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Tag: Woman

  • No woman can snatch my husband if I get a second shot at marriage—Aisha Falode

    No woman can snatch my husband if I get a second shot at marriage—Aisha Falode

    YOUR TV programme, The Amazons, is solely about women. Are you such a feminist?

    No, no, no. It is not for women alone; it is for the family. It is just that women are the ones who drive the family. The home is set by the woman. The woman defines how she wants the home to be run. She is the bedrock of the family. She takes the initiative. She builds the foundation for the children.

    If you get the family right, you get the society right. A lot of the problems we have in the society now can be traced back to the family. And as women, we feet concerned that there is a lot of holdback when we want to deal with these issues, especially the non-traditional issues. Those are the issues that really affect us as a society. For the women, even though we talk about it in our private moments, we are never bold enough to bring them to the fore for public discourse.

    Take for instance sexual intercourse. Promiscuity is not only about the girl child; it is also about the boy who is just starting to discover himself. At what point do you start to talk with a child about sex and the consequences of being sexually active?

    We live in a society where you cannot place any restrictions on the children anymore. Learning and teaching is reality for the kids. If you don’t talk to them about it at home, they are going to have to find out themselves. We have a lot of outlets that will give you this information, whether you like it or not. So it is your responsibility as a family to sit the child down and tell the child that look, what you see on TV, a lot of it is the reality.

    Reality is what drives the television. It is basically for entertainment, but the reality of life is different from the reality of TV. The responsibility of them distinguishing between the moral, the ethics, and what is right and perceivable still falls on you as a mother. This is where we come in.

    Even as mothers ourselves, we have a lot of issues that trouble us. For instance, you talk about relationship and what really holds a marriage together. Even though you may not be married, you are exposed enough. You have friends who are married. You have relations who are married. So, you have a lot of experience and example to draw from.

    Women have a lot of health issues that we are not too comfortable to discuss.

    Take menopause for instance. A lot of us go through menopause at very early age now, but because of the restrictions, how will the society perceive us? You talk to your friends and they are like no o, I don’t want people to know that I am old. But, for God’s sake, it is not a disease; it is just a natural process that you have to go through in life.

    Menopause, these days, does not even come with age. And what if it comes with age? I mean gone are the days when a woman hides her true age. These days, I’m happy to tell you I’m over 50. The men will tell you without even thinking twice about it. Why do you want to hold on to this stereotype belief that with a woman, everything has to be kept secret?

    Even if it is a disease, should someone be afraid to talk about it?

    What does it take for a woman? If you know that something is wrong with your breast, why don’t you discuss it with your friend? Why don’t you seek medical help? Why do you want to leave it too late until, perhaps maybe, what you didn’t want people to learn about will eventually kill you and it will become public knowledge to rest of the world? We are just trying to break that barrier between what is permissible. Everything is permissible. This is what The Amazons is all about.

    It is not all about women issues. We also talk about politics. We talk about governance: how does it affect us as women? How does it affect our children? What is the guarantee for the future if we continue this way? What is the leadership role that a woman can take in order to effect the changes that we so deserve and desire as the bedrock of the family? What is our responsibility in ensuring that the quality of leadership that we put in place actually starts from the home? How do we prepare our children?

    Look, if you can’t beat them, join them syndrome has to stop in one way or the other. These are the moral values that you must hold on to as a family. Good name, in Yoruba parlance, is better than silver and gold. You have to protect the name and integrity of your family. I think if we can get these basics as a family, it will translate to the bigger picture of the quality of leadership.

    At what point did you conceive The Amazons?

    Well, it had always been there. You know you sit down with friends, and you just let go. But in order for you to now affect the larger society with what we discuss, I found that there was a lot of restriction among friends, saying we can only talk about it here. Men sit down and talk about relationships; they talk about their experiences with women. Why can’t we also talk about our experiences with men? A lot of women are going through divorce. They are patching their marriages. They want to make it work by all means, but a man will not care a hoot about it. We are not saying that as a platform of affecting the society, what is wrong is right. We are just saying that what is wrong is wrong and what is right is right. But there are some things you just cannot make happen the way you want them to be.

    What are the other options? How do you move on with your life? A lot of us are undergoing counseling in this Lagos State because of the pressure of marriage; because you want to have a relationship; because of the pressure of ‘look, I’m over 30 and I still cannot find Mr. Right.’ The family will put pressure on you. Your parents will put pressure on you. Friends will put pressure on you. But there a lot of bachelors who are in their 50s and nobody is pressurizing them. These are the issues we are talking about.

