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KSA’s wife, Hon. Risikat Adegeye examines life at 55

HON. Princess Ajoke Risikat Adeniyi-Adegeye is one of the wives of King Sunny Ade.  She was once a member of Lagos House of Assembly but presently a commissioner in the newly constituted Lagos House of Assembly Service Commission.

She turned 55 on Thursday, August 28, 2014.  She did not allow the day to go uncelebrated.  Aside going to church to thank God for sparing her life, she also threw a party at Prestige Hotel, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos to mark the day.

She allowed ENCOMIUM Weekly into her office, where she granted us an interview on life at 55…

DSC_0689Congratulations on your 55th birthday celebration.

Thank you very much.

How do you feel at 55?

I feel very good and happy that I am still very much alive.

What will you say you are grateful to God for turning 55?

I cannot count my blessings.  That is why I will forever be grateful to God Almighty.  I thank Him for His blessings and protection over me, over my children, over my husband and over all my well wishers.

Do you feel your new age?

Not really. People tell me I look younger than 55.

But there must be some activities that you used to do when you were young that you can no longer do?

I don’t think so. I am very agile and I still do most physical activities that I have always been doing.

What will you say is responsible for this?

I think it is the grace of God.  It’s a gift from God.

Could it be because you dance a lot which is an exercise itself?

That is also a grace of God.  When you talk about me dancing at my age, what would you say about King Sunny Ade himself that is almost 70.  He will be 69 by September 22 (2014).  Like I said, it is the grace of God.

What was growing up like for you?

It is a long story which I think if I start now we may not be able to finish it today.  Let us just thank God Almighty for where He has taken me today.

Was it a very difficult one?

Life has never been a bed of roses for most people.  There will always be the difficult times, the bad times, the ugly ones and of course, the good ones.  But like I said, let us just thank God for the gift of life and for what He has done in my life.

At what stage of your life did your path and that of King Sunny Ade cross?

Wonderful.  I think I was 23 when I met him.  I was in secondary school.

What was the circumstance?

I had a godfather then called Father’s Money.  His real name was Yinka Esho.  He was also a record dealer and a friend of King Sunny Ade.

Is he still alive?

No, he is late now. He was the one who introduced us.  Although before then, I had always nursed the ambition to meet him (KSA) because I loved his music.  Sunny Ade was regular in his (Yinka Esho’s) house then.

DSC_0321Were you based in Ibadan then?

Yes, we were living in Ibadan then while I was schooling in Lagos.

Certainly, at the time you met him he was married?

Yes now.

And you were not in any way deterred to marry him despite his marital status?

No, I was in love with him.  I didn’t just marry him because he was famous, I was in love with him.  A lot of people tried to dissuade me from marrying him then, telling me that why should I marry someone who was already married.  But I stuck to my gun, insisting that it is him I want to marry. I was very much in love with him.

I thank God toady because I don’t have any cause to regret my decision.  I am happy that I am married to him because he has been good to me. I am happy that I am married to him today because his name has opened doors for me, not only in Nigeria also abroad.

Even if you are the 20th wife?

Yes o, I am happy.

How many children has this marriage produced?

In Yorubaland you are not supposed to count the number of your children.  So, I will say I am blessed with the fruits of the womb.  Don’t also forget that it is not only your biological children that are your children.  So, I have many children, particularly from my constituency (Amuwo Odofin 1).  In fact, all over Nigeria, I have many children.

I am talking about those you have for King Sunny Ade?

They are many and I can’t tell you their number but I know I am blessed with the fruit of the womb.

Where are your children now?  Are they living with you or him?

They are abroad.

What are their ages?

My last born is 29 and the first is 30.

How true is it that King Sunny Ade was instrumental to your becoming a member of Lagos State House of Assembly in 2007?

That is true.  If I were not his wife, I doubt if I will be where I am today politically.  Although he has told me not to attribute it to him but to God, all the same, I will say it was him that God used to get me to where I am today.

For nine years, I was a member of PDP in Apapa Local Government Area and I contested three times for a post there all to no avail.  I later decamped to AC and about 13 of us vied for the same ticket.  The leaders of the party in my constituency told me then that if I could talk to my husband to talk to Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ticket would be mine.  That was what I did.  My husband went to see Jagaban and the ticket was given to me.  It is true that my husband helped but the people of my constituency are also solidly behind me.

DSC_0661What went wrong in your second term bid?  Why was the same influence not used to get you the second term ticket?

The second term issue is one issue that I want to put in my past.  I don’t want to remember it anymore.  Because there is this Yoruba saying that Olorun da e lejo o lo fe appeal (God gave you a judgment and you want to appeal).  I was personally looking forward to my second term but how the whole thing went to the extent that I was not given the ticket again, I did not know.  Only God knows what went wrong.

But today, I thank God for where I am as a commissioner in Lagos House of Assembly Service Commission.

Will you say this is better than being a member of the House of Assembly?

Lagos House of Assembly Service Commission is an integral part of the Lagos House of Assembly.  Only the functions are different. I am still very much a member of Lagos House of Assembly.

What would you say is the happiest moment of your 55 years of existence?

Certainly, that was the day I had my first child.

A boy or a girl?

A boy.

When would you consider your saddest day?

That was the day I lost my second child. He was six when he died.

What happened, was he sick?

Yes, just a mild sickness.  We took him to the hospital and that was where he died.  Of recent too my saddest moment would be the day I realized I was not going to be given a second term ticket to return to the House in 2011.  Though it was painful,  I have since overcome the pain.  Those who did it thought I would not be able take care of the people in my constituency again if I did not come back to the assembly as a member.  I DSC_0708-001thank God today that my constituency has not suffered in any way since I did not go back.

What lesson of life would you say you have learnt in your 55 years on earth?

I have learnt a lot. I have learnt to respect every human being irrespective of their status.  I have learnt that you will encounter the good, the bad and the ugly and you have to take them all in your stride.

What I learnt as a member of Lagos House of Assembly has opened my eyes to so many things about life, law, law-making and what goes on in government.

So many things that I learnt there have been useful to me in my dealings with human beings.

Will you still contest for an elective post in the nearest future?

Yes!  But I have learnt not to count my chicken before they are hatched.

-TOLANI ABATTI

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