All around showed that age was everything but disadvantageous to her. There was no grovelling police escort around her. Clad in the typical police attire, the lady beside her looked too comfortable to be her aide. They both chatted away like mother and daughter. At a point mama took the umbrella from the aide and held it as she went on an errand. She took cheers from people around her. She asked after each one’s welfare. The laughter that emanated from her end was deep and sincere. She looked so amiable that it was difficult not to desire an interaction with her. Without the usual fear of being harassed, people—the old, young crowded around her.
When Life and Living approached her, she was very elated that the media would talk to her. Her friends who would not have stayed up till then were urged by her to stay behind as she spoke to Life and Living. When asked what it was like to be the mother of the Ondo State governor, she replied that it was most fulfilling. She quickly added that she would never forget the day she sat in front of her TV and watched the court return the mandate of her son. “I would never forget that day. I was in my house in front of the television when the judge gave his ruling. My son was so happy that he bowed his head to the ground in thanks to God. I shouted Halleluyah. I ate pounded yam, drank bottles of coca-cola; people came around to celebrate with me. We danced, we sang.”
Commenting on the life she has since led as the governor’s mother and what it was like when she was not, Mama Iroko as fondly called stated that there was a world of difference. “There is a world of difference. Every morning, I have scores and scores of guests. Some would come to announce their successes; others would come to relate their hardships and problems.
“We never expected that the court would give such ruling because the opposition in power had wanted to use the apparatus of government to cheat us; God showed that he was greater than them. Before then, he was always disturbed. He felt cheated and he felt the people of Ondo State were cheated. I usually told my son to be at peace that God was behind him.”
At a point, it was obvious that the memories she called back were throbbing. “That period was bad. The problems were so much that I didn’t realise when one of my sons, the elder brother of the governor took me away from Ondo town. I remember when OBJ and Agagu said their own fathers (not my son) defecated on themselves. Some people at the office came to me and told me that ‘Mama, we just heard that our boss (mimiko) defecated on the chair.’ I told them to relax that there was no cause for alarm. OBJ was responsible for the transfer of my son’s mandate to Agagu.
“I saw OBJ when he came to campaign in Akure. There were five people among those that came with him who lost their lives on that day. It was that day that he said my son defecated on the chair. It was not my son, OBJ was referring to his own father. When Yar’Adua was alive and in power, he never took sides with anyone when this case was in court. Yar’Adua stated that the election that brought him to power was rigged. Since Jonathan became president, he had never relegated my son to the background. It is just that they are not in the same political party.”
She did not hide her disgust for former President Obasanjo so much the more that she stated bitterly that “Should the trio of the late Yar’Adua, Jonathan and Obasanjo come visiting me, I would give Yar’Adua and Jonathan glasses of water. I would never give Obasanjo a glass of water; rather I would find a bowl of hot water and pour on him.”
It took quite some effort to change the topic of discussion. Though already 80 years old, she recollected what it was like raising Governor Olusegun as a child. “We knew when he was growing up that he would be great. It has always been difficult for anyone irrespective of their background to take what rightly belongs to the governor. When he was about 10 years old, whenever he was with his peers, he would stand up in their midst and tell the rest that ‘I am your doctor. All of you should bring your buttocks for injections.’
“He was very ambitious as a kid. He would tell my mother, who of course was his grandmother that ‘Mama, I would buy you a car. When you are unable to climb stairs, I would be there to assist you.’ Many years later, he came one day and said that he had bought the car.
“Today I remember how it was raising them up as children. I really suffered. I trained as a tailor. When I realised that being a tailor could not take care of my children, I became a food vendor for 12 years. I continued doing this until my children said it was enough. By that time, many of them had graduated. Since then they have been taking care of me.
“My husband was a great man. When there was no money, we went borrowing to train our children. But God had mercy on us because the governor and his elder brother were given scholarships.”
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