UNVEILING DR IBIJOKE SANWO-OLU: FIRST LADY-INWAITING
If current permutations are anything to go by, come May 2019, Babajide Sanwo-Olu may be inaugurated as the new governor of Lagos State. He has scaled the first hurdle in this ambition with his emphatic victory at the governorship primaries held on October 2. By his side on inauguration would be his wife, Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, a mother of four. A medical doctor at Harvey Road Hospital, Yaba, she is described as an easygoing, committed professional who has no room for vainglorious pursuits or highflying social life. However, being the wife of Nigeria’s most powerful governor may change that like it turned a once-loved First Lady otherwise perceived as a girl-nextdoor with her demure looks into a cavalier, power-drunk and gleefully blasphemous woman. History is not likely to forget her. This is why there are already posers as to which side of history Mrs Sanwo-Olu would be. Would she allow the trappings of power change her into a bejewelled First Lady with a retinue of aides and hangers-on and fixation with the highlife? Or would she deploy her medical expertise and experience to helping her husband’s administration tackle the health sector challenge in the state? And these posers have basis because sources say she has overnight become the toast of society women who are already falling over themselves to invite her to events and parties, while her phone number is now being activated on Whatsapp. Even though she is taking the gratuitous fawning in her strides, it is being contended that the reason is because real power has not been vested in her husband. Either way she goes, the beam of history would be firmly fixed on her from Day One.
Except on very rare occasions, it is hard to see Delta high chief, Joesph Penawou, get angry. However, that flipside of billionaires which decades of romance with the valuable lucre has helped to temper may flip over in the easy-going oil mogul if mischief-makers don’t stop saying rubbish about him and his former wife, Nora.
And the outpour, you can guess, would not be too palatable. But we can tell you for free that Joseph and Nora are happily separated. According to Chief Penawou, “I’m a family man with wonderful children, the article written about me was a lie from the pity of hell”. Joseph adorns the cloak of fatherhood with unprecedented pride hence he never shies from performing his fatherly roles to his wards. He cuts a contradictory picture to the random portrait of the billionaire as a bad husband because of his obsession with money and acclaim. He effortlessly proves that affluence and fathrhood often go hand in hand, under the watchful and compassionate guardianship of a model father. He creates quality time to be with his children. However, like an ancient mariner whose heartbeat dwarfs echoes of his incredible exploits, Penawou commands the awe of many of his peers and admirers in Nigeria’s socio-political and business sector. There is no gainsaying the world of business is like a dangerous coast riddled with storms. Despite its turbulent tides, he, like a sea-hardened sailor, navigates through the gales armed with a strong resolve and unyielding spirit. Today, that relentless spirit of Joseph has paid off. It has guided him through the bittersweet, cut-throat world of global commerce till he emerged unscathed and undaunted in spirit and resolve. Chief Penawou owns First Marine and Engineering Services Limited, Nigel United Oil Company, Tubos International Limited, Pena Oil and Gas Limited and First Drilling Services Limited among other companies.
Nothing lasts forever; as the seasons turn, so does human life wither to age and disease, everything vanishes like morning dew. Without a doubt, Funke’s death once again emphasizes the fleetingness and fragility of human life.
Few days ago, the Grim Reaper visited the home of Funke Adedoyin, the daughter of Chief Samuel Adedoyin, the chairman of construction Doyin Group, the old man has gone through the numbing gamut of grief; denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Funke died penultimate Friday in Abuja after a protracted battle with cancer.
If money were enough, he could have mustered the whole world to save her but death had other tragic plans. Funke, a lawmaker representing Irepodun/Oke-Ero/Isin/Ekiti Federal Constitiency of Kwara State at the House of Representatives, was an enchanteur; from childhood, she radiated such infectious mirth and loveliness that members of her nuclear and extended family, friends and other loved ones, fell over one another to pamper and please the little girl that grew up to ignite their unsullied affection even as they bore her in a carriage of care towards an enchanted future. In one sense, though, Funke is not gone. She is continually and fondly remembered as a daughter, mother, sister and friend who radiated great bliss, laughter and splendour wherever she graced with her unforgettable presence. Indeed, the true measure of a person is not how long he or she lives, but what was achieved while on earth. She was endowed with the noblest persona epitomizing kindness, selflessness, genuine humaneness and an extraordinary ability to put a smile on people’s faces, even at the most improbable time. Until her death, Funke’s world revolved around her family and friends, whom she loved without inhibition or compromise according to many of her loved ones. She was one of the closest political associates of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Senator Bukola Saraki. Until her death, Adedoyin who served as minister of state for Health under Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration was the Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Army. She was said to have been cured of the ailment but suffered a relapse three months ago which led to her travelling to the United States. She had since returned to the country and recuperating in Abuja when the incident occurred.