With Four Wives and 22 Kids, Balancing the Act is a Bit Tough
will be trying to confirm if I’m his dad because he’s not used to me.
How do you find the balance? The balance is that I make it 50/50. I have been able now to give to my members primarily what they deserve of me. Then at late hours now, my wife joins to come and stay with me and between midnight and seven o’clock when she’s done with me, she goes back to her house and I will go back to my office. Sometimes they can even concede to remain at home to allow me continue my work. Even when I’m staying here in Transcorp, I still eat my local food. They provide my food from the house. I find it necessary to sustain an accessible place where my colleagues can meet me.
You have a very sensitive job because you are faced with the challenge of making decisions. How do you make them?
Most of the decisions I take have to do with our own operations. It’s participatory leadership. While doing that, I gain opinions and ideas from my colleagues.
As a busy man, what keeps you going?
I have been a very busy man but I don’t joke with food. I eat every time, every minute, every hour and as long as I eat, sleep is never my problem. The earliest time I sleep is 3 a.m. And I bet you by seven in the morning, I am awake. It’s the zeal and commitment to serve my people with utmost commitment and sincerity.
What’s that one thing that scares you the most?
Everyone has fears. I think it’s only when I have issues with my parents. That is when I become confused and demoralised.
You must value them so much. Yes, I do. If I observe a missed call from my dad, my heart will beat more than normal. I will call back to hear from him and hope there is no trouble.
What’s your relationship with your dad like?
It’s a very fine one. I’m the 11th son of my dad. With 10 other seniors, my dad finds me so worthy of what I’m doing. He’s so proud of me. The only thing that scares me is when I have issues with my parents, either my dad or my mum. They are all alive. My grandfather and my grandmother are also still alive and I knew my father’s grandfather and also my mother’s grandfather. Even though two of them are now late, but my grandfather is alive. The grandfather to my mother is also alive. For the purpose of clarification, I’ve never had an issue that went beyond 48 hours with any of them unresolved.
Every time you say someone is sick in my immediate family, I become very worried. And the reason is that I lost my second wife to a headache. This was a lady that I slept in her room and was hale and hearty. By 6 a.m we rose to pray and she told me she had a headache. I went to get her some drugs but before I came from the pharmacy she was dead.
How did you handle it? It was a very shocking thing. So, any time I hear someone is sick; I will rush until I see him or her alive because I keep on remembering the way and manner I lost my second wife of blessed memory. She gave me one child and died. The child is now in the university. What values are important to you? The number one is impacting on the lives of other people, especially those who are impoverished. I value service to humanity. I don’t have much value for money. My only value for money is to have the pleasure of getting it and giving it out.
Who is your hero? People I can call my heroes are politicians. For instance, the late Mallam Aminu Kano of blessed memory. Even though I knew him while I was young, his genuine stories about the struggle for the common man have endeared me to him and inspired me. Then there is also the former governor of Kano State, the late Abubakar Rimi. These two persons are my heroes.
Can anything stand in your way? I think fate and the predestination of God are the only things I think that can stand in my way.
From all perspectives, do you feel fulfilled and accomplished?
I think I do. Should I stop everything in life now for whatever reason? I look at myself as an accomplished person and I have every sense of gratitude and appreciation to God Almighty. I have also all sense of gratitude and respect and appreciation to my people. I have done so much for my people. Go to my village. I don’t think there’s anything somebody that served as governor could show me in his village that I’ve not provided to my people. I have done everything for my people.
Could there be anything you feel that you could have done better, generally, not just in politics?
I think I could have done better in my academics.
Even with a first class? Of course, I had only first degree. I would have furthered my education. But I don’t look at it as late. I’m still contemplating going back to school to earn my second or even doctoral degree.
If you have 24 hours to live, what would you do?
If I have 24 hours, that would be total submission to the cause of God so that at the end of my life, I will have the blessings and go into paradise.
You are no doubt a fashionable man.
Being a member of the House of Representatives, I am conscious of my dressing. If you come from a background like mine, we are always very conscious of our mode of dressing. I consciously dress in line with my tradition. Most times I wear traditional attire. I always want to be clean and neat.
How do you see politics? Politics in the Nigerian context is a very difficult one. The kind of politics we play is never the kind we should play, especially when you look at the way and manner it is being operated. A situation whereby the political culture is always tagged against material values, as being the factor of attraction, then there will always be a problem.
On a final note, can you share with us how you met your wives?
I think this may be too confidential for me to discuss. For me, it’s immoral by my faith (to discuss that). All I can tell you is that I have four wives and I have 22 kids.