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Tag: Wale Aboderin

  • Wale Aboderin (1958 – 2018)

    Circumstances compelled him to reimagine his life and trajectory. He did, and it worked, perhaps beyond his imagination. When asked whether he regretted “taking up the family business,” he said: “The only regret is that it has kept me from being what I wanted to be and doing those things I really love to do. I would have been a pilot, musician, an actor, or anything in the arts which I really love doing and have a flair for. But my number one ambition was to be a pilot because I really love to fly.” After his education at Government College, Ibadan, he had trained as a pilot at Burnside-Ott Flying School, Florida, United States.

    Mr. Gbadebowale Aboderin, who died at the age of 60 on May 30 after a heart surgery in Lagos, was a high-flying media chief. He was Chairman, Punch Nigeria Limited. He was also Chairman of Punch Commercial Printing Limited and Lukahed Properties Limited. It is noteworthy that a statement by the Nigerian Press Organisation (NPO), consisting of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association of Nigeria (NPAN), the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), described him as a media owner who “served the public purpose.”

    Indeed, in seven years at the helm, he not only maintained the reputation of Punch Newspapers as “the most widely read,” he also ensured that the brand was dynamic enough to change with the times and retain a leading position in the country’s media industry. As chairman of The Punch, he reportedly advanced editorial quality, redesigned the brand and introduced digital improvements that gave a boost to the fortunes of the newspaper.

    It is testimony to his grasp of the role and responsibility of the media that he placed a premium on truth and integrity. His self-expressed guiding principle was: ”Report the truth and let the public decide.”  This mantra will always be useful in the media world.

    Aboderin’s election as Chairman of the African Media Initiative (AMI) by the organisation’s board in Nairobi, Kenya, in June 2017, showed that his media development efforts were recognised and appreciated. AMI is a pan-African body of private and independent media players that seeks to promote democratic governance and social development.

    Aboderin was a sport enthusiast who lived by example. As the founder and chairman of Dolphins Female Basketball Foundation, he made a statement on the possibilities of using sport to affect lives and change lives. His Dolphins Basketball Club is a top female team. In a tribute, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) captured Aboderin’s contribution to sport development in the country, saying that he “mentored youths, challenged them to excel and personally coached the Dolphins (basketball club which he founded) to the national championship two seasons ago.” It is a measure of his passion for basketball that he served as Chairman, Lagos Basketball Association, and Vice President, Nigeria Basketball Supporters Club. He was also a member of the Nigerian Handball Federation.

    He demonstrated philanthropic proclivities that preached a sermon. Reflecting his humanitarian side, he was a founding member of the board of trustees of the Word of Life Rehabilitation Centre, devoted to the rehabilitation of drug users. When  asked whether he had a message for Nigerians, Aboderin said: “All we do is grumble, forgetting that if everybody can take one step forward, count the number of steps, we would have ended up going around the world doing good. But here, nobody is ready to take that first step. If you can do a common favour to a stranger, the world would be a better place.”

    This philosophy informed his leadership style as well as his lifestyle. He imagined a better society and took steps towards its realisation. That may well be his greatest legacy.

  • Punch chair Aboderin for burial Friday

    The Chairman of Punch Nigeria Limited, Mr. Gbadebowale Wayne Aboderin, who died on May 30 in Lagos, will be buried on Friday, June 15.

    According to the funeral arrangements released yesterday by the Aboderin family, a service of songs will hold on Wednesday, June 13, at his home at the Punch Estate, 1 Olu Aboderin Street, Onipetesi, Mangoro Bus Stop, Ikeja at 4 p.m.

    On the same day, a novelty basketball match featuring The Dolphins Old versus New will take place at 6 p.m at the Dolphins Indoor Sports Hall, Punch Estate, Onipetesi, Ikeja.

    On Thursday, June 14, a wake and celebration of life concert will hold at The New Haven Events Centre, Oba Akinjobi Street, Ikeja GRA, at 5 p.m.

    On Friday, June 15, the deceased’s body will lie in state at 8 a.m at the Archbishop Vining Memorial Church, Oba Akinjobi Street, Ikeja, after which a funeral service will hold from 9 a.m.

    A private interment follows after the service.

     

  • Wale Aboderin, a chip off the old block

    THOSE who have so far composed eulogies to the departed younger Aboderin, Gbadebowale, have done the job rather blithely, without the grimness often dreaded by eulogists anxious not to speak ill of the dead. The reason is not far-fetched. Mr Aboderin, who died last Wednesday at the age of 60, was, without exaggeration, a gentleman. This is why his passing will be the first obituary this column will ever write, necessitating an appeal to readers of this column to pardon this columnist for using, on this exceptional occasion, first-person narrative.