    But some of these issues also border on culture, ethics and values…

    We understand the ethics. We understand the values. But if there is nothing you can do about the ethics and the values, what is the way forward? What are the options in other for you to move on with your life?

    What are the highpoints of the show?

    The highpoint is when we are able to get people to break down the barriers and really come and talk about their experiences. We have had menopause discussed after several attempts to talk to people, saying ‘look, there is nothing wrong undergoing menopause.’ We have had women come to talk to us about their experiences and our feedback on facebook was quite amazing.

    Look, menopause has broken down marriages. Men could not just understand, why is my wife suddenly becoming depressed? Why is their sudden mood swing? Why is she not having interest in those things that used to interest her? They couldn’t find answers to it because they didn’t understand what was going on with the woman and, therefore, there is a disconnect in the relationship and that eventually affects the marriage to the point that they have to get separated.

    But if the men could understand, perhaps they will be more empathic. Perhaps they will be more understanding. Perhaps they could give that support that women need. We pleaded for advocacy; that the same way we are talking about cancer opening, that it is a killer, you need to do x, y and z, why don’t you also let women know these too? Let there be some kind of public enlightenment where it will really be discussed, where you have a forum, preparing women for menopause. Before you will hit the menopause, there is something called the pre-menopause; the periods are far in between. These are things you will experience in your body. The oestrogen and prostrogen are going to get depleted and it will affect your skin and your mood. You are going to break out in sweat. You are going to have internal heat. Perhaps, if you have any, it will shot up your blood pressure and this is where you seek help. Where is the support group? That information will really help in a long way.

    We’ve also had a boy who lived as a girl for so many years and because of the stigma couldn’t come out. Now the boy has realised that he cannot continue to pretend about his body. He was actually born with a defect where you have both the male and female genitals. When he grew out of it, he sought support and was able to undergo medical support in the United States. Now he is a full, handsome grown man. But he still needs one more surgery in order to complete the process. He was bold enough to come out and talk about it on The Amazons.

    We also had the people we call the run girls; girls who sell their bodies for money. Although they are not on the street, they do it through connection and network. We also have what we call the Aristos. They have proper jobs, but they still are not contended with what they have and still think that selling their bodies for money to keep up their social status is the only way they know. We brought them on the programme and told them that it is not the solution. We are able to now manage them and take them off that line of action.

    But it still depends on the free will of the individual. They know the consequences, the risk of getting involved in such act: you could be raped, killed or drugged. You could end up with STDs or HIV. They know all these risks and consequences and still, they are not able to pull back and say ‘look, I could die from this.’ But because this is the only way they know how to survive, they still continue.

    We have several other incidents. We have gone to the market and seen women who, although they are not literate, they understand the power of global currency because they are global traders. They have made millions selling fabrics in Oke Arin (market). They send their children to the best of schools in the world and live comfortably. You do not need also to be so much educated. We place so much importance on certificate as a nation, which is why we have so much employment.

    The government also has not helped with the fact that we need to diversify our education. Apart from this paper qualification, what happens to our technical colleges? Abroad, you see plumbers, painters, you know workmen. They earn much more than those who wear tie and suit to go to the office in the morning. Why don’t they develop this sector of education? Everybody cannot be a graduate.

    You turn out the graduates and there are no employments to absorb the work force. And what do you have? You have youth who do not know how to channel their energy and they are involved in vices, fraud, kidnapping and all kinds of things. It is a means to survive. So, you need to deemphasise this paper qualification and begin to also pay respect to technical qualification. That way, we’ll have jobs for our youths. There will be wealth creation. The youth can also create wealth for themselves and become self employed and employ others. These are serious issues that we treat on The Amazons. Ultimately, it is about the family.

    In this part of the world, women dread aging. Why is that so?

    I don’t have a problem with age. I tell people my age. I hit 50 last year. I’m proud to be 50. In a lot of ways, I can relate to the saying that age is in the mind. You are only as old as you feel in your mind. Once you feel that you are old, you begin to behave like an old person. But if you still feel young in your mind, you are what you perceive yourself to be. So I will encourage a lot of women to still deal with their mind as though they are young and still do the things that they used to enjoy doing although with moderation. I’m not saying go about still wearing your mini skirt. Now, you have to be conservative, respectable and still feel young. This is the way I think that women should start dealing with the issue of age.

    If you enjoyed clubbing as a young woman, get a group of friends together and have a girls’ night out. You may not go to the same club as your children. Don’t go and stay overnight. Go to the movies with a group of friends. Just go and hangout and come back home. It also helps relationships, where you are not suffocating one another. Your man is the outgoing type, you are at home nagging. He’s not going take you out all the time, he also needs his own time to be with his friends, hangout, go to the bar or go and hangout and watch the game with the boys. Pick interest in what your man is doing, but don’t suffocate him.

