Our dad’s unfulfilled dreams —Wife, children of Inaolaji recount last moment

He would have clocked 86 on May 17, 2020, but as fate would have it, Alhaji Jimoh Oyedele Ibrahim Inaolaji, Chairman of Inaolaji Group of Companies, passed on Wednesday, March 31, 2020. His wife and some of his children spoke with Tunde Iyanda on the life and times of the deported businessmogul and socialite. Excerpts:

He believed in prayers —Wife, Ibironke

What kind of person was your husband?

He was a loving, cheerful, religious and hard working man. He did not discriminate. He was there for everybody, irrespective of their background.

 

Can you share some of your best moments with him?

There was never a dull moment with him. Even when we had differences, he was still the same Jimoh. Despite the age difference between us, I called him Jimoh and he would reply he was old enough to be my father. I would then tell him he should have been arrested for child abuse. We laughed a lot.

 

We learnt he had nine wives and 28 children. How did you cope with the setting and how did he manage such big family?

It is not a question of coping, it is a blessing and I’m privileged to be a part of the family. He was blessed. He cared very much for the family. He could have had his shortcomings as a human being, but he was a great man.

 

Many of his children claimed he was a loving and caring father, did you see him like that?

Yes he was. I loved him and I respected his being. He is not dead. He is alive in my heart. He remains my husband till we meet to part no more.

 

You were very close to him, what did he cherish most?

He cherished his relationship with God and was a believer in prayers.

 

My father doesn’t know how to keep secrets —Son, Jelili

What is your position in the family?

I am number 14.

 

What was your relationship with him?

He was a caring father to all of us and we loved him so much. It is a big loss to us but there is nothing we can do about it.

 

What kind of person was he?

All his life he was a hustler. He struggled, which I know.  He put us into a lot of his businesses. Since we were young, in secondary school, we worked with him when on holiday. He would ask us to do something. He would take us to his office and teach us how to do bill of quantity and other things related to his construction business.

 

Having grown up with such a man, what was the biggest lesson you learnt?

I learnt a lot of lessons. Well, to God be the glory, after leaving his house I moved to my own house. I have never rented an apartment in my life, it was all due to the training he gave us. If he had not given me such training may be I would still be struggling by now, if you know what I mean.

 

What would you miss about him?

I will miss his care and love, because we were always together.  I saw him weekly, I will miss that a lot. He was a lovely man and he joked a lot. He was caring and will make you laugh. He didn’t keep secret. He was a very straightforward man.

 

What was his last moment like?

I was with him a day before, but the day he passed  I was in my house. My brother  and I talked about him before I left, but I was called by 2am that he had passed on.

 

What was your most memorable moment with him?

I will never forget when I told him I was moving to my house.  He was very happy because he believed I drank a lot, he never thought I would build a house.

 

Dad taught me hard work —Biola, son

What’s your position in the family?

I am in the 23rd child. I am a farmer and a little bit of construction, I do what is known as Building Development.

 

Where were you when you heard the news that he passed?

I was at home, I was called by his private nurse at about 2am,  I got up and went to his place immediately.

 

How did you feel?

I felt very bad because of the weight of losing a father and a best friend.

 

Was he your best friend?

Yes, he was my confidant, we were always together and we spoke freely about anything. He had always been my confidant.

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Having lost your best friend and confidant, what would you miss most about him?

I will miss the moment we spent together, sharing ideas and talking. Days before he died, we had a very vast conversation about business, life and everything. The moment we spent together every two, three days sitting down  and having a chat is what I would miss so much.

 

Can you share some memorable times with him?

I once applied for the US visa but was denied. They asked me what my father does and I said ‘everything’. I was asked to come with him the next day but I said he can’t be here tomorrow, and I don’t even know when I can get him to be here. As I was leaving the place they gave me a letter and said make sure you come with him before the end of one month. So, I called my father and told him, and that I didn’t know what to do. A day to my appointment, he called me to  meet him at Eko Hotel, that we were going there together for the appointment. We were there for hours. I asked him to leave but he said ‘no, I came here for you today’. He made sure we finished all we went to do there. I got the visa and we left together. I can never forget that day because he was fresh out of a surgery; he wasn’t meant to stress himself or go out but he still made that huge sacrifice for me.

 

How has being an Inaolaji affected you?

It has affected me in so many ways, it has opened so many doors. In fact, it has taught me many principles, it has taught me what hard work can do. My father was a hardworking man, he rose from being a forest guard to a multimillionaire. He proved that with hard work anything can be done.

 

He was my gist partner –Busola, daughter

How would you describe your late dad?

My dad was a father indeed! Though he had 26 children, 13 men, 13 women, he touched our lives as individuals. He was my friend and gist partner. By virtue of my profession as a legal practitioner, I am the secretary of the family — the Ibrahim Inaolaji Foundation. He taught me some boardroom politics of how to achieve results.

 

What would you miss most about him?

His calls and gists; the care and love.

 

Can you share any memorable moment?

There’s a lot to share. The encouragement and support he gave when I was an undergraduate. He ordered for my wig and gown within 24 hours when I was called to the bar. There was the time I had my last child who used to cry a lot and my dad offered that I leave the baby in Ibadan so that she won’t disturb my work. I have a lot of memories.

 

You come from a large family, what was your childhood like?

He taught us to love ourselves and ignore the differences among our mothers, that is why you would not know who is the mother of whom. We love ourselves and can be very playful. These are things he taught us.

 

Baba was a good mathematician –Saheed Salami, his accountant

 

What is your relationship with Alhaji?

I am his accountant and I am also like a son to him. Officially, I have been working with him  over 10 years.

 

How would you describe him?

Baba was fantastic, most especially in business. In fact, I have never met anybody that can beat him in that line. He was more than a professor. He taught us so many things because he was an institution.

 

He would show you many things pertaining to life, and as a chartered accountant, I need to tell you that baba was a good mathematician, he was so good in Mathematics. If he asked you to go and produce anything, by the time you present it to him he would pick out your error. He was so good in Mathematics.

 

What did you learn from him?

As a father, he taught us many things about life and how we can survive the siege especially in business. He will seek your opinions before anything. One  particular thing I can never forget as an accountant, he took me to one of his business partners. When we were leaving he held my hand and said Saheed, I know I scrutinise you a lot, you as a young man, you will be looking for money but I will tell you something today. You can never see millions at a time but you will see a way out of seeing small money that would lead you to millions.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE