I was so brilliant my school mates thought I was into magic —Ikuforiji

Honourable Adeyemi Ikuforiji is a former Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly. Out of his 12 years as a legislator, he has spent 10 years as speaker. In this interview by SUBAIR MOHAMMED, he shares his childhood experiences, life after public office and regret.

How was your childhood in the ancient town of Epe?

It was very memorable. In fact I would say growing up in Epe was one of the beautiful moments of my life. Growing up was a period of learning and enjoyment. Life was full of abundance. We enjoyed our childhood more than children of this period.

Those were the periods when we hardly had sandals or slippers to wear but our legs were so free to walk every corner of the town. We were so innocent and free. It was a period when we knew nothing about the problems of the world.

We were so naïve but very courageous. We would go into the lagoon to swim on weekdays and every weekend and cross the lagoon in search of fruits to eat. We would trek from different locations to our schools. That was a period when only few families had cars and interestingly, we knew the plate numbers of these cars by heart. It was a time when if we had the opportunity of a free ride to school, we would feel like we had flown in an aeroplane. Although we were poor and there were little in terms of technology, life was beautiful and full of pleasant memories.

Can you share some of these pleasant memories?

When I was growing up, there were about six secondary schools in the entire Epe division. There was this popular football competition that was organised for schools in Epe. It was tagged the Ayotunga Cup. You can imagine when a match would be held between Epe Divisional Grammar School and Okemagba High School. For the love of football, we would trek a very long distance to see the competition. We would trek in groups from Epe town to Okemagba which is located along Ijebu-Ode. On a particular day, we had cause to trek from Epe to Agbowa, all because of football. You can’t imagine the kind of joy we derived from such adventure. We walked a very long distance and we enjoyed doing so. The roads were good and smooth unlike what obtains today when the roads are bad. We were adventurous. We played football. We swam in the lagoon and we enjoyed every bit of it. A recollection of these experiences was what led me to institute the Ikuforiji Cup in 1995.

Were there fears of drowning in the lagoon or of being beaten by your parents?

Of course yes. I was beaten severally for running away from home to swim in the lagoon. But that didn’t deter me because it was what I enjoyed doing. In the Epe of our time, swimming was a way of demonstrating confidence and capability. If you are from Epe and you cannot swim, others will laugh at you. There was no iota of fear in our little minds. We were mindless of the depth of the lagoon. You know there were pegs that were put in the lagoon by fishermen, we would make a competition out of the first [person] to get there whereas the farther you go, the deeper you go in the lagoon.

What influence did these adventures have on you in later years?

Like I said earlier, our love for football and the long distance trekking led to the establishment of Ikuforiji Cup.The competition was an annual event until two years ago when its handler died.

When you were in Form Three, you almost dropped out of school?

I almost dropped out of secondary school due to the inability of my parents to pay my school fees. But God was so kind to me and I was considered for the Lagos State Government relief scholarship scheme. I was so lucky because at that time, I probably would have ended my formal education that year. My school fee then was 17 pounds but they couldn’t afford to pay for that term.

Of the amount, my mother was to pay eight pounds while my father would pay nine pounds. Meanwhile my mother had given me her eight pounds and I had bought money order from the post office which I kept in the ceiling but my father was unable to source his share of the fee. It was in the midst of this that the Lagos State Government relief scholarship award came in. I was so excited because it meant a lot to me. These are some of the things that shaped my life and made me what I am today.

With this episode of my life, to show my gratitude to God for answered prayer, I sponsored countless number of indigent students whose parents couldn’t afford to pay their school fees. I was privileged because if the scholarship hadn’t come at the time it did, I probably would have ended my formal education.

When it was obvious that you would drop out of school, what thought ran through your mind?

I was relatively small, therefore there were no ill feelings. I wasn’t the only student that had issue with payment of school fees. But when I got the news about my scholarship, my hope of completing my secondary education was renewed.

I wasn’t the only beneficiary of the scheme; other indigent students across Lagos State were considered for the scholarship but I was so happy that I was among.

Among the beneficiaries was a boy from Ikorodu Division. He name is Omotoyinbo and he attended Oriwu College. He was a blind student. This happened almost four decades ago but it is still fresh in my memory. That’s to tell you how much I cherished the moment.

How much of advances did you get from the female folk?

Girls of our days were not cash-oriented. They were not materially-inclined. What attracted them to boys were academic performance and what the future held for them [the boys]. You would hear them say, ‘that boy has a bright future’. So if you were a brilliant boy, you would have girls around you unlike today when material things have eroded good moral values in this society.

So as a brilliant student, you had many girls all around you?

Of course, I had many of them around me but I wasn’t a loud guy. I was quiet, reserved and very popular among many students by name, but they didn’t know me as a person. I remember when I was in Form Five, I asked my school son to fetch some water for me but he came back with the water that some students wanted to beat him.

He was rude to some girls who were his senior. So when he was to go and fetch the water for the second time, I decided to follow him so that he would not be beaten. I stood somewhere as he fetched the water. And there were these girls and some boys who were in Form Three whom he had squabbles with and they wanted to beat him for that.