    The same thing with the man; don’t suffocate your wife. Give yourselves space. Of course, you also need time to spend with your husband. Take yourselves on holiday. It helps in a long way to maintain the freshness in a relationship.

    Over the years, there has been the argument over what really helps to keep the home. Is it food or sex?

    See no pretences. If you talk to 10 men, 90.9 per cent of them, that is almost a 100 per cent, will tell you that what goes on in the bedroom is much more important than what is in the plate on the table. Talk to them. That is what they go after when they go after girlfriends. The girlfriends don’t cook for them. It is what they do with these men that take the men to them. Let’s don’t pretend as women. Be creative. ‘Daddy, it’s me and you tonight.’ Recreate that old time and they will enjoy it. Even when they are in the process of straying, they remember that my wife can give me what I want. Even if they want to, they are held back because the woman is fantastic, and they are wondering why they are wasting their time with these small, small girls.

    Forget about food. Although it is also important, those people they are going out to see are not cooking for them. That is the truth. Let’s be frank about it. Perhaps, if I was as matured as I am when I got married, I could keep my home. But I wasn’t mature. If I get a second chance today, God help the lady that will come and take my place. Ase baba nla ise (she will have to toil for it).

    This is the time for women to wake up. Keep your relationship. Keep your man, whatever it takes. What is it that he is going to look for outside? I will give him double at home. This is what men want. We brought them to the programme on how to sustain your marriage, and they told us verbatim. Forget about the food. It is the food in the bedroom that is more important. Maybe in the days of our mothers, you know they were traditionalists, they were not adventurous.

    How many children do you have?

    A girl and a boy.

    For the girl, what was it like when she was growing up, considering your busy schedule?

    The thing is learn to be a friend to your children and they will tell you anything and everything. If you earn their trust, if they have anything, they will come to you and say ‘Mummy, this is it.’ If they are having problems or if it is about how to get back their boy, what do you think? Why is he behaving like this? Speak to them as a friend. If they earn your trust, they tell you before they do anything and they seek your advice. Your advice will become very important to them. Without your advice they cannot do anything. They will have to run it by you, even thought the decision is still for them to be made.

  • Truck driver arraigned for killing 68-year-old woman

    A THIRTY-EIGHT year-old truck

    driver, Hakeem Quadri, has been

    arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court for alleged manslaughter.

    Quadri was arraigned before Magistrate Abimbola Oshodi-Makanju for alleged reckless driving, which caused the death of a 68-year-old woman, Mrs. Agnes Okafor.

    The defendant is facing a two- count charge bordering  on reckless driving and manslaughter.

    Police prosecutor Inspector Samson Ekikere said the defendant, who is the driver-in-charge of a Mack Truck with registration number LSD 856 XA, drove in a dangerous manner on a public highway.

    He said Quadri drove the truck in a reckless manner, which caused the death of Mrs Okafor.

    The prosecutor said the truck belongs to Balolas Ventures.

    Quadri, who resides at 62 Church Street, Ijora Badia, Lagos, allegedly committed the offence  on August 23, about 3pm, in Ikeja, Lagos.

    Ekikire said the incident happened at Ikeja under bridge on the Obafemi Awolowo Way.

    According to the prosecutor, the offence is contrary to Section 19 and punishable under Section 27 of the Road Traffic Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2012.

    When the charge was read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Oshodi-Makanju granted the defendant bail in the sum of N300,000, with two responsible sureties in like sum.

    She adjourned till September 25.

     

     

  • Truck driver arraigned for killing 68-year-old woman

    A THIRTY-EIGHT year-old truck driver, Hakeem Quadri, has been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court for alleged manslaughter.

    Quadri was arraigned before Magistrate Abimbola Oshodi-Makanju for alleged reckless driving, which caused the death of a 68-year-old woman, Mrs. Agnes Okafor.

    The defendant is facing a two- count charge bordering  on reckless driving and manslaughter.

    Police prosecutor Inspector Samson Ekikere said the defendant, who is the driver-in-charge of a Mack Truck with registration number LSD 856 XA, drove in a dangerous manner on a public highway.

    He said Quadri drove the truck in a reckless manner, which caused the death of Mrs Okafor.

    The prosecutor said the truck belongs to Balolas Ventures.

    Quadri, who resides at 62 Church Street, Ijora Badia, Lagos, allegedly committed the offence  on August 23, about 3pm, in Ikeja, Lagos.

    Ekikire said the incident happened at Ikeja under bridge on the Obafemi Awolowo Way.

