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‘My life at 50’ -Hon. Taoveeq Adeyemi Alli, Chairman Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA

HON. Adeyemi Taoveeq Alli is the chairman of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council Development Authority (LCDA).  He has been the chairman of the LCDA for three terms.  He turned 50 on Tuesday, September 9, 2014.  To mark the milestone, a prayer session was organized at Darlington Hall, Ilupeju, Lagos.

But before that day, the beefy politician of many years spoke to ENCOMIUM Weekly about the story of his life.

Congratulations on your 50th birthday.

Thank you so much.

How do you feel turning 50?

I thank God that I turned 50. I am full of praises to Almighty Allah for my journey of life so far.

What will you say you are grateful to God for turning 50?

In so many respect, I am grateful to God that today I am very much alive, hale and hearty.  There are many people that we were born on this same day and year but they are no longer alive.  There are those who are alive but are not where I am today and those who are equally alive who are very well above me.  I give thanks to Almighty Allah those who I am better among my mates are far higher than those who are above me.

What are those things that you were doing some years ago that you can no longer do?

They are many.

Tell us some of them.

I used to club a lot. I used to have lady friends but all of them are now declining.  Not because of any threat of life but because I am getting older.  I am also getting closer to Almighty Allah. I am now more religious and focused.

What about physical activities, are there some activities you were doing before that you can no longer do?

In the past 10 years or so, I was not hypertensive or have body ache.  But now, I am highly hypertensive and I have body ache at the waist and knees and the ankles.  I think all those are because of my age.

It could also be because of your weight?

I have been like this for 15 years.  Although, I wasn’t like this some 30 years ago.  I was tiny but if you know my background very well you will know where I got my big weight from.  My father was big and my mother was also big.  So, I took after them.

Are there things you are doing to reduce the weight?

I have a gym in my house but due to the nature of my job I have not been able to go there regularly anymore.  Initially, I was spending an hour there every day but after few months, I rarely go there anymore. I think I need to go back there now.

What was growing up like?

I was born right here in this area (Macaulay Street, Olorunsogo, Mushin).  The area wasn’t like this when we were growing up.  Then, this area was so peaceful. People were not so many.  The area was like the GRA of Mushin, very quiet then when we were growing up.  Now things have changed a lot.  We now have area boys everywhere.

Did you also go to school in this area?

Yes, of course.  My primary school was here, a public primary school.  My secondary school was Archbishop Aggrey also around here.  From our house here to Bishop Aggrey was about 30 minutes walk and I used to do it every school day.

When would you say has been the happiest moment of your life?

Every time I wake in the morning and I realize that I am still alive and healthy, I am always happy.  Being married and having beautiful children has also been a source of joy and happiness for me.

Which of these events you mentioned actually made you extremely happy?

When I got my first son.  At the time I had him, my father was no more.  So, when I had him I felt waoh! I am now a father too with responsibility.

When would you say was the saddest day of your life?

The day I lost my dad.  He had been a pillar of support, not only to me but to the entire family at large.  I never thought I could survive up to this age. I was thinking the end had come.  But thanks to many people around like Iya Oniyan, she was my father’s lieutenant.  She is my leader and my mother of course.  I have another pillar of support in Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.  He has been very supportive since my father died.  He is like a father.  When I was getting married, he and Mama Iya Oniyan stood by me.  They played the role of my parents.

You must be relatively young when your father died?

My father died 22 years ago.  I was 28.  I was working in the bank then, National Bank and the same time doing COSIT at UNILAG.

When did partisan politics start for you?

Politics is to my family what blood is to the body.  It runs like blood runs in the body in the family.  My father was a politician. He was a two term member of Lagos House of Assembly and a leader of the party.

When was this?

During Jakande’s era (1979-1983).  This house (the family house on Macaulay Street, Olorunsogo, Mushin) was like Mecca.  People were always around for one meeting or the other.  I was the closest person to my dad.

Are you his first son?

No, the sixth. But I was always around him and he was always sending me on errand during their meetings.  So, during most of their meetings, I was always around listening to their discussions.  I got to know many people in this house.  Many prominent politicians within and outside Lagos that I know, I got to know from this house.  People like Alhaji Lateef Jakande, Alhaji Solomon and so many others, I got to know them in this house.

One day, there was a meeting in the house and there was nobody to take the minutes and I was just returning from work.  Someone just suggested let Taofeek take the minutes for us now.  That was how I was brought to the high table with the leaders of the party taking minutes.  They were in PSP then.  Then came the era of NRC and SDP, the Babangida parties.  We were in SDP.  I contested for the General Secretary of the party and I won.  Willie Akinluyi who is now in PDP won the chairmanship of the ward.  That was in 1990.  Since then I have been very active in politics.  I was state delegate at several levels. I was still the secretary of the party when Asiwaju (Tinubu) contested for the Senate then.  So, I have been actively involved in partisan politics since my 20s.

What then will you say you like about politics for you to have been in it for more than two decades now?

I joined politics to contribute my own quota to the development of my immediate environment and also to improve the economy of the state in particular and that of Nigeria in general.

What will you say you don’t like about politics?

Dishonesty, not being trustworthy and being deceitful.

You have been the chairman of Odi-Olowo/Ojuwoye LCDA for three terms now.  Certainly, you don’t want to come for the fourth term?

Yes, I don’t want to.

What then is likely to be your next political move?

House of Representatives.  It is not by force. If God says I will be there, I will be there. I want to tow the line of the party.  I am a party man and I believe so much in what the party says.  It is not do or die affair.

How and where did you and your wife meet?

I met her in 1990 about three days after her birthday.  I met her on March 31, 1990.  I was working with the National Bank on Broad Street, Lagos.  While she was working with Federal Inland Revenue on Customs Street.  We usually meet at the bus stop.  From the first day I met her, I knew she was going to be a good wife material.  I started praying to God about it and one day we boarded the same bus and the rest, as they say, is now history.

The toasting started inside the bus?

Honestly, that was in 1990.

So, how many issues has the union been blessed with?

Three boys and a girl.

How old is the oldest and the youngest?

The oldest will be 19 in December, while the second one was 16 in May.  The third was 13 in March and the last one will be 9 in October.

-TOLANI ABATTI

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