Eighty-year-old Pa Adesakin Olabode is an author who served Lagos State government in various capacities under the former governor Lateef Jakande. He shares some of his life experiences with Ademola Olonilua
How has life been for you at 80?
It has been beautiful; it is an achievement in life and it is the grace of God. When you look at the life span of an average Nigerian today, many people only live up to 50 years at best, but when God gives one the grace to live up to 80 years and still has good health, it is a very beautiful thing and I am enjoying it at the very best.
What was your childhood like?
My father died when I was a baby but he did something wonderful at my birth. At the time I was born, there was no serious documentation about child birth but he had an account book where he wrote events, births and other special occasions. Years after he had died, my mother was doing a general cleaning one day when she stumbled on a box where my father kept some documents. Most of the books had been eaten up by ants but luckily, the last two pages of the book where he wrote my name were still intact. My uncle who was invited to look at the document saw my name on top of the paper and what my father had written down. He wrote that once I was weaned, I should go to school because my elder siblings did not go to school. Unfortunately, before I stopped breastfeeding, he had died. I was 15 years old when we saw the book. I had gone to the farm that day and when my mother heard what my father wrote down, she asked some people to fetch me from the farm immediately. She said that she would not allow the curse of the dead to be upon her. I started schooling that very day. It was the second quarter of 1949.
How was it growing up without a father?
It was not easy. My mother was a great influence on my life and that was why when I left college, the best and the most memorable thing I did was an artwork where I wrote that I owed my gratitude to God and my mother. Our pictures were on the artwork. Immediately I started school, things started to fall into place for me. I also acknowledge the fact that my father’s request played a major role in my life because my mother did not think on her own to put me in school. It was immediately she heard about what my father wrote that she put me in school.
What are the secrets to your being healthy and looking good at 80?
I would say it is God’s grace because my God is one of possibilities and when you have faithful encounter with God daily, your life would be blessed with good health. I key into God’s word everyday and I obey him. I also exercise myself daily. When I was young, even though I worked with Guinness, I never drank alcohol nor smoked cigarettes. I watched what I ate and drank because it was part of my life discipline. I think it kept me going well all the while.
How did you do it not taking alcohol despite working with Guinness?
I was with Guinness from 1961 to 1967 and I can say it was just a matter of discipline; I restrained myself even though my peers indulged in it. I never copied them because I only do what I feel is right for me and I do not base my life on what others do or think about me. At all times, I try to be myself.
Why did you leave the lucrative job?
When I left the company, I went to the University of Lagos. I left in pursuit of knowledge.
How did you do it writing a book at old age?
Some people take care of their bodies a lot, but they do not take care of their brains. I read a lot and I have a library. I am writing a book now and I have two that are completed. The country has gone so backward that we need to put a lot of things that we have seen into writing. When people do not read, they do not exercise the brain. A reader today is a leader tomorrow. Our youths are not reading today and the parents are to be blamed for that. I can’t really blame them because you cannot give what you do not have. I have no limitation when it comes to reading and above all, I love reading my Bible because it is the compendium of all knowledge. I start my day with my quiet time with the Lord and I read other books on politics, environmental sanitation and anything that has to do with human development.
You have some books on marriage and you have been married for decades but if you look at our society today, the rate of divorce is on the increase. What do you think is wrong?
A lot of people are paying lip-services to relationships. I don’t believe that you love a woman and still beat her. The rate of spousal assault is on the increase and it shows that there is no can love in the family. If there is no love, there cannot be unity and progress. People come from different backgrounds to get married; they need to study themselves. They need to tolerate each other; they need to have a spirit of giving. There should be openness because if both parties are keeping secret, it would eventually become public knowledge and they would not like the end result. People are no longer sincere and faithful to the marriage vows and that’s why the whole thing comes to an end abruptly.
How did you meet your wife?
It was by the grace of God because she is also nee Olabode and that was the making of our union; otherwise we would never have met. I was in Lagos and she was in Akoko, Ondo state. Incidentally, she was in the same class with my cousin. My cousin wrote me when I was working in Guinness that I had a sister in her school, Abike Olabode. For years, we did not meet but we were writing letters to ourselves. I also used to send her hand-outs and magazines. It was God’s making otherwise we would never have met.
When did you meet physically?
We eventually met in 1965. I was to go to my hometown to do something, so I wrote her that I was coming and she gave me the school address. But when I got there, I was told she had gone home. Eventually we met and we hugged each other and that was how our relationship started. It has been very beautiful and we have good children and grand children.
Did your father’s request have anything to do with you being an author?
I don’t see myself as a serious author even though I have written a lot of articles and papers. For instance, the mini water works we have in Lagos today, I wrote a paper to the then governor, Lateef Jakande, and he replied after a while and invited me to discuss the issue with a committee and that is how we started the mini water works. I felt that it was wrong that the water works we had in Iju went straight to Victoria Island because that was the Government Residential Area for our colonial masters. It was after they had been served that the water would be brought to Lagos Island and its environs. For a long time, there was no water in places like Mushin and Agege. I felt it was wrong because water is life and all citizens in the state must drink water and the governor agreed with me and that is why we have so many mini water works in the state but unfortunately, we do not have leaders to follow up.
You pioneered the mini water works project in Lagos State; however, not all Lagosians can boast of having potable water. How do you feel about the development?
