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Tag: flamboyant

  • Nigerian people are daunting, flamboyant, aggressive– Burundian ex-beauty queen Carmen

    Nigerian people are daunting, flamboyant, aggressive– Burundian ex-beauty queen Carmen

    Beautiful Carmen Nibigira (PhD) is a former Director-General of the Burundi National Tourism Office and currently the Coordinator of East African Tourism Platform (EATP). She has travelled extensively in and out of Africa for work and leisure. The ex-beauty queen spoke with OKORIE UGURU about her life, her impression of Nigeria, Nigerians and tourism in general. 

    carmen1WHERE did you grow up?

    I am from Burundi. I was born there. I spent between 18 and 20 years of my life there. I grew up in a family of four.

    What were your growing up years like?

    My father was a medical doctor. When I was eight, nine and 10, my father used to drive me round for vaccination campaign because my country is a small one. So, in the summer, doctors and nurses used to go to the villages because the hospitals were not enough. He used to take me there with a team of Russian and American doctors who used to come during summer.

    I was fortunate to tour the whole country for three years consecutively, including the national parks. We used to do camping there. My last trip happened a year before the civil war broke out. I left the country and returned years later. When I went to see the places I had visited before, my heart sank. They had become refugee camps.

    Since I had gone to school to do tourism, I said this I needed to do, not just because I love it. My academic background from master’s to PhD has been in tourism.

    You have travelled extensively. What is your impression of the Nigerian man?

    I will go back to when I was in school in England. We used to see the typical Nigerians as interesting people. You hustle. You wake up in the morning with a purpose. Luckily for me, the Nigerian friends that I have had are core professionals. They have never shown to me that they are crooks or steal money. I tell people that whenever you see a Nigerian in a room, you will know he is a Nigerian. Their presence is different. They are more extrovert than the normal extrovert.

    More than the normal African?

    Yes. Everything for them has to be in terms of size; being big is better. They expect more than other Africans. They hustle. They expect people to do things differently. In the tourism sector, they can also come out as very arrogant. They are very hard to please.

    Nigerians?

    Exactly. What you want is not in terms of petty. You will hardly see any one in East Africa going to a hotel and saying I want two bottles of champagne. But for Nigerians, it is normal. For me, they are an interesting people, very daunting and very aggressive in everything they do. I like the fact that when you set out to do something, whether it rains or shines, you go out to do that thing. You channel that into tourism and be the leading destination in Africa, and you have the money.

    You seem to believe that there are two kinds of personalities: the lively, sociable one and the introvert who would just stay in one corner…

    Yes, you know in our industry the two have to go together. Anyone I know in tourism, you have to have that personality of going out to people, welcome them and give them the best you can. The knowledge is the anchor.

    How did you win the pageant that made you a beauty queen?

    It was a normal thing for me. The day of the contest was a Friday. My friends were like, ‘Wow! This is happening!’ But I never acted as if there was something. After the contest, I was back to my natural self. I was like that was one event; let us go to the next chapter.

    How do you relax?

    I am so blessed when I look at my life. I stay in hotels. People save money to go on holiday but that holiday destination is my office. This is where I spend most of my life. I host events. I travel. When I want to relax, I spend time with my children; two of them.

    I don’t really go out. I am not a night person. On Saturdays, we go for the normal stufff—ice cream, movies and so on. I love reading. When I have time to travel for leisure, I like to go to places where I have never been before and spend time with myself. I take time to invest in myself, go back to the core of who I am.

    In terms of tourism, the East African sub-region is doing better than West Africa. What do you think the West African sub-region should do to build tourists traffic? Nigeria, for example, is more of a business tourism destination than a leisure destination despite the abundance of huge tourism assets. What do you think should be done to improve the tourism traffic in the region?

    I will pick on the key words you used. You said East Africa is doing better, and then you said Nigeria, and then West Africa. Let me reverse it. East Africa is not doing better. We were forced to work together and find solutions together. So, when you talk about East Africa, it is five countries looking for solutions when we know very well that we cannot work in isolation. As individual countries in East Africa, we are too small, too fragmented and too small economies to stand alone. So, we are interdependent. We need each other. We cannot survive unless we work as a regional block.

    Looking at the size of Nigeria with a population of about 170 million, this is the population of the five countries in East Africa. The scale and the size matter. If you look at the geographical position and the population you have, you now go beyond borders. You cannot solve the issue by just looking at Nigeria. Of course you have your domestic issues that you have to resolve, but you will be doing more if you go beyond the borders.

