Ololade Adewunmi is the wife of the current District Governor of Lions Club District 404B. She was there with him in Japan where, a few weeks ago, her husband joined the larger body of international Lions to begin the ceremonies for his induction as the District Governor of the club in District 404 Nigeria. Her love story is unique. Just like her husband, she started out as a young Leo on campus. They met at a Lion’s Club event and there has been no looking back ever since. Both of them have rapidly moved up the ladder of the club, with her husband being the youngest Lion ever to be so installed as a president of the club in Nigeria. A daughter of an ex-top Central Bank of Nigeria official, Ololade takes us through her early life as she sojourned with her parents from one region of Nigeria to another and to Ilorin, Kwara State capital, where she acquired a chess of gold but lost it all in a mysterious way. She spoke with PAUL UKPABIO.
What inspired your decision to join the Lions Club?
I started in the higher institution as a Leo in 2001. Some members of Lions Club came for a convention in Ilorin, Kwara State, where I was at that time. I was so marvelled at the way they went about the proceedings. My dad was a member of the club. I told my dad that I loved the club and would love to be a member. He told me that when I got to a higher institution, I could join. Fortunately for me, the year I got to my school, an arm of the club was introduced to me in school through a friend called Ololade Fajobi. She was the one that came to tell me that the club had been introduced to her. I was excited, so I joined immediately.
I lived in Kwara State, I grew up there too. My dad was a banker, always on transfer. So we moved from place to place. For university education, I went to Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, where I studied Computer Engineering.
What impression did you have of Leo Club at the time you joined?
Leo Club was an opener to me for leadership experience. It kind of enlarged my coast. It opened our eyes to the larger society and we were able to interact with people we considered as leaders of thought in the larger society. We had trainings, we engaged ourselves in humanity projects such as donating borehole to the Leprosy colony in Ogbomoso. They had been there for a long time without the public giving them the least of attention. And imagine us, just young people who gathered our meagre resources together to deliver such a meaningful project to them. Our resources were from the little that our parents sent to us in school to take care of ourselves, though we were also taught how to raise money for projects from our leaders in the Lions Club. The fact that we were also having our meetings at posh hotels even at that level was also an inspiration to us. It taught us about responsibility, because we also had to source money to pay for such places.
What other things did you learn from joining the club?
I can say that before I joined the Leo Club, I was an introvert. I couldn’t even talk much or address a gathering. But bit by bit, I started getting the training in public speaking, eloquence and all that. For instance, my children are beneficiaries of that today, because as little children, they are bold and can speak in public, because of the training that we have had and now impart to them. I started out as a founding member of the Leo Club in my school. Today, I am the first female Leo to become the First Lady of Lions Club in Nigeria (laughs). For me, that is a great feat.
And how did you meet your husband?
(Laughs) I can say it was a God-ordained journey, because he was a District President of Leo Club when we met. He came to charter our club. At that time, I was the LAUTECH Leo Club treasurer.
Was that the moment that his cupid arrow found your heart?
(Laughs) Yes, that was the moment. You know, as the District President of Leo Club, wherever a club is being chartered, he had to be there. After that, he was always disturbing me about a solid relationship, and because of me, they had to bring the Leo National convention of that year to Ogbomoso in 2002. He was always shuttling between Lagos where he was based and Ogbomoso where I was in school.
Actually, we probably could have met earlier in life, even before he came to my school for the first time to charter the club. But as it was, I was not going out of Ogbomoso for club events like my friends in the club were doing. For instance, when he was inducted as Leo President in Badagry, my club members all went, but I didn’t because of the nature of my course which was tough and needed much concentration from me then. My club members used to call me ‘a local Leo’ because I was not travelling with them, but God had His way. We met later that year, and we got married three years after. He had left school much earlier and was already working. I was not keen on having a relationship with him and that was unlike the ladies on campus who I understood then preferred the working class who they could use as ‘hit and run’.
He was based in Lagos while you were in Ogbomoso. Which of you had to move over to join the other?
(Laughs) I was the one that moved from Ogbomoso to join him in Lagos. And that was because I had finished my degree course by then. However, the surprise is that he couldn’t wait. I got married while I was in 200 level.
How has the marriage been?
It has been glorious and wonderful. We are Christians and he has been very supportive and has also been my mentor in several ways.
In some families, a spouse joining a social club could lead to problems in the marriage. What has been your experience being that you and your husband are not just staunch members of a social club but also key officials?