It is a terrible thing and it is a shame that we have gone away from the basics. There are no serious politicians and we don’t have any political party now that has a real manifesto. When Jakande wanted to come into government, the schools in Lagos then were running three shifts and he changed that because it was not all the children that were learning. He spoke on housing and he made a difference in that regard. The Unity Party of Nigeria then had a manifesto caring for the welfare of the people. There was free education and a good health care system. When Chief Obafemi Awolowo was the premier of the Western Region, it was a paradise of a state and at that time, the region was likened to Brazil. He wanted to rule the nation and transform it but our colonial masters knew that if he ruled Nigeria for just two years, he would transform it and we would be bailed out of the shackles of colonialism forever and they did not want that. That was why they used their connections in the north along with some of our people to make sure that he did not rule this nation.
You were also a member of the Board of Directors of New Towns Development Authority in Lagos. What were the tasks you were charged with?
That was when we started the low cost housing in Abesan and the new town in Oroyin. We developed a lot of new towns and some low cost housing estates because the state had a people-centred governor. It was the board that established most of the new towns you have in Lagos today.
Some of these low cost houses are now in bad state. When you drive around Lagos and see them, how do you feel?
This is why I don’t go out most of the time in Lagos because when you see things that ought to have been developed grow worse by the day, it is heartbreaking. Look at the roads, they are in a bad state and it is because those that are coming into power had no part in the development so they do not have a reason to maintain them. They want to establish their own projects. The houses are there and instead of the government to develop them, they just abandoned them; it is rather unfortunate. It is because we do not have people that can hear and listen. When they listen, they choose what they want to listen to and they do so just to criticise. It is very sad that a lot of the good things the past government put in place have been abandoned. There is total abandonment of everything.
You keep referring to Lateef Jakande as a people-centred governor; however, some would argue with you that there are some governments that have done better.
It is a lie, there is nobody that has touched lives. I have been in Lagos for a while and have been a part of the system. There was no single school in the whole of Gbagada before Jakande era but when he got into power, he established various schools and no government has added a single school to them ever since. The hospital in Gbagada was built by him, though it is now transformed to an annex of the teaching hospital; the road in my area was tarred by his administration. When it comes to the issue of the first environmental sanitation in Lagos, we were the people who participated in the symposium and I initiated it when I got to the office and noticed that people had the habit of walking on the lawn. There were days that I spent hours at the Lagos State Secretariat to make sure that people didn’t walk on the lawn. People do it carelessly in Nigeria and it is because we don’t have moral standards and etiquette anymore.
Although once every month, the government ensures that its citizens partake in environmental sanitation, most people rather sleep and wait till it is over. What do you think is wrong?
It is our attitude; we have a wrong attitude towards keeping our surroundings clean. It is part of my past time to clean my environment because cleanliness is next to godliness. I cannot afford to live in a dirty environment. When it started, we were giving prizes to the best schools, market, hospital premises and we went to inspect but these days, the civil servants are more corrupt than the politicians. The citizens complain about the politicians and the system but they do not contribute anything to the society. They leave everything to the government. My compound is always clean even though I have been in my house since the 70s. If the governor is living in a good and clean environment, what is preventing me from living in such an environment? I don’t have to wait for my government to clean my house. People should not be compelled to clean their houses but it is because we don’t have morals and all the standards have broken down.
What do you mean when you say that civil servants are now more corrupt than politicians?
The politicians do not have access to the treasury directly; so for them to take money from the treasury, they must use some people. Because these people subject themselves to be used by politicians and they are greedy, their hands are not clean. For instance, if their boss asks them to take N2m, they would take N3m and keep N1m for themselves. The civil servants would write down the N3m in the account books with spurious narrations and his boss cannot say he would not sign it because he has taken N2m already. Unfortunately, it is the people that suffer for it. I know that Awolowo and Chief Anthony Enahoro were best friends but when Awolowo was Minister of Finance and Enahoro was Minister of Information, Enahoro brought two Mercedes Benz cars and wanted to clear the two free of duty but Awolowo refused. He said that he could take one because he was a minister but he did not need two vehicles at the same time. Enahoro thought it was a joke but Awolowo did not change his mind because he himself would not do such.
Why did you not venture into active politics?
I am a Christian and I cannot lie. I cannot mortgage my conscience and I would never compromise. When you play politics, a lot of dirty games are involved. I am not an active politician but I support good governance. If one goes into politics, he would be a lone ranger and would soon be messed up. I did not want to lose my integrity and the truth of the matter is that a lot of us especially our leaders are suffering from A.I.D.S – Acquired Integrity Deficiency Syndrome. Of all the various governments we have, is there anyone talking about research and development? So what do I want to go and do in politics when I know that I will not add value to people’s lives? People are just there for the money and what do I want to do with all that money? Jakande still lives in Ilupeju and that was where he was living even when he was in government. I am not saying he is an angel but that is an example of a leader. When I was working in the accounts department of Texaco, I was incorruptible. I was in charge of the accounts and I paid people when due. Some that were impressed would say they wanted to come and ‘see’ me but I would tell them not to bother because I was only doing my job and paying them because they rendered a service. Everybody is selfish, greedy and corrupt. If you go into politics, you would mess up your name if you are not careful. When Funsho Williams said he wanted to go into politics, I told him he was too fine a gentleman to go into Nigerian politics. If he had been governor in Lagos, the state would have been a better place because he was involved in all levels of development in the state. He rose from a pupil engineer to become the director of roads and highways in the state. He later became a permanent secretary in the ministry of works. He became the commissioner for works and he was involved in a lot of development projects.
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