    According to the prosecutor, the offence is contrary to Section 19 and punishable under Section 27 of the Road Traffic Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2012.

    When the charge was read to the defendant, he pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Oshodi-Makanju granted the defendant bail in the sum of N300,000, with two responsible sureties in like sum.

    She adjourned till September 25.

     

     

  • She would have spent the night with the guy if he was a woman like her?

    Madam Adeola, good afternoon. Please Madam, what does it mean for girl that someone likes to say she would have spent a night with the guy if he was a woman like her. Thanks, Fb.

    FB, she meant exactly what she said. You’re not a woman like her so she won’t spend the night with you. Oh, you think she must have been using style to invite you? If she wanted to spend the night, she wouldn’t even wait for an invitation. So, she knows what she means. Don’t go pestering the poor girl to come and sleep with you.

  • Can a woman ever really change a man?

    It’s that age-old dilemma: you’ve started dating a man, things are going pretty well – but you want to change some aspects of his style and personality. Is it ever possible or the right thing to do? Rebecca Holman investigates.

     

    WHAT are your relationship deal breakers? The news that your perfect man doesn’t ever want to get married or have children? The fact that he has a monster coke habit and gets a bit mean and aggressive when he’s drunk?

    Or maybe you sweat the smaller stuff after all, a terrible haircut, a bad slip-on shoe or some errant nose hair are all indicative of poor personal grooming habits and bad taste, and you don’t want to spend the rest of your life with someone who fundamentally has horrible taste, do you?

    FYI, I fall into the latter category I’ve been known to chuck men for wearing bad traveller’s beads, Speedo-style underpants rather than boxer shorts, and those bloody red trousers. Some things you just can’t un-see.

    But according to some of my friends, I’m a fool, rejecting perfectly good men just because they think it’s acceptable to wear beads with a suit. After all, they argue, these are the sort of little things you can change over time. You can slowly introduce a skincare routine. After the 12-month mark you can start to develop an opinion on their hair cut, and after a few years you can take over buying their clothes completely.

    What bothers you?

    Now I disagree. I (foolishly? naively?) think that even wanting to change these small things in a potential paramour is a recipe for disaster after all, if you spend your time, early on in a relationship, fixating on the things you don’t like about your partner, how are you ever going to remember all the things you do like? And there’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling you get when your date walks into the room, and you clock sight of his shoes.

    But maybe I’m alone. A survey carried out for Marks and Spencer and Oxfam’s Shwopping initiative earlier this year discovered that it takes women six months to start demanding their bloke changes his fashion sense. Half of women polled admitted to throwing away their partner’s offending items without their knowledge, and one in seven admitted to putting them in the wrong wash on purpose (despite the fact that we appear to have staggered into an episode of On The Buses, the aforementioned survey was genuinely conducted this year, I promise).

    So, I wouldn’t try and change what a man wears, or his haircut, or his skincare routine, because frankly I wouldn’t let things get that far in the first place but what about the big stuff? Forget a turned up rugby-short collar here, a tanned platted belt there, what if he really is an aggressive coke fiend? Or a feckless shagger? Or if he thinks that he doesn’t need a proper job because his band’s totally going to make it some day?

    In that case, move over ladies, I’m going to try and make that man my boyfriend. I think altering your bloke’s wardrobe is a bit passive aggressive but if he has a borderline personality disorder for me to fix, it’s a project.

    Personality transformations are tough

    After all, if he changes for me, instead of all the other women who came before me, it means I’m better – I’ve won, haven’t I?

    As you’ve probably guessed, they never change, and I never win, because trying to change someone’s fundamental personality traits is never going to work, even if the fundamental personality trait in question is being a bit of a douche bag. And do I ever learn? Do I hell.

    So where do we women draw the line? Getting someone to start picking up their socks is fine, and apparently reshaping your partner’s wardrobe to your own tastes is also acceptable. But what about criticising their weight? That’s fine because you want them to be healthy, isn’t it? And suggesting they get hair plugs? You’re saying it because you care – you just want them to make the best of themselves, which is a loving thing to do, yes?

    And what if they resist this change? What if you have to start monitoring their food intake and erm…driving them to the hair plug doctor (hair plug doctor?)? Then you become a nag, a classic sit-com housewife, and your entire relationship becomes one giant argument about his imperfections.

    ‘Self-improvement’….

    I can see how it could become a slippery slope once you’ve changed one thing with relatively little resistance, you’ll be tempted to move onto the next little niggle. You’ll start comparing your boyfriend to your friends’ partners, and next thing you know, you’re making little competitive upgrades. Or worse, you all end up with five identical boyfriends, perfectly coiffed and rubbing their newly acquired man moisturiser into their faces.