    I salute the fact that in Ghana I don’t need a visa before coming. I can apply online and also at the airport I can get my visa. My visa is $150 for 30 days, for just one country when in East Africa we do three countries for $100 for working on borderless borders principle. Do we see the business of tourism not only for the trade or tourism or travel but connecting Africa? That is the bottom line.

    I like the conversation of Africa for Africans. No one else is going to build tourism, bearing in mind that tourism was not designed for us as Africans. Look at any major hotel which has been done in the last 30 years, the local market was always ignored in the design of the product. So, if we really want to change the narrative, we need to change the conversation. It is not about Nigeria; it is Nigeria within a bigger geographical group, because as long as you still need a visa to enter Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Cote D’Ivoire, as long as I still have to fly from Nairobi to Addis Ababa or anywhere and the price of the ticket is just ridiculous, as long as the hotel doesn’t really give value for money, and we are not competitive in terms of price and products, we still have a long way to go.

    It is not about East Africa doing better, or Nigeria or West Africa, it is about the conversation of how do we position ourselves as a destination, whether on a small scale of a small country in Africa, Burundi, Rwanda, Uganda, or Nigeria as the biggest economy in Africa?

    The African Union met to discuss the issue of common visa. What is your opinion on that?

    First, I think what is being discussed is the e-passport; that number one, they are going to issue, by 2018, an African passport. The idea is great. Two things which are still of concern to me are the cost of the visa and the bilateral agreement. Some countries are still reluctant to enter into agreement with other countries. Two, the cost of travel. For me, the passport is a tool. It is an enabling factor. What now is of concern is why should I now come from Burundi or Kenya and pay $150 to enter Ghana for 30 days. When I get to Nigeria, it is $290 for one month seven days. Those are the things.

    We need to understand that it is not just about the passport or visa. When we lock ourselves in and say we cannot come to this country, what are the things preventing people from seeing our country? A typical example: three days ago, I landed in Ghana and paid $150 to the immigration at the airport, $I50 plus one night stay in the hotel. That one night stay would have created a job for a waiter, someone working in the housekeeping. I could have created six jobs. I spent $250 on souvenirs; $150, for me, should be a deterrent. I hear from you that Nigeria is simply different, but the daunting experience from your airport is something else. We need to make it that what we sell and the message we package is a whole seamless experience.

  • Secrets of my ‘flamboyant lifestyle’ —Bishop Tom Samson

    Secrets of my ‘flamboyant lifestyle’ —Bishop Tom Samson

    Not a few tongues have been set wagging by the perceived flamboyant lifestyle of the founder of Christ Royal Family International Church, Bishop Tom Samson. But the controversial clergyman told PAUL UKPABIO that his seemingly exotic lifestyle is nothing less than he deserves after weathering the storms that life had brought his way. He also revealed the strange ways big money came his way twice while he was at the verge of throwing in the towel on his ministry.

    heard you share a testimony with your congregation that at a time in your life, it was difficult to raise enough money for food…

    That is true. The beginning was tough. It was terrible, even to have three square meals a day. Even for my children to go to school, I could not afford common basic nursery school for them. Today, we have more than 16 schools across the country—nursery and primary, college of education and even university. And the purpose of that message today was to let them know that no matter how rough and tough it may be today for anybody, God still has His purpose which will come to pass. That God will make you great tomorrow does not mean that you will not go through suffering today. That Nigeria is terrible today does not mean that it will not still grow.

    A great future starts with a humble beginning. Even if God says He will make you great, you still have to go through a process. Before I came to Lagos, when I left the university, God told me, ‘I will make you great.’ He said, ‘I will bless you. The whole world will know you.’ But He didn’t tell me that I would sleep under the Ojuelegba Bridge. He didn’t tell me that I was going to sleep on a biscuit carton. He didn’t tell me that to eat three square meals would be difficult. But today, I have a foundation that trains people to university level, empower over 5,000 women and establishing them in businesses. But looking back now, to feed then was difficult. That is the reality that I found out.

    With God, even if He is going to make you great, it does not mean that you will not pass through difficult situations. The Bible says that even Jesus learnt obedience. There are things He suffered. So it is a message to comfort some people out there who cannot see better days ahead. Because all they can see is today, they are unhappy, they are frustrated and they think it is over. But the message is for them to look ahead. It might be rough today, you may not be able to feed today, just look ahead. With that, you will be able to survive today.

    So how did you come about the fabulous wealth we see you exhibit today? You cruise around in a limousine, wear fanciful clothes and throw money around.

