The Nation Newspaper

Tag: survived

  • I survived several bullets herdsmen fired at me, says Kogi school principal

    A secondary school principal, Ojodale Philip, has recalled some of the sad events of last week’s attack in parts of Kogi East, by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

    Philip, the Principal of Community Secondary School, Oganenigwu, said that the school came under herdsmen’s attack around 8.30 am and many people were killed.

    He said: “I personally was shot at several times but nothing happened to me. In my hands are some of the bullets that were meant to kill me,” he said.

    This is coming as fears continue to mount in parts of Kogi East over what appears an undeclared war by suspected Fulani herdsmen, following attacks that left scores dead.

    While the number of those that died from the carnage remains uncertain, some of the residents of the affected areas said that no fewer than 30 people lost their lives while several others were yet unaccounted for during the latest attack on Oganenigwu in Dekina Local Government Area by suspected herdsmen.

    Reports yesterday claimed that people from some of the affected places, including Abejukolo and Agbenema communities, were relocating to neighbouring Anyigba, Egume and other areas for safety.

    According to the Oganenigwu Community Development Association, over 200 people had been displaced.

    They added that over 50 houses were razed by the suspected Fulani herdsmen while residents of the villages around Oganenigwu continue to move away in droves to places like Ologba, Etulutekpe and Iyale.

    “At present, nobody can say the exact number of casualties on both sides, because many families are yet to locate their relatives,” said a source.

    The source added that the presence of security agents drafted to the troubled areas was yet to contain the situation.

    Philip, the Principal of Community Secondary School, Oganenigwu, said, “My school was under attack by Fulani terrorists at about 8.30am, but to God be the glory, no life was lost in my school, but many people were massacred in the village.

    “I personally was shot at several times but nothing happened to me. In my hands are some of the bullets that were meant to kill me.”

    Meanwhile, the spot assessment of Governor Yahaya Bello to the troubled communities on Friday did not hold.

    The governor has however expressed shock over the attack carried out on the people of Oganenigwu and other communities in the Kogi East Senatorial district by bandits suspected to be herdsmen.

    This was contained in a press statement issued on Friday by the Director General on Media and Publicity to the Governor,  Mr. Kingsley Fanwo.

    The statement reads: “The Kogi State Government ensured that the military, the police and other relevant security agencies, including members of the Kogi State Vigilante Services were immediately mobilised to the affected areas following the initial reports.

    “The violence has since been contained and brought under control. The incident however remains under investigation while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the attackers and bring them to justice.

    “His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the Executive Governor of Kogi State will conduct on the spot assessment of the distressed communities today.

    “He will meet with security chiefs and community leaders after which more information will be forthcoming, based on available facts.

     

  • How I survived gunshot on stage last year – Sefiu Alao

    How I survived gunshot on stage last year – Sefiu Alao

    Fuji music star, Alhaji (Dr.) Sefiu Alao Adekunle who is more known as Sefiu Alao, is grateful for being alive today after surviving a gunshot while performing at a party in Ijebu Igbo, Ogun State over a year ago.

    While another woman spraying him with naira notes was not as lucky, Sefiu Alao had to be rushed off for medical attention. He would return back to performing just a week later.

    The shot came from the rifle of a drunken policeman engaged to provide security at the event.

    However, in a recent chat, the Fuji musician who is a Muslim hinted at employing ‘traditional means’ to escape the gunshot.

    “Well, due to the nature of the  job I do and all the risks that are attached to it, it is not out of place for me to protect myself in every way I know,” he said.

    “If not, I would not have been the one standing here to answer your questions today.”

    He also advised his fellow Fuji musicians to do all they know to protect themselves as they travel locally and internationally.

    “I seriously advise my colleagues to go the extra mile when it comes to protection, because the Yoruba believes that, “die okunrin o to” (a man should not leave anything to chance). And that is what saved Sefiu Alao’s life when the incident happened a year ago.”

     

  • How I survived STROKE —Ex-NITEL, Multi-Links executive director

    How I survived STROKE —Ex-NITEL, Multi-Links executive director

    Chief Ezekiel Fatoye, an engineer, has remained a strong force in the telecommunication industry in Nigeria for four decades. Even as a septuagenarian, he is still very active in and outside the boardroom. An ex-Executive Director at NITEL and Multi Links, Chief Fatoye is at present on the management team at Spectranet. In this interview with PAUL UKPABIO at his Victoria Garden City home in Lekki, Lagos State, he speaks on the secrets of his healthy life as a septuagenarian without engaging in strenuous exercise. He also exposes the lifestyles of many of his contemporaries and the practices that kill corporate organisations.

    ONE notices that at 78, you are still looking healthy and fit. What is the secret?

    Well, I am not 100 per cent fit like I used to be. About four or five years ago, I had a stroke. But I thank God it was mild and I eventually overcame it. I am thanking to God for His mercy. It is God’s decision that I should be around till this moment. I thank Him for His unlimited mercy in my life.

    Why did you say so?

    Well, when one is 70 years of age, that is the time for one to be rounding off on life. Like my uncle, Chief Morakinyo used to say, ‘If you are 70, you have got your boarding pass and you are in the departure hall. If the flight is early, you are gone; if it is delayed, good for you. The flight could be delayed for 24 hours or longer if you are lucky (laughs). I think that is the truth. Look at the case of Stephen Keshi, a young man, very sportive, very energetic, but he just died like that!

    Some 10 years ago, you were sharing your hobbies in an interview, and you said that as a form of exercise, you could not imagine yourself jogging around the VGC after eating your favourite meal of pounded yam…

    (Laughs) Yes, that is what I am saying. They will tell you ‘oh, it is all about fitness. You are supposed to go swimming, run, jump and do all sorts to keep fit. Now, that was all part of Stephen Keshi’s job! He was running around the field, training footballers, but he just collapsed and died at 54. So, for me to be here sitting and talking with you, it is God, and I return all the glory to Him alone.

    So in what ways do you recreate these days?

    I go to church. I do the necessary things that I feel I have the ability to do. I laugh, work and leave the rest. In doing all that, I am already well exercised.

    You are known to have been part of innovations in the telecommunications industry. After your tenure as executive director in NITEL, you started Nigeria’s first private telecommunications firm, Multi-Links, and at the advent of GSM, you moved out of that market before the collapse of CDMA. What is your survival secret in telecommunication business?

    Well, I think when we were in NITEL, we could see what was happening. I mean with our exposure then, we knew that telecommunication was going to be privatised at some point. The government was struggling to diversify the telecommunications business because telecom was strictly a monopoly then for the government. But we saw the revolution coming and we asked ourselves, ‘what are we going to do?’ So, we positioned ourselves to be able to compete if eventually government brought in private people to invest in the sector. We knew much about the industry.

    In fact, we took part in the formation of the NCC. The initial money provided to run the NCC was raised by NITEL at that time, and most of our people also worked with NCC as board members. So, we knew that privatisation was coming at that time and we wanted to do something quickly before government came. Unfortunately, we were handicapped because of bureaucracy and procedures, limitations of budget approval, and that unfortunately created problem for NITEL. That was why NITEL could not function as much as people expected it to.

    A time came when government decided that NITEL would be sold. We felt that it was not good, just because it was going to be sold, to start running the place down, saying oh, NITEL is not good or NITEL is useless; trying to de-market NITEL. But that is what was done. If you have a car and you keep saying oh, this car is not good, people should come and buy it. Who will buy it? The person can throw any amount to you to claim the car! That was exactly what happened to NITEL. NITEL had a lot of investment potential. It had a lot of potential as a company, but the odds against it were just too much.

    Of course, NITEL can still do well. I learnt some people have finally bought it. If they run it well, they can even be bigger than any of the existing telecommunication organisations. I think they are now called M-TEL.

    Another issue that is pertinent to the sad NITEL episode was the fact that a lot of people were not paid their benefits and a huge number of people actually died. How did you handle that episode?