    Sometime in 1998, the younger Aboderin requested to see me to discuss sundry issues on life and other matters. I met him seated on a short wooden bench under a big tree in front of his residence at Onipetesi, former Punch compound. Puzzled, considering we were not close, I nonetheless honoured the invitation. It was the first time I would meet him one-on-one, having previously discussed and socialised with him in company with other editors when his father, Olu Aboderin, was alive. He asked after my publication, the Quarterly Review of Politics, Economics, and Society, which debuted in 1997, and was published four times a year. It was tough going, I responded, wondering when he would cut to the chase on the real reason he asked to see me.

    Apprised of the troubles I was going through publishing a 104-page magazine, he then asked whether that was why I was unable to renew my tenancy for the office space let out to me under his care. Yes, I retorted. Thereafter he launched into reminiscences of the time my father edited The Punch, how close his father was to my father, and how his father glowed that his paper had become a radical crusader again in the early 1980s. He reminded me that his father died before he could really appreciate my father. He then summed up that my inability to renew my tenancy was an opportunity for him to, in a manner of speaking, pay part of his father’s debt to my dad. I could retain possession of the office space for as long as I wanted, regardless of whether I could afford it or not, he offered. In the event, I kept the office for five years for free.

    But my first encounter with him was when, in pupillage, he joined his father as the senior Aboderin met minds with The Punch’s senior editors. I was privileged to attend some of those discourses in an era when unenlightened military rule bifurcated the land and stifled the media. This was in the suffocating days of the Buhari/Idiagbon military government. Coming from a background of rather strict and formal relationship with my dad in my younger years, I remarked to myself that the younger Aboderin, seeing the way he snuggled near his dad, obviously had a very informal and almost convivial relationship with him. He seldom said a word in those meetings, nor did I, considering that I was barely a year old in the paper at the time.

    As we were free-ranging over many issues that day in 1998 under the tree, he hinted that he was not in the most robust of health, and that in fact many of his adversaries wondered how he still managed to stay alive. He was going to disappoint them, he swore under his breath, and would live for much longer than they dared to hope. It would be superstitious to suggest that his philanthropy, kindness, and unaffected and unassuming interactions with other people were because he knew his time would be short. No. The truth is much deeper than that. Despite his firmness and stubbornness, virtues his father possessed in abundance when he published The Punch during its giddy and turbulent first decade, the younger Aboderin genuinely loved people like his dad, even if the love was not requited, loved the arts to bits like his dad and gave his all for it, was touched by people’s sufferings like his dad and was ready to give an arm and a leg, loved sports like his dad and put his money where his mouth was — in short loved and lived life to the fullest.

    It should not matter to his wife and family whether the love and care he gave were requited or not. They must take consolation in the fact that he touched more people than he cared to remember, and will live in their hearts long after his departure. The family would of course have loved him to remain with them for another decade or two, for it would be truly satisfying and reassuring to have good-natured men live long, but they must consider that Wale made more impact on his generation far in excess of many who would need three or four lifetimes to make half the impact.

  • Wale Aboderin: a chip off the old block

    Like every other bad news, this one too came like thunderbolt: “have you heard that The Punch chairman is dead?” This looked straightforward enough, except that often, so many things run across one’s mind when confronted with such statement. Even when I thought I had pulled myself together, what came out of my mouth was yet another rhetorical question: “Which Punch chairman”? (As if The Punch has more than one chairman). Then there was silence at the other end; which compounded my consternation. Then came the confirmation; “Mr Gbadebowale Aboderin.” Again, I asked: what killed him? The person said he died after a heart surgery at First Cardiology Consultants, Ikoyi, Lagos.

    I was in Ilesa, Osun State, when the news was broken to me. I had only called this newspaper’s Legal Admin and Personnel Manager (LAPM), Folake Adeoye, who we jocularly refer to as ‘LAMP’ at about 13.35 p.m.to find out one or two things about the office, since I knew I would not be able to get there again on Thursday, when she dropped the bombshell. I left Lagos very early for Ilesa, so, I had not seen any of the papers then. It was one bad news too many. I had problem digesting it; to tell my wife who was only a few metres away when I got the news was equally not easy; and understandably so.