    Let me tell you about the processes of divine turn around. When Isaac got to Gerah, he even went to meet the king to beg for land. The bible says that there was a terrible famine in Gerah. Isaac wanted to run away from Gerah but the Lord told him, ‘Stay in Gerah, I will be with you. I will bless you.’ Given a process of time, Isaac became greater than the people he met in Gerah. The bible says that the whole of Philistine envied him. Even the king acknowledged that he was greater than them. Meanwhile here is a boy that wanted to beg for land. God’s empowerment, God’s blessing takes a man from zero to hero. God’s blessing takes a man from obscurity into limelight. God’s blessing turns nobody to somebody. Blessing means empowerment to prosper. When you are empowered, it affects the kind of people that come into your life. Secondly, it affects your patronage.

    Now let me tell you when I turned from a hungry man to a satisfied man. When I came to Lagos 24 years ago, almost the whole of the first four or five years was rough. In that same Egbeda, I almost ran out of the place perhaps back to my village (laughs). Egbeda was on the outskirts of the city. One day, I began to notice some people coming from Lekki, Ajao Estate where all those rich people used to live then. They showed up in the church. People that I never knew of. Sometimes they said somebody invited them or they just came.

    One Sunday, they came and told me that they were Catholic women but they impressed with my teachings. They then said they would be coming from time to time. And each time they came, they blessed me. I saw money. They were not my members. Do you know that for me to start building that Egbeda church was not church offering? Where I was in Akowonjo, I was using a place that was equally used as a beer parlour. The landlord gave us a quit notice, and the last Sunday they gave us to quit, it rained terribly on that day.

    That day, there were only four people in the church because rain did not let people come to church. And it was also the day the landlord had given us for our last worship. Do you know that I shed tears on that day? I said in my mind, ‘so my ministry would end today?’ I needed money to go and rent a primary school space. I prayed till daybreak that God should inspire my members to bring out money to rent the primary school space, but alas, rain did not allow them to come to church. My frustration was high. Then before the service ended, one woman joined us. She was an Anglican from Bishop Vining Memorial Church. It was because of that rain that she could not go to her church. She decided to look for a nearby church to attend.

    I made an announcement that it was our last day there and that we needed money to rent a space at a bakery, and that I was told to pay N60,000 per annum. The woman did not even wait. She left a note which said she was not a member of the church, but concerning that announcement, I should send someone to her shop at Balogun Market in Lagos, that she would be able to help with the money. I sent people there and the woman released the money. That was how I got money to buy land with N20,000 down payment and used N40,000 to lay foundation. So that was how we became a property owner; a church of barely 10 members, some of them UNILAG students.

    So we started using our property by putting canopy on the foundation of the church we had laid. One day, one of the members invited the mother who is well to do. The woman thought it was a well built church, not knowing that it was a canopy. The first time we had a real well to do woman in our midst for Sunday service. Guess what, the rain started and blew the canopy away, drenched our clothes, including that of the woman. That was the day we had a special guest in our midst. I thought it was over, but the woman came to meet me there and then and asked, ‘Man of God, how much do you need to do a solid temporary structure here?’ That was how she gave us money to do wood and zinc in that place.

    That was how in those early days in Egbeda, people started coming, helpers started coming. God began to answer the prayers of those that I had gathered and they too in turn began to give to the church. God began to give them joy. God began to affect their lives. My major turnaround has been caused by destiny helpers; people who were walking into my life to affect me and people who God was using my prayers to affect. That is the story of my life today.

    But how about your churches abroad? How did they come about?

    You mean my international ministry? I am almost all over the globe. By October, I will be in five outreaches—London, Canada, Houston, Texas, Atlanta and Europe again. I have churches abroad now. What brought about all this? About 12 years ago, the first time I did my programme, ‘It is War’, the fliers were all over Lagos. Some Americans were in Nigeria. They went to the East and on coming back to Lagos to board a plane back to America, they missed their flight and had to check into a hotel. It was in that hotel that they saw my programme’s flier. They were scared. Is Nigeria fighting war? They read it closely and saw that it was a pastor. But they wondered why a pastor was fighting a war. The Holy Spirit then ministered to the bishop among them, ‘Bring this man to America.’ They said, ‘Lord, we do not know this man. They say Nigerians are dubious people. How can we bring a stranger to America?’ Then the Lord spoke to them again, saying bring this man to America. Then, I had just opened my church in Ikeja.

    So how did that connect you?

