I almost died riding a bicycle without brakes —Adesokan

Wale Adesokan is a Senior Advocate of Nigerian. In this interview, he told SEGUN KASALI the story of his life.

How did you get to your conclusions on the choices that led you to where you are today?

We didn’t have much assistance and counseling when we were growing up in terms of course selection. You, on the other hand, knew important names like physicians, judges, policemen, and army generals. So I had relatives who pushed me to pursue a career in Science. But the truth was that I had a Chemistry problem. When we used to do all of those subjects in Form 3, I did really well in Physics and Biology, but my Chemistry was terrible. So, when the time  came to choose in Form 4, I asked around to see what subjects were available without Chemistry. There was almost nothing. As a result, I’ve chosen on the greatest possibilities available to me. Maybe I should take a step back.

I was influenced by my peers in Forms 1 and 2. When the Mathematics teacher came in to take us, some of my friends who had already decided what they wanted to do and believed that they didn’t need Mathematics and only required English would go to the library to read various novels.

So, I believe that is the root of my Chemistry problem, because a little portion of it is related to Mathematics. In Form 4, I made the decision to pursue the best choice available to me, and I chose Law. The rest was a piece of cake. Other subjects had been going nicely for me. As a result, when I decided on Arts topics, I was doing exceptionally well. In both secondary and university, I was taking some of the top honours in my subjects and courses. In my set, I was the best at the University of Lagos. At the time, I was considering a career in academia. While serving, I did everything I could to better my education because it was difficult for me to get through school because my parents were poor, and so I got through university with a lot of help from in-kind donors.

It must have been tough then?

Hmmm! I was having a hard time. In Oyo town, I lived in what is termed face-me-I-face-you, which is also known as Agboole. My uncle was my landlord. My father was living in rooms provided by his uncle, the house’s owner. My father was a schoolteacher and my mother was a petty trader, and they had nine children. As a result, you can understand how difficult training us would have been. It wasn’t easy, but we all made it through. They used to suspend us from school if we didn’t pay our school fees back then. They had to struggle because they could not easily pay. But God had a plan for me and I managed to pull through.

How?

They had to suffer for a long time since they couldn’t afford to pay. But God had a plan, and I made it through. I believe it was God and our parents’ home training that instilled in us a love for God. Our parents would only tell us one thing as we were growing up; ‘remember the son of who you are’. They instilled in us the value of contentment. If you’re content, you’ll be able to handle anything and make the best of a bad situation. You would not be envious of other people’s wealth. You wouldn’t take something that wasn’t yours.

By the time we got to Form 4, there was free education, which pleased parents because they no longer had to pay school fees. We were taught to concentrate on our schoolwork back then. Some of my friends and I, who had experienced parenthood in the same way as I had, were encouraging one another. I strolled with youngsters that shared my values for education, came from a Christian family, and were well-trained by their parents. As a result, our mutual influences complemented us.

You remember their names?

Oh sure. Some of them are my friends till tomorrow. We have Leke Bamgbade and now Leke Adepoju. He is now into real estate but he graduated as a Mechanical Engineer from the University of Ibadan. I have Bola Lala who studied Physics. We grew up together and we went to UNILAG together. He became an Information Technologist and retired from Stanbic. I have Dapo Adekunle. I don’t know if he has become a GM in the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). I have a friend whose name is Shola Adesope. He is now a Rear Admiral. Shola Adepoju is a Vet doctor. I have Wale Okeronbi who worked for a long time, in Population Commission. I have Femi Awakan, who is the current head of Internal Revenue of Oyo State.

What are the memories of growing up with them?

That is interesting. If Leke came to my house, I had no problem telling my parents I was going out with him. In fact, there was no problem with my parents if I told them I was going out with any of those names I mentioned because they know their families and they were sure that we were safe together. Even if I needed to spend the night in their houses, it wasn’t a problem. Out of the fond memories was the way we used to escort one another.

How, sir?

He comes to visit me and then we play, we gist and I see him off. Our houses are not too far from each other. But, it could take an hour to see him off because we gist all the way. I would practically see him off to his doorstep and he too would be seeing me off again. So, like that, we had parties we organised, out of the meagre resources we had. We would look for a house of one of us where family members had travelled. So, we would contribute little money and we would have fun. But, the interesting thing there was that we were all facing our studies. We picked ourselves from one house to the other and then we would find ourselves in a place where we had some drinks.

Any striking experience while having the party of those days?

Ah! There was one we had in 1988 in December. I was already serving government (NYSC) at that time. We all served around the same time. And so, you have to go and queue to make phone calls. So, that was how we arranged the party by giving assignments to one another. We had the party in the house of one Lagos big man who had a country home in Fiditi. Everyone played his part and it was a party to remember. I think I was one of the MCs (laughs). And we had parties in those days, it was overnight. We had fun. In those days, we wrote letters.

You must have been a ladies’ man being the arrowhead of those parties.

You know most of us had girlfriends but our priority at that time was our education. Incidentally, I invited this woman (my wife) you are seeing to that party.

How did you meet her?

I met her in Jos, while serving in February or March, 1988. I met her at a Post Office. I went to make a phone call. Like I said in those days, you would queue to put your coin in the box and make your call. We did not have mobile phones. My boss where I was serving had a mobile phone but you dare not meet him to say you want to use his phone to make a call. So, I went to make a phone call and I saw her in a queue in front of me. In the North, the basic lingua franca was Hausa language, and I think I saw her speaking Yoruba. So, that was how I picked interest in her. Then, she was a very beautiful woman, and still, till tomorrow. So, I picked interest and I realised that she is from Lagos, though a native of Ondo and she was studying at University of Jos. I also had one of my friends’ girlfriends who was also in the same university with her. So, I was visiting her on behalf of my friends in University of Jos, and made my wife realise that l had a friend’s friend in her school and that was how it went.

