One-time Minister of State of the Federal Capital Territory, Princess Adebisi Oguneye, tells ‘NONYE BEN-NWANKWO about her life and her days as a minister during the military era
Has anybody told you that you could pass for a less than 50-year-old lady when indeed you are 70?
I know I look younger than my age. It is just the grace of God. He has already assured us of good health and good life. It is just His grace and if you want to tap from that grace, you would get it. I am a strong believer. I worship at Living Faith Church, Goshen, Abuja, where I am an elder.
But even apart from the good health, you still look very good for your age. Are you saying you don’t do extra things to look this good and trim?
I don’t do anything extraordinary or special. But I know I watch what I eat. I try to eat well. I also try to help the public whenever I get the opportunity, how they can eat right. It is according to one’s determination. If you say you want this, you would get it.
At 70, is there anything different or is it just a number?
It is just a number. I don’t feel anything different between when I was 40 and now. I live in divine health. The last time I was in the hospital was when I had my last baby and that was 36 years ago. I don’t take drugs. I just live by the word of God and it is good for me.
You must enjoy the fact that you are a grandmother…
I enjoy it so much. I have wonderful grandchildren. I have seven of them. They love their grandfather as well.
Looking back, are there things you wish you would have done differently when you were much younger?
I have never given it a thought. Anything I ever set my hands and heart to do, God has made them to succeed. I don’t think I would have had it better than this. I am a qualified chartered accountant. I practised as an accountant and I also went to the industry where I had experiences in both private and public domain.
You were a onetime minister of state at FCT, Abuja…
Yes. But before then, I served in the National Economic Intelligence Committee. We were appointed by the military government then. I worked under late Professor Sam Aluko who was the chairman of the committee. We started the framework of what the National Assembly was supposed to do. We were in charge of monitoring all the projects of the Federal Government and we were in charge of blowing the whistle to the government if we noticed anything wrong. Our duty was also to monitor the economy. I was in the committee for four years until I was appointed the minister of state in FCT.
Did you expect your appointment?
I never knew about it. In fact, I was at the site then. We would go and inspect Federal Government projects then. I was actually in Ondo State then. I got back to my hotel in the evening and I heard my name while I was listening to the news. I wasn’t given any prior information at all. During our own time, it was basically about merit. Even though I believe God had a hand in my appointment, I also believe I was appointed on merit and on the basis of my qualification.
How was it working for government during the military era?
It was tough, very tough. We were working with the military and we had to be in tandem with them. There was a time, all the infrastructure and logistics the democracy needed, we had already prepared them within that one year. We made sure the National Assembly building was ready. We made sure the ministries and even the courts were ready. Everything was constructed within that one year. I remember that I was always going to monitor the projects with my boss, the Minister of FCT. He was a military man. I remember one day we climbed to the 11th floor of a building project. We didn’t use the lift. I can’t forget that day. I was just following him as we climbed the stairs. When we got to the 11th floor and I just looked down, that was the last thing I could remember. I collapsed. But it didn’t stop the inspection. The minister continued with the inspection until I fully recovered and joined him. We were always busy, receiving visitors and all that. I could get home by 12 midnight and I would also be informed that an important visitor was around, I would just head back to work.
Could you have seen your work as fun back then?
I went with the mind of making an impact. I wanted to improve on peoples’ lives. That was what was paramount in my mind. I just wanted to make a difference in the lives of the needy and even female civil servants who were despondent because they were suddenly moved from Lagos to Abuja without any provision for accommodation for them. Then you would see married women living with other men. There were so many atrocities then. I was determined to ensure that these people were taken care of and I was able to do that.
But could you have achieved much since your tenure lasted for just one year?
You cannot believe what I was able to achieve. With determination and hard work, you can achieve anything.
So, how were you able to cope with the home front?
Then, I was already in my 50s and my kids were grown. My kids were abroad then. It was just my husband who was in Lagos then.
And he actually supported you to be in Abuja while he was left in Lagos?
He supported me fully. But I used to travel to Lagos twice in a month. As soon as I got into town, I would just give my details off days and tell them to go and visit their loved ones too. Then I would just go to the market and buy basic foodstuffs to cook for my husband.
You actually went to the market as a minister?
Yes! I would buy foodstuffs and other groceries and prepare his favourite dishes. At least you need to appease the man who has been supporting you and taking care of the home front.
Didn’t you have any form of reservation that Lagos ladies would have been ‘eyeing’ your husband while you were away?
No way! It has never happened in our marriage. I believe it is a marriage from heaven. He had never misbehaved before and I didn’t expect him to misbehave while I was away despite the distance.
Did you feel bad when your tenure ended?
I don’t think I felt bad. I felt fulfilled. I felt I had been able to handle something I didn’t know I could handle in my life and I was able to go though it without any blemish. From the depth of my heart, I had to do a thanksgiving. It wasn’t just a funfair; I really had to thank God. The only thing I would have loved to continue was my practice. I had determined that I was going to retire at the age of 60. But I wasn’t 60 when I retired. While I was in office, I lost all my accounts and clients. But again, I don’t have any hard feelings.
During your time, women weren’t so many in top positions, so how were you able to cope in a male dominated industry?
By divine providence, I had always found myself as a lone ranger in the midst of men. When I was in the university in England, I was the only female student in my class. I came back home and I took up an appointment with the doyen of accountancy, FRA Williams. I would say at that time, I was the only lady there. He had worked with some before me. But I learnt he didn’t enjoy employing married women and he stopped. So when I got there, there was no lady at all. He started again with me. Before he employed me, he had to write a letter to my husband who was in Belgium and asked for a consent letter before I could work there. So it wasn’t difficult working with men. In fact, I enjoy working with them especially when they know that you know your capabilities. They would respect you.