To avoid being beaten, he ran towards me shouting my name, ‘Senior Kuforiji’ ‘Senior Kuforiji’ The girls were surprised to know that was name. Rather than advanced to beat the boy, they rushed to me that they had heard so much about me and so on.

Girls were attracted to me. Aside the usual childish boyfriend and girlfriend stuff, I had many friends. Even till date, some of us still connect with one another. When you are brilliant, you will always have girls around you.

I also remember one day during examination when some of my friends had to fight because some of our classmates carried rumour that I used magical pen to pass my exams.

I used fountain pen and they thought it was magical and that whatever I wrote with it must be marked right. With this false impression, they started begging me to share the ink of my pen with them so that they would pass.

I wasn’t aware of the reasons behind their begging for my ink until one of the girls informed me that I should stop giving my ink to them. I wondered why. She then told me that they had been discussing among themselves that my ink was where the magic to pass the exam was. I laughed it off.

How did you meet your wife?

The first time I set my eyes on her was during her convocation at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. They graduated in June, but the convocation was held in December.

A friend of mine, Dr. Wale Atoyebi, whose fiancée was also graduating, was the one that I went with to the convocation. On sighting her, I was wowed! What a damsel! And at that moment, I knew she was going to be my wife. It was love at first sight. I moved closer to exchange pleasantries, but she was too casual and paid no attention to us. I felt, what manner of a bush girl is this? After that encounter, the next time we met was the following year in Oyo during my friend’s introduction. I made passes that she could easily discern that I was interested in her. After the wedding in November, we got talking and later got married.

What are your vices?

Vices? Some things might be controversial; as the saying goes, one man’s meat is another man’s poison. The story I just narrated that I give attention to the female folk could be seen by others as a vice to the point that you will be tagged as a womaniser. But in Europe where I schooled, it was just a normal way of respecting women. But if that is done here, they would call you a womaniser.

But do you womanise in the real sense of it?

Well, like I told you, one man’s food is another man’s poison. But I am comfortable with the womenfolk and I pride myself that I understand them better than an average man does. I have empathy for women. I assist them in whatever way I can than the average man would do.

Let me tell you this, in the Lagos State House of Assembly when I was the Speaker for the second term, I insisted that I wanted Hon Funmi Tejuosho who competed against me for the speakership as deputy speaker.

Many people, including our late leader and father of Lagos State deputy governor, Oba Hamzat said it was dangerous. He wondered why I would choose the person that eyed my position as my deputy. And my only explanation was that the world over, women are getting empowered therefore they need to be encouraged.

We had five women in the House. And the five were educated and pretty and I felt I should be able to pick one out of them. And the old man said even if I would have to pick one of them, why should it be the one that competed with me. I said, simply because she had the effrontery to compete for the position and also that she was the one that started with me. We entered the House at the same time and she is a loyal person. Ordinarily that isn’t the normal way of thinking, particularly in this clime and among the people but to me it is a way to honour the women.

How is life after Lagos House of Assembly?

Honestly, I have enjoyed every bit of it. I wish that the time I spent in the House and as Speaker, I had allowed the other side of me to prominently play out but I suppressed that in favour of building a strong legislative institution and working for the people of the state.

That other side of me is the hustling side of me. From my very beginning, I have been a hustler. I hustle to make things better. I hustle not for money per se but for what money can do. I have been buying, selling across Europe from when I was 18 years.

I started with cigarettes. I sold cigarettes in packs and sticks and later in boxes to complement the scholarship. The scholarship only provided what to eat and nothing beyond that.

I did all these during the cold war when Western products were more or less illegal. I sold cigarette, Levis, Wranglers and Jordan jeans. I travelled to Italy to buy wares and bring them across. If caught, they would deport you because to them it was smuggling but to us, it was business.

From there, I went into selling cars and gold. I sold all sort of things. I wish when I was speaker I had allowed the hustling side of me. The speakership shouldn’t stop me from engaging in business. I didn’t even have a house from government. This is one of the bad sides of the system. I made law for the governor and the deputy governor to have pension, houses, cars, aides when they leave office. But out of being modest, I did not include the Speaker and Deputy Speaker and till today it has not come to be.

Are you regretting it?

Regret it is. I am still willing to take up antagonists of that proposition. I spent twelve years of my productive years serving the state and the people. For ten of those years, I led the legislature. While the governor carries the whole state on his head, the honest truth is, people don’t have access to the governor as they have to their legislators.

Ask anybody in the Lagos State House of Assembly, when I was speaker, most time, I didn’t leave my office until midnight. I didn’t have family life. My children could not enjoy my company. I still have the problem till date.

The state gave me virtually everything that I needed to live for ten years. I didn’t have to pay rent. I didn’t have to buy diesel. I didn’t have to buy anything for myself. The government was responsible for everything.

And after ten years of meritorious service to the state, the term came to an end and I was thrown out. I have to pay for everything. What a society!

If somebody that learnt of my plight get on that seat and decide to make provision for such, would you blame him?

The funny thing is, some of those that stayed in my office till 11pm to see the speaker are the one asking why the speaker should be taken care of.

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