    But according to married friends, it’s just a part and parcel of a long-term relationship. One explained: “I feel like I’m constantly trying change my husband it’s an ongoing thing and has been for a few years. I fundamentally like who he is I love him and married him but I can’t help seeing room for improvement everywhere. I just see it as part of marriage, and he really doesn’t seem to mind. I’d stop if he did I don’t want to be a nag.”

    Can a man change a woman?

    Let’s look at the other side of the coin. As a woman, how would you feel if your current boyfriend tried to change the way you dress? Or your weight? Or fundamentally doesn’t like an aspect of your personality?

    Sophie, 34, found herself in just this position when she moved in with her (now ex) boyfriend. “Initially, everything was fine we got on brilliantly for the first year. Then he slowly started criticising what I ate, how often I went to the gym, how much I drank and how much money I spent.”

    “It happened so gradually, and I was so keen to please him and make it work, that I didn’t realise how much I’d changed and how much our relationship depended on me being a perfect version of myself.”

    Sophie ended it after three years when she realised that she could never make her ex happy just by being herself. “I wouldn’t enter into a relationship now unless we agreed on some fundamentals religion, our attitude to money and even our attitude to alcohol there are some ways in which you just need to be compatible from the outset. And with the rest I’d make sure I stood up for myself from the beginning”

    As a woman, I’m outraged on Sophie’s behalf that her boyfriend felt the need to change her like that but if one of my female friends was trying to get her boyfriend to cut down on how much he drank, lose a bit of weight or sort out his finances, I’d be much less concerned why is this?

    I want to say it should be straightforward if you’re in a relationship with someone, you’re kind and generous to them, and they can’t bring themselves to do the same back, you shouldn’t be in that relationship. But of course it’s not that black and white you can start off wanting someone to be the best version of themselves, and to reach their true potential so that they’re happy, but how soon till you’re taking every failure in their life personally, and not allowing them the luxury of faults, lest they embarrass you?

    So, I’m sticking to my guns with the red trousers, the traveller’s beads and the bad shoes. If I can’t live with it now, then I’m certainly not going to want to live with it in a decade’s time.

    And as for the personality disorders, the feckless shaggers and the alcoholics? I’d like to say that I’ve learnt my lesson and I’ll steer clear from now on, but I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep…

  • Woman commits ‘suicide’ after baby’s dedication

    A thirty five-year-old woman, identified as Ejobosele Okoruwa, has allegedly committed suicide hours after dedicating her three-month-old baby in church.

    Her body was found dangling from a wrapper in her bedroom at Ekpoma in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.

    The widower, Okoruwa, said he slept in the sitting room with two of his children while his wife slept in the bedroom with their eldest daughter and the baby.

    Okoruwa said a shout from his daughter at about 2am woke him up and he discovered his wife’s lifeless body dangling from the ceiling.

    He said: “Recently, she exhibited some strange behaviour. She was moody; sometimes she will just be staring into space.

    “When you call her she won’t respond and after several calls, she will respond with a jolt.

    “I asked her several times if she had any problem but she said she was okay. There was a time she told my eldest daughter to take care of the children that she would be going away.

    “I thought she was abandoning the marriage, I pleaded with her and she promised to stay. She complained of some health problems. I asked her to go for tests which she did.”

    Divisional Police Officer Akpoko Omuohowo confirmed the incident.

     

  • 24 arrested for alleged kidnap of doctor, woman

    Twenty four suspects have been arrested by the police in Ebonyi State for the alleged kidnap of Dr. Pius Manyike and Lydia Uduma.

    Manyike, a consultant paediatrician with the Federal Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, was kidnapped on May 5 at 15A, Owerri Street, Abakaliki, when he was driving into his private hospital.

    Ms Uduma was kidnapped on May 9 at her home at Oso Edda in Afikpo South Local Government.

    At a briefing yesterday in Abakaliki, the state capital, police spokesman Sylvester Igbo said Manyike was rescued by the police in a forest at Ohaukwu Local Government; Ms Uduma was rescued in a bush at Amasiri in Afikpo North Local Government.

    His words: ”The command has arrested 24 suspects in connection with the kidnap of both victims and the suspects would soon be charged to court.

    “They are still assisting the police in its investigations.”

    The spokesman said no ransom was paid to secure the release of the doctor, adding that five suspects are helping the police in the investigation.

    “Lydia Uduma of Oso Edda in Afikpo South Local Government, who was kidnapped in her house, was rescued on May 19 at Amasiri bush in Afikpo North Local Government.

