as well.

    “He was Prince Richard Adeniji Ogunlana and my mum was Alhaja Jemlat Adeola Ogunlana. My mother was a Muslim while dad was a Christian. They met in a very rare circumstance. My mother was born in Benin Republic and she came to Nigeria speaking only French and Yoruba, and when she came over here, she needed somebody to tutor her in English. That was how my father came into the picture. They fell in love and the rest is history. So, you can see they really lived and loved each other.

    Lessons I learnt from my parents’ lifestyle

    A child’s parents, they say, are the child’s first role models. So it has been with Princess Ogunlana. “My mother used to say be truthful to yourself, no matter what you do. And my father always said there are always good people. He said no matter how bad the situation could be, there is always a good thing coming out of it. Those two things I never forget.

    “My biggest motivation while growing up was my maternal grandmother. She is a self-made woman. When my father and mother both left for Canada, we were living with my paternal grandmother. So she turned out to be the one who left that impression of caring and making sure that not only do you get food on your table to eat but people around you get to eat also. Make sure there is something always there for people around you.

    “She left that impression in my mind, and that is one of the reasons why we cannot just rest until people around the world get the desired peace they need. It has also left with me the ability to celebrate people all over the world. And we are doing a lot of the celebration with our group, especially when we are talking about women all over the world.

    Sojourn abroad

    “I left Nigeria for the United States of America after my high school and I actually went to live in the State of Arkansas in the United States of America,” she recalled. Little did she know that fortune was about to smile on her. Soon after, she started playing in the big league of international society of commerce and diplomacy, and ever since, she has not looked back.

    Ambassador Princess Moradeun Ogunlana, as she is fondly addressed, is the President/CEO of Innovative Global Consulting Group of Companies. “It is an infrastructure, energy, business and economic development corporation connecting businesses in Africa to the world,” she explained.

    “I was recently inducted at the Universal Peace Federation at the United Nations as an Ambassador for Culture uniting USA and China by promoting culture, development and health wellness among women of the world and equally promoting peace. We have been doing a lot of things around the world in the last three years. I have also been a two-term commissioner with the Little Rock Cities Commission, Arkansas, USA, and one of the first black women to make history in business and diplomacy in the city of Arkansas.”

    Certainly not an easy feat for a black woman to accomplish, especially as also said rkansas was at a time a tough racial spot.

    She said: “When I first arrived in Arkansas in the 80s, it was a very racially segregated city. Now I look back to those days and recall some of the things I did then with nostalgia. Indeed, I did a lot of things. I was one of the first in terms of African-Americans to build relationships. I mean a person of colour for instance, to have a clothing store there. I had a clothing store because I was so busy taking African culture to the world. That was what I sold to America.

    “I was one of the first to have a black business in an environment dominated by white people. So, I was the face of African business and, of course, I had a network of great friends over there with which I did great exploits around the world. I mean beautiful people.

    “Arkansas is a place I call the quiet giant. I call it that because after we were able to break what I call the racial ceiling, we discovered that some of these acts were not even done deliberately. It was just because people didn’t know where their boundaries ended and where they needed it to begin. So, what I did was simple. I was the one that helped to cross some of those boundaries. And after I had crossed those boundaries, it was okay for everybody else to do the same.

    Both sides later found out and said, ‘Oh, so, we could do this? These people are not as bad as we thought.’ When you really find time to know a white person, you find that they actually love just like we do. So, we had to cross that bridge. I actually stepped into some zones because most of the time then, we stayed in our comfort zone and we didn’t want to step out of it. So, that was what I did, and I think it was my father’s nature in me that sprung out.”

    How she gained prominence in USA

    “I graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1991 with a B.A. degree in Journalism. I later studied International Consulting and Public Health Policy from Southern California University. My activities at the Chambers of Commerce and how I was able to connect people and bring businesses together thereby creating inter-racial relationship earned me the sobriquet The Bridge.

