You will soon celebrate your 40th birthday, how do you feel attaining that age?
I give all the praises to the Almighty God who has not only counted me among the living but has also counted me among the privileged women. God gave me the privilege of being one of the female members of this Assembly and looking at what I have become today, I have every reason to thank God in a special way. For me, it is through the grace of God that I have achieved this and I will continue to hail and praise Him for the wonderful things He has done in my life. Being 40 is good. I feel young. I feel 30, even I feel 25. I thank God for my life and I thank Him for the beautiful children He has given me. They are all doing well. I’m only their custodian but I thank God that He has assisted me a lot in my life.
Are there any special programmes to mark the birthday?
In the first instance, thanksgiving to God for keeping me alive to witness the day is a paramount programme. Apart from this, on August 15, which is the real birthday date, I want to put smiles on the faces of the people through a mind-blowing empowerment programme intended to encourage people to start and manage businesses of their own. Through this programme, I want to empower the youths, the less privileged women, the aged and even politicians. I want to put smiles on their faces. I have been doing empowerment programmes before but this is going to be a special one hence it is going to be bigger than what we have done in the past. Part of the birthday programme is an inter-ward table tennis competition among youths in my constituency covering Isolo and Ejigbo Local Council Development Areas. By the time this interview would have been published, the preliminary round of the competition would have commenced because we plan to have the final as part of the programme for the main birthday celebration on August 15. Of course, the winners will go home with beautiful prizes. Included in the programme is the launching of my two books. One is ready and will be launched on August 15 while the second one will be launched in September.
This is a huge programme and very comprehensive, how much are you committing to this project?
I just believe I’m sowing a seed, which I cannot quantify in monetary terms. Some of the programmes started years ago. For instance, I started writing the books years ago and I’m completing them to coincide with my birthday. I initially wanted to distribute the books free but I realised that people don’t value anything that is given out free. So you think of the money for printing the books, writing, typesetting and the money for the whole programme. I just don’t see this in monetary terms. It is a seed sowing meant to give thanks to God for sparing my life till this time.
Can you tell us a little about your background?
I am the last child in my family. My father had me when he was 50, which means he is going to be 90 this year. My mother is late. I had both my primary and secondary education at Akure. First at St. Mathias Primary School, and then St. Luke Girls’ Grammar School both at Akure. We were the first set of students to acquire the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSCE). After my secondary education, I got admission to study arts and graphics design at the Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, but somehow fate played a cruel one on me. I participated in an arts competition and I won the second position at the national final. I won the first position in the South West. The competition was for all male and female secondary students in Nigeria. The award was presented to the winners by former Military President, General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB). I was so carried away by the award that I pushed myself further and tried to go to the United States of America (USA) but I was refused visa by the US Embassy in Nigeria. It was during my struggle to get visa to travel to America that I lost the polytechnic admission. After losing my admission, I opted for diploma courses and I later had two diplomas in data processing and database at a computer school. I also had a degree in theology from where I went into pastoral work. I got married in 1993 and became full-time pastor in 1994.
When did you decide to go into politics?
My pastoral work had been taking me outside Nigeria to mainly some West African countries. It was when I came back from one of the trips that the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) started sentisising Christians on the need to go into politics. Based on this, I decided to participate and in 1999, I came out for the first time to contest for a councillorship position and I lost at the primary. Again, I contested on the platform of the then All Peoples Party (APP) and I lost. In 2003, I was the candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) for the House of Assembly election and I lost to Hon. Abdul Hakeem Abdul Lateef. I was compensated with a board appointment and I became a board member in one of the agencies under the Lagos State Ministry of Youths, Sports and Social Development and I served for four years. When I learnt that Hon. Abdul Hakeem was not coming back for a second term, I decided to try again. I thank God that I won; that was in 2007 and in 2011, I won again. Here we are today.
What was your husband’s reaction when you decided to go into politics?
