Prince Olakunle Olajide, medical practitioner and consultant radiologist, is a retired deputy commissioner of police. He shared his life story with TUNDE ADELEKE.
Can you let us into your background?
I am Prince (Dr.) Olakunle Olajide, the fourth child of my parents. My father was a teacher and educationist who retired as a principal (Special Grade) in the old Ondo State. He also was a politician of the socialist persuasion and a disciple of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. He spent a short time as the chairman, Ondo State Electoral Commission in Pa Adekunle Ajasin’s second term before the Buhari coup terminated the 2nd Republic. Daddy later ascended the throne of his forefathers as the Obalaaye of Ejiyan-Ekiti, king of the ancient and little-known Ife-Ijumu Kingdom which had become merged with, and was a part of the well-known Ipoti-Ekiti community, before it became autonomous as Ejiyan-Ekiti in 2013. My mother was a UK-trained nurse and a well-known trader from Ile-Aro Ọ̀wà in present-day Owatedo-Ekiti, which was then also a part of Ipoti-Ekiti.
How would you describe your experience growing up?
I was born in Ijebu-Ode in present-day Ogun State. Shortly after I was born, my parents travelled to the United Kingdom to study, in search of the proverbial Golden Fleece, and so, I spent my early years growing up in Ipoti-Ekiti, under the watchful care of my loving maternal grandparents, Pa Ezekiel Olowolaiyemọ Ọlayọmi, a devout Christian and respected elder of the renowned Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Ipoti-Ekiti; and my grandmother, Mama Oṣakorede Adedẹwẹ Olayomi, a very enterprising and successful businesswoman in her own right in our town. During this period, I would visit and spend quality time with my paternal grandfather, Ọba Joshua Aboloyinjo Ọlajide in the palace of the Ọbalaaye of Ejiyan, in Ejiyan Quarters of the then Ipoti-Ekiti. So, growing up in those impressionable early years, I was exposed to what it meant to fear and love the Lord God and, at the same time, I was exposed to life in the palace, at my grandfather’s palace, and palace culture and traditions. This background, to a large extent, helped to shape me into who I am today.
What about your educational background?
I enjoyed a robust Christian foundational education from elementary to high school to higher school, starting at the Local Authority Primary School in Ile-Ife
From there to St. Stephen’s Catholic Primary School, Otun-Ekiti where I spent one year before transferring to the Seventh-Day Adventist Primary School, Otun-Ekiti. From there, I went to the Adventist Grammar School, Ede, where I completed my secondary school education before proceeding to Christ School, Ado-Ekiti for my Higher School Certificate education. I later went to The Polytechnic Ibadan, from where I gained admission to the University of Ibadan to study Medicine from 1975 to 1980. I later entered a residency training programme at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, from 1991 to 1996 to specialise and become a consultant radiologist and Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons. I also obtained a Master of Public Health degree from the College of Public Health of the University of Kentucky in Lexington Kentucky, USA.
Can you describe your career trajectory?
After my national service in 1982, I joined the Nigeria Police Force as a medical officer in the Police Medical Services. I joined as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and took a voluntary retirement, effective 1st January 2005 after 22 years of service as Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP). I was to be later promoted to the rank of Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) in September of that same year.
Can you tell us how you met your wife?
I will describe it as both fortuitous and providential. Upon graduating from the Baptist College at Charleston, South Carolina, USA, my wife was posted to Cross Rivers State for her NYSC. At the time, I was serving as the Officer-in-Charge of the Police Clinic, overseeing the health of police officers and their families in the old Cross Rivers State. Also at the time, her father, Chief Johnson Oladipupo Odu, was my boss as the then Commissioner of Police, Cross-Rivers State Command with headquarters in Calabar. Before the arrival of my wife from overseas, I had become a member of my boss’s household because of his liking for me and fatherly disposition towards me from the very first day that I reported for duty and was brought before him to present my credentials. That very day, he introduced me to Mama -my wife’s grandmother- who literally immediately took me as her son. Thus, I became a frequent visitor to the household and a regular guest at the family’s dinner table. Naturally, I grew fond of the family and reciprocated the love of my boss for me as though he were my father. Not too long into that year, my wife would finish her course of study abroad, graduate and come back home to Nigeria to join her parents in Calabar. I had always seen her picture in my boss’s office, noting that she had a very close facial resemblance with her father, and that was all there was to it. However, when I saw her the day she arrived at the house from the Calabar Airport, it was, for me, love at first sight. We got married two years later, and the rest is history. And to the glory of God, we are still happily married and very blessed.
What would you describe as your unforgettable experience?