    She is also an ex-Puncher (a former member of the staff of The Punch). Indeed, she was secretary to Salewa, one of Wale Aboderin’s siblings in the company. As I commiserated with Salewa on Friday on phone, things appeared normal. But when I handed over the phone to my wife, Salewa could no longer control her emotions. I can understand; the relationship between the duo in those good old days was far beyond that of master and servant. Such was their closeness that my wife still calls her ‘auntie’, even till today. So, my wife knew fairly well the man who, until his death at about 6.05 a.m. on Wednesday was Chairman of Punch Nigeria Ltd. After I managed to get a few details about how and where he died, the first question my wife asked was why he was not taken abroad for treatment. Naturally, that is the kind of question one asks when you know money is not the issue for the person in need of medical attention. Germane as that point might be, that is neither here nor there. In spite of the fact that many of our public hospitals have since become mere consulting clinics, we still have some good hospitals in the country, particularly the private ones. But, as I said earlier, there is no hospital where patients don’t die.

    My wife’s concern about the choice of hospital should be the concern of everybody who knew the departed chairman because money could not have been the reason Wale Aboderin was not flown abroad for medical attention. True, hardly would anyone pass through The Punch without knowing Wale . He was such a quiet, easy-going man that could hardly hurt a fly. He could disarm just anyone with his infectious smiles. I think I met him about four times in the last eight years or so. The first time was when The Punch Place, the company’s new ultra-modern head office complex was commissioned in Magboro, Ogun State, on June 29, 2010. I also met him when Chief Ajibola Ogunshola, the immediate past Chairman of Punch Nigeria Ltd. turned 70. The third occasion was in late 2016 at the first anniversary of The Point Newspaper here in Lagos. We also met at one of the media award ceremonies also in Lagos here a few years back. On all occasions, you never missed his humility. My wife too testified that at the social functions of the Aboderins that she attended, Wale  would talk to you respectfully where other empty vessels would bark out orders.

    A chief correspondent with The Punch, Gbenga Adeniji, succinctly captured this humility and simplicity personified: “The other day I saw the chairman just coming out of his car, walking towards his office; I offered to carry a bag he was carrying. He politely declined the offer. When I pressed further, he said he would only do so on the condition that I too would allow him to help me carry the papers I was holding.” When has it become, that such a thing would happen? The reporter who must have been speechless added: “I could not thoroughly enjoy the laughter that ensued because I had to dash into the newsroom, leaving him to face the lift with his bag”.

    But Wale Aboderin was not only meek and simple; he was also compassionate to a fault. His compassionate mien was captured by yet another Punch employee in a chance meeting that seemed to have been divinely arranged, with the (then) vice chairman of The Punch, on July 12, 2010. According to Dayo Oketola, “I remember feeling disoriented and dazed after my car had somersaulted and landed on its roof with the four tyres rolling upside-down. I had struggled to disentangle myself from the seat belt that had kept me safe; I had also wriggled my way out of the wrecked car. Shivering and lost, I had to quickly crawl out of the car because I feared it might catch fire. On seeing the wreckage of the car, I painfully muttered to myself, ‘I’m finished’. Then there came a voice from behind me: ‘If you survive this kind of an accident, then you are not finished’.

    That was Wale Aboderin speaking. He just happened to be at the scene at that time; he did not even know the accident victim was one of the employees of The Punch at the time he stopped to help. Many people would simply zoom off rather than help the victim. He helped him to salvage what could be saved from the car, phoned the company’s managing director (after Oketola had told him he was an employee of The Punch) to confirm, and thereafter drove Oketola home in his own personal car!

    What manner of man is this? I did not meet his father, Chief James Olu Aboderin, the founding chairman of Punch Nigeria Ltd when I joined The Punch as a sub-editor in 1985. He died in February 1984. But from all the accounts I heard about him, Wale Aboderin was just a chip off the old block in terms of his compassion, simplicity and generosity. I learnt Chief Aboderin demonstrated all these and even more. Without doubt, Wale would be missed by the so many people whose lives he had touched one way or the other. Although a pilot, he was also into entertainment, including music, fashion, film, visual arts, literature and all. His favourite in this area is his Rapture Band whose leader, Isaac Otokpa, found it difficult to believe that the man who had been taking good care of the band was no more.

    Born on April 17, 1958, Wale Aboderin was also a sport enthusiast, just like his father. As far back as 1997, he founded the first privately owned women’s club in the country, the Dolphins Basketball Club which he also nurtured to the top and is now a shining example to similar clubs in the country and beyond. His tenure as Chairman, Lagos State Basketball Association saw the emergence of future stars through his various grassroots initiatives.

