Despite being only child, mum didn’t pamper me —Williams

The Chief Executive Officer of TWilliams Construction Nigeria Limited, Mr Tomori Williams, who was recently installed as the Aare Onikoyi of Yoruba land by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, shares his life story with SUBAIR MOHAMMED.

What was your childhood like?

It was interesting and full of adventures. I was born and raised in Ebute-Meta (West) area of Lagos Mainland Local Government of Lagos State to the family of late Pa Emmanuel Babatunde and Akanke Williams.

My parents were disciplinarians. I happened to be the only child of my mother. She gave birth to me when she was rather old to have a child. My father is a no-nonsense man while my mother, of blessed memory, would not indulge her child in wrongdoings. I grew up in an environment where culture, tradition, morals and discipline, was the watchword. Everybody was the eye of everybody in the district. Unlike what obtains today where people hardly know and check on one another. We led a communal lifestyle.

As a child, I would leave my parents’ house to converge on an open space with other kids to play till dusk. We moved in group and this actually enhanced our learning abilities. When my friends paid a visit to my house, Iya Elelubo (that’s my mother), would prepare food for everyone to eat. Same with when I went to their homes. Our parents knew every one of us by our names.

We were happy with ourselves. There was no insecurity. We were free to move about without any fear. We flew kite, and played other games. It’s unfortunate that many of these games are no longer common among the children of today. We would trek as far as the Railway Compound in Alagomeji and Nigerian Brewery at Abebe, Surulere, to pluck fruits. We were playful, yet brilliant. It didn’t make us dullards.

I remember Mr Ayo Akpata who was the principal of the Secondary School I attended at Ilogbo High School. I won’t ever forget him. He was such a disciplinarian. I have never seen a more disciplined character like him.

He built legacies and destinies. If he made you a prefect, you are considered fortunate because qualities and abilities were taken into considerations. School prefects of our time, were both feared and highly-respected.

One can’t get to be a class captain without having a unique personality. One must merit it, because there are responsibilities attached to the position.

Also one dares not get late to school. There is nothing like one failing to do his homework or forgetting it at home. Students were highly-disciplined and school prefects were more influential and powerful than many teachers of today. But today, all these have changed. Our leaders have mortgaged the future of the generation yet unborn. The advent of civilisation and technology has adversely affected good morals and learning. There are substandard schools everywhere while universities are being shut now and then. I pray God will smile on this country one day.

Did being the only child of your mother affect the quality of care and morals you got as a child? Were you over-pampered?

As the only child of my mother, I was showered with all the love and care a child could get, but I wasn’t over-pampered. Whenever my mother thought of what she went through before she had me, she pampered me but I wasn’t a spoilt child.

She had her peculiar way of training her child. She was very strict and systematic. Let me give you an example of how she raised me.

If she offered you a meal with the size of meat she deemed fit and perhaps you felt you deserved a ‘bigger meat’, my mother would sound a note of caution to you. You would hear, ‘Eat your meat! Eat your meat!!’ and by the time she repeated it the third time, you would have lost both the meal and the meat.

I grew up in a family where drinking soft drinks (carbonated drinks), was a luxury. If by accident my mother bought a soft drink, I would be expecting her to give some of the drink to me. As I was salivating and she decided to give me some to drink, God help me if I complained about the quantity. She would withdraw it and drink up everything.

That’s her way of teaching contentment. My mother believed that a child should be contented with whatever he or she is given; therefore she neither indulged nor over-pampered me.

There was a popular lesson teacher in Ebute-Meta at that time. His name is Atanda. We resumed at his coaching centre after school hours every day. He was a strict teacher whose hands were quick and hard to flogging.

On a particular day, I returned from school, and I was served my lunch. After finishing my meal, mum allowed me to rest for a while after which she held me by the waist and dragged me to Teacher Atanda. She told him that I was becoming too stubborn.

Oh dear, I got the beating of my life. Teacher Atanda beat me mercilessly such that when I got home I refused to talk to my mother. I thought: ‘how could she allow me, her only child, to be so dealt with?’ But looking back today, I give all praises and adoration to God for the kind of mother I had. I am most grateful for the kind of upbringing and discipline my father and mother instilled in me.

You said soft drink was luxury to you during your childhood; did you draw any lesson from such lack?

Whenever I look back into my past, I am humbled. It makes me bow and tremble before the Lord Almighty. It makes me treat people with utmost respect. It teaches me that wealth and riches are temporal and that the table could turn at any time. I see everybody, regardless of class and status, as equal. This is why I don’t discriminate. I relate with people freely but I don’t keep friends. I don’t socialise either. In a year, I hardly attend up to ten parties.

Are you still going to uphold this no-partying posture even as a traditional title holder?

I am happy you said my title is traditional and not a social title. My title is a core traditional one. I didn’t get it by attending parties. I didn’t get to where I am today by attending parties. On the installation day, His Royal Majesty, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III explained the reasons he honoured me with the title.

For me, I would say destiny has a role in it. It is destiny first because the title is not what I lobbied for. In the interview he held on February 27 before the commencement of traditional rites, Kabiesi told the gathering that he consulted widely and made his findings into my personality and the kind of work I do before I was considered for the title.

