A former deputy governor of Osun State for seven years and six months, and later Minister of State for Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, from Agbeja dynasty of Ilesa, is 70 today. SEGUN KASALI interviews her to tell her story.
Can you remember what you were told about circumstances surrounding your birth?
Yes, I remember. Normally the gestation period was nine months. But, my mother said mine was 10 months plus before I gathered enough confidence to see what the outside world looked like. Not only that. I was told that babies go on their knees and arms on the floor to crawl all over the place, but my mother said I did not crawl and that one day, I just stood up. I am always thanking the Lord for what He had done, what He is doing and what He will still do in my life.
Lessons from your parents
My father was a disciplinarian of the highest order. But then, he was full of love. If you had done something wrong and he chastised you by giving you a little pat on the back (using koboko on you), he would tell you “come Olusola, why did you think I beat you? And I would say “it was because I did this.” He would say “yes, next time, you don’t do it”.
Any unforgettable flogging session?
Yes. I remember I was at the UMC School at Oke-Ado, Ibadan and then we used to have a little test every week and you would go home with your report card. So, on this beautiful day, I had done very woefully indeed. I think I failed everything because I was not concentrating, as we were all playing and all that. So, I had taken the report card home. Then, we were living at Jericho GRA, Ibadan. When the car dropped me, we would still have to walk a distance. I did not know that my father was in the house, because I thought he would still be at work. And from where he sat in the house, he saw that I had been dropped by the gate and was walking towards the house. Having known I did not pass, I threw the report card at the edge of the road and then walked into the house. I never knew my father saw me. So, when I got home, my father said “Sola, welcome, how was school?” I said “very fine, Sir.” He said “didn’t you have any test this week?” I said “daddy, we did not do test o.” He said “is that so?” I said “yes, we did not do test, but we would do next week.” He then said “go back to where you dropped that thing and bring it to me here.” So, I had to go back, picked and gave it to him. He opened it and saw that I had failed everything and he said “Olusola, you failed? And he said “is that why you dropped the result by the roadside?” I said “yes Sir, because I thought you would beat me.” Then, he said “that is exactly what I am going to do now.” And then, I had the beating of my life. Since that time, I think that was the day I made a decision that I was going to always do the right thing. Otherwise, the man was going to beat me to death anyways. So, the best thing was to save my life and do the right thing (laughs).
You must have some of his traits
That is very interesting. I think I took my firmness from my father. He was an extrovert. My mother, who was an introvert, was also a disciplinarian. She taught me humility, how to be respectful and to always do the right thing. She would say, “look, always remember to do the right thing without looking at whether people like it or not.” And that has guided me up till today.
My father treated his children like his friends. He would let you know that “all I am giving is education and you can become anything with it. Do not think I have houses to leave for you after I die.” So, the best for you is to study and become the person you want to become. He did not pressurise me whatsoever, but gave me the best he could. He was a comfortable man and we grew up well taken care of.
How did you meet your husband?
My husband, Turo-bobo (laughs). Actually, we met at the Redeemed Church, Oyingbo. I am not sure now whether it was love at first sight. He seemed quite interested. After I took my time to look at him, I was also interested. So, we started going out. He was and is still very good looking. So, that attracted me. And he spoke and still speaks well. He was polished and I could also see the fear of God in him. That was enough to start with and we took it from there. We still love each other.
You must have stressed him before giving your yes.
I did not give him tough time o (laughs). And I think he was very grateful for that. We eventually got married in 1990.
Did he want you to slow down on a particular thing?
I really cannot place my finger on that. But the good thing was that we enjoyed each other’s company so much that we were like kids – always playing and talking. Up till today, he is still my very best friend. Of course we quarrel, but we are always guided by what God wants us to do. We must settle our quarrel before we sleep every day. So, we have sessions where I still say ‘I did not like what you did to me’. He too would say ‘you did this, you did that’.
How do you feel at 70?
I feel grateful to God because it is just like yesterday that things started happening in my life and I am 70 years old today, June 27. It is a time to give thanks to my God because thus far has He brought me. He has made me do great things by His grace, not by my power. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and joy and I give all glory to God.
So, what next?