    His philanthropy included his massive support for the Word of Life Rehabilitation Centre, a ministry formed to cater to the rehabilitation of drug addicts and substance abusers.

    It is to his eternal credit though that he proved critics who thought he could not sustain the gains made by Chief Ogunshola, the one I like to refer to as the ‘Father of Modern Punch’ (does that sound political?), wrong. But that is the truth. Wale Aboderin kept the newspaper’s flag flying since his take-over of the chairmanship more than seven years ago, precisely on May 1, 2011, following Chief Ogunshola’s retirement on April 30, 2011, after 24 years of meritorious and dedicated service. Perhaps what the critics did not realise was that he had been under Ogunshola’s tutelage, as it were, since May 21, 1984 when he was appointed a member of the Board of Directors and ultimately became vice-chairman of the company on July 2, 2010. He left the company in the hands of the professionals.

    At 60, Wale Aboderin was too young to die. But then, the question is not necessarily how long but how well. He came, he saw, he conquered and alighted when he got to his bus stop. It is also noteworthy that his end was far better than his beginning. It is painful though that he also could not live long to enjoy the fruits of his and his father’s labour.

    May his soul rest in peace.

  • Nigeria Basketball mourns Aboderin

    The Nigeria Basketball Fedration has joined thousands of sympathizers to mourn the sudden passing of Dolphins Women’s Basketball Club Chairman, Wale Aboderin.

    The board on Thursday paid a condolence visit to the deceased family after the sad news filtered into town on Wednesday evening which left many people sad.

    The NBBF president, Musa Ahmadu Kida while reacting to the news described Aboderin’s death as one that human minds cannot easily comprehend.

    “For a man who was so full of life and energy to just be reported dead will forever remain a mystery. His investment in basketball was unparalleled and the vacuum he left will be impossible to fill.”

    Kida said as a devoted Muslim, he will take solace in the fact that death is inevitable for every living soul. He prayed that his soul will be granted eternal rest and the family, friends and business associates he left behind, the fortitude to bear the loss.

    “I will urge us all to take solace in the supremacy of God over the affairs of mortals while we live here on earth. I am a bit lifted with the comments of people since he died which showed the exemplary life he lived.”

    The Vice President, Babatunde Ogunade described the deceased as a true gentleman with a genuine passion for basketball and philanthropy.

    “The news of Mr. Gbadebowale Aboderin’s demise came as a very rude shock. He was one of the very few who stood up to be counted in the development of Basketball. He did at a great cost to himself. His unflinching interest and support for Female basketball was infectious. He was always willing to help.”

    “He was with the Female National team in Mali 2017,where we qualified for the World Cup in Spain.”

    Ogunade who took over from Aboderin as the Chairman of Lagos State Basketball Association said the association and the Nigeria Basketball Federation will miss his support.

    On his part, Col. Samuel Ahmedu (rtd) who represented the board during the visit to the family of late Punch Newspapers Chairman expressed deep shock.

    “Up Chair! You came, you lived, you touched lives but left unannounced. We cannot question God even though we are confused right now. But we take solace in the life you lived and the examples you showed to us. To live in the heart of those we love is not to die.”

    A condolence register has been opened at the NBBF secretariat at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

  • Punch Chairman Aboderin dies at 60

    The Chairman, Punch Nigeria Limited, Mr. Wale Aboderin,  is dead.

    According to the company, Aboderin, 60, died on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at 6.05am after a heart surgery at the First Cardiology Consultants, Ikoyi, Lagos

    The United States trained pilot was also Chairman Punch Commercial Printing Limited  and  Lukahed Properties Limited.

    He was the founder and chairman of  the Dolphins Female  Basketball Foundation, and also a former chairman of the Lagos State Basketball Association.

    The deceased is survived by his wife, Titilayo, and children.

  • AfroBasketball 2017: Aboderin visits D’Tigress, charges them to win

    AfroBasketball 2017: Aboderin visits D’Tigress, charges them to win

    Wale Aboderin, the Proprietor of Dolphins Basketball club of Lagos, on Friday urged the Senior National Women’s Basketball Team, D’Tigress to go for victory in the 2017 Afrobasket Championships in Mali.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that D’Tigress opened their account against Mozambique, before squaring-off against Congo Democratic on Saturday and Egypt on Sunday.

    Aboderin, however, expressed confidence in the team’s abilities to do well, having watched them train some few hours before their first group match.

    Aboderin had visited the team immediately after their training at the Olympe Hotel, Bamako base to lend his support.