    “I was part of the new generation of black people who brought lots of innovations to Arkansas. I was later appointed as a member of the Chamber of Commerce. The very year President Bill Clinton was appointed, we were actually the one who hosted Clinton at that time. We had relationship with countries like China, South Korea and other like mind nations. We exchanged ideas for global socio-economic and socio-cultural benefit. I served my two-term tenure a total of ten years as a Commissioner with Little Rock Sister Cities Commission. I was then appointed by the Mayor of Little Rock as a Chamber of Commerce Ambassador.

     

    A citizen of different worlds

    Having lived much of her early life in Nigeria and also grown and melted comfortably into the American society, we asked her what the peculiar differences are between the American society and Nigeria. Princess Ogunlana had this to say: “There are lots of differences and there are lots of similarities too. That is because one thing is certain: people are people, no matter where they live on planet earth. You have good people and you have bad people. When you are unique, you will make people buy into your ideas. So, you can connect ideas with maximum benefit, and that is where I made a difference.

    Ever energetic, Princess Ogunlana set up The Global Summit Group Incorporated, which works in conjunction with international bodies across the world. The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of African Women’s Health Project International, a role she also plays, is the Chairman of the Global Summit Group Inc., among many other global concerns she is active on.

    Speaking on that platform, she said: “Globally, a lot of our people in the Diaspora and those living on the continent of Africa have come to realise that it is up to us to develop our continent. This is not about somebody coming from outside to come and help us change our fortune because all the human resources we need are all here for our development, especially in Nigeria.

    “Our country Nigeria is the central part of Africa and this is not a coincidence. If you even look at the map of Africa, you will see Nigeria lying directly at the epicenter. God has deposited so much on this land, so it is up to us to change our own destiny for good.

    “It is up to Africa to stand for her own greatness. Whether we are Nigerians living here or in the Diaspora, definitely, we want to be part of a change in our country.”

    So, when Princess Moradeun Ogunlana visited Nigeria recently, she came with a mission. Armed with a connection to another princess from the ancient Bini Kingdom, Mrs. Caroline Adeneye, a lawyer and wife of the Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Dayo Adeneye, she came to deliver a message to the First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, in her capacity as the Convener of the Global Summit on Women Empowerment.

    “This year, the Global Summit on Women Empowerment in October will showcase the good works of some first ladies around the world. These will be ‘Her Excellencies’ that are doing great things with their platforms as wives of state’ executives or heads of corporations and NGOs; first ladies who are actually doing things from their hearts to develop humanity in their own spheres of influence.

    “When we took an x-ray of such people in Nigeria to see who could fit into our hall of fame to be the honorary recipient of the Global Lady Icon Award, we discovered Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, the First Lady of Ogun State, who runs an NGO called the Uplift Development Foundation, which has shown genuine course to the development of ordinary people in Ogun State.

    “For instance, her NGO, Uplift Development Foundation, is one of the biggest poverty alleviation movements in Ogun State that is changing lives in a rare manner. We went online and we saw pictures of great achievements she made with UPLIFT Development Foundation.

    “Uplift Development Foundation has over 18 subs-derivatives that cater for various sets of people in the various strata of the society. The one that gives a particular amount to aged women monthly is there. The one that gives skills acquisition strictly to the girl-child in the state is equally there. The one that de-worms school children in Ogun State, the one that discovers talents and sharpen them up for success; very amazing things we discovered about Mrs. Amosun and we said, of course, she is the one we think can conveniently stand with other female global achievers who have achieved something in their various endeavours.

    “Can I share some testimonies we got while researching her with you? Do you know Akpan Udoh, the best Nigerian under 17 goalkeeper who brought Nigeria an Olympic medal recently, was discovered by Mrs. Amosun through her Uplift Football Team in 2013? Now, that singular act of patriotism revealed two things about Mrs. Amosun. One, her Uplift Football Team Project, which is one of the over 18 Derivatives of her Uplift Development Foundation, goes around the three senatorial districts in the state to search for skilled footballers and sport loving kids and sponsor their talents with her resources. That is another area Africa is lagging behind. Not every child wants to go to school, but there are lots of kids with hobbies that could be monetized in the long run. Mrs. Amosun is seeing this big picture and she is extending her gesture towards that.