As a couple, being in the Lions Club has made it so much easy for us. I can imagine that if I wasn’t a member of the club, the marriage would have had issues, because my husband can come home today and the next moment he has to travel again. But because I have the knowledge and idea of what his job entails and the demands on his time by the club, we are able to cope with each other. At times, he might go for a week. If I wasn’t a member of the club, it would have been a tug of war at home. But God made it that I have the knowledge, the understanding, and I know his passion for the club.
I have the same passion for the club too, but I have to lay back sometimes because of the children. Being a mother, looking after young children is not an easy task too. But the good thing is that, now that the children have grown at least to some extent, I can say I am back fully into the activities of the club.
Your husband said recently that you are his official personal assistant as the District Governor for the centennial year.
(Laughs) Yes, that is true.
That indeed is not very common. Do you think he chose you as his official personal assistant?
When we were having the training in preparation for his coming into the office as District Governor, he told us that the work of his personal assistant will be to help him emotionally and officially; that any time he goes out and comes in, he will need someone who will be able to emotionally please him after the official assignment. So he has decided to choose me as his personal assistant (Laughs).
How will you combine that with the home front, considering that every Lion knows how tasking your official duties to the club will be?
I travelled to Japan with him recently for over two weeks. My mum had to come and stay at our home with the children while we were away. We are balancing it with the help of God. I must confess that there are some occasions that I don’t attend, in which case he has to attend alone. But again, there are other occasions that are sensitive and I just have to be there.
As a District Governor of District 404-B, this is going to be a busy year for him. Are you looking forward to that?
Yes. The truth is that I started two years ago looking forward to this centennial year. Even the children understand. When he is travelling, they ask him when he will be coming back and then inform him and as well take permission to sleep in his room with me. He is the youngest ever Lion to become a District Governor. I never knew he was going to climb up the ladder so soon, but I knew even back then that he had a future in the club. He had a dream and even back then, he used to share the dream with me.
Both of you are busy people. Do you have time for holidays with the children?
Yes, we do take out time for holidays. But in the past few years, because of our schedule, we have not done that. But earlier in the marriage, it was common to do that. If I take a holiday now with the children, he will be left alone. He is a businessman apart from being the Lions Club District Governor. He still has to run his business.
And what do you do for a living?
I work in the Lagos State Ministry of Education. My work entails that I am busy too, so it is not him alone that is busy. But my job enables me to have time with my children. The job was chosen, especially so that I can have time for the children as well.
What’s the future like?
Hopeful, dutiful and has lots of space for us for the service of humanity. We have the national convention coming up in Ilorin and then the international convention in Chicago in USA. This centennial year is a big year for all Lions, and we are all committed.
But your club is not just a social club, it is also about committing resources, and both of you are Lions occupying top seats in the club. Don’t you think the demands of the club would be eating into your family resources?
No. When you make up your mind to join the Lions Club, you already know that you are going to serve. As Christians, we believe that God loves a cheerful giver. If you open your hand, you get more, when you tighten your hand, you get less. When you bless a soul, God smiles down at you. It is better to give than to collect. Personally, I am not saying that we have excess resources considering all the projects that have been laid out for the year. But as a couple, we have told God that His work to humanity has to be done and we know and believe that He will supply all our needs according to His riches in glory. Sometimes I am in a tight corner, but before I know it, doors open.
I can recall that some time ago, I decided to resign my job where I was and people screamed that I shouldn’t. But before long, I got the job with the government. I didn’t know anybody in the government but God intervened and I was employed. So that is God for you. And such good luck comes easy with Him when you do good deeds.
Both of you are also involved in Christian ministry of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Tell us about that.
He found his joy in the ushering department, while I am in the children department. I am very involved in it just like he is very involved in his department.
You told me earlier that your dad was also a Lion…
He has been a member of the Lions Club. But he was not as involved as I later became. In his own case, it was his status in the society that attracted his friends to invite him to join, because they knew he would be able to donate and support their projects.
Did your family background contribute to what you are today?
It must have, because I grew up in a home where we were moving from one state of the country to another. So we lived in different parts of the country, and as a family, we were always travelling together. Secondly, I thank God for the parents I have. There was freedom for me to do whatever I wanted to do. Like I told you, I asked my father when I wanted to join the Lions Club and he accepted without any argument whatsoever. That is how they were to me. You know, if he had told me no, of course, that would have affected my eventual decision on the matter.