    See, that is a very serious area you have just mentioned. You see, when we left NITEL, we got our gratuity the same day and we entered into pension the following month. So, NITEL was well organised. We had already planned our retirement strategy. We saved enough money for NITEL so that if they invested the money, whatever accrued from the investment would be enough to pay pension. That was the plan we left behind in 1994. Unfortunately, the money was just squandered.

    We had money in foreign exchange. We also had in naira value, and we said okay, let us invest this and we can use whatever accrued on the investment to pay NITEL, and we had already worked it out. But when the next government came, they started spending the money. When PDP too came in 1999, they finished the money. They just got the money and wired it. They said ‘ok, pay them (pensioners) for three years, pay them more for three years, pay them five years and they paid us en bloc. Now, it is over five years ago that they have paid that money. When you sign to work for government and you sign for pension, it means that they are going to pay your pension for life. But in this case, the government decided they were going to pay them off.

    But why was this so?

    I am also surprised. In fact, many of my colleagues are dying now like chickens. Every day, they say this or that one has died. Why? Because they don’t have anything again. There is no money; nothing. They were relying on continuous pension. Five years ago, they finished all the money they paid. In fact, it got to a level the pensioners took government to court and won the case.

    So, what happened to that case?

    Of course, the Federal Government put up an appeal. They were at the verge of going to the Supreme Court and government urged them to withdraw the case for a round-table discussion. Now, there is even no penny to pay anybody. People who are working can’t earn enough money to live, so what will happen to the pensioners? So, daily, people are dying like chickens. In fact, I know the senior ones in NITEL who worked in Britain before, they have gone back to Britain to be collecting pension. They have their houses and they live comfortably well in Britain now. Imagine, after working for thirty-something years in their own country, they couldn’t live well. They worked for five or 10 years in Britain and they are living comfortably well. In fact, some of them are getting five hundred or three hundred pounds in a month. If you get that in a month, won’t you be able to survive? And if they come here with that money in their bank account, after converting it, they have something reasonable for them to survive.

    You were able to survive all that uncertainty by getting investors to establish Multi-Links. That business survived until the arrival of GSM in 2001 and you sold again to move up to data technology sector. How were you always able to see and move ahead?

    You see, one thing about life is that you have to think ahead of time. A telecommunication company requires big investment. You need a lot of money. It is not a little game. It is a game of cash; deep pocket. If you don’t have that, you cannot survive in telecommunications. And you have to look at the technology that is coming. You must review the type of technology that is coming. We saw it coming. We looked at the business and we decided to be truthful to ourselves. As we have in the political arena, so we have in the field of technology.

    CDMA was supposed to be superior in design to GSM. In fact, it was Quocom of America that developed CDMA. They made a good use of the technology and sold it to another company to develop it. Before that technology, CDMA was strictly used for the military. They used it for the military because of the nature of the security involved. They didn’t want anyone to clone it. It is so difficult to clone, and that was good for military intelligence, especially during the era of the cold war. So, when cold war was over in 1962, they decided to commercialise the technology and that was when they allowed it to be franchised, and that was how CDMA became a globally used telephony technology in some parts of the world.

    Of course, they could have come up with more value added innovation to it as the promoters of GSM did, but you know Quocom is a very small company. Erricson was the forehead of GSM. They were the people who really spent a lot of money to develop GSM. So, when Quocom was going through recession, they bought over Quocom. When they bought over Quocom, there was no way Quocom could go forward with her CDMA invention. Of course, they have spent a fortune on CDMA, and when Erricson took over, the CDMA went down and GSM began to thrive. So, we knew that GSM was going to wipe the market because of the value added. We were aware of the data technology, the SMS and all other facilities that came with it. So, it was obvious that CDMA had no chance to survive in that market anymore.

    If it was just voice market, yes, CDMA would have been okay. But now the system is beyond voice. It is now data that is the major business. So, that is what we saw and we said, gentlemen, I think we have to move; that in another few years to come, things would change. So, you find that eventually, we now sought data and we started data in a very unique way, and I think data is the new way to go. Eventually, penetration is coming high in Nigeria and eventually, it is going to be the in-thing.

    As it were now, it seems MULTI-Links has sunk in shape and visibility. Is it right to say that TELCOM of South Africa made a mistake by buying MULTI-Links off you considering what happened to them a few years afterwards?

    That is a story for another day. But if you insist, I will tell you yes, they ran away.

    Why do you think they had to run away?

    Anyway, I don’t know whether I will be allowed to say anything, because my feeling is TELCOM failed in the area of corporate governance. Corporate governance killed the company. At the time they left, they shouldn’t have left. They came to Nigeria with the impression that they were coming to live like kings. They got accommodation in Lekki. They said they could not live in Lekki, they went to take multiple residence in Banana Island. I mean that was quite ridiculous. They took apartment in an environment where they were paying dollars. They didn’t want to ride cars, they wanted to ride jeep. Everybody, every TELCOM man had a jeep, whether he was a cleaner from South Africa or whatever he was, he must drive a jeep.

    And they had one weakness, which also culminated in their failure, and I warned them before I left there. I think they have this racial arrogance. They had three races running the administration of Multi Links at the time they took over. They had Nigerians separate, Indians separate and South Africans separate. But South Africans were on top, every other person was down. That was what they were doing, and I warned the man there. I even put it in writing. I said, ‘Look, I warn you not to behave like this; the thing will not augur well for you if you continue like this.’

    You think the Indians should have taken vantage positions because of their technological know-how?

    No, they could have used anybody, but don’t discriminate. Don’t show it up. You know this apartheid background they are coming from really affected their psyche and that really destroyed morale. Some of them are white, and that really led to a big problem. Come to think of it again, there were other things they did that did not augur well for the development of the company. In some cases, they went to hire sites in areas they never had network. They went to Adamawa, Yobe and all those far-flung areas to hire sites where they didn’t have signals and they didn’t even plan to have anything there. And they were paying.

    Not only that, they now set up another company, which they said would be responsible for the operation of the service. Then they were going to pay 18 per cent of their gross income to that company, and that company had no staff. Multi-Links staff would be doing their jobs and they would still pay the company 18 per cent. Then the real company, which is Multi-Links, they had nothing for them. When the revenue was going down, they then signed an obnoxious agreement with that company. They signed 10 years. When they eventually found that they were in trouble, they decided to run away. The people they borrowed the sites from, they were already owing them over a $100 million. The houses they paid three years rent for in one place, they couldn’t stay there and ultimately, the landlord could not return the three years money to them.

    So, when you consider all this, you will see a multitude of actions that led to failure. That is why I told you it was corporate governance issue that ruined them. When they now ran into total confusion, they called Helliot, the people they were owing money, to come and buy the company over, and the people said, ‘well, we are not operators, we only provide services.’ They said, ‘okay, bring $10 million and we will give you the company.’ That was what they did to Helliot. They transferred the whole thing to them and said ‘okay, liquidate all what we are owing you, take the company over.’

    So Helliot took over?

    Helliot was like, how would they cope? How would they get the company on? That was how they brought Demola Elesho to go and look at the way to bring the company on. But because they could not expand anymore and the others were expanding and they were losing customers every day, subscribers were dumping their network, they went lean. They are still operating now.

    So, what is the story of Spectranet where you are now?

    Like I told you earlier, we have seen that the future is data. What we wanted to do was more than just data. We wanted to create a complete bundle where you have voice, television and data together. Like in Britain, if you say you want to buy Sky today, you have a telephone line, you have television and you have the data or wifi or whatever you want to have in your house. That is a complete bundle. That is what we wanted to do. But first of all, government did not appreciate our effort. We said okay, we want to run fibre to every home in Lagos and Abuja, so that every home will be able to have television, telephone and data. That was our major plan: land line, television and data. Even at the initial stage, we were discussing with Sky in London to see how we could partner with them in the area of buying content from them.

    And how is Spectranet doing in terms of market share?

    I think we have a good lead. We are okay in Lagos and Port Harcourt, Abuja and even in Ibadan. We are okay now. But the only problem that data people have is the cost of the bandwidth, although it is coming down now. The cost of the bandwidth, that is the one that carries signals from Main-One or Glo or SAT-3 or whatever to enable our international cyber link. And why it is costly is because people who invest in bandwidth want quick returns on investment. Yes, they have the capacity but they are now reducing the capacity because of the cost. The cost is too high. If the cost has been reasonable, maybe the cost of running data would have come down completely, because it takes a bigger chunk of the production cost. That is the bandwidth cost. So, if that comes down like in many countries, we could enjoy cheaper data consumption.

    In some countries, the equivalent is N9 per metre. But in Nigeria, they are asking for N12,000. So, this is the real challenge we are facing. But I can equally tell you that they are coming down. In fairness to them, they are coming down because of the competition between Glo, MTN and May-ONE. Those are the three companies that are offering data services. Of course NITEL also has, but I don’t know if they still function.

    We learnt NITEL is coming with a 4GE data speed and they promise to make that a niche game. Do you see that succeeding?

    Well, that is what they said; they want to start from the top. You see, people are running away from landline. And that was what NITEL was doing before. Anybody that has ‘national carrier’ is obliged to provide landline. Glo and M-Tel are supposed to provide landline because they are national carriers. Glo is second national carrier, while M-Tel is first national carrier. They are supposed to provide Nigerians with land phones. For instance, if I want a land telephone in my house now, who do I apply to? I guess nobody.

  • ‘How we have survived despite our disabilities’

    ‘How we have survived despite our disabilities’

    It’s always a great feeling to perform extra-ordinary feats, but it’s even more so, when this act is done despite a terrible disability. Daniel Adeleye x-rays the lives of some young men who have refused to be caged in a corner by their disabilities.

    Tuesday August 21, 1992 started like every other day for Sikiru Omiesan Adewale, a machine operator in a plastic producing company; bright, beautiful and full of hopes. But by 10.am that morning, the gleam of hope for a brighter future for indefatigable Adewale was suddenly replaced with a bleak one. By sheer accident, the machine he had operated for years slammed into his right hand, turning it into mangled flesh and bone in an instant. Long faces of horror greeted doctors’ declaration that bubbly Adewale’s right hand would have to be dismembered.

    However, following the amputation, the 30-something year-old refused to be down-cast.

    He said: “After the accident and my right hand was amputated; I summoned courage and began to think of my future and what I could do for a living again. With my little education, I could not afford to be a waste. Although I was highly depressed, I took a decision right there in the hospital and called on a nurse to get me a pen and an exercise book. I began practising with my left hand, because I was right-handed before the accident. First, I learnt to write alphabets A – Z, and later I practised how to write words. That was how I switched to doing things with my left hand. Although life has placed me in Canyon’s gloom, being an eager beaver, I summoned courage. I can actually say that I work harder now than before the accident; maybe because of how I trained myself. I even continued playing football as pastime after the amputation. I only stopped recently because of age.”

    When asked if he felt any different going on the football pitch with only one hand, Adewale said “I felt as if nothing had happen to any part of my body. I enjoyed dribbling my opponents and I even scored against them. Even now, I still organise football competition in the company where I work. We play inter-departmental matches and also play against other companies.”

    On how he feels seeing other people with their full complements, while he is condemned to going about with a stump for a right hand, Adewale said one of his greatest fears when the accident first happened and the idea of amputation was muted was losing his friends and peers at work. But that has not been the case.

    He says, “I have more friends now than before. People in and outside my company have been so wonderful to me. There are however two occasions when I really wished I had my two hands. First was the day I was discharged from the hospital, when children from the neighbourhood took to their heels on sighting me with one hand. Second was when some of my friends and I went to a certain farm. On that farm, we were plucking mangoes and cashew. My friends climbed the trees and began displaying all manner of acrobatics. On those two days, I was highly depressed at my condition. But I immediately put those moments behind me, because it could happen to any human being. Before the accident, I was seeing people in that form too.”

    What is it that motivates him? We ask.

    Adewale said “I derive motivation whenever I see someone who is hard working. I always feel uncomfortable calling people to do something for me because I believe I can do them  myself, even if it takes me longer time. Can you imagine that I buckle my wrist watch myself? I wash clothes, and I drive a car!”

    Surprised, at his last claim, this reporter wanted to know how he manages to drive a car. His response was: “Driving is something I had been doing before the accident; it has become like a part of me. So after the incident, it occurred to me that even people with two hands occasionally drive with one hand; so that thought galvanised me. One day my brother came with his car; unknown to him, I took the car key to see if my imagination can come to reality. I started the ignition, and to my surprise the car was moving. I was able to control it and I found it easy to do.”

    He practically threw a jab at lazy able-bodied youths, when he declared that he does a lot of chores himself, including washing, farming, riding bicycles and even participating in the monthly Environmental Sanitation Day clean-up.

    “Sometimes when I go on a delivery mission, because I now work with my company’s marketing department, I would be the first person to step out of the vehicle and start off-loading the products. One day my manager (marketing manager) nearly slapped one of our staff, when he sighted me carrying the goods while the other guy stood akimbo looking at me. I was the one who was now pleading for him. That is because I took a decision not to be a waste product after the accident. Look around and you’d see many of my equivalents on the streets, begging for alms; that perhaps is why people look at me with surprise when I give them alms, even though we are supposedly in the same condition. I tell you, being slothful is worse than death.”

    Speaking more on his condition, Adewale said “Before the accident, my dream was to have a university degree; it doesn’t matter if I used it to work or not. But I stopped along the way because of the accident. Now at age 54, I am still going to pursue my original dream of acquiring university degree at National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN. That will be an impressive accomplishment for me. It will also give me a sense of fulfillment.”

    Aside the ambition to obtain a degree, Adewale says he will also like to run his own business venture. “God willing, after my retirement from the company where I work now, I hope to venture into business and probably delve into local politics in Oyo State. I’m someone who likes to see to the affairs of people around me, so I’d be glad to play my part in whatever way to help my people politically or in form of philanthropy.”

     

    Ibrahim Lateef, the one-armed bus driver

    Adewale is not alone in this tale of dogged refusal to bow to a cruel fate. The case of Ibrahim Lateef is almost similar, except that he is nine years younger and a commercial driver.

    Lateef, who drives popular Paragon passenger bus otherwise known as ‘danfo,’ shuttles between Agege and Mushin in Lagos Metropolis. He recalled how he got involved in a ghastly accident on the ever-busy Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on a fateful Saturday morning, while traveling with his family. Luckily, Lateef’s wife and children came out of the accident unhurt, but he unfortunately lost his left hand, as it got cut off in the crash.

    According to him, “When the accident happened and I lost one hand, it was as if the world had come to an end. I went back to my parents in Ibadan, to receive treatment. I was in that condition when news came that my wife has left for another man, because she was not ready to go through my darkest moment with me. I was saddened by her sudden change of heart. To say the news hit me like thunderbolt is to grossly understate a glaring fact. I thought I would never become anything again in life; I even thought of committing suicide.”

    Lateef’s voice had a low rhythmic tenor, with his lips moving with a slight tremor as he narrated his ordeal. “It came to a stage, unknown to my parents, when begging for alms was a weapon of last resort for me to survive. Along the line, a small still voice ministered to my heart against what I was doing to myself. At about that same time, my parents and siblings got wind of my new lifestyle and came to take me home. Thereafter, they encouraged me and tried to make me see that my condition is not the end of the road and that enlivened me.

    “Because of this, I put myself together and returned to Lagos. When I got to Lagos, I went to Brown Street, at Oshodi. The fraternal sympathies from friends, the then leaders of NURTW in the zone brightened my spirit and made me face my life squarely. Since I was a commercial driver before the accident, I decided to toe that line, but I couldn’t do much. My people at Brown Street retrained me in driving and I started all over again as a bus conductor. From there I was able to move vehicle, until I became an expert at driving again.”

    On how he obtained driver’s license even with one hand, he said, a friend helped him to get it, but when it became necessary to renew it, he went to Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) office.

    “When I got to FRSC, they asked me how the accident happened, I explained to them. I also let them know that I was a commercial driver before the accident. They conducted a driving test for me and discovered that I could drive very well. The only thing they told me after the test was that I should try and fix an artificial hand, to enable me feel more comfortable while driving. But to me I don’t see it as necessary, because I can even drive more than most people that have two hands.”