    They came and said they would send me an invitation. That was how they sent an invitation to my wife and I. Two weeks later, they sent our flight tickets, itinerary book and accommodation and we were on our way to America. That was how they started organising meetings for me across America. In two years, I covered several states in America. Look at that picture (pointing to a wall hanging), that is a Mayor in America with me. I began to receive awards from Mayors in America, based on the recommendation I received from these Americans who discovered me. I toured America for two years, doing great work. So the story of my life has been that of destiny helpers. I called them messengers of destiny. And that is how God lifts people. Look at the story of our President, Buhari. He couldn’t have got to Aso Rock as president without people. He didn’t have the financial muscle. All his personal efforts had failed until God used certain people. Whether those people liked it or not, God used them.

    When you are about to fulfil destiny, God will be there for you. Look at former President Obasanjo, God brought him out from where he was. Gen. Babangida, whichever way, could not rest until Obasanjo was out of there. Every success story, every major achievement in life is connected to somebody. Look at David, he was tending the sheep until he got a connection to the palace and he was introduced. Joseph was in prison. It was the butler who mentioned him and connected him to the right source, and he was brought out. So, every breakthrough is connected to somebody; a messenger of destiny.

    After making the money, what did you do with it?

    By the grace of God, He has used us to do some great things, starting from the ministry, which is my primary call. Today, we have churches built in various parts of Lagos. In Royal City, Ota, where we have 100 acres of land, our permanent centre, the site of our Royal College of Education, we have primary school there, Secondary school, hospital which can compete with any general hospital in Nigeria. And there we have other establishments like printing press, water factory, and so on. There also is the site for campus one of our proposed Monarch University.

    Right now in Ewekoro, we have another 1000 acres of land for another campus for the proposed Monarch University. Work is continuing on these sites. There we hold our camp meetings where all our churches all over the world come for religious camping. We have over two hundred rooms there. We have flat apartments there, which is our camp ground 2. In Egbeda we have schools, massive cathedral. In Ikeja too, we have schools all built by the ministry. In Lekki, we have a big church where my son pastors. We also have churches in Festac Town, Ikorodu, AIT area, Ijoko, all built in the ministry. We have a great church in Abuja, in Port Harcourt, Cotonou, London, Manchester, Atlanta and so on.

    Right now, we are building a massive preparation school in Agbara. Another massive one is in Ota. Female hostels, male hotels, laboratories, separate buildings for creche, primary school, library, each on three acres. On education, right now, we have eight primary schools, eight secondary schools, then the College of Education certified by Federal Government, which has been on for three years now. We are presently working on Monarch University, with 10 professors handling that right now. The beauty of all this is that we construct all those buildings ourselves.

    Then also on health, we have a massive hospital in Ota which late last year gave free medical services to over 5,000 people, which was well publicised. We also give out free eye glasses, treat people for diabetes, high blood pressure. At least we do that four times in a year to the communities in Ota and environs.

    Then also we have Tom Samson Foundation which focuses on empowerment. Late last year, we empowered 5000 women from Ota, Egbeda, Ikeja, Ikorodu. We taught them how to make chinchin, pastries, tie and dye, liquid soap, things that they do not need a shop to do or things they can do in their own houses. They were given certificates and N5,000 each so that they could start out on a low scale. Today, I can tell you that many of them supply our schools with pastries, liquid soap and so on.

    You also have a flamboyant lifestyle. You ride fabulous cars, wear loud clothes…

    The truth is that most of the things that I have, I got some of them free. The Rolls Royce I received this year was a gift from my birthday committee. The limousine I use was a gift from somebody abroad. That is because I am a giver too. You have been here with me today for some time, I am sure that you have seen the number of people that have come in here. I attend to them one after the other, and when they get a breakthrough, they always remember me. Today, I have a lot of established people, but they came in as nobody. Some of those women I gave N5,000 each have come back with gifts saying that God has blessed them. So life is all about give and take.

    If you have an opportunity to acquire a private jet will you buy?

    There is no way we will not have a jet at some point. Look at our air transport system. Many times I wanted to go to our church in Abuja to preach but couldn’t because of our air transport system. Sometimes, the excuse is that there is no aviation fuel. Sometimes, going to just Port Harcourt here, you will sit at the airport for five hours. So if anyone has the means, of course, they will look out for alternative. Look at those who are in the House in Abuja, who own private jets, some of them don’t have the kind of itinerary that I have. We even need the jet more than they do. If anyone of them donates theirs to the ministry, I will gladly accept because the ministry work as it is needs it (laughs). I’m telling you the truth, I will gladly receive it.

    Officially, it is said that our economy is in a recession. Is the church affected in any way?

