Encomium
CHIEF (Dr.) Mrs. Nike Akande (OON, CON) has every reason to be thankful to God for sparing her life in good health as she turned 70.
The beautiful and amiable woman who clocks 70 on October 29, 2014 will roll out the drums in celebration on Saturday, November 1, 2014.
Dr. Nike Akande was a two-time Minister of Industry, a Harvard University trained professional and investment expert. She is also a director of Union Bank of Nigeria and PZ Cussons. She was one of the delegates at the recently concluded National Conference.
ENCOMIUM Weekly had an interview with the soft spoken and humble woman on life at 70, her achievements, family life and much more.
Congratulations on your 70th birthday. How does it feel to be 70?
I feel good. I thank God for His mercies. My mother died early at 49 and my uncle, Chief Olu Aboderin also died early. So, I have been praying that I should live long. Thank God I am 70.
What are you most grateful to God for at 70?
I am most grateful to God for His mercies towards me, good health and all my achievements. It is not by my own doing but by the grace of Almighty God. It is God that chooses whomever He wants to lift. Most of these things just come to me easily. People look for me to be good to me. I thank God for it. There are other people who work harder than me, who don’t have these blessings. For God to choose me and be kind to me and show me His mercies, I thank Him.
Do you feel 70?
I often forget that I am getting old. It is when I see people kneel down to greet me that I remember I am no more a young girl. I don’t feel it at all. I always forget that I am 70. I am quite active and God has given me good health, strength to do all I have to do.
Are there things you do that makes you look more beautiful and have good health?
I exercise. I take my vitamins and I have a good heart, that is number one. I don’t keep malice. I don’t keep things that will upset me. If my spirit does not agree with somebody’s spirit, I avoid that person but thank God, most people agree with me. I am a pleasant person, I try to help people if I can.
Are there things you used to do that you can no longer do at your age?
No, I still do everything I used to do. Like I said, I forget that I am getting old. People caution me now that I should take things slowly because I am not so young again. Even my husband tells me that, but I am involved in so many things. It is not easy for me to just slow down like that. I hold positions in many professional organizations, that is the problem. I still thank God for good health.
What are the greatest lessons life has taught you?
Life has taught me to be nice to people, young, old, your age, because you will never know when you will need them. Many people forget others when they are at the top, people they have known for many years. This is not with me. I always treat people well because I love to be treated well. I don’t feel happy when I am not treated well. I don’t even go to places where I will not be treated well. I take only water and don’t eat too much. If people will not treat me well, I stay in my house. I can afford to give myself that treat. You also have to respect people.
What was growing up like?
I should say I am a lucky person. My father, Mr. Alfred Adisa of Ile Oluwo fame, the Afobaje of Ibadan, was a great man. Every king prostrated in our compound for my father. My mother was from the famous Aboderin family. They are blessed in that family. My grandmother was one of the richest women in Ibadan. About 60 years ago, she bought a house in England. Her name is Madam Janet Alatede Aboderin. Anytime she goes to England, she wouldn’t stay in her house, but in a hotel. We went there to greet her, she doesn’t like foreign food. She prefers her amala. Why I am telling you all these is to show that my childhood days was fun. I had everything to make life comfortable for me.
How much influence will you say your childhood days have in your achievement today?
It has a lot of influence on me. My grandmother was an icon, a woman everybody respected in Ibadan. She had many children, Chief Moyo Sola Aboderin, Babatiwalola, another Aboderin. He was an engineer (Engr. Jide Aboderin). My mother is the first daughter, then, Mrs. Odunola, followed by Chief Olu Aboderin, the man that started The Punch Newspapers. There is another person, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola. They are all the children of the famous woman. She was a very beautiful woman. She was very fond of me. She wasn’t educated as such, though she believed so much in education. She tried going to school during Awolowo’s days. We used to make fun of her. She was a humble woman with so many achievements. All these shaped me to be what I am today.
Do you still keep in touch with some of your childhood friends?
I still keep in touch with some of them. They are both men and women. I have some that we went to elementary school together. I attended Queens School, Ede. I had so many friends there also, like Chief (Mrs.) Bukky Ajemo. I have younger friends as well. Mrs. Maiden Ibru was some years my junior in school. I also have Engr. (Mrs.) Maduka, she was the first lady engineer in Nigeria. She was my senior. They will all be at my party.
Any regret at this age?
There is no regret whatsoever. All I can say is, I will keep thanking God. Things have been fairly easy for me. It is not always like that with so many people. People will just look at me and give me posts that others are lobbying for. I am very lucky. I am hard working though, I don’t like lazy people. Some people watch my activities and give me offers.
What informed the decision to study Accountancy?
Chief Olu Aboderin studied Accountancy. I was quite close to him then, even when I was in school I was more of a science person. I didn’t want o study engineering, so I opted for accountancy.
What were the targets you set to achieve at this age, will you say you have achieved everything?
I think I have achieved most of the things I wanted and I am a fulfilled person. I am a happy person. I was just doing my own thing and was appointed a minister. When I was young, I used to have a lesson teach. One day, I heard that Bode Thomas was dead, I was so keen to know about him. My lesson teacher was asking me what I knew about being a minister and why I was so keen to listen. I told him that I will be a minister one day. The man came to my office and reminded me about it after I was made a minister.
Life is made up of triumphs and trials. What were the triumphs you have had, the trials and how you overcame?
Life is not a bed of roses. There will be challenges. I have been able to overcome some of the challenges, at the end of it, I give thanks to God. If anything should upset me, I know something better is coming. I lost my passport and some other documents in a foreign country sometime back. I just phoned the embassy of that country, they got me a visa, a new passport and everything. I was their property. God has been kind to me.
Of all the awards you have received, which one do you cherish most?
They are all very important. Number one is becoming a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Number two is the national honour. My country is saying thank you to me for the work I have done in the development of the country. And also, membership of the National Conference. I got an award for that too. I am very happy to be part of the people who will restructure Nigeria for better. If all over recommendations are implemented, Nigeria will be a better place for all of us. We worked very hard. I don’t know how they chose all the people there, they were all patriotic and hard working, they did their best.
Aside being an accountant, you are also a successful entrepreneur
I come from a family of entrepreneurs. My grandmother was a wealthy woman, even my mother. Though she died at 49, she was very successful. She built more than 10 houses at 49. I am not that lucky but I have been trying on my own. To be successful, you must have a vision of what you do and a mission, you must be hard working. There is no way you will be successful without hard work.
Was there a time that you considered going into politics?
I didn’t go into politics by contesting but the positions I have held were politically inclined. I don’t have enough money for politics. I don’t know how to tell lies. Some people tell lies and swear by the lies. I don’t have that type of upbringing, but I always support people who are in politics. I support a good cause and I always like to fast track development in the country. I belong to associations who believe in Nigeria and we have been contributing in fast tracking the development of the nation.
How did your path and that of your husband cross?
We have been married for so many years now. I am grateful to God for the husband He gave me. Sometimes, I am a bit restless and I like to do many things. We met in England, he was just finishing as a lawyer when I just came in. We met at a ceremony, we exchanged pleasantries. He left England and came back to Nigeria. When we met again, we continued where we stopped. We have been married for more than 40 years.
What attracted him to you?
He is highly intelligent, he is good looking, good sense of humour. We have been together throughout. Marriage is not a bed of roses. We had few challenges here and there but we were able to overcome them.
What does companionship mean to you at 70?
I always tell people that it is better to be married. The younger ones are not patient. Marriage is a journey of give and take. I am not perfect, my husband too is not perfect but we have to bend over to complement each other. The younger ones are not that patient. It is better to be married. People respect you more when you are married, unless it is impossible to live with a man because some men are impossible. But for little, little differences, you have to tolerate each other. Companionship is nice. I will tell him my experiences and he will advise me. If a woman is successful and she does not have a husband, people will not respect her.
You are from a wealthy home, you have also made wealth yourself. What does wealth mean to you?
I don’t want to talk about wealth. I am a comfortable person, not the type of money they talk about these days. But I have never been in want. Once you are contented, that is it. I am grateful to God that I can afford any little thing that I want. I don’t have to look at people who have billions. What I have is enough for me. What are my needs, good food, good shelter and travelling out of the country once in a while to have a change of atmosphere.
You also have a very good dress sense. Will you say this thing you were taught or you inherited it from your grandmother?
My grand parent, mother and parents have always been very fashionable. I personally like to dress well. Right from school, people always single me out. I like to match things fairly well. I am not a diamond person, I liked pearls from a tender age.
Looking at the fashion scene, will you say it is growing compared to your days?
I don’t just follow fashion blindly, I wear what suits me. I like to dress well, wear bright things but I don’t expose my body. I don’t think you are well dressed when you expose half of your body. Personally, I don’t like it. My parents also taught me to dress that way. I am the first child of a family of four girls. I had to set good examples. My father was a disciplined professional, really nice human being. My mother was a successful businesswoman, really nice too. They brought us up in a nice way.
Tell us about your other siblings.
My immediate younger sister is Olori Moji Abass. She is married to a king from Ijebu Igbo. Mrs. Laide Ogundipe Alatise, she is also a successful woman. She was a banker. She retired and started her own business. Then, the youngest, Mrs. Mercy Yusuf, she is very religious and she is a successful businesswoman too.
From the look of things, you have achieved everything you wished to achieve, is there anything else you want God to do for you?
I am grateful. I am contented and I thank God at 70, I have a lot of achievements to my credit coupled with good health, what more can I ask but to keep on thanking Him every day. My prayer is always full of thanks to Him.
– TOLANI ABATTI and SHADE WESLEY-METIBOGUN