My parents were more concerned about us letting them know what we wanted to do beforehand. No surprises. You can do whatever you want to do, but let us know about it first. They also taught us to help people. We had a lot of people who stayed with us that we didn’t even know from anywhere before. That call to help the needy had always had a place in my family. That way, I have come across so many people in my life that have affected the way I see life and the way I interpret it.
Can you share some of your childhood memories with us?
I had a lifestyle in Jos that was very interesting. I loved music and fashion. I fell in love with the popular female singer, Salawa Abeni. It got to a point where I told my mum that I did not want to go to school again, that I wanted to do music like Salawa Abeni (laughs). The attraction to Salawa Abeni and her style of music was that high in me. Even till today, I am still one of her greatest fans. I still play her music and sing along.
Also our stay in Benin was memorable because I enjoyed myself a great deal. And also when we were living in Ilorin, my childhood was fun, I must confess. My dad was working at Central Bank and I had the opportunity of being taken to school in the staff bus or in an official car which was an SUV. He was in the first set of people who were privileged to use that as official car. And at that time, that meant something to us and my friends in school. It was an average home but then we were feathered with some degree of luxury.
How about your mum?
My mum has always been a business woman. I have always had cause to look up to her because she is a praying mother.
You are a sociable person and you are in the eye of society. Yet you are a staunch Christian. How do you combine that with your fashion sense?
Well, staunch Christians have good fashion sense too (laughs). I wear anything that fits. I do not really care much about wearing Iro and Buba, but I love flowing gowns. I wear shirts and jeans too. I like clothes that are free on the body, not tight. And most of the times I see that people really do admire the things I wear, especially things that I wear to church.
Do you wear makeup, accessories and so on?
I do light make up. I do accessories but not much. There was a time that I was a gold person. I lived in Ilorin and I was able to acquire quite a lot. However, the gold box was stolen. I was pregnant and was a bit carefree at that point, and after the delivery, just when I needed it most, I looked for the gold box and it couldn’t be found. We actually had also just moved from one house to another. So it could have actually got missing in transit or whatever. It was indeed painful. The box contained jewels that I had been keeping since I was in secondary school.
I grew up in Ilorin, the home of gold. And again, anybody who travelled to Saudi Arabia then used to bring gold back. People returning from Mecca too used to bring some to sell. So I started contributing money to buy gold very early in life, not for sale but for use. I had quite a collection. I remember when I was serving in Lagos under the NYSC programme, I went out for a job appointment wearing a gold plaited shoe. Unfortunately, the head of human resources in that organisation was also wearing the same shoe that day. And the people that interviewed me were like, ‘where did she get that shoe from?’ A common corper! Of course, I ended up not getting the job! The human resource manager must have thought that if I was employed, there would be a heated fashion competition between us (laughs).
But after my gold chest was lost, I lost total interest in stocking gold. It was painful. It was a great fortune that I had acquired. People tried to comfort me that I should not cry over gold, and more so a new mother who had just put to bed. But I guess God had a reason for that to happen. Perhaps I was also too obsessed with gold. My husband comforted me, asking what could be better than surviving the labour room and having a lovely baby. And many people comforted me with such nice words such as ‘vanity upon vanity.’ So that was how my mind went off gold. These days, I wear soft accessories and just anything that looks good on me.
What will you not do without?
That will be my bible.
As the First Lady of District 404, if you are to advise women who are yet to join a social club, what will you say?
Wow! I will say that it is good for couples to join a social club together. That is because membership of a club entails time, sacrifice and sharing a communal life. A woman who is not a member but whose husband is a member must have patience, tolerance, endurance and be ready to adapt to his lifestyle. I got to a stage where I had to overcome my fears and so on. Initially, it affected me even though I was a member of the club. But I had to see and accept it.
When we newly got married, he was already a public figure, and at events and places some people just go ahead and greet only him who they know and moved on, ignoring me the wife! Oh it happens so often to women who marry public fugues. But what do you do? You have to learn to enjoy your situation and grow with it. And guess what, it’s even women who ignore the public figure’s wife more than the men do. But you know at that initial stage, I used to reassure myself that no matter what they did ignoring me, they could not come and take my husband from me! So I moved on happily. It used to be a challenge but I will advise women in that situation to learn to adapt and grow.