    Of course, the church is in the system too, so it is affecting. The people you saw coming into my office today, some of them came for help. The recession is affecting the church. Even the income of the church is affected because it is the people that make up the income of the church. Some of our church members have not been paid salaries. Some of them are civil servants and they are not being paid salaries regularly. Some of them have been thrown out of their homes by impatient landlords. Meanwhile, some of them don’t know their senators. They have not even seen their representatives before. What do they do? They simply come to church for solution.

    Personally, I have a staff strength of over 250, and many of the parents in our schools are not paying full school fees for their children because where they are not working, and for those that are working, some of them have not been paid where they work. And these were parents who used to pay even before schools open. So how do we send the children away when we are aware of their situation and we are a church as well? It is a difficult situation indeed. We are praying for our government. We are praying that things improve.

    I want to make a plea to our Senators, House of Representatives and every other person. They should know that people are feeling pain and it is we pastors that are feeling it more because it is we that the people see. Many of them are not reachable. But for us, when service is over, people can’t go home. No money. They can’t even feed their families, so they wait to collect money. The church is feeling it more because it is the church that is closer to the poor. We are praying for our president and I pray that our politicians have that human heart to make amends.

    What is your fear about Nigeria?

    As a believer, fear is not my portion. What some people are saying is very annoying. They say that the country should divide. These days, all we hear about the world is war. Look at what is happening in Syria, Iraq, Libya and so on. Our solution is not in breaking this nation. And it is not in raising ethnic or religious sentiments that can divide the country. Let me appeal to all ethnic leaders, the solution to our problems are all economic. Unfortunately, evil people are using political and ethnic sentiments against our economic solutions.

    My major fear is these politicians, religious warlords and ethnic champions dividing this country. If they do that, war will ravage the country. If they do it, the war will last for more than 30 years. It will be disastrous. Nobody will gain anything. And those who start it will not finish it. So let us put that idea away. Now talking about my fear for Christians, these are the times to seek God more. If not for God, Nigeria would have been no more a long time ago. We remember the civil war. Also the June 12 crisis when most Nigerians were sure that the country would be no more. God wants Nigerians to be one. We have passed through the night and we are still standing. I leave that as a message for those who wish to hear.

    As a global preacher, how would you describe your present lifestyle?

    It is a busy life for me. Being a bishop means that I have a meeting with about 250 pastors that I mentor every Monday. These are general overseers of their own churches. Now, after the preaching this morning, I will go down again to have a meeting with the men and then come back upstairs and attend to these pastors that I mentor. Where you are sitting is where they will sit. I listen to all the challenges they are facing in their ministries. Some I have to help because I always remember where I am coming from. Then I have my churches that I have to supervise. Also, I am a full time pastor for my church in Ikeja. My wife pastors the Egbeda church. Daily I receive calls from different parts of the world on spiritual and financial issues. Some for prayers, some for help in one form or another.

    I am a televangelist and my programmes are watched all over the world. That means I have to ensure that it is on air. I am pastor to people that I have not even met before. Their burden is also my burden. Added to that is the fact that I am a builder, supervising hundreds of acres of projects all over the place. The simple answer is that it is the grace of God. No man can do it except the Lord be with him. It is my destiny; it is my calling. If someone else wants to copy me, they may not be able to last. Sometimes too, I ask myself, how does Baba Adeboye do it, supervising all the churches all over the world? When I go to America, I hear that Baba Adeboye had just left. I would go to another place, I would hear that Baba Adeboye had just left. Same with Baba Oyedepo. I have 16 schools but Baba Oyedepo has multiple universities.

    Just like you asked me, I asked Baba Oyedepo same question and his answer is that it is the grace of God, because that is what you have been handed over to do. It is my assignment. I am sure that if you ask President Buhari how he is able to handle Nigeria, he will reply that it is grace of God too. Without it, no one can do anything good. I think that in life, we should not be afraid to do anything good and beneficial to mankind. Because if it is your assignment, nobody can stop it.

  • Flamboyant and affluent Nigerians will by 2017 guzzle $1.5 billion worth of wine

    Flamboyant and affluent Nigerians will by 2017 guzzle $1.5 billion worth of wine

    •Africa becomes ‘next destination’ for the global industry

    THE world’s biggest wine fair opens in Bordeaux, wine capital of France, this weekend, with vintners eyeing new tipplers in Africa as global consumption rises in Asia and elsewhere.

    Nigeria is one of the fastest-growing countries for champagne consumption, with the bubbly popular among its oil-rich middle class, hip-hop artists, and movie stars.

    Nigerians are said to have spent $700 million on spirits in 2012 and are expected to double that to $1.5 billion by 2017.

    The US and China are the world’s top wine-lovers, but Africa is the industry’s next “future destination”, says the Vinexpo wine and spirits fair, in a market expecting 3.5% growth over the next three years.