When, by the grace of God, you had the privilege to have spent close to seven decades on the planet, you are bound to have many unforgettable experiences. Some would be adjudged as pleasant, some as not so pleasant, and some as outright unpleasant. For instance, I will never forget my near-death experience on one occasion when I had to travel by police boat from Calabar to Enwang, the then IGP Mr Etim Inyang’s village, to look after his ailing aged mother. Enwang is a fishing settlement somewhere off the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and a part of Oron. At that time, the only way to get to Enwang was to either go by speedboat to Oron and then drive to Enwang or go through the Atlantic to Ebhugu or Enwang beach to access the land by pontoon or ferry. I made many such trips in the course of my duty tour in that state. On this particular and unforgettable trip, the operator of the boat provided by the Marine Police Division decided to go by the route which involved having to traverse a short portion of the Atlantic Ocean. My wife (we were not yet married then) went with me on that trip. That day, the sea was turbulent, and to worsen matters, the boat’s engine suddenly stalled and stopped right on the Atlantic Ocean. The angry waves were tossing the now powerless boat around viciously such that I thought that the end had come. And I looked at my beautiful fiancée, thinking sadly and regretting the poor decision to bring her along on that trip. But God wasn’t finished with us yet, as our SOS signals eventually caught the attention of a bigger boat which rescued us. Another unforgettable incident was when my senior colleague, big uncle, mentor and namesake, Dr Kunle Olajide, one of the foremost leaders of the Yoruba Council of Elders, who also hails from Ekiti, was in Port-Harcourt City for an event organised by Ekiti indigenes in Rivers State where he made a speech that was reported as front page news by many of the newspapers. It was during the military regime. The then Commissioner of Police, Cross River State, Mr. Parry Osayande, a seasoned, no-nonsense and highly decorated police officer, saw the story which bordered on political and policy pronouncements credited to a Dr Kunle Olajide. He immediately concluded that it must be me, especially as he knew that I was an active member and LOM president of Calabar Jaycees, a local chapter of Nigeria Jaycees and Jaycees International, a leadership development organisation for young people. I had sought and obtained his permission to be a full member of JCI and to participate in its activities which cut across all parts of the country where the club existed. He thought that I must have used that platform to make the speech, whereas, the permission given to me did not extend to, or include participation in politics or speaking to the press on policy issues. Dr Kunle Olajide is not only a medical doctor like me, he is also a proud and accomplished Ekiti son and leader. Long story short, the CP, thinking it was me, was highly disappointed in the young and dynamic officer that he had grown very fond of, and he felt betrayed by my supposed unlawful action which was unbecoming of a superior police officer and contrary to civil service rules and regulations. And he needed to quickly dissociate himself from such actions by a subordinate officer, or else, he might stand accused of lack of supervision. When he saw me the next morning when I went to greet him in his office, he was not as friendly as he normally was to me, because he was very fond of me.
He just asked me pointedly if I had been served my query. By the look of surprise on my face that followed his question, he knew I had not been served the query. He then went on to let me know how disappointed in me he was for speaking on political matters and issues concerning government policies, and for travelling outside of my command to Rivers State without official permission. He showed me the screaming headlines that carried the story and the comments credited to Dr Kunle Olajide. That was when I realised what had happened. If the news item had carried along with the report, a photo of Dr. Kunle Olajide, the story would have been different. I then told him with conviction there and then, that I was not the person who made those comments, but a much more senior colleague and mentor of mine, who was in private medical practice. Since that incident, I started to write my name in full as Dr Olakunle Olajide to avoid any similar occurrence in future. Not long after that, Uncle Kunle Olajide also bagged a chieftaincy title and started being addressed as Chief (Dr) Kunle Olajide. I had the opportunity and privilege to share this story with him in his apartment in Abuja during the 2014 National Confab and we both had a good laugh.
What adventures were you involved in as a young boy?
There were many, but the one that I like to reflect on has to do with the kinds of mischief children get involved in as part of growing up. As a young boy growing up and schooling in Otun-Ekiti, I made very good friends and formed lasting bonds. One such friend was the immediate Oore of Otun, the late Oba Oladele Popoola, who was my primary school classmate then. May his soul rest in peace. During the local Egungun festivals, I would follow my friends, including the late Oore to the masquerade grove where all the masquerades, big and small, always gathered first to do their thing, eat and drink before going into the community in their various beautiful outfits. I still remember vividly how I used to enjoy sharing in the pounded yam provided with the delicious local soups and palm wine which were in abundant supply on those occasions. Then as the day wore on, and the sun became blazing hot, my masquerade friends would come to our house to take a break during which they were entertained in my room at the boy’s quarters with food and water without my dad being aware of these escapades. It was so much fun.
What would you consider to be your favourite food?
As a thoroughbred and full-blooded Ekiti man, I love my pounded yam with the local Ilá-Alásèpọ̀ or Ẹ̀fọ́-Rírò which our mothers were very good at making. I also love rice and beans with stew.
What genre of music do you listen to?
I will say that I love almost every genre of music. I especially love the sound of horns such as the saxophone, which is what endeared me in particular to jazz and Fela’s music. I also love to dance to the danceable modern afrobeat such as Davido’s music in particular.
How do you relax?
I love reading, watching action movies, spending time with my grandchildren, and playing squash whenever I have the opportunity.
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