    So now The Nation asked how he copes with the street urchins otherwise known as “Agbero” at motor parks and bus stops. We also wanted to know how he copes with the unending arguments and insult from aggressive passengers.

    First, Lateef says he endures the Area boys, and as for the passengers, he says nothing concerns him with them, because most of them may not even know that he has only one hand.

    Asked if he ever considered his present condition as a stigma and a setback, Lateef’s reply was: “I wish I had two hands, I would have done better than this. In driving a commercial bus, there are lots of insults, especially from the passengers. Assuming I had two hands and I am able to further my education to a degree level, that would have possibly earned me a white collar job and  me due respect. Sometimes I consider my condition  shameful but at the same time, I thank God for giving me the grace to try in my little way to achieve what some people out there, even with their two hands, cannot achieve. I believe that destiny cannot be altered, what will be, will be. So I accept my fate. And I am using this opportunity to appeal to those people out there who have been unwittingly discriminating against physically handicapped to have a rethink.”

    Isiaka Adio

    39 year-old Isiaka Adio, fondly called ‘One Nation’ by his friends was hit by a stray bullet from sporadic gunshots by a careless mobile police officer in 2001. As a result, his right leg was amputated.

    Adio had graduated, following years of apprenticeship as a panel beater in 2001; but his inability to raise funds to establish himself, forced him to take up commercial bus driving as a temporary measure.

    Recalled Adio, “After I completed my training in panel beating, I went into driving and I shuttled between pen cinema and Ojodu/Berger axis to raise money for my graduation and buy tools that the job required. However, one morning, about 8 months after I started this struggle, my bus developed a fault and for some reason, I swapped roles with my conductor, so I could monitor the vehicle, while he drove. During one of the trips, we were heading towards Ojodu/Berger, after dropping some passengers at a bus stop, when I suddenly noticed that some mobile police officers riding in a bus were chasing us. So we decided to park by the Agege Stadium and find out what the problem was, but as I came down from the bus to ask what we had done wrong, the next thing we heard were gunshots and a bullet hit me in my right thigh. To cut the long story short, the Mopol ran away, and I was taken to General Hospital, Ikeja for treatment. But to add salt to injury, the doctors were on strike, and I was in that hospital for two weeks without adequate attention from any doctor. By that time, the leg had begun decomposing and stinking; this prompted my aunty to take me to another hospital, where the leg was eventually amputated.”

    As a result of the amputation, Adio said he became disillusioned. “It took the timely intervention of my elder brother to stop me, when one night, I attempted to poison myself. That was because I never knew I could ever become anything again in life. He was with me in the hospital for the five months that I spent there, pleading and feeding me with words of wisdom and encouragement. One day, they brought another patient whose condition was more critical than mine and he died few days later in the process. When I saw this, I realized that when there is life, there is hope. So I summoned courage to live again.”

    However, following that resolve, Adio said, “I was without a job for 12 years, sitting in the bus stops and motor parks. During this period, I got married and was blessed with three children.”

    Upon this revelation, one couldn’t help but ask how he got married under his condition and without any source of income.

    His response: “Before the incident, my wife and I were already courting. And when it happened like this, she refused to dump me. She stood by me throughout the months I spent in the hospital. My wife is a virtuous woman. Among her virtues are loyalty, courage and truthfulness.”

    Asked how he got back to driving and why he chose to drive even with one leg, Adio said “With one leg, I couldn’t go back to panel beating. So one day, my friend, Femi, had closed for the day and he ran out of fuel in his bus. He sent his conductor to buy fuel in a can to refill the tank, but after refilling, the ignition was taking longer time to start; so they had to push it and his conductor alone could not push it. I requested that I sat at the driver’s seat and start the ignition, while he and his conductor pushed the vehicle. To my greatest surprise, I discovered that I could still drive. So I quickly pleaded with my friend to let me drive the bus the following day, so I could earn some money to feed my family. He accepted, and that’s how I came back to driving.”

    But how does he cope driving with one leg, and left leg for that matter?

    Adio said: “I had no choice but to do something. I needed to cater for my family; my parents were not financially balance and my children were growing older every day. To pay their school fees was becoming increasingly difficult, and there was no other means of eking a livelihood. I am clearly in pains doing the job, but what can I do? Sometimes I go on just one trip and back, and usually, the person who gives me the bus does it out of compassion, so I can put food on the table for my family. Besides, I cannot continue using my disability as an excuse to beg for money every day.”

    We also asked how he fared with the tough conditions of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC and the Vehicle Inspection Officers, VIO to obtain his driver’s license.

    “Disabled people are classified under category J in the FRSC plan.” He answered. “What they did was conduct a test for me to see if truly I can drive, and I passed. The VIO occasionally stop me on the road, but they are always being gentle with me. Besides, most of them knew me before the unfortunate incident.”

    On the issue of the ‘agberos’ or transport unions, Adio says, he doesn’t give them up to what other people give because they know his condition.

    FRSC, VIO speak

    How safe is the public with physically challenged drivers on the road. Can they be trusted to drive carefully enough, considering that even full-bodied people still exhibit some inadequacies that sometimes result in fatal accidents? Is the procedure of getting a driver’s license for the physically challenged the same with able-bodied people? We sought answers from officers of the responsible agencies.

    Asst. Corps Commander Leye Adegboyega, Ota FRSC Unit Command, says the procedure is the same, but the group where the physically handicapped falls in FRSC’s plan for obtaining a driver’s license is different.

    Adegboyega said, “The physically handicapped is classified under plan J of FRSC. Though issuance of driver’s license is a tripartite arrangement among FRSC, VIO and board of internal revenue, before a form is downloaded to any applicant, be it physically challenged or able-bodied, we need to access the extent of their physical fitness by presenting to us their physical fitness certificate, which is mandatory. After this, we take them to the field for driving test before we send them to VIO and later to the board of internal revenue, where they will get driver’s permit.”

    Echoing the same position, head of Vehicle Inspection Office, VIO Ota, Kehinde Paul Osukoya, says a physically challenged person is expected to obtain learner’s permit and also must have attended a private driving school with medical report.

    “Although a person may be medically fit to drive but VIO have the right to use its discretion to find out if the person is really capable. Medical fitness and capability are two different ball games. For instance, a person that has one eye may be medically fit to drive, but if anything happens to the one eye he uses to drive, he may not be able to control the vehicle.” Osukoya said.

    Explaining further, the VIO officer says a person that has only one leg cannot be issued a driver’s license because the position may be awkward to the throttle and break peddlers. Even if medical doctor says he can drive, such case is not acceptable unless the car such person wants to drive has been converted for that purpose.

    “Sometimes, people with amputated hand or somebody who does not have fingers to grip the wheel steering, cannot be given a driver’s license, unless he obtains it through the back door, which is now endemic in our society. Fingers have vital roles to play during driving.”

    He frowns at the claim by some people that they are more comfortable driving with one hand, than when they are using two hands.

    Osukoya also expresses dissatisfaction at the policy of government that makes the issuance of a driver’s license a tripartite alliance. He says the policy encourages fake driver’s license.

    “Government policies must be abided by, but the long process the applicant’s have to go through has contributed largely to the issue of fake driver’s license, because many applicants are coward of procedures. It’s supposed to be one short arrangement, where people could get their license at the right place and devoid of extortions.”

  • How I survived road accident, by Obasanjo

    How I survived road accident, by Obasanjo

    Ex-president relives anxious moment 

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday spoke on his accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway on Saturday, saying he had a lucky escape.

    Reliving how it all happened, Chief Obasanjo said the accident was caused by a burst tyre.

    He said he was on his way to attend the 80th birthday celebrations of billionaire businessman Chief Kessington Adebutu in Lagos.

    A statement by his media aide, Vitalis Ortese, reads: “The Office of … Obasanjo wishes to clarify that he is hale, hearty and away in Abidjan, Cote Ivoire, where he is observing the Presidential Elections holding in that country.