Yeah, he supported initially. He wanted it, knowing that I am a person that if I believe in something I will convince you to accept it. He knows that if I didn’t believe in something, I don’t waste my strength on it. However, later he started listening to people and unfortunately today, we are no longer together. I’m divorced and I want to say that is how God wants it. I never wanted it that way but I believe it was the wish of God. This is something that usually brings tears to my eyes hence I will rather not say more about it. I believe in marriage, I believe in relationship. My parents gave me the right value and that is what I have lived with over the years. You know some people come into your life for a purpose and if they have fulfilled that purpose they will move on. Life continues. I am a happy woman today.
You said you father gave birth to you when he was 50; in that case you must have been pampered?
I don’t think so. I’m the last born in a family of nine but I was not pampered. I left home early. I left home because my father has European mentality, which for me was a kind of colonisation. He always wants things done in Western ways and I am somebody that’s ambitious. I want to explore new areas. I want to do so many things because I believe life has so many things to offer. I left home at a very tender age, at age 17 I was sending money to my parents; then I was a teacher at Orile. I got a job as a classroom teacher in a nursery and primary school. You know from a very tender age, I have been given out to people. Don’t forget that I got married at age 20. I gave birth to my first child at 21. Somebody even remarked then that “a baby is giving birth to a baby.” At 21 also, I was a banker because I did my industrial attachment with then Satellite Town Community Bank. When you see some of my pictures then I was looking so fragile but I could do so much because I believe there is something in me that is mightier than the frame, that’s what kept me on. I have three kids; I had my first child at 21, my second at 23 going to 24 and at 26 plus I stop having children. You can imagine, at 26 everything about baby is gone. My first child will be 20 this year. He is a boy and he is schooling in Canada. The second one will be 17 in January next year while the last born will be 14.
After losing in 2003, how did you pick the ticket for your subsequent election into the Assembly in 2007?
I studied my environment. I knew there were strong members of the community who could lobby and beg on my behalf and I went to them. Remember that I had been participating at the grassroots and these people knew me. I have been on ground since 1999. My posters were always very visible. I went to influential people, who knew my antecedents and I continued to work with the people at the grassroots and today, to God be the glory, He gave us victory at the end.
How smooth was the journey then?
The journey has been very turbulent, in fact very rough. A night before the primary in 2007, I had to go down to Alausa to check the list of the aspirants that can contest. It was 2a.m. and my car broke down at Oworonshoki and that was the second time such thing would happen that day. I had two cars; the Mercedes Benz car I took from home broke down at Oshodi. I went back home, took the Bluebird car and that one also broke down at Oworonshoki. I was left in a state of confusion. Just then we saw a bus going to Ojota and we practically jumped into it. My personal assistant, the two coordinators and I, we dropped at Ojota and crossed to the other side of the road where two prostitutes were haggling with a taxi driver. I rushed there and begged the taxi driver to take us, promising to give him whatever the prostitutes wanted to give him in triple fold. The man eventually took us and on reaching the Alausa gate, I jumped down from the car on motion, crossed over to the gate where the security man in charge said I could not see Asiwaju. But I insisted he wanted to see me and when I mentioned my name, he allowed me in and I practically ran into Asiwaju’s office where he was seated with the elders and leaders of the party. They saw me and they said they were waiting to hear from me and the rest is now history. To God be the glory and I found myself here.
There’s this belief that female politicians always face harassment, how have you been able to handle this?
Well, I will throw the question back at you: when you look at me, my person, do you think it is easy to harass a person like me? I think it’s all about identity. If you know who you are and you carry yourself well, nobody will dare harass you.
As we move towards the 2015 general election, what is your political aspiration?
Everything depends on God. I look towards Him for guidance. But for me, I will like to repeat my class. I no know book and pikin wey no know book dey repeat class. Therefore, I want to repeat my class.
What’s your advice to other women?
My advice is for them to believe in themselves and always plan for whatever they believe in and remain consistent with it. When I contested for councillorship seat and I lost, I remained consistent that I wanted to be a lawmaker and here I am today and again, to God be the glory.
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