    “Secondly, Akpan Udoh is not from Ogun State. It is possible he is one of the many ordinary Nigerians from far flung distances who live in Ogun State. Yet Mrs. Amosun saw nothing bad in uplifting him and many others. She uplifted Akpan to the glory of her selfless service in Ogun State. But today, Akpan has given back to Nigeria. That is a milestone achievement we cannot take for granted.

    “However, the one that really touched our heart the more was during her 50th birthday recently. Instead of going into a ‘receiving spree’, Mrs. Amosun decided to go into a ‘giving spree’. And that was extraordinary. She launched a Green Revolution project for rural women on her 50th birthday and invited the wife of the President and Vice President of Nigeria to the event.

    “I learnt that the wife of the President asked other first ladies to emulate her ideas as it was something Nigeria needed at this moment. That is a presidential endorsement. Not only Nigeria is in need of a Green Revolution in Arkansas. We cherish such lofty ideas because Arkansas is a farming state.

    “On her 50th birthday, she also went under the bridge in Abeokuta to pick women selling adire traditional clothing with no option of ever renting a shop in their lives. She rented shops for so many of them just to take them off the hazards of selling their wares on public roads and equally empowering them. I personally have not seen that kind of passion for charity before. I am deeply touched and these, among several other things we discovered about her led us to our decision to honour her at the Global Council of Women for Development’s First Ladies forum and Economic Development Summit in Washington DC in October. She is one of the ambassadors of Global Change among ordinary people. She will also be a speaker at the First Ladies’ Forum and Economic Development Summit in Washington DC.

  • Dad, Oyedepo, John Maxwell motivated me, says valedictorian

    Dad, Oyedepo, John Maxwell motivated me, says valedictorian

    LANDMARK University (LMU), Omu-Aran, Kwara State valedictorian at the university’s graduation, Oyeleke Oyetunji Olumuyiwa, has said his father, the founder of the university and Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church, Bishop David Oyedepo, and prolific author John Maxwe, are inspirations for his academic excellence.

    Oyeleke, who graduated with a cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 4.90, to emerge the best graduating student of the university, said: “My dad remains one of my inspirations because despite his enormous responsibility,  he still combines pastoral and professional work in a stress free manner.  The great author John Maxwell is another because of the manner in which he explores human mind in his books. The third is Bishop David Oyedepo, who has a vision and runs with it in a country where almost everything is synonymous with corruption and failure.”

    For him, as a graduate of Mechanical Engineering, coming out as the best at the university was a result of cultivating a culture of excellence and  desiring to be the best.

    “I always choose excellence in everything I do; that’s my approach. I never in my mind prayed that ‘God, I want to be the best graduating student’; but based on my performances, I emerged because if you are working hard and putting in your best, you will definitely come out the best,” he said.

    The 21-year-old said attending Landmark was accidental.

    According to him, he initially chose the University of Ibadan (UI), but later changed to the Covenant University (CU), Ota. However, when JAMB eventually uploaded results, his name was missing from CU list of students offered admission. By the time JAMB eventually processed his change of institution, there was no space in CU’s Mechanical Engineering department.  He was offered Industrial Physics instead, which he rejected.

    He then learnt about LMU, which was then barely two years old and was still accepting students into its Department of Mechanical Engineering. Oyeleke reluctantly took the examination and was accepted.

    Sharing his secret, Oyeleke said smart work, not hard work took him to the top. “There is something I call ‘smart work. Most students think it is when examination is coming that you start reading. For me, everything I read, I go for understanding so that whenever the lecturer asks any question, I can give it back to him. So, I don’t read to pass exam; I read to understand. My preparation starts the very first day of the semester. I do not wait until a test or exam is approaching,” Oyeleke said.