    “The office also wishes to confirm, that on Saturday, October 24, 2015, Obasanjo was indeed involved in an accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, after Sagamu roundabout, while he was on his way to join in the celebrations of the 80th birthday anniversary of Chief Adebutu in Tinubu Methodist Church, Lagos.

    “The vehicle, he was travelling in suffered a burst left tyre at the rear and swerved several times but did not hit any curb or any car in front or behind until it did a 180-degree turn and faced where it was coming from, and he had to change vehicles.

    “Obasanjo wishes to convey his deep appreciation to all those, who by way of calls, personal messages and prayers, and indeed members of the general public, who have shown overwhelming concern about his welfare.”

    The deteriorating road has been a source of worry to the public.

    It takes longer time to travel on it because of huge craters.

    Trailers, trucks and other heavy duty vehicles fall on it at will, causing heavy taffic.

    During its eight-year tenure  – 1999 – 2007 – the Obasanjo administration did not do anything to rehabilitate the road.

    The late President Umaru Yar’Adua, who succeeded him, awarded contract for the road’s rehabilitation to Bi-Courtney, but its execution was stalled by disagreement between the government and the concessionaire.

    But former President Goodluck Jonathan cancelled the concession and awarded the job to Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) and Julius Berger.

    Yesterday, Mr. Hakeem Olopade, a director of Motorways Asset Limited, which is working with the Federal Ministry of Works on the “delivery of a fully-enhanced Lagos-Ibadan express road”, said the tempo of work would soon increase with the re-dedication of all stakeholders to its completion on schedule.

    Speaking with reporters in Lagos, Olopade said the need for due process, enhancements to earlier design and nature had been responsible for the slow pace of work on “the novel PPP-structured road.”

    Olopade, who is also the Executive Director (Projects) at The Infrastructure Bank (TIB), the government’s fund arrangers for the N167 billion project, said the road remained the most crucial highway in the transport sector, and cannot be abandoned.

    TIB, he said, had successfully raised the “Tranche I” of the financing of the project in line with the expectations of the government and other stakeholders; the “Tranche II” is currently being arranged.

    He said the stakeholders would maximise efficiency gains in the construction phases of the project to ensure its completion to time and budget.

    Olopade said financial obligations and commitments were being kept in order to keep the contractors on site while the stakeholders finalise the new designs and geometric drawings, adding: “The necessary development studies are also being finalised in good time ahead of full construction work resumption soon”.

    Arrangement of funds for the project, he said, was “slightly slowed down by legal conundrum” caused by the 2012 termination of the former concessionaire agreements on the road.

    Olopade said: “The rains have also recently affected full blown construction activities as some asphalt works have to be suspended till the dry season.”

    The lost construction grounds, he said, would be covered by  Julius Berger Plc and RCC after the rains.

    Julius Berger Plc handles the six-lane Sagamu Interchange and Lagos end of the road; RCC is handling the 84-kilometre  Sagamu – Ibadan (Ojoo interchange).

  • ‘How my 11-month-old grandchild miraculously survived the blast but lost two toes’

    ‘How my 11-month-old grandchild miraculously survived the blast but lost two toes’

    THE Federal Capital Territory once again came under attack penultimate Friday. Twin bombs were let off at two separate areas in the capital city, reminding the residents and indeed Nigerians that, like the North East, the nation’s seat of power is not immune to attacks by the dreaded Boko Haram sect.

    Nyanya, one of the two areas that were bombed, has become a regular and easy target for the sect. It will be recalled that the last two bombings in the nation’s capital occurred in that axis of the city. The Friday incident occurred about 15 months after the Wuse II explosions, which occurred close to the scene of the last two Nyanya blasts.

    Although the impact was minimal in Nyanya this time around, compared to the one at Kuje, the other area where the deadly group struck on that fateful day, the two extreme ends were bombed simultaneously in what could have been coordinated attacks, leaving behind sorrow, blood and tears. No fewer than 20 deaths were recorded with many injured.

    Miraculous survival of babies has become a recurring trend in the attacks on the capital city. In the first Nyanya blast, a baby named Goodness had escaped with a very minor injury, while the mother was seriously injured. The situation almost repeated itself in the Wuse II bomb blast where a baby boy named Joshua survived miraculously.

    Unlike the Nyanya incident, however, Joshua’s mother did not survive the attack. She died immediately from a flying object that hit her as a result of the explosion. The same situation also played out in penultimate Friday’s twin explosions in Kuje where an 11-month-old baby girl, Ifeoluwa Adebayo, survived miraculously.

    It was learnt that before the blast, which occurred at about 9 pm, little Ifeoluwa was strapped to her mother’s back. But she was thrown off by the blast and was not as lucky as the two other children because two of her toes were chopped off by the blast and she had to be admitted at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Trauma Centre of the National Hospital, where she is recovering.

     

    Survivors recount ordeal

    Survivors of the blasts and their relatives are still trying to come to terms with the incident which occurred at a time that the military appeared to be having the upper hand in the fight against the terrorists group.

    Mr. Adebayo Moses, who lost his wife and two children in the Kuje incident, was still finding it difficult to overcome the news of the death of his loved ones. The retired civil servant also has an injured daughter and granddaughter to nurse. For him it is a hard pill to swallow as he said he sees his wife in his sleep every day.

    Moses could only advise the government to, as a matter of urgency, address the insecurity situation. He said: “I am 58-year-old pensioner and a native of Ife, Osun State. I retired from the Federal Ministry of Aviation.

    “My wife and her three children were coming from her garden in Kuje. They were trekking home when the bomb blast occurred. My wife, first daughter and last child died in the blast. Another of my child, Esther, who followed them, sustained injury on her leg, while my granddaughter, who will clock one year on the 22nd of this month, lost two of her toes.

    “I am not myself. I have been devastated since this unfortunate incident occurred. My wife was like a mother to me. My lovely children ask after my wellbeing all the time. It is only God that can help me because I do not know how I will cope without them.

    “My wife was 43 years old. The boy named Ifemi Adebayo was 24, while the last child, Oluwaseun, was 10.

    ” My late daughter, Christiana, had just finished from Nasarawa State Polytechnic. Their bodies are still in the National Hospital mortuary.

    “I have sent a message home to see my wife’s family. I have also told them about the sad development and my people are with her family as I speak.

    “Definitely, if government releases their bodies, the children will be buried here. But I do not know when the government will release their bodies.”

    He urged the government to make security of lives and property its number one priority.

    “Government should not relax about security. It should be an everyday affair. Do you know that I see my wife in my sleep every day? I cannot just stop thinking about my late wife and my children,” he said.

    The baby Ifeoluwa, who is now out of the ICU, was found by one of the sympertisers  who picked her up after she was thrown off from the back of her mother. She was found crying on the ground while her mother and grandmother lay dead.

    Esther, Ifeoluwa’s aunt, who was also a survivor of the explosion, said she passed out and only woke up to find her in the arm of one of the sympertisers who held her close to his chest as she was crying.

    Esther, who also had some cut on her right leg, said she never knew she was also injured until she took the little baby to the Kuje General Hospital where she was told that she also needed medical attention because of the cut on her leg.

    A survivor, 33-year-old Jeffrey Emieh, had only gone to the area to deliver a message. He was among those that were receiving treatment at the National Hospital. He was a victim of the second Kuje bomb blast. The Road Safety Corps official, who is about to get married to his lawyer-fiancé based in Benin, Edo State, was waiting for a commercial motorcycle popularly called okada when the explosion went off.

    Emieh said: “I am 33 years old. I was involved in the Kuje second bomb blast. I was coming from work and branched to give a parcel to a friend. I was just coming out. I had to do that because I wanted to go somewhere very early the next morning.

    “I was there waiting for a bike to come around, but the usually busy area was unusually empty. As I was still wondering what could have happened, the bomb went off.

    “I can’t be very sure, but I got there between the hours of 8 and 9 pm, because that is the time I usually come back from work. I am an officer with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). I thank God that I am getting better. It is always an unfortunate incident.

