It’s a sad thing for Okitipupa not to have electricity supply up till now – Prince Barr. Anthony Olatujoye
– Steve Ovirih.
Prince Anthony Olaniyi Olatujoye, a lawyer by calling and the former Director of Legal services, Central Bank of Nigeria, always hosts his friends at the beginning of the year at his Mayfair Gardens Estate, Leki / Ajah Express