    “The victim was rescued without any ransom paid as 19 suspects were also arrested,” he added.

    In a related development, the police also arrested a gang of robbers who on May 18 robbed Dr. Emmanuel Agha and his wife of their laptop, five phones, one wedding ring, one wrist watch, a bank card and N110,000.

    The suspects, according to Igbo, had threatened to kidnap their victims unless N1 million was paid on a stipulated day.

    They were arrested by the police on Afikpo Road, opposite Chiboy Motors, when they came for the money.

    Igbo said: “As the money was dropped, the suspects who appeared to collect it were surprised when security operatives showed up.

    “On sighting the police, they opened fire thereby compelling the police to return fire.

    “During the gun duel, one of the suspects, who was later identified as Elias Abuchi (26) of Amaeka in Ezza South Local Government, was injured.

    “Obinna Opoke(22) of Agbaja Unuhu Abakaliki in Abakaliki Local Government was arrested and ‘confessed’ to the crime

     

    “Items recovered from them include one bank card, one wedding ring with other belongings, one locally made double barrel pistol, one digital camera and one microscope.”

  • Woman who never took no for an answer

    Woman who never took no for an answer

    She arrived the Ekiti State political firmament unheralded but she left in a blaze of glory after breathing her last on Saturday, April 6 following a long battle with cancer.

    Olufunmilayo Adunni Olayinka was born to Chief Festus Obafemi Famuagun, a native of Ado-Ekiti and Mrs. Grace Adetutu Famuagun, who hails from Ido-Ekiti at Ile-Abiye Hospital and Maternity in the Ekiti State capital on June 20, 1960.

    Having sojourned outside her community on academic and professional pursuits which took her as far as the United States of America where she bagged her first and second degrees and a banking career spanning 21 years, she returned home to serve her father land.

    This writer remembered that day in January 2007 when she was unveiled as running mate to Dr. Kayode Fayemi, at the state secretariat of the then Action Congress (AC) in Ado-Ekiti by the party chairman, Chief Olajide Awe.

    Dr. Fayemi had just won a keenly-contested party primary held in December 2006 and a long search for a credible, exposed, experienced, tested and trusted running mate had just ended.

    Party members who were present at the press conference were confounded by the confidence she exuded that day believing that although she was new in partisan politics at the time, her experience in the corporate world had prepared her for the demanding office of the deputy governor.

    She said: “I may be new in partisan politics but having spent over two decades in the corporate world, I am prepared for the office of the deputy governor and I believe that I will bring my experience to bear

    on the job.

    “Don’t forget that everybody is a political animal and we play politics on daily basis. You know that politics starts in the family when the father decides who gets what, when and how.

    “The children gather together and decide on what to present before the family, do you want to tell me that this is not politics?

    “I am coming from the corporate world into politics and I want to assure you that the experience gained there will stand me in good stead for this job.

    “There is also politics in the boardroom where key players try to influence a decision through arguments and games of wits. I want to tell you that I am well-prepared for this job.”

    Shortly after her public presentation as the AC deputy governorship candidate, Mrs. Olayinka showed the stuff she was made of as a colourful politician.

    Her ravishing and stunning beauty stood her out anywhere she went as she combined brain with beauty in winning the hearts of the electorate who saw her as a competent hand in the Fayemi team.

    She learnt the ropes very fast and adjusted well as a thoroughbred politician of the progressive bloc in giving unflinching support to Dr. Fayemi and joining hands with her “twin sister”, Erelu Bisi Fayemi, to mobilise women on the political field.

    Very proficient in the local Ekiti dialect, Mrs. Olayinka articulated the manifesto of her party and eight-point agenda to be implemented by the Fayemi administration when elected to office to voters and followed her boss to very hamlet in the state to campaign for votes ahead of the April 14, 2007 polls.

    She supported Mrs. Fayemi in organising financial and economic empowerments for women in Ekiti State to help reduce poverty and hunger in the grassroots.

    Having been born by a textile dealer who trades at the popular Erekesan Market, Mrs. Olayinka spearheaded market campaigns ahead of the election urging market women not to disappoint the daughter of one of them.

    It was not a surprise that majority of market women in the state voted for the Fayemi-Olayinka ticket.

    In the absence of Dr. Fayemi, Mrs. Olayinka always took charge of activities at the governorship campaign secretariat and ensured that the place was well run and did not lack anything.

    Anytime she was around, party members would converge on the Old Coca Cola depot building to hold consultations with her and many of them would return home happy because the late deputy governor was a generous and cheerful giver.

    She also took care of young ladies working in the campaign organisation and it was no surprise that she ensured that they and other campaign aides followed her to the Government House after her inauguration as the state number two citizen.