    In Bordeaux, 45,000 buyers from 120 nations will hop from luxury chateaux to prestige vineyards partying and guzzling as France, the world’s leading wine producer, lays out its best bottles and fare for a five-day get-together starting today.

    Wine is France’s second-biggest export after aeronautics, accounting for half a million jobs, and President Francois Hollande will be the first head of state to open the Vinexpo fair.

    But wine and spirits consumption, though buoyant, faces “a changing picture” and “many uncertainties”, said the fair’s CEO Guillaume Deglise.

    “We’re at a moment of transition with well-developed markets on the wane, such as France because of changes in consumption patterns and differences between generations,” Deglise told AFP.

    “It’s important to identify markets that will drive our exports outside of China and the US,” he said.

    The Vinexpo fair will gather 2,350 exhibitors from 42 countries, two-thirds of them from France, which last year produced 523 million 12-bottle crates.

    Big producers Italy and Spain too will be well-represented along with Portugal, Chile, Argentina, the United States, Britain, Germany, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

    Raising glasses will be buyers and traders in all tipples-reds, whites, roses, bubblies, sweet and dry wines, sherries, cheap plonk and boutique brands.

    Even Georgia’s famed old-world wines-aged in amphoras according to a tradition that dates back thousands of years-will get headline attention as its wine techniques become increasingly popular.

     

  • People think I’m flamboyant but… -Dele Momodu

    People think I’m flamboyant but… -Dele Momodu

    He may have missed being the President of Nigeria by a defeat at the polls in 2011, but undaunted Publisher of Ovation International magazine Bashorun Dele Momodu, is still glowing and living life large. He moved his classic Bentley car back to Nigeria from Ghana, but refused to drive it around, simply because, “I think for me to be cruising around in Nigeria in a Bentley under the condition that the country is presently, will be highly insensitive.”

    However, Momodu has developed new past times, as he travels around the world and lives in three different countries. He spoke to PAUL UKPABIO after an octane event in Victoria Island, Lagos.

     

    What does it take to be the publisher of an international magazine like yours at this present time?

    It takes a lot for to be the publisher of a magazine that has been publishing in the last 17 years, especially a magazine that has been publishing from London all these years. But we thank God. Being such a publisher means being at different places almost at the same time. I have had to criss-cross the world to find people in Dubai, America, London, Kenya, South Africa and many more places. We are going all over and the publisher has to oversee everyone of its activities. We are bilingual, that is, English and French, and the financials are not always easy. The media is not a very profitable business anywhere these days. It is a very tough job, advertising is shrinking all over the world; the internet has come in, so a publisher has to be on top of things to stay afloat.

    You went into politics and went as far as being the presidential candidate of a political party, what impact has that created in your life?

    I have always been in politics. I can say I have been in it 30% of my life since I was 22. I have met and interacted with some of the big politicians in Nigeria; from Chief Adisa Akinloye to Dr. Omololu Olunloyo to the Late Chief MKO Abiola, to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to the Late Chief Bola Ige, to Chief Richard Akindele, I have been interacting with people nationally and internationally, and with world figures too. My foray into contesting election in Nigeria was triggered by my frustration with the state of the nation. I saw that we were all grumbling about the leadership of the nation, but nobody was ready to risk their comfort zone. I realised that what was needed in Nigeria was just one man with a clear vision and direction of where he wants the country to go. Until we find that one man who must have executive power, Nigeria will never change.

    A nation is most often changed by one enlightened man; sometimes he could even be a dictator, but he must be enlightened and have a clear vision of his direction. That is what is lacking in Nigeria. Leadership is not about how long you’ve stayed in politics or government, leadership is about the ability to manage people and resources. And what I find out about Nigeria is that most people in leadership are people who have never managed people or resources before. They have not managed businesses or people and cannot even manage their families. What does it take? It is vision, tenacity, commitment selflessness. That was what propelled me to go into politics.

    Did you make an impact?

    I made a huge impact. The greatest thing that can happen to a man is to aspire to the highest office in his country. People know today that I was principled. I did not just jump to go and join the big parties. I realised that to build Nigeria will require new hands with clear vision. I am happy I did that. I started with Labour Party, my idea was to use that to create a welfare party, where we care for the ordinary people. Our focus in Nigerian politics is tilted towards the rich; elsewhere the wealthy try to spare moments to think how they can alleviate poverty in their land. The reverse is the case in Nigeria; most politicians think strictly about going into politics for achieving selfish pecuniary gains. When I saw that Labour Party was not ready for the type of revolutionary ideas that I had, I had to quit. That was my saddest moment in politics. Though I am still hoping that they can because, every Nigerian who is gainfully employed is supposed to be a member of labour technically.