    “I do not want to sound political about it and it is not my priority to do that. I just thank God for saving my life. That is what I am interested in. I am about to get married. My fiancé is in Benin, Edo State. She is a lawyer.”

    Another survivor, Idris Haruna, who hails from Kastina State, narrated how he narrowly escaped death while his three friends that were standing with him were felled by flying objects as a result of the blast.

    His only worries now, according to him, is how start life all over again, as he said he had lost everything to the explosion.

    He said: “I was in Kuje, where I sell wire on the road. It was probably around 9.30 pm when we were about closing for the day. We had already started packing our things when we heard the sound like something breaking. The distance between where I was and where the thing broke must not have been more than 10 yards.

    “The show glass that I usually use to display my wares broke. About three of my friends, whom were standing in front of me as we talked, immediately died in front on me. I had to climb over their bodies to escape. It was just God that said that I still have more days ahead of me. The glass pierced the head of one of my friends. It also shattered my legs and laps. I thank God for saving me.

    “ The only problem right now is that I lost everything in the blast. Everything that I have worked so hard to achieve has been lost. I cannot think of what will happen after I leave this hospital.”

    He also appreciated the government for showing concern and picking their bills. He, however, pleaded with the government to assist them to get back on their feet.

    Seventy-five-year-old Muhammadu Lawali, a suya seller and survivor of the Kuje blast, said he could not really say what happened. The only thing he could remember was that he woke up to find himself lying on the floor.

    He said: “I just woke up and found myself lying on the floor in Kuje where I sell suya. From there, I was taken to the General Hospital Kuje, where they removed some iron rods from my back, shoulders, hand and laps. I was in hospital for about two days before I recognised where I was and was told that I was a victim of bomb blast.

    “Well, I believe that it is from God. When God sends something to you, it must happen to you. It was predestined, so there is nothing that could have been done.”

    A survivor of the Nyanya blast, Ibrana Bello, who trades in local perfumes under the Nyanya overhead bridge, said he was very close to the scene of the incident but escaped by a whisker. He was badly injured in the blast.

    Recounting his ordeal, Bello said: “I was actually sitting down. I made to stand up and suddenly the bomb exploded, but I did not see who it was that detonated the bomb, because it was dark. The blast affected my legs seriously. I was quite close to the bomber. It was just God that delivered me.”

    His elder brother said he was at Maraba check point when they called to tell him that his younger brother had been rushed to Nyanya General Hospital. He was later transferred to the Asokoro Hospital. Right now, he is getting better.”

    Another survivor, Lawal Ibrahim, who sells shoes at the roadside where the blast occurred, was too weak to talk. He complained of chest pain.

    The Katsina indigene was, however, more concerned about restarting his business.

    Godlove Haruna, another survivor of the Nyanya explosion, was on his way to where he used to sleep when the explosion went off. He said all he could remember was that he was lifted up and came down hard on the ground.

    The Plateau State indigene, who sleeps around the Nyanya Park where he loads vehicles, said: “I went to eat and was passing to go and sleep when the bomb exploded. I was not expecting it. As I was passing, I heard a loud bang and the next thing I saw myself up and then I hit the ground again. My ears immediately went deaf and my legs numb.

    “I did not see any of the dead victims because when it happened to me, I lost consciousness.”

    His brother, Ezra Joseph, who was also with him when the bomb went off, said: “They went to eat. After eating, he left him to go and sleep, we sleep at the park across the road where the bomb blast happened.

    “He was right behind me. Before I could get to where we sleep, I heard a bang and I was telling someone that I hope this bomb blast has not affected my senior brother.

    “When I went later to make enquiries, they said maybe he was among the people taken to the hospital. That was how I rushed to Nyanya hospital to find my brother before we were referred to the Asokoro General Hospital.”

  • Hajj stampede: How UNILAG teachers, others survived

    Hajj stampede: How UNILAG teachers, others survived

    Two University of Lagos (UNILAG) lecturers were among the pilgrims who survived the hajj stampede last week, it was learnt yesterday.

    Dr Ismail Ibrahim, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication and Acting Head of Actuarial Science Department, Dr Tajudeen Yusuf, were saved by their decision not to take a short cut back to their tent in Mina.

    The duo went to the Jamaraat to stone Satan, depicted by a pillar, with Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation (ZSF), Imam Abdullahi Shuaib; Sheikh Ismail Raji, Mudeer of Ma’dul Rahmah, an Islamic School in Isolo, Lagos and his son, Ishaq, a student in Saudi Arabia.

    According to Imam Shuaib, the decision of many to take a short-cut back home after the exercise led to the stampede.

    Imam Shuaib, Coordinator of the Conference of Islamic Organisations (CIO), Lagos State chapter, said: “We could have been victims of the stampede had we joined the bandwagon of those crossing to the route of those walking towards the Jamaraat. One of us suggested the idea of crossing because it would enable us to follow a short-cut and that would quickly take us to our tent. Fortunately, majority of us declined and insisted on following the normal route back home. Even though, our walk back home was a long one and we were very tired, the good news was that we got to our tent safely.”

    Another contributory factor, he said, was the blocking of the access route by some pilgrims.

    Pilgrims in Tent ‘A’, he said, did not want others to obstruct their movements and disrupt their he initiative is supported by comfort.

    He said: “We started the walk from Muzdalifah which covered a distance of about three kilometres to our tent in Mina. Immediately we got to Mina, we dropped our belongings and headed towards the Jamaraat.

    “After walking for about one kilometre, the crowd was getting thicker. We later found ourselves stalked in the middle and our movement was getting slower. The reason for that was because; we had to make a detour to our right going down a tunnel. At this juncture, extra-care and caution were required because the spot was very slippery due to the staircase and narrowness of the tunnel. We did not know the reason for directing pilgrims to make a detour. We only got to know after the stampede that it was the pilgrims in Tent ‘A’ category that did not want others to obstruct their comfort, hence informed the no access movement for others.

    “However, we managed to pass through the crowd without escaping the shoving, pushing and swinging aspects of the movement to the Jamaraat. We finally got to the Jamaraat successfully. In fact, all of us got to the edge of the Jamaraat and threw our pebbles with utmost ease. It should be mentioned that on our way to the Jamaraat, we saw some pilgrims who were obviously very fatigue. Some of them looked sick. Others were suffering from old age and sat by the side of the road trying to regain their breath. We availed ourselves of the opportunity of collecting bottles of water given out freely by the Saudi security officials. After exhausting our water, we also took water from the water dispensers placed along the road towards the Jamaraat. The strategy of drinking lots of water helped us greatly. It prevented us from suffering from dehydration while those who did not know the importance of taking lots of water became victims.

    “After we had completed the first round of throwing pebbles, we did a u-turn by taking the other route back home. While going back to our tent, we observed that some of the pilgrims, instead of following the route we took, crossed to the side of the pilgrims going towards the Jamaraat. It was like somebody walking against one-way. The reason (s) that informed some of the pilgrims walking against others going to the Jamaraat include the desire to take a short-cut back home; the desire to quickly enter their tents especially those in Tent ‘A’ which were located very close to the Jamaraat; the desire to either buy one or two things some of them saw on their way to the Jamaraat among others.”

    According to Imam Shuaib, patience and perseverance, self-discipline and adequate awareness are essentials in performing the spiritual exercise.

    “The idea of trying to quickly go and come back from the Jamaraat is not peculiar to anybody. All the pilgrims usually have the same idea. So, we should be cautious and patient with one another. It is only the patient ones that will complete the rites; though it may take a long time to do that, but at the end of the day, one would have.

    “Self-discipline is an important virtue that will ensure that pilgrims do not disobey the Saudi authorities, walk against the human-traffic, undermine the authority and rules put in place by either the host authority or the leaders of the delegations of the different countries in order to ensure a hitch-free Hajj. Each country should raise the awareness bar concerning the rigorous nature of some of the aspects of Hajj rites especially the Jamaraat, Tawaf Ifadah and Sa’y of Tawaf Ifadah among others,” he said.