    Even after the mandate given to Dr. Fayemi was twice brazenly and egregiously stolen, Mrs. Olayinka provided a bulwark of support and courage for her principal.

    This writer remembered the mood at the press conference addressed by Dr. Fayemi shortly after the Governorship Rerun Tribunal gave a split decision in favour of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in which many party members wept profusely at what they described as daylight robbery. Mrs. Olayinka who did not betray emotion that day was busy pacifying the party faithful who were crestfallen and disconsolate with the 3-2 judgment which they believed robbed their party of victory after the then Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mrs. Olusola Ayoka Adebayo, infamously told the “party to go to court” after the perceived electoral robbery.

    Mrs. Olayinka was a dogged fighter and a firm believer that the stolen mandate would be retrieved hence her recourse to prayers throughout the time she was in the political wilderness with her boss.

    She participated in the various street protests, democracy walks, June 12 Democracy Day rallies, public lectures, interviews in media houses and other activities to force the then interlopers in the Government House to surrender the people’s mandate.

    After a three-and-half-year legal battle to retrieve their stolen mandate, the Court of Appeal which sat in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, on October 15, 2010 declared Dr. Fayemi as the rightful winner of both the 2007 and 2009 polls and ruled that he be sworn in.

    Dr. Fayemi alongside Mrs. Olayinka took their oaths of office before a mammoth crowd on October 16, 2010 as the Governor and the Deputy Governor respectively which marked the beginning of a purposeful leadership which has turned the fortunes of the state around for good in all sectors.

    Mrs. Olayinka was loyalty personified and her relations with Dr. Fayemi is a good example of how a governor and his deputy should work together harmoniously for the development of their state.

    Throughout the time she sat on the deputy governor’s chair, Mrs. Olayinka was a workaholic who usually closed from office after midnights attending to files and horde of visitors thronging her office.

    She wanted her targets met and never took no for an answer. She was a stickler for punctuality and always asked about the welfare of her aides and civil servants working with her.

    Mrs. Olayinka as the Chairman of the State Economic Management Team, led other eggheads with backgrounds in the economic and financial sectors to fashion out a blueprint that added value to Ekiti State and brought her out of the woods.

    The late deputy governor would also be remembered for bequeathing a new corporate identity and rebranding of Ekiti which is in consonance with the dream of the founding fathers of the state.

    She was an active player in the process which helped the state to secure bond from the Capital Market with which visible capital projects and infrastructural transformation of the state were carried out.

    Although Mrs. Olayinka is dead, her legacies in governance, politics, women empowerment, philanthropy, gender advocacy, economic development of her home state.

     

  • Woman allegedly dupes microfinance bank of N1.5m

    Amiddle aged woman, Rosemary Izuakor, has been arraigned before a Yaba Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, for allegedly duping a Micro Finance Bank (Mfb) of N1.5 million.

    Izuakor, a resident of 15A, Aliwo Street, Dopemu, who was a loan beneficiary, is facing a three count-charge of obtaining under false pretence and stealing, to which she pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecuting Inspector Chris Takim, said the alleged offence was committed on October 22, last year. He said the defendant had applied for a loan at Susu Micro finance bank located at 34, Commercial Avenue, Sabo, Yaba.

    Takim said: “She provided forged documents indicating ownership of an unregistered Toyota Hummer SUV, with chassis 4t37f13921u322734, which she submitted as collateral.

    “Izuakor submitted to the bank forged documents indicating ownership of an unregistered SUV. The defendant took pictures of the car and presented them as hers along with other forged documents.

    “After submitting these documents, the bank granted her request and she collected N1.5 million from the bank

    “So, when she failed to pay back the loan as agreed, the bank moved to recover the SUV but discovered the defendant was not the genuine owner.”

    The alleged offence, Takim said, contravened Sections 278 (2) and 285 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.

    She was granted bail in N500, 000 with two sureties each in like sum by Magistrate S.K. Matepo. The Magistrate adjourned the case to May 6 for mention.

    Similarly, a 57 year old woman was arraigned before Magistrate P.A. Ojo, of a Yaba Magistrates’ Court for allegedly stealing N1,175, 000 from two offices.

    Folake Philips, a resident of 12, Yeni Awosika close, Yaba, was alleged to have burgled two offices where she stole the said sum. She is facing a four count-charge of conspiracy, burglary and stealing, to which she pleaded not guilty.

    Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police, Felix Ifijen, told the court that the offence was committed on March 26, at about 3:45pm, at 231, Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba.