    In a brief chat with the players and the Technical team led by Sam Vincent, Aboderin said he came purposely to cheer the team to victory.

    According to him, nothing was too much to sacrifice for the nation or her assets (D’Tigress) just to ensure victory at the end of the tournament.

    “This is a great team and I have the confidence that you can excel, there are other tough teams in the group, but with good teamwork, you can excel at the end.

    “The whole nation is solidly behind you and believes that at the end, you will make everyone proud,’’he said.

    Meanwhile, the host and the defending champion Senegal, who will engage D’Tigress in their final group game, got the ball rolling with a 105-39 victory over Guinea.

    Egypt also recorded their first three point’s victory by overpowering Democratic Republic of Congo, 99-72.

    The competition which dunked-off on Aug. 18 will be concluded on Aug. 27.

  • My mother and I, by Wale Aboderin

    My mother and I, by Wale Aboderin

    A forthnight ago, children of the late Mrs Jadesola Aboderin celebrated her posthumous 80th birthday in Lagos. Her first son, Wale, is the Chairman of Punch Newspapers Ltd. He spoke with NNEKA NWANERI about his childhood and how running the family business prevented him from becoming a pilot.

    How has it been without your mother all these years?

    I don’t even remember that I am fatherless and motherless, because I am not Godless. You don’t have anybody to look up to than to look up to God. Everything that I have said is in the biography written in honour of my late mother, Mrs Florence Jadesola Aboderin. It is entitled: Unsung Greatness. I can guarantee you that the book was not exaggerated or made up, because the only thing that was missing from my mother was the wings of an angel; and I mean it.

    Why hasn’t her exemplary life rubbed off on society?

    It is said that the good is varied with people, and I get a heart break knowing that that will continue to be the case because we don’t have a system in place whereby even the government recognises the proper hero and all the things they have done in life.  So I cannot expect people to change or things to go in another direction, but I can do my own little part to let people know so that maybe they can turn to honour some people while they are still alive. Make people know that because they are doing good, people should know them. Just like the Holy Bible says, there is nothing that has happened that hasn’t happened before, and won’t happen again. But these occurrences are given to us as a testimony, so that those that see such things happening can key into it. This is a very good example of what happened at my mother’s 80th posthumous birthday. It was an opportunity for people to remember her and tell stories of her, and in so doing, impact on those who do not know her; most especially the younger ones who in their own way can do better than she did.

    Do you regret doing the house chores?

    It’s so long ago, but I don’t think I have any regrets. We are very independent kids, we have to stand on our own when she’s off to work, and wherever we were we always took control of things. We have always been leaders. But I don’t think there was a time I regretted her not being around to do house chores.

    Do you regret taking up the family business?

    The only regret is that it has kept me from being what I wanted to be and doing those things I really love to do. I would have been a pilot, musician, an actor, or anything in the art which I really love doing and have a flair for. But my number one ambition was to be a pilot because I really love to fly.

    What do you do at your leisure?

    I have a female basketball team which I coach at my spare time.  I love to watch basketball on TV and the Paralympic Games which inspires me.

    Why do you avoid social scenes

    I want to attend parties, but I have consciously refused to  because I don’t have the time to tell lies. I am not saying this to say politicians are liars, but I would rather use my time thinking of ways to help humanity. Look at what is happening in America: Donald Trump came out to tell the truth, the establishment didn’t like it and are now doing everything to work against him. Yet, he keeps winning. Why? Because there is someone who wants to tell the truth and do things differently. He does not talk like a polished politician, that is why people think that he is speaking ‘rubbish’. But we don’t need a politician…we need a leader who will speak the truth. As for me, I will rather in my time and space, do what I can do by telling the truth.  When I go to places where my integrity would be compromised, the Devil sees it as an opportunity to get me. But as long as I know in my heart that what I am doing is the right thing, and that I am a brand and the brand stands for integrity; my personality, then I have no one to answer to. God says in the Bible that he will convert our wisdom to foolishness. The foolishness of the Lord is better than the wisdom of man. Thus the reason why I like to do those things that people can’t understand. Let them gossip and talk. It gives me no good reason to look back when working because I am not afraid of anyone, neither have I lied to anyone. I just keep moving forward.

    Why are you always playful and wear a smile?

    People have often wondered why I keep smiling even when under stress. It is the peace of the Lord that gives me strength. I just keep smiling, even when someone has annoyed me. It takes more energy to frown when people have annoyed you. When they see you are unhappy, they believe they have won and I don’t have time for such people. In my own corner, I’ll just keep smiling and let it expand from there, with the hope that it would be infectious.

