I Was Seconded to the United Nations to Represent Nigeria
Soft-spoken and easy-going, Ambassador Isiaka Adesola Abolurin is a retired Director at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In this interview with Femi Ogbonnikan, Abolurin, who is the Chairman, Oba-in-Council of Ipokia Community, in Ipokia Local Gov
Tell us a bit about your background
Im Ambassador Isiaka Adesola Abolurin. I was born in Ipokia, in Ipokia Local Government, Yewa, Ogun State on 7th April 1952. I attended Local Authority Primary School, Ipokia, from 1959 to 1964 and I had my secondary school education at Iganmode Grammar School, Otta, from 1965 to 1969. From 1975 to 1978, I attended the University of Ibadan, from where I obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Political Science. In 1991, as part of in-service training at the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, I attended the University of Lagos for a Master’s Degree programme in International Law and Diplomacy.
Which lineage do you hail from in Ipokia?
I am from Abolurin family. Abolurin family is from Akinbode lineage and Abolurin is one of the children of Akinbode. Abolurin decided to have a separate name from Akinbode’s lineage, in a bid to distinguish himself. The word, ‘Abolurin’ came from a deity that we worshipped and that is ‘Olu’, and it was from this that Abolurin was coined, because our great grandfather was the one in-charge of that deity. That was how we came about this Abolurin name.
What was your growing up like?
My childhood was neither rosy nor tortuous. One, my father was a headmaster of a primary school and my mother was just a petty trader. And of course, I am from a polygamous house. My father had four wives. And you could imagine the number of children we would be. I had a good primary school education and it was really rosy. Immediately I graduated from the primary school in 1964, I proceeded to Iganmode Grammar School, Otta, in 1965 and it was very rare at that time, because most of my colleagues, or to say, most of my classmates at that time, didn’t have that opportunity because they would have to first of all go to secondary modern school before gaining admission into the secondary school. So, as a matter of fact, in secondary school, I was between three and four years ahead of some of them that finished primary school with me in 1964, because they had to spend three years before gaining admission into Iganmode Grammar School. But I was very lucky to have that smooth transition from primary to secondary school. It was really, really rare, to have that opportunity. Imagine somebody from a polygamous house having that transition, and before I left secondary school, or even before I entered secondary school, I had an elder brother who was in Egbado College, Ilaro; he is Dr Bolarinwa Abolurin. Luckily for him, he had Ipokia District Council scholarship, and after his secondary school certificate, he had a Western Region scholarship for his Higher School Certificate (HSC). So, he was somehow lucky. But on my own, by the time I was finishing my secondary school I have had two other younger brothers that were admitted at Iganmode Grammar School, Otta, and Egba High School, Abeokuta, respectively. So, funding became a problem as usual, and I was sent out of school for school fees, for one or two weeks. At times, I would go back home. During that time, it was not really rosy when it came to funding. You know, at that time, my mother was a petty trader and my father was just a headmaster of a primary school. And how much were they earning, then? But I thank God, because I was able to finish my secondary school. And from then, I had to do some clerical work with the Jordanian Embassy in Lagos, as a local staff. Later, I moved from there to Arab Bank, where I worked briefly, and that was where I managed to save some money to fund part of my university education.
In your career, did anybody influence or mentor you?
I would say I was influenced. It was curiosity that actually made me to join the Foreign Service. Initially, when I was growing up at that time, I mean, when I was in secondary school, my ambition was to be a news broadcaster; I liked it very much. But along the line, it changed because I had an Uncle, Ambassador Lamidi Maliki who used to come home, and anytime he came, I was attracted by the way he carried himself among his peers. He appeared superior to his peers and that influenced my decision to work in a foreign office. I thought maybe I