(Laughs). I know God is not done with me yet. He will take me places, not necessarily in an elected position, but in any other capacity so long I am serving people. But right now, I am concentrating on this 70th birthday. I am shaking Osun State, because I am an Osun woman. It has been very, very interesting looking at all the preparations. You have all my people, not just Ijesa people. Everyone wants to celebrate Erelu and I say Father, what have I done to deserve all these? (crying). It is overwhelming. On their own, they brought themselves together and formed various committees to make it a very beautiful day and not asking for a kobo from me. So, you now know why I am singing. Love that people have shown me is unfathomable. And because it is so, I can only say Father, I thank you. So, when I say ‘Father, I thank you’, it comes from my heart all the time. So, I give glory to God.
What gets you emotional?
I don’t cry easily. When tear drops from my eyes, it is a kind of deep thanksgiving. It is positive. The kind of questions you asked me brought back so many memories.
Painful memories too?
I lost two younger sisters – one was about 30 years ago and the other was 2012, and I would ask some questions – ‘Why this beautiful person, this beautiful soul?’ You would be thinking about it just like every other person. But at the end of the day, I would say to myself, ‘o ye Olorun’ (God understands better) because it is only God who knows why it happened.
You are generally taken to be social, how true is this?
I am not a party person. You hardly see me anywhere. I am very happy. I love to see people around me. The songs I sing my dear, I had listened to them 30 years ago. But they come to mind every day. They are all in my head. Songs of thanksgiving. Every day is songs of thanksgiving to appreciate God, because how many people went into politics like I did and were able to get to where God took me. So, every day is thanksgiving. I sing anything that comes to my head.
But you love to dress well, is that your weakness?
(Laughs). I love to dress. If I have any weakness, it is my love for people. I always see the good in people. I don’t stereotype anybody. If someone comes to tell me ‘watch out for this person’, I would hug the person whenever our paths cross and say ‘I heard you are not too happy with me, I am sorry, don’t be annoyed’ and the person would just start laughing. And that is all. Ninety-nine per cent of people are very good people. Let us say somebody is 99 per cent bad. By the time I am through with the person, he or she will be 95 per cent good, because I will bring out the very best in him or her to let him or her know that love is all we need and that is how we have related with people. I have no enemy, I have no one that I am annoyed with. I am at peace with everybody. I am at peace with my God. If you do not forgive anybody who have wronged you, you will not receive God’s blessings. You have to purge your heart, purge your mind of any hatred and unhappiness. You have to be fresh, neat and clean to receive God’s blessings.
Can you see yourself in any of your children?
There are no two persons with the same personality and character. There must be something different in everybody. In your children, you will see a little bit of you and that of their father. I cannot say exactly who among them have taken totally every gene that I have. But I see a lot of things that I am in them. I also see a lot of things that their father has in them.
How was growing up as a young lady like?
I loved to read and so, I read a lot. When people ask ‘have you been this gifted due to the fact that I topped my class at University of Buckingham? I would say I don’t know. I guess I went the extra mile and don’t forget, I was a mature student and I could not afford to fail because I knew it would be very unpleasant. So, I gave it my all. I was not in Nigeria, so I was not going to parties. Some weekends, I would go to London, maybe spend some time with my friends and then go back and study. Am I a gifted child? I do not know.
I tried to put in the extra effort.
If I want to achieve anything, I do not worry about the inconvenience. I just go ahead and do it, and God has really helped me. I remember that after accomplishing my schedule of duty and done with breakfast or whatever, I would stay in my room to read and that was why it was easy for me when I studied Law. While studying Law, my favorite then was Criminal Law.
Why was that?
It shows you the way the human mind works. You would find that the difference between life and death is so slim. You would find out that the difference between doing the right thing and the wrong thing is like a little piece of thread used in sewing cloth. So, that taught me a lot, things like, ‘God, this person did this, maybe he didn’t intend to do it, but he did it anyway’. That is why in any situation in life, you also need to think like a criminal to be able to address whatever situation that you are dealing with. You would start by analyzing what the person is thinking. For me, Law had been very fulfilling. I may not be practicing Law today, but I thank God for the legal background I had.
At what stage did you decide on partisan politics?