  • How I survived two attempts on my life —Alaba Lawson

    How I survived two attempts on my life —Alaba Lawson

    Iyalode Alaba Lawson is a woman of many parts. She is an educationist, a business woman and at present, the Chairman, Governing Council of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY). In this interview with INNOCENT DURU, she recalls how assassins twice attempted to take her life, the crisis concerning her Iyalode title and how it was resolved, as well as her current relationship with a former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, with whom she fell out while the former held sway as governor. Excerpts

    WHAT was your growing up like? I had a Christian-like upbringing. My father was a no-nonsense man. With my mother, you must do all the chores in the house before you leave for school. One thing I would also want to say about my parents, which you can see in me, is that they always put others first. All these helped us to make sure that our environment was well taken care of and other people’s interests came before ours. My upbringing with my parents was a very strict one and I am enjoying it today. I was never a rebel to my parents. I have been a blessing to them all the way.

    Would you say you are satisfied with the heights you have attained in life?

    I am contented with what I have. I always pray a lot for Jehovah to give me that guiding principle because we were taught at home when we were younger to pray as the first thing in the morning. After that, you take up your daily chores one by one. As I grew up gracefully, one thing I have enjoyed is that I allow each day to take its shape. In all the places I have been in my life, I always put the right people in the right place. I put the right peg in the right hole and we come together to discuss once in a month, because a tree never makes a forest. If there is any urgency, we call each other.

    Another hallmark of my life is honesty. It is an important aspect of my life, and it goes a long way. When we were younger, if we did anything wrong and owned up to it, we would be scolded but would be allowed to go scot free. But if you told a lie, my father would flog you mercilessly and for many days, you would be in pains. We have learnt to be honest, and that has kept the integrity in us to keep us going.

    How do you relax?

    I enjoy listening to Christian music, gardening and cooking. The other one is travelling to historical places of note. One I was enjoying in the 60s and the 70s was visiting the aged and listening to their old ideas, but I haven’t got time for that again. If I can still do it once in a month, I would adore it, because they have wisdom. Those elderly people have experiences that can lead you into another life.

    How do you feel to be appointed as the Chairman, Governing Council of MAPOLY?

    I feel very great to be the Chairman of this great institution.

    Do you think the government is doing its best in funding polytechnic education?

    They are trying, but they can do more. We don’t want to feel as if polytechnic education is inferior to university. One is technical-oriented while the other one is theory-based. The polytechnic is technical-oriented, and that is what we really need in Nigeria now that many graduates are unemployed.

    What are your objectives for the institution?

    My objectives are to ensure that we improve more on the standard of education, the welfare of the staff and as well as trying to make sure our students do not go into cultism. When I came in, we met with the council and the management of the institution, and one of the most important aspects of my objective was to make sure that students are well taken care of by having their lecture rooms well structured to suit their purposes. I also canvassed the same thing for the students’ hostels in order to make them feel at home. I also picked interest in the welfare of the staff, because it is the welfare of the staff that can make them to work efficiently and make it possible for the goals and objectives to be achieved.

    We are going to transform the institution into a university of technology. We are going to do that by the special grace of God and the cooperation of the government, especially now that we have a governor who is an old student of the institution in power. We are going to transform it and make the graduates employers of labour instead of looking for white collar jobs after their graduation.

    You appear to have a soft heart for the development of children. Where would you say you got this from?

    This is something that God must have endowed me with. Every person is endowed. I have passion for the younger ones. If you can look after the younger ones properly, the future of this great country will be well positioned, because the young shall grow. When you are able to guide them in the right way, they would never depart from it. That is why it is better to train them from the tender age and make sure that they are well disciplined.

    For the young ones, what we usually do is to give them manners and good morals. By the time they now get into the tertiary institution, they will find it very difficult to go into cultism. They would find it very difficult to do anything that would not be good for the development of the country. I have passion for it, but it has been an endowment from Jehovah God.

    When the abduction of Chibok girls happened, someone like you must have been greatly disturbed. What was your feeling like?

    Of course, I am still disturbed. There are works that I have done with the government and so many groups. These are girls at puberty age. They have emotions and should never have been taken into captivity for any reason. That is a very wrong signal, because these are children who still need everyday monitoring by their parents, especially the mothers. Most of them at this puberty age need counselling. I have been deeply touched and each day, we have continued to pray for them. We have constituted ourselves into prayer groups and will continue to pray.

    What is your take on the lingering ASUP strike?

    Well it is very unfortunate that we keep having strike after strike. I don’t believe in strike because it is something we can discuss on the table. Most of the striking lecturers I believe need to have a change of heart, because we are dealing with the future of this great country. We have a situation where students who are supposed to spend three or four years end up spending eight years. It is unacceptable. I think we should all sit down and iron it out properly. Those in government and the lecturers need to put an end to this incessant strike. I think some of them have hidden agenda. I think it is unacceptable because it is drawing this great country backward.

    Before, when our students travelled abroad, they used to place them on higher levels. Now, even if you have a first class, they will still demote you so that you spend another two years to reach the level of that country. Why are we embarking on strike when what we are asking for is still going to be given to us? And those who are supposed to give what is being asked for, what are they waiting for? It takes two to tango. They need to resolve the problem and put an end to all these strikes. I don’t like it and I don’t believe in it.

    Don’t you think that the demands of the lecturers are justifiable?

    Excuse me! I don’t want to know what they are demanding. They are really playing with the future of the youths of this country. What they are asking for is something that they can talk over, because whether you like it or not, all these strikes have really affected the lives of some youths and have derailed many. It is not all the children that went home when this strike started that would go back to school. I can tell you that. Whatever made them to embark on strike, for me, is not worth the lives of these young ones that they are toying with.

    MAPOLY has been in session all along. Does it mean that the lecturers are not members of ASUP?

    We are part of it. When I came on board, I made them to understand that we would give them all their outstanding packages; which we have done. Therefore, there is no need for them to go on strike. We are part of ASUP but we are working. Before we gave them the package, the council met and we told them we would look into it and we gave them our words. We have put our words into practice and have given them the package and we have to work. We have even told them we have to work more than before.

    For us, any demand by ASUP has been met. We have resolved it and that is exactly why I want the other polytechnics to make sure that the welfare packages of their staff are given to them. There is no point allowing them to go on strike. As a way forward, I want ASUP and those in government to put their heads together and resolve the problem.

    There was a time you wanted to float a vocational university. Is the plan still on or you have jettisoned it?

    How can we jettison it? This is going to help our students. When you get vocational training, it will make you an employer of labour, because what you have learnt will help you to start your own business. As time goes on, you will not be able to do it all alone; you will begin to employ some other people. It will help you to make money on your own and stop looking for white collar jobs from office to office.

    Once upon a time, the white collar jobs were there. When I left school, I had eight good jobs to myself. But now there are no more jobs. If going to study Accountancy, Law, Medicine, and so on was the way then, let us now change to vocational training and education so that we can now change the orientation of looking for white collar jobs.

    What would you say are your achievements so far in MAPOLY?

    We have tried, because with Jehovah God, all things are possible. I have told you about the welfare package of our staff, we have brand new buses for our students, renovation of old lecture theatres and construction of new ones for our students, fencing the school to ensure the security of lives and property and avoid encroachment on our land. We have a petrol station we are proposing to take off very soon. We have new ambulance for our health centre and the renovation of our auditorium. All these put together tell you that we are working. I believe in quiet achievement. We are also thinking of halls of residence for our male and female students.

    As a woman occupying top positions in many organisations, what is your relationship with the men who work with you, because women leaders are generally regarded as bossy?

    It depends on your upbringing and home training. I was trained to be polite. Like you rightly said, I am in the Chambers of Commerce and where we have about 20 men sitting down, sometimes, I am the only woman and I don’t feel bad. I just see it as a challenge that I must rise and live up to expectation. That doesn’t mean I should shout or become bossy. We can always work as a team.

    It is the team work that is making MAPOLY to work. And I thank God for the kind of rector that we have. He is a very experienced professor. Working with him and his management team, we can move MAPOLY to greater heights.

    As a frontline business woman, what challenges do you think confront women entrepreneurs?