    So I linked up with the British Labour Party and I met some of the high ranking members and they were ready to assist me in bringing some of their Labour policies to Nigeria. We would have been able to revolutionise some of the things here. But perhaps I was ahead of my time, it didn’t materialise. When I left Labour Party, the closest party I saw was Late Chief Gani Fawehinmi’s National Conscience Party and I am still a member of that party. I hope that a day will come that we all will realise that Nigeria needs to be restructured not by breaking up, but by cementing bonds, friendship, religion and ethnicity. We all co-existed before now. Nobody complained of breaking up. But because politicians are selfish, once they can’t get what they want, they talk about disunity. There is unity. In football, for instance, when Nigeria is playing, you can find nine Igbo people on the field, nobody complains, so far they can deliver. So it is the same spirit that we need for the leadership of the country. The important thing should be, can the person deliver? It is politicians that try to divide us for personal gains.

    The story about rising from grass to grace seems so beautiful to tell. Did you walk without shoes too to school?

    Oh, I don’t like to make a fetish of poverty! Like Chief Abiola used to tell us, ‘Poverty is not something to glamorise’. I know that it is sweeter to say that I had no shoes, I had no shirt, but my background was modest. My father was a civil servant, they were not corrupt like we find today. My father rode his motorcycle, a Jawa, WF 333. We had a telephone in our house, but we were not rich, though we had pipe borne water. My father died when I was 13 and I was left with an un-lettered mother. My mom could not speak one word of English; a petty trader who sold rice and beans, later opened a beer parlour, but we managed to survive. We do not have rich people in our family but we have scholars. My most senior brother is a professor of Physics, a PhD holder from Stanford University in America.

    Some people refer to you as ‘Ajala Travel round the world’

    I don’t know why Ajala was travelling around the world o, may be he had too much money! But in my own case, my travels are in the course of duty. I am sure I have covered 60 or more countries by now, some of them I have repeated. I have been in London more than 500 times; often to USA, France and many African countries, but every trip has been an education for me. There is no better school than travelling and seeing other places. That was one of the things that made me go into politics.

    When I go to some poor countries in Africa and see the quality of their education, health services and other infrastructure, I am always amazed. I don’t compare Nigeria to big, rich countries. The former President of Ghana, John Kuffour, had a spinal operation in Ghana. He didn’t have to travel out. The late President of Ghana, John Ata Mills, died in Ghana, he didn’t die abroad. Our President was evacuated from Nigeria to Saudi Arabia. If Saudi Arabia is first in oil, Nigeria is probably among the top seven. It’s a shame that with all our oil money, Nigeria does not have just one hospital of international standard that our president could be comfortable with and rely on.

    How ri ch are you?

    When I travel, I do not go on frolic; I travel for work and probably do not have time for holiday. People say that I am flamboyant but I know that it is the glamour of the magazine I publish that they see. I’m assumed to be flamboyant but I am a man of modest means. I am not a rich man by Nigerian standard. But I thank God for building me a global brand. Some people don’t even remember or know my name but they stop me and say that they know me. One of the greatest brands to build is a product that reminds you of the founder and vice versa.

    Living in different parts of the world, do you sometimes forget where you are when you wake in the morning?

    People say that too. They say: ‘Sometimes, you can forget where you are when you travel so much’, but for me, I was forced by circumstances beyond my control to be an itinerant person. I live in three places, London, Accra and Lagos. I was even living in Abuja at a time but I gave up the house two years ago. I realised that Abuja was too artificial for my liking; it was a place where most people are just wheeling and dealing and the city can easily corrupt you, from the way people hustle for money there. That wasn’t and isn’t my life.

    I come from a scholarly background; my dream was to be a university teacher, possibly marrying a teacher and living happily thereafter. But because I couldn’t get a job, that forced me to Lagos to look for a job. My background has not left me totally. I’m still hoping that Nigeria will get back to that point where people will respect others for what they have in their brain and not how much you have been able to grab.

    Living in different parts has helped me raise my horizon and to kill boredom. Ghana is not mainly to do business; what I have there is a library, a conducive environment for an academic. People think I do not do business in Nigeria, but that is wrong. I’m happy that we have been able to cement the bond of friendship in Nigeria through Ovation. These days, you attend an Hausa wedding and you see people dress like Yoruba people and at Yoruba events, you see people dress like the Hausa. Same with people in the eastern part of the country. Before, people said you cannot photograph an Hausa bride, but today, we know that is not true. The events in the North are even more colourful these days.