    Ifijen said: “The defendant employed thugs to break down the door of two offices belonging to Mr Mudashiru Sanusi and Mr Remi Oyewunmi, and stole N1, 175,000 from both offices.

    “She had broken the shops on ground that the property was her inheritance and she wanted to forcefully take ownership. The defendant removed the doors and burgled the offices taking away N1,175,000 in cash and a laptop valued at N150,000.”

    According to Ifijen, the alleged offence contravened Sections 285,307,328 and 409 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos, 2011.

    Ojo granted the accused bail in the sum of N500, 000 with two sureties each in like sum. He adjourned the case to May 15 for trial.

  • Woman demands release of daughter’s body

    •Seeks help to educate victim’s four children

    Mrs. Rachael Olajiga (60), the mother of the woman who was killed last Tuesday by a policeman in Akure, the Ondo State capital, has urged the government to release her daughter’s body to the family for burial.

    Mrs. Olajiga called for assistance to educate the deceased’s four children. She said the deceased’s husband died in 2009 and her children have become orphans.

    Her daughter, Mrs. Oluwaseun Sunday (30), was hit by a bullet when a police constable, Abdul Alonge, shot at the vehicle conveying her.

    When The Nation visited Mrs. Olajiga’s home at No. 9, Idofin Street in Supare-Akoko, she said: “I did not know she came to bid me farewell when she visited me on Tuesday morning. We were together until 7am when she boarded a vehicle to Akure. The vehicle took off in my presence.”

    The house was filled with sympathisers, who came to condole with the family.

    Mrs. Olajiga said the late Mrs. Sunday, who lives at No. 5, Ugbe Street in Supare-Akoko, was the fourth of her six children.

    She said the deceased was “hardworking and very caring”, adding that she brought gifts for the family during the Easter celebration.

    Mrs. Olajiga said her late daughter sold pepper, tomatoes, okro and vegetables for a living, adding that she was in Akure to buy these items when she met her death.

    She said: “I became worried when she did not return on time and sat in front of the house, asking familiar faces whether they heard anything from her or the friend that followed her on the trip, but, unfortunately, nobody had an answer for me.

    “Around 8pm, a motorcycle conveying two young men and a commercial vehicle parked in front of my house. The driver of the vehicle and the young men alighted and told me that my daughter was involved in an accident. They said she was critically injured.

    “Five men in my family left for Akure that night, but when they returned at 12am, the story had changed from accident to death by the bullet of a policeman, who I learnt also hails from Akokoland.

    “I learnt that when the driver of the vehicle that took my daughter and her friend to Akure did not return to pick them up and it was getting late, they negotiated with another driver, who agreed to carry them, but said he had to pick up some people first in Akure town.

    “To secure their space in the vehicle, I learnt that my daughter went into town with the driver, while her friend stayed in the market with their goods. That was how she met her death.”

    Mrs. Olajiga, in tears, said: “My daughter was very good to me. She was always concerned about my welfare. Her death is a great shock to me.

    “I am not interested in pursuing any legal case against the culprit; God will judge him accordingly. What I desire now is the release of my daughter’s body and what the government would do to ensure that the education of her four children does not stop.

    “Their father died in 2009 and, now, their hardworking mother has been killed. Who will take care of them? Her first born, Oluwatosin, is in Primary Six and preparing for Secondary School. I want the government to help me. My daughter wanted her children to be well-educated.”

    The deceased’s friend, who went to Akure with her, Miss. Biodun Michael, could not hold back tears when she narrated her experience on that fateful day.

    Miss. Michael hails from Okene in Kogi State but was born in Supare. She described the deceased as “an exceptional being, who was loved by many people in their neighbourhood”.

    Miss. Michael said: “We travelled to Akure in the morning and finished all we wanted to do in the market before noon, but we could not get a vehicle to bring us and our goods back to Supare. My friend became agitated when we were yet to get a vehicle at almost 5pm. She said her mother would be worried.

    “We approached one of our customers in the market, who discussed with a driver that brought gari to the market. The driver said he was going back to Akoko that day and agreed to take us, but said he had to pick up some passengers and drop some goods in town.

    “My friend decided to follow the driver to town to secure our space. When it was getting late and I did not hear from her and the driver, I became worried and went to the woman that connected us to the driver. She phoned him and the reply I got was shocking.

    “The man said my friend had been shot by a policeman and they were rushing her to the hospital. When we got to town, I only saw blood and her slippers. I ran into the bush and people ran after me. They seized me and later handed me over to some people from Akoko, who brought me home.

    “Her death is very painful to me. She brought me back to life over a year ago when I was depressed and has always stood by me.”

    Oluwatosin only managed to say: “We will miss our mummy.”