Can you compare your days as a minister in the military era with what we have in this democratic dispensation?
What is happening now is so nauseating. I pray to God that I would not have any cause to go back to any of the ministries for any form of assistance and I have been able to maintain it. I hear what goes on there and I shudder. I was not a civil servant. I was just invited and appointed in the two areas I had served. I didn’t lobby for any position. But I knew what civil service was all about. There was a level of discipline during our time. There was accountability in my ministry at least. There was no way you would do anything without the minister perusing whatever project or proposal. We believed that you must be able to account for whatever you were given to handle. We were so conscious of accountability and transparency. I wouldn’t say there may not have been lapses, but they were very few. But I don’t know what is happening now.
But we can’t trade democracy for anything, can we?
Why must you put a square peg in a round hole because of patronage? There are other ways you can compensate politicians than putting wrong people in positions. That is what is killing the country today. The military appointed me and they knew my capabilities and I was able to deliver. I don’t know if such happens in democracy. You are supposed to get dividend of democracy. It is not just a winners’ take it all thing. We should bring that back now.
Why did you study in England?
It was my father’s decision. I had lost my mother before I travelled. I had three other siblings in England. My father was Oba Samuel Fabikun. He was the Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti. He was able to send us to England so I went to join my siblings who were already there. But unfortunately, he died when I was in my second year.
So how did you survive or were you on scholarship?
No. I wasn’t on scholarship. It became a huge task for me. My hard work started from there. It wasn’t easy. I went to England in 1965 and I came back in 1971. And all the time I was there, I never had a holiday, not even Christmas or summer holiday. I was always working. And then, if you worked at night, you would receive double pay. So I always worked at night during all my stay in England.
It couldn’t have been tea party…
It wasn’t at all. It just wasn’t easy. But I had to make a living in order to be able to pay my fees. And with what I made, I was able to take care of myself and pay my fees. I didn’t have the mindset I was going to be working before I travelled to England. It was the death of my father that changed things. But I knew I would succeed because my mother said success doesn’t come by chance. My mother would always tell me an adage that when literarily translated from Yoruba into English, means that a man cannot fill your closet with clothes no matter who you get married to. And being somebody who has always loved fashion, I had to work hard to succeed.
How was it growing up in a large family?
It was beautiful. I am the fourth of 17 children. I wish those days didn’t go away because they were interesting period. I had wonderful youth that I can never forget in a hurry. Our parents were very strict. We were raised up to love one another and to live together in harmony and help one another. We weren’t segregated. As an Oba, he had many wives. As of the time he became the Oba, my mother was the oldest wife. New wives came after my mother and we all were united. There was no envy or bickering even up till now. My father was very strict and he used the cane a lot. But I was the only child that he never flogged.
Why? Were you his favourite?
I want to believe I was his favourite.
Did you use the cane on your kids?
I had wanted to but my husband didn’t allow me. But I later realised that his own method of cautioning the kids was also effective and productive. He would counsel and talk to them and they would change.
At what point did you meet your husband?
In our own time, couples usually met during their secondary school days. Schools used to interact a lot back then through debating societies. I don’t know if it happens now. I was a member of the debating society and my husband was also a member in his school too. We met during inter-house sports. He spotted me when he was doing his Higher School Certificate class then. I was in my final year in my secondary school. We met during Easter period. We started writing letters because there were no phones then.
Was it easy for him to court a princess? Did your father readily accept him?
It was not easy at all. At times I say to myself I wish my father was alive to witness this union. But then, I am sure he wouldn’t have given his consent at all. My father would have loved me to marry an Ekiti man. But then, he didn’t really raise me in Ekiti. I was born in Lagos. It was when he was made the Oba that we moved to Ekiti. I only spent six years in Ekiti when I had my primary school education. As an Oba, my father had a phone. I remember when my husband went to the post office then to make a call. My father picked the call and he asked him who he was. I am sure my husband must have melted where he was. He couldn’t talk again. My father dropped the phone and he called me. He and my mother told me that I would never marry anybody who wasn’t from Ekiti. So they were able to stop the relationship at that time. But again, providence came into play. My husband got a scholarship to travel to Belgium to study Architecture. I left a year after and we continued the friendship. After a year or two, my father died. But my husband was able to see my father before he died. We have been married for 44 years.
Are you fulfilled?
I am fulfilled. I am very happy God gave me the opportunity to be of service to humanity. I pray that God will continue to give me the strength to continue to be of help to people.
Why did you choose to study Accounting?
I actually wanted to study Secretarial Studies or something like that. But I had a friend who also came from Ekiti. We shared a room in England. She was very brilliant. I did a course in accounting and she noticed I had a flare for it. She was the person that advised me to stop the secretarial course and go for Accounting. She encouraged me and I followed her advice. Looking back, I am grateful she gave me that advice.
Did you ever feel like quitting and becoming a full time house wife?
No. I never felt that way because I was enjoying whatever I was doing at every point. I was getting rewards.
Have you ever considered politics?
I have never. But I believe that one can be of service to the community without being at the forefront of politics. I can’t be a politician because I believe that democracy is just growing in our country. If Nigeria were to be America, I would have come out like Hilary Clinton. She is in a country where things are run the way they are supposed to. This country is not yet like that. I will find it difficult to operate in an environment where there is no transparency. I don’t belong to any political party. I thank God I was able to do something for my state. As of the time I was in government, we were still a part of Ogun State. I would say I was contributory to the creation of Ekiti State. I made sure the state had a prominent place in FCT. I belonged to many groups whose major aim was to see to the progress of the state.
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