    A word for Nigerians

    We are too populated in Nigeria. There is a saying that a child who loves his teens will remain in bondage. All we do is grumble, forgetting that if everybody can take one step forward, count the number of steps, we would have ended up going around the world doing good.  But here, nobody is ready to take that first step. If you can do a common favour to a stranger, the world would be a better place.

  • My mother and I, by Wale Aboderin

    My mother and I, by Wale Aboderin

    Last week, children of the late Mrs Jadesola Aboderin celebrated her posthumous 80th birthday in Lagos. Her first son, Wale, is the Chairman of Punch Newspapers Ltd. He spoke with NNEKA NWANERI about his childhood and how running the family business prevented him from becoming a pilot.

    How has it been without your mother all these years?

    I don’t even remember that I am fatherless and motherless, because I am not Godless. You don’t have anybody to look up to than to look up to God. Everything that I have said is in the biography written in honour of my late mother, Mrs Florence Jadesola Aboderin. It is entitled: Unsung Greatness. I can guarantee you that the book was not exaggerated or made up, because the only thing that was missing from my mother was the wings of an angel; and I mean it.

    Why hasn’t her exemplary life rubbed off on society?

    It is said that the good is varied with people, and I get a heart break knowing that that will continue to be the case because we don’t have a system in place whereby even the government recognises the proper hero and all the things they have done in life.  So I cannot expect people to change or things to go in another direction, but I can do my own little part to let people know so that maybe they can turn to honour some people while they are still alive. Make people know that because they are doing good, people should know them.

    Just like the Holy Bible says, there is nothing that has happened that hasn’t happened before, and won’t happen again. But these occurrences are given to us as a testimony, so that those that see such things happening can key into it.

    This is a very good example of what happened at my mother’s 80th posthumous birthday. It was an opportunity for people to remember her and tell stories of her, and in so doing, impact on those who do not know her; most especially the younger ones who in their own way can do better than she did.

    Do you regret doing the house chores?

    It’s so long ago, but I don’t think I have any regrets. We are very independent kids, we have to stand on our own when she’s off to work, and wherever we were we always took control of things. We have always been leaders. But I don’t think there was a time I regretted her not being around to do house chores.

    Do you regret taking up the family business?

    The only regret is that it has kept me from being what I wanted to be and doing those things I really love to do. I would have been a pilot, musician, an actor, or anything in the art which I really love doing and have a flair for. But my number one ambition was to be a pilot because I really love to fly.

    What do you do at your leisure?

    I have a female basketball team which I coach at my spare time.  I love to watch basketball on TV and the Paralympic Games which inspires me.

    Why do you avoid social scenes

    I want to attend parties, but I have consciously refused to  because I don’t have the time to tell lies. I am not saying this to say politicians are liars, but I would rather use my time thinking of ways to help humanity. Look at what is happening in America: Donald Trump came out to tell the truth, the establishment didn’t like it and are now doing everything to work against him. Yet, he keeps winning. Why? Because there is someone who wants to tell the truth and do things differently.

    He does not talk like a polished politician, that is why people think that he is speaking ‘rubbish’. But we don’t need a politician…we need a leader who will speak the truth.

    As for me, I will rather in my time and space, do what I can do by telling the truth.

    When I go to places where my integrity would be compromised, the Devil sees it as an opportunity to get me. But as long as I know in my heart that what I am doing is the right thing, and that I am a brand and the brand stands for integrity; my personality, then I have no one to answer to.

    God says in the Bible that he will convert our wisdom to foolishness. The foolishness of the Lord is better than the wisdom of man. Thus the reason why I like to do those things that people can’t understand. Let them gossip and talk. It gives me no good reason to look back when working because I am not afraid of anyone, neither have I lied to anyone. I just keep moving forward.

    Why are you always playful and wear a smile?

    People have often wondered why I keep smiling even when under stress. It is the peace of the Lord that gives me strength. I just keep smiling, even when someone has annoyed me. It takes more energy to frown when people have annoyed you. When they see you are unhappy, they believe they have won and I don’t have time for such people.

    In my own corner, I’ll just keep smiling and let it expand from there, with the hope that it would be infectious.

    A word for Nigerians

    We are too populated in Nigeria. There is a saying that a child who loves his teens will remain in bondage. All we do is grumble, forgetting that if everybody can take one step forward, count the number of steps, we would have ended up going around the world doing good.  But here, nobody is ready to take that first step. If you can do a common favour to a stranger, the world would be a better place.