    By the special grace of God, come 2017, I will be the first female national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Maritime and Agriculture. Chambers of Commerce came into Nigeria in 1898 and NACCIMA came into being in 1960. So, for one to become the first female president, it must have taken some challenges. I have passion for women and I got it from my maternal grandmother. She really took care of us. The challenges indeed are about finance and how they can breakthrough where you have the male dominating.

    The only way women can do it is by networking, and we have been able to do this very well. We meet policy makers and we lure them to let them know that women must be well taken care of. We also use advocacy and it is helping them a lot. So many of our women now are into export business. We work together with the Export Promotion Council. We just came back from Gambia, networking globally. Next year, we would be in Burundi. When we were in the Gambia, our people who were doing adire and those who were into recycling got MOUs and are supplying them now. That is the result of networking, and you can see the result in our women. We also hold seminars and workshops to enlighten them and they progress from there.

    Why are you called Iya Gomina (the governor’s mother)

    I have known Governor Ibikunle Amosun for more than 30 years, and I have known the honesty in him and his fear of God as a religious man. Since I have known him, I have known him to be fasting 24/7. We don’t appreciate something in anybody until another person realises it. I have taken interest in him, his wife and their children since then. When you see their children, they are well trained. I know this because I have lived with them for four years. You will see a high level of respect in the children. You can never see any act of hooliganism in them. All these attract me to the family.

    A few years back, for being what I am, never calling black white, I was made to go into self-exile. With all the things that culminated in my coming back, people now say Iyalode is Iya Gomina. My answer to them is yes. Because if it is during Governor Amosun’s era I feel secured enough to come back to the town where I was born and bred, then I am Iya Gomina. I will continue to pray for the goodness of this state and for the progress of everything there in. I came back during his tenure back in 2000.

    Why did you go on exile?

    I went on self-exile because my life was being threatened.

    Who were the people threatening your life?

    I would never know, but they know themselves. My house was invaded twice and they tried their possible best to come into my house. They even slaughtered my guard. I still have the picture. Thank God, I am alive today. The first time they came in, my dog chased them out. The second time they came in, they had already planted somebody in my house who caged all my dogs and even covered them up. The dogs could not even bark. The four Alsatian dogs could not bark because they knew the man that was planted in my house. What else did I need to wait for? If I had lost my life, I wouldn’t be talking to you today. So, I ran for my dear life. I can admit that it was a self-exile. But if you run away, you are coming to fight another good fight another day.

    You never planned to travel out of the country at that point in time. What were you doing while you were on self-exile?

    I was in Nigeria. I only moved away from Ogun Sate where my life was being hunted for. David in the Bible ran away to save his dear life. I also did the same to save my life.

    What lessons would you say that life has taught you?

    Life has taught me that at any point in time when you feel you are insecure, you should take the back seat. That is something that I have learnt and it has helped me a lot. But if you can keep your head when all are about you and losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when men doubt you but make allowance for their doubting, if you can wait and not be tired of waiting or being lied about or being hated, don’t give in to it and don’t look too good on top of it. Don’t let your integrity slip away even in the midst of any challenge. That is something I have learnt and it has helped me to the point I am today.

    You have been mentioning Jehovah since the beginning of this interview. As the Iyalode of Egba and Yorubaland, the popular belief is that you must be fetish…

    When I was to be installed the Iyalode in 1999, by the late kabiyesi, Oba Oyebade Lipede, the then Alake of Egbaland, I told him that I didn’t want any fetish thing and he agreed with me. You heard me mention Jehovah here because I was born into an African Church family but my parents joined Jehovah Witnesses along the line. You can see that all that I have been doing in my life has been guided by the biblical principles, if you know what the Jehovah Witness sect stands for. I also went to an Anglican school and was trained by people of high moral standards. You can see that I am into all of African church, Jehovah Witness and Anglican.

    On January 15, 2008, you were deposed as the Iyalode of Egbaland. How did that come to you?

    It had no effect on me because I did not get any letter to that effect. I only heard it on the radio. What you did not give to anybody, you cannot remove from him or her. If they had written to me, I would have taken it up legally. But for something that was just being mentioned on the radio and in the newspapers, it had no effect on me at all. Anybody can say anything, but as you can see, I am now back as the Iyalode of Egbaland without any written letter, because I was never removed. Those that were doing that were doing so for their personal gains. As the Iyalode of Yoruband, the truth has prevailed, because time will always tell.

    Some people are how you could be the Iyalode of Egbaland and that of Yorubaland. Some even say the Alaafin does not even have the power to make you the Iyalode of Yorubaland. What is your take on this?

    If anybody feels that the Alaafin has no right to do so, let them query him. He has said it over a thousand times that he has the power to install anybody with the titles in Yorubaland. He has done it for Afe Babalola. He has done it for the late Aare Arisekola Alao. He has installed so many in the Yorubaland. He has the power and the authority. And I am saying it categorically that HRM Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Alaafin of Oyo kingdom, has the right to install anybody. I got the Iyalode of Yorubaland on my own merit. Everywhere I have gone with him, he always asks anybody to challenge his authority on the titles he has given out as Iyalode Yorubaland, Baamofin of Yorubaland, Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland or anyone of Yorubaland.

    Back to your question on being Iyalode of Egbaland and Iyalode of Yorubaland, the first Iyalode title I took was in 1990: the Iyalode of Ake Christians. Then I got the Iyalode of Egbaland in 1999 and then Iyalode of Yorubaland. It is in stages. As we moved from one stage to another, Yorubaland captured more territories. Egbaland was one of the territories captured from Yorubaland, whereas, Ake is one of the territories conquered by Egbaland. You can see how it happened. Always do things as the Lord has made it possible. Yorubaland, Egbaland and Ake are within a territory of which a woman and a girl herself knows that she is doing her job judiciously.

    What are your regrets in life?

    I have no regrets in my life. I am a positive-minded person. I don’t believe there is any mountain that is insurmountable in my life. I don’t have any moment of regret because I believe that Jehovah will give you the right instinct and you will do it. I don’t have any regret in my life and I will never have one.

    What is your relationship now with former governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel?

    We are very cordial. We met at Sport Club recently and we accorded each other respect. I am at peace with him. We have a very cordial relationship.

    But it was during his tenure that your house was invaded. Don’t you have mistrust for him?

    I don’t think so. He will never hurt me and I don’t think he will hurt me.

  • How we survived horror killing, by victims

    Survivors of the horrific killing in Oarukwu, a community in Amanuke, Awka North Local Government Area of Anambra State, yesterday relived their ordeal.

    Twenty two year-old Chidiebele Mmadubuko allegedly went on a killing spree, attacking his father, mother and neighbours after allegedly taking substances suspected to be Indian hemp.

    His mother, Mercy and a kinsman died immediately. He allegedly killed himself afterwards.

    The suspect’s father, Goddy, who was said to have died the following day, refuted the death rumour.

    A survivor, Obiefuna Okolo, said: “I was in a sister’s shop that night when the boy entered threatening to kill her; we never knew he had a machete with him.

    “Before we knew what was happening he has descended on the lady but she sustained no injury as she ran inside the shop.

    “I tried to hold him down but he escaped and went for me, leaving me with machete cuts on my head and other parts of my body.”

    For Mrs Grace Ekemezie, only God saved her that night. She said: “I was in my shop at 10pm when Chidi came to my shop telling me that he would kill me.

    “He destroyed all my goods. But because the shop was dark, he could not see me otherwise, I would have been dead by now. He then descended on those who came to my rescue.

    “He left my shop and descended on a small boy who was going to get his phone from a nearby shop.

    “When his mother came, he attacked her. When she started running, he pursued her and killed her.”

    Mrs Faith Igwebudu, whose husband was killed, could not be reached for comments as she was said to be in shock.

    Sources said her husband had gone to save his tenant, known as Ogbo-ogu.

    An eyewitness said: “Chidi was saying it was time to kill the ‘snakes’, calling himself the only ‘lion’ that could kill snakes.”

    Chidi’s brother, Ndubuisi, said the ugly incidence has devastated the family.