What other qualities propelled your interest in her?

You know something would first of all, attracts you and then when you get attracted you would begin to look at some other things. She was very beautiful. There was a time ai asked that I wanted to visit her and she gave me her room number. Actually I now remember that one or two of those my classmates, were living on the same floor with her. So, when she told me where she was, I remembered that it was the place I used to go to. So, that was how we started it and you wanted a friend and companion.

So, you didn’t write letters?

At that time, we did not start with letter-writing, because we were in the same area. But, she now left me in Jos. She was in her final year while I was serving. She was studying Linguistics. So, she finished and left. We were writing letters thereafter. We were also making phone calls because they had phone in their own house and so we agreed on the time to call. In those days, phone calls are made by appointment.

Do you remember the last letter you wrote her?

I can’t remember. I was able to talk to her on phone because they had a phone in her own house. So, when she got back to Lagos, she served with Guardian Newspapers. She almost wanted to be a journalist, but eventually got a job in a bank and then I came to Jos in 1990. Actually, my wife had been saying I should leave the place I was working in Jos that all my friends were earning fat salaries in Lagos and that I would be better off, coming to Lagos. And around that time, I was not enjoying Jos anymore. All my colleagues had gone but only few of us waited behind to serve and I was retained. And I remember that my boss then was withdrawing most of the pecks given to me such as a fully-finished apartment which was a big attraction. When he withdrew it, I did not like it. He said the landlord wanted to use the house and what I expected was that he would ask me to look for another one.

 What is she trying to change in you sir?

She would say even if you think you are right you can still say sorry. It took me time to come to terms with such proposition. When I am right, you are still telling me to say sorry. But, some years ago, I accepted it because I realised that you can say sorry to someone you have disagreed with when you are right because of the value you put to the relationship and it is the reason why after boxers or footballers have defeated their opponents they still encourage them. So, if you put a value on a relationship, you would want to keep the relationship and she eventually got me to accept that.

When did things turn around positively for you?

I would not say there was a major breakthrough because everything had been gradual but things had been improving. Since I left my boss, I am currently occupying my fifth office. The first three were rented-I was at Oyewole street in Ilupeju from 1996 to 2000. Then, I moved up to Lewis street from 2000 to 2010. From 2010 to 2015, I moved to Fernandez. They were all rented apartment but getting bigger and bigger. In Oyewole street, I was squatting with an architect in a 3-bedroom flat. So, in Lewis street, I was on a 2-bedroom flat. But in 2015, I was able to get my own office and I moved to a bigger office last year.

You must have had landmark cases

I won’t say landmark cases. The beauty of an advocate is to be able to solve people’s problems. You are earning your fee but at the same time you are solving people’s problems. For instance somebody has a criminal matter and you are defending him successfully, someone gets convicted and you are able to appeal on his behalf and have his conviction quashed and so on. It has come in various forms and for me because I did not get scholarship to go for Master’s immediately, I settled into legal practice. I wanted to go abroad but I did not get scholarship and that was the only chance I had. So, when I did not get the scholarship, I now began to enjoy legal practice. By 1991, I stopped looking for corporate job and I am grateful to God for what he has done for me since then.

 How do you relax?

I watch Champions league. I love to read a lot. By the nature of my work, I always read. I love to follow international news and events and I also listen to local music.

What kind of music?

I grew up loving fuji a lot because I have a lot of cousins who are Muslims and we lived in a communal setting. Maybe I am losing it now, I knew I could sing more than 50 percent of Ayinde Barrister’s songs. All those Dauda Epo Akara, Ayinla Omowura. I knew a lot of them and sang a lot of them growing up. But, growing up and getting to love God and so on, I have added gospel to my music.

Any never-to-forget events

My mum sent me on an errand and in those days, we used to hire bicycles. So, when I got to the bicycle hirer and repairer, I saw people waiting for bicycles because the available ones had no brakes. Those who had hired the good ones, were yet to come back but I just told myself that I would manage. So, I took a bicycle without brake because I knew I could manage. I would slow down, I would use my leg and so on. And the interesting thing was that I had gone where my mum sent me. I was almost close to where I would return the bicycle but I realised that I still had a little bit of time left. So, I wanted to run out the time. Then, I remember one soldier who had rented a room from my uncle’s house. So, the thought came that I should go and visit him to kill time, because if you hired a bicycle for an hour and you have just used it for 40 minutes that means I would dash the bicycle repairer 20 minutes. That was it. I rode the bicycle on a slope which terminated in my home town. I forgot myself that I was on a bicycle without brake and I started speeding down. I would have been dead. I just suddenly realised that this bicycle has no brake. If I had gone straight down the hill even if I was not crushed by a vehicle, I would have somersaulted because the bicycle was uncontrollable. Something just told me that there was a turning to the left. Then, I turned on speed and that was what I remember. There was a man called Baba Ajuma who was outside with his friends. So, they saw a little boy who was racing down who turned suddenly and of course the bicycle was on one side and I was on the other side. So, they were the ones who came to pick me up. That was what I remember.

You were unhurt?

I was hurt definitely. I had bruises all over and I had injury here. So, the first thing they did was they took the bicycle and went to harass the bicycle repairer that why would he allow the small boy to take a bicycle without brake even though the man warned me. But, the former soldier who was a  tenant in my uncle’s house and his friends went and lambasted the man. I felt bad about it because I knew the man told me and I knew it was actually possible to ride a bicycle without brake. So, they dropped the bicycle and took me home.

 And your parents’ reaction was?

When we got home, my mum was not around and they took me to the hospital. They shaved my hair and then treated it. When done with treatment, I went back home. Anytime I remember that incident, I always thank the almighty God.

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