    Added to this was  discipline, which made him not to engage in endless chats with friends, or lead a flamboyant life. His friends, he said, understood him whenever he desired to quit general discussions.

    His parents are happy about their son’s achievement. His father, Deacon Samuel Oluwole Oyeleke, described the second child of his three children as the one who is most understanding. “I love him because of all my three children, he understands me most. We both think alike; and before I ask him for anything, he already knows,” he said.

    Oyeleke attested to his son’s discipline and determination when he said: “He has chosen to be more serious in his studies. Whenever he was given an assignment, he would not eat until he finishes it. There were times he would come home from school looking emaciated and I would ask: ‘but I sent you enough money when you were in school?’ and he would say: ‘there is little time to eat; I must face my studies first.’”

    Although LMU has held two previous convocations, this is the first time the Department of Mechanical Engineering will produce a valedictorian, a development that gladdened the heart of its head of department, Prof Christen Okechukwu Osueke.

    “I’m happy because this is coming from us.  Muyiwa has a vision. He is very inquisitive. He knows why he is here. You either find him in the library or laboratory. It is pretty difficult emerging top in Mechanical Engineering. Here, we deal with practical. Our job borders on calculations and simulations. You don’t read books on Mechanical Engineering why lying in your bed. Besides, the workload is enormous,” Osueke said

    Oyeleke said developing himself further is his priority. “Even if this university offers me employment, I will still have to seek God’s intervention through prayer. For now, I want to develop myself more. There is a difference between choice and passion.  I want fulfillment. If you jump into something you don’t have passion for, you might just end up regretting. So, I will consider all the options,” he said.

  • ISLAMIC SINGER, RUKAYAT GAWAT HOLDS PRAYER FOR MISSING DAD

    FOUR years after popular Nigerian Television Authority NTA’s broadcaster, Alhaji Aremu Rasqak Gawat, went missing, his daughter, Alhaja Rukayat Gawat-Oyefeso, an Islamic singer has picked July 10, 2016, to stage a Fidau prayer and remembrance party for her missing dad.

    The event will take place at Muri International Television (MITV) premises, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos, with Sheikh Muyideen Ajani Bello and Sheik Daud Abdul Majeed Eleha (Alfa Nla) as clerics of the day.

    According to Alhaja Gawat-Oyefeso, in the words from the holy Qu’ran, “if anybody in Islam is declared missing and not found after four-years, the family should organise a Fidau prayer in remembrance of the person, either dead or still alive.”

    Alhaji Aremu Rasqak Gawat’s sudden disappearance till date has remained a mystery to many, with so many unanswered questions, while series of special prayer sessions were organised for the missing ace broadcaster and former staff of NTA, Tejuosho, Yaba, Lagos with hope that he will be found.

    Alhaja Rukayat Gawat-Oyefeso recently released a threefold album called ‘Ramadan Special’ which featured Suleiman Alao aka Malaika and over 20 other Islamic singers.

  • DJ Cuppy makes dad proud again

    The best way a man can train his children is to allow them to do things by themselves so they can experience life on their own terms. Learning from their mistakes, they can become better people and believe more in themselves.

    Billionaire businessman, Femi Otedola has done just that and this has made him, not just an astute business tycoon, but also a proud father. His daughter, Ifeoluwa Otedola, has carved a niche for herself in the entertainment industry and has become one of the most sought after disco jockeys in Nigeria. Widely known as DJ Cuppy, Ifeoluwa, has always been a source of pride to her father, and despite her choice of career, Otedola has stood by her unconditionally.

    On Tuesday, May 10, 2016, DJ Cuppy reached another milestone which caused her doting father to brim with pride and glow with joy. Ifeoluwa took to her Instagram page to share the news of her graduation with her fans and followers. The celebrity DJ is now an M.Sc degree holder from the New York University Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development.

    DJ Cuppy already has a degree in Business and Economics, which she bagged from King’s College London in July 2014. After two years of hard work, she is now a M.Sc degree holder.