I am into property reclamation and construction. This is not a job for lazy and dishonest people. It’s a job that entails a lot of things which include trustworthiness, hard work and uprightness. These are the things that the Alaafin considered before honouring me with the title. Kabiesi felt I have proven myself enough.

How did you cut your teeth in property reclamation business?

I had the rare privilege of working with a legal luminary, Anthony Apovi, who is the son of a Supreme Court judge. He is now a high ranking judge in Delta State.

I worked as his general manager in his Law firm. I handled the property department while he handled the legal arm. That was where it all started about 28 years ago.

Apovi took me through the basic norms of property reclamation. Later on, I met with the famous CEO of Ogo-Oluwa Trading Company, Alhaji Tajudeen Adegunle.

It was through Alhaji Adegunle that I learnt the practical nature of property reclamation. The Lord has been so good to me since I started my personal business. My first job was the reclamation of Olaleye village in 2008.

It was the largest reclamation without violence and bloodbath in the history of land repossession in Lagos State. The land begins from Western Avenue and extends to the border of the Nigerian Railway Corporation in Alagomeji, Yaba. Today, I am an attorney to many land-owning families in Lagos State.

Your mother was a yam flour trader, did you hawk for her?

No, I didn’t hawk yam flour but I usually partook in the processing. I am good at pounding yam flour. I can handle mortar and pestle very well to break dried yam. I recall being soaked in yam flour and turning white several times after pounding. My mother had a big grinding machine which we used to grind dried yam flour.

My mother wasn’t a retailer. She was selling in large quantity. She was bringing yam flour from some South-West states and Kwara State and people would visit our house to buy from her.

How disciplined a child is, determines his place in the society. It creates a pathway for a child. Given the fact that I wasn’t so much with my mother, she would not spare the rod when necessary. We were taught with body language and that’s part of what I inculcate in my children.

I didn’t develop the mind of wanting to be rich or successful at all cost. But with hard work, discipline and consistency, I was able to scale through the hurdles of life.

How do you handle your female admirers considering your new status?

Before the title, the issue of relationship with the opposite sex has always been there but what I do more is to pick examples from people that have been there before me. When you start attaining certain positions in life, lots of things come along with it which includes women.

Women flock around successful men. When your influence, connection and financial prowess are getting to a stage in life, they will attract attention, both physically and spiritually. There is nothing wrong in a woman admiring a man but it is left to the male to decide what he wants from life. I wouldn’t want to be judgmental. Everybody has his own style. My style is not about picking women or frolicking with them but I have them as friends. I don’t do side chics and I don’t go partying or socialising.

Since you don’t party, how then do you unwind?

I unwind with friends and associates on weekends. I don’t work on Saturdays and Sundays. I rest more on weekends because of the hectic nature of my work. Most of the time, I lead my job.

With your new status, will you uphold or change this style? 

Of course, I will have to open up a bit. It is not that I don’t unwind at all. On Thursdays, my business associates and I gather at an open space in my office for ‘Thank God It’s Thursday’. We merry and chat until late in the night.

Basically, with the new position, some traditional responsibilities which cut across the entire Yoruba race come with it. It will therefore be difficult for me to maintain my old style. I have no choice, I have to open up. The title is not a social title. It’s a traditional title which comes with lots of traditional responsibilities but I will attend reasonable social events.

Will this ‘opening up’ include adding to your number of wives?

No, it will not. And let me tell you, I have just one wife. I am not the kind of person that positions on wealth and riches, to acquire wives. I have outgrown that stage.

How did you meet your wife?

I met her in Ebute-Meta in Lagos Mainland Local Government. She lived in Ebute-Meta. We met some 26 years ago and we got married 24 years ago. Our first child is 24 years old.

Can you remember how you proposed to her?

As a normal Ebute-Meta man, I had one or two other girls. On that particular day, I came back from school and one of my friends told me about her. He told me about a lady that always stood on the balcony of her father’s home. Her father owns many properties in Ebute-Meta and all that.

We went together to her house and fortunately for me, she was where he said she would be – at the balcony. I sent my friend to go and tell her that I wanted to see her. She came and I expressed my feelings to her. We reconnected two days after and that was how it all started. Our marriage is blessed with two children.

Any regret in life?

No regret. I believe everything that happened in life has been pre-ordained.

Any unforgettable moments?

I will never forget the day I lost my mother. It was a big milestone in my life. It’s far bigger than the first time I made my millions because she was my backbone. On the day of my installation, when I was going through the traditional rites, her memories invaded my thought.

But I thank God. As you grow old in life, some things will start getting clearer to you and that is why I tell people that destiny cannot be altered. I believe the Lord only used her as a vessel to convey someone to this earth and that’s me.

SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE

#EndSARS: As British Parliament Hears Petition, UK Govt Says It Won’t Speculate On Sanctions

The British Parliament at the Westminster Hall held a debate on ‘e-petition 554150, relating to Nigeria and the sanctions regime’ on Monday. The government of the United Kingdom has however responded…Upcoming artistes in Nigeria  Upcoming artistes in Nigeria

2023 Presidency: APC Govs’ Meeting With Jonathan Sparks Controversy

The surprise visit made on Friday night by the leaders of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to former President Goodluck Jonathan at his residence in Abuja triggered a stir in the major political camps, resulting in at least four possible theories…Upcoming artistes in NigeriaUpcoming artistes in Nigeria