First of all, I had always been interested in happenings around me. I had ideas of change I would love to see and always have this discussion with my husband. What happened was that I had this near-death experience that December. I almost died of allergic reactions, but God saved me. I could hardly walk and even the skin on my body peeled. The sole of my feet also peeled. My husband had to carry me to the bathroom to bathe and take me back to my room. It was really bad. The doctor came to my house to look after me. So, I said to my husband that that was how I would have died without achieving all I set out to achieve and he said, maybe this is the best time to go into politics. At least, you would give it a trial. In fact, he was the one who coined the theme of my campaign then as God’s Own Project (GOP).
What are your memories?
I have a song to sing “Eniyan la so mi. Eniyan la so mi. Bi mo ba we yin wo ti mo ri eni mi, eniyan la so mi. Inu mi adun, ara mi a ya ga ga, eniyan la so mi. (People are like the clothes I wear. Whenever I see them anytime I look back, I am always filled with joy and more strengthened.) That totally encapsulates what politics is to me. It is not the money you have, but the people’s lives you have touched in one way or the other. And so, God has prepared me in politics. No pretense, but just me, being myself. It was like a new chapter in my life. I gave it a shot and God blessed it. Without having any prior experience politically, I came out, wanting to become the governor of the state. Why? Because I felt it was only through that office I would be able to carry out or execute the kind of things I wanted to change in Osun State. And so, I went round all the nooks and cranies of Osun State, dancing, singing and campaigning for my party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which was at that time not even popular. It was the Alliance for Democracy (AD) that was in power and the PDP was seen as a strange party which was not of the Yoruba extraction. But my politics was different. I wanted to be part of those that gave women a chance to be whatever they wanted to be and I thank God that he guided me in taking that decision at the time. So, we had been dancing, singing, campaigning and praising the gospel of PDP and God blessed it. At the end of the day, I did not become governor, but the party found out that this lady that had gone round campaigning for PDP in the whole of Osun, the least they could do was to make her the deputy governor and I accepted to run with my governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola and God blessed our partnership.
That partnership got you the award of the most loyal deputy governor of that era right?
Before we were sworn in, we sat down and talked to each other. If you remember, deputies were having issues with their governors, but we said that was not going to happen in Osun State. The governor said: “Erelu, people are always looking for ways to cause disaffection, if anybody tells you that your governor does this, please ask me, don’t just take it as gospel and I will do same too. And that anybody who comes to you to tell you anything about me or about our government, just tell the person to wait and you would call that person to come and say it in front of both of us.”
And that was exactly what we did throughout. After one or two persons had had experiences, nobody tried it again (laughs). We were like twins even till tomorrow. Two weeks ago, we were at a funeral service in Ora and we sat next to each other and we were all jollying and happy with Yemi Farounbi at the same table. And some people came to us saying ‘you two are still together like this till tomorrow and that they have never seen anything like this’. This is because till tomorrow, it is joy, joy and joy all the way. Not just with him, but also with his wife. We are like sisters. Nothing good comes out of acrimony but bitterness, hatred and jealousy. If you can purge yourself of all these, it is joy all the way.
But you have been quiet in recent times, why is that?
I am still involve in the politics of my state. Any politician that is worthy of being called a true politician is from the grassroots. I am well in touch with my people, but wanting to be this or that, no. All I say now is that ‘Father, I thank you for all You have done for me’. That is enough. What do I want to become now? If it is governance, I had been a deputy governor. If it is at the federal level, I had been a minister. Not just in any ministry, but the Ministry of Defence. What has God not done for me in being able to serve not just in my state but also in my country? I should be thanking God for giving me those opportunities.
What did that ministry of force and toughness done to you?