    Your ideal day?

    I sleep very late but wake up very early, especially when I am around my family and my children are going to school. They leave about past 7am; thereafter I go to the wash room. I like to meditate there. I think about everything, what I want to do and where I need to go. I make phone calls too and check my messages. When I’m there, I can spend one hour or more. If I have the time to catch my breakfast, I do, if not, I leave. If I need to type, I do it then because my brain is fresh. If I need to go and honour an appointment, I leave. I try to get back quickly to beat traffic. I am not the kind of person who goes out a lot though. I am almost a recluse. Then I fly a lot; you may find me hopping from one plane to another or driving to Cotonou, Togo or Ghana sometimes. I wish our roads and security are better, I would have been driving across the country. There is no much difference between a day or the weekend. My life is like a routine. The only thing is that we are busier on weekends because most events take place then. Though I don’t usually have to attend.

    What fashion accessories do you not do without?

    As long as I wear something, I do not really care much about accessories. But I love my Buba and Sokoto with my cap. Usually, you will find me with a cap and an OV logo which stands for Ovation. I love wrist watches but I am not big enough to buy expensive ones. My biggest investment right now outside Ovation is paying my children’s school fees. The fees are so heavy, they make me very sober. I have two sons in school in London and two in Nigeria and both ways, it is expensive. I am happy because the end result justifies the means. My first son has gone through six international languages. He was first in Japanese class. He is good in French, Italian, Latin, Spanish and English. He has done us very proud. He is going to university to study computer and mathematics soon. That’s all I work for.

    Any new passion?

    I drive. I have driven different cars at different times; the king of them being my Bentley. It is still there, parked at my friend’s garage somewhere because it will be very disheartening for me to be cruising around in Nigeria in a Bentley under the condition that the country is presently. I am even more sensitive now than I was as a younger person. I told my friend to sell it off but he said it is a vintage car, that I should not sell it. I used to drive it in Ghana but I brought it back. I’ve had Mercedes in London and here, Range Rover, but these days I love the jeeps, I use an Escalade. It convinces me that American cars are not as bad as I used to think.

    Your most cherished gift?

    My most cherished gift is good health from God. There is no gift better than that. I have been most fortunate. I know people who don’t eat or drink or do all the bad things, yet they are not healthy.

    Which grandest party have you attended?

    So many I think. One of them will be Hajia Bola Shagaya’s wedding, the first one they had in Lagos, it was very grand; everybody was there. That is one memorable wedding.

    Which Nigerian at home has most impressed you?

    Alive? Dr. Michael Adenuga Jnr. Nobody has touched me like that. I learnt so much from him. For me, he is a book that I will always read, a book I cannot discard. A lot of times when I want to do things, I tried and imagined how Adenuga would have done it. It used to be MKO Abiola, everybody knows that, but currently, it is Adenuga. I like to describe him as a spirit you don’t see but you feel his impact. People call him different things, but I call him a ‘positive spirit’. He may have his foibles like all human beings, but he is a great character God created. I have never seen that singular person who has the vision to do things that most people will be afraid to do.

    And which Nigerian abroad has most impressed you?

    Abroad, I have always been fascinated by Ambassador Antonio Deinde Fernandez. When I met him eventually, he became like a father. That is one of the greatest Africans I have met and I pray for good health and long life for him. He’s over 80 now but if you see him, you won’t know it. I call him the aginigini ogun. It means a fiery man, a man that can bend knees, a very influential man.

    Tell us about your family’s most memorable day

    That was when my half brother, Professor Ajayi, returned from America around 1975/76, I was about 15 or so. He was an icon to us, getting a degree from a university like Stanford in America, he was smelling nice and lodged at Mayfair Hotel, the best then in Ibadan. The university then could afford to keep their lecturers at such hotels. He was recruited right from school abroad. He had a great influence on me and I lived with him outside and inside campus. I must have stayed with him for about 13 years before coming to Lagos.

    Then, I remember my mom in her dying days. I went to her one day, she was lying down in bed, I laid down beside her, she couldn’t talk. I was stroking her hair as if I was her husband. I was crying because I didn’t want her to die, though I knew she was going to. When my cries got to a crescendo, she suddenly opened her mouth and struggled to say ‘Ayobamidele, are the tears not too much? Don’t worry, Jesus will be with you.’ Those were her final words to me. And when she died, the world celebrated with me at her burial. Gbongan, a little place in Osun State, that has produced many great people, knew a daughter was being buried that day.

    Your greatest possession

    A good family

    Can you describe your style?