That is who I am. Like a saying in the Yoruba parlance “Ti ewe ba pe la ra ose, o ma n di ose ni” (Once used to a particular thing, it forms part of you). You cannot but speak in their own tone or the pitch of their voices. I saw some changes in the way I spoke. You have to be firm. The people you are with must know that you know what you are doing. I might not have had any training as a soldier, but truth is that I saw myself as one because you live their lives, you work with them also. So, there is no way you won’t be like them. I will give you an example, in December, 2012, I remember telling Mr President that I would like to go and visit our troops who were based in Guinea Bissau. Not only that. After Guinea Bissau, I would also like to stop in Liberia to greet the contingents with the United Nations. Mind you, I wanted to do this on Christmas Day because they were all away from their families and wanted them to know that Nigeria appreciated them, Mr President appreciated them and me, their minister, also appreciated them for what they are doing to bring about peace in all these places. And so, I added the touch of a woman.What did I do? I bought sack loads of elubo (Yam flour), Garri, lots of okro, fried plantain and some things that I thought they would enjoy and remember that their mother came to greet them. I dined with them and decorated those who were promoted. I wanted them to know that they were very much appreciated and that on Christmas Day, I chose to spend it with them rather than with my own family. After Guinea Bissau, we stopped over again in Liberia and did the same thing. I did not even decorate in Liberia because they were part of the contingent. But I ate with them also, talked to them, asked some questions and everyone was happy. I came back home. I remember that we landed in Lagos around 9.00 or 10.00 p.m. It was the most beautiful Christmas Day I had spent. It was meaningful. I also felt happy and fulfilled that I made some people feel happy and brought joy to other Nigerians who were not at home, but in other people’s land.
How much family sacrifice went into serving your state and country?
Luckily for me, my husband more or less took over when I was in Osun State for eight years. Our children were grown anyways. They were in universities and I think we only had the last one at home at that time. But the most important thing I can assure is that it would not had been easy if I did not have a very supportive and understanding husband. It would have totally been impossible, but because he felt as he still feels today that there is no mountain his wife cannot climb, he was there at the homefront taking care of things and I thank God for his life. It was a great sacrifice. He used to come to Osun State most weekends.
You must be able to accommodate each other’s faults because nobody is perfect. And then, the fear of God and the love you have for each other. The liking you have for each other and the friendship that you share.
Advertising first got in the way of your childhood dream.
You are very correct. I thought I was going to be a practicing lawyer, but, first of all, I went into advertising and rose to become an advertising officer. But then, I still had it in me that I wanted to become a lawyer because I had always promised my father that I would become a lawyer. And though he was dead by this time, I still went back to school to study Law at the University of Buckingham. And I felt happy that I fulfilled his wishes for me.
Then, advertising was seen as a glamorous career. The people in advertising were well dressed and spoke well. They were very flashy and I wanted to become one. Anyways, I would call it peer pressure because I had a few friends who were into advertising. They actually encouraged me to go into advertising.
Then, a finance house too?
Yes, at that time, many people had gone into the finance industry. I want to let you know that if you have a Law background, there is nothing you cannot do. The only thing you cannot do is the work of a surgeon. But, for every other thing, you are prepared, because in the study of Law, you have learnt one thing or the other about everything. Just like in Company Law, you must have learnt about finance, stock-broking and so on. So, you are really prepared. So, it is not rocket science to have a finance house at all. And it was a nice industry at that time until some bad eggs came in and I said to myself that thus far has God brought us, let us just stop at this point. I don’t want to do this thing again because of the way it was going. If for instance, you placed money in other finance houses, it is not your money, but somebody else’s. If they go under, what happens? And so many finance houses were going under, and I said to myself, the first thing is to take back the money you have in all these finance houses which I did to the glory of God. And I told my finance manager to take our licence to the Central Bank of Nigeria, Abuja because we were always being inspected all the time, to say we no longer want to run a finance house anymore, this is the certificate you gave us. They said ‘ehn ehn, okay, wait’. They went to check their books and discovered that no one lodged a complaint against us. And they said, please, take your certificate, you can go (laughs). To God be the glory and I will also be grateful to my husband for always being there for me.
Any regret?
If I had stayed in my husband’s house, just eating and sleeping, would I have been fulfilled as I am today, serving the people, by serving my state and by serving country? That is when I would have had regrets. Not when God had given me the ability and capability to do all that. Today, I am singing and thanking God.
What are your life lessons at 70?
You must love your neighbour as yourself. See good in people and stop looking for faults in them. Of course, the most important one is love your God, because that is the foundation. When you have the fear of God, you will try to do the right thing. The most important thing in life is the love you share with people. The fear of God has helped me so much that I am always afraid of doing the wrong thing so that I do not offend my God and my people. Yes, there were nasty experiences, but all in all, I say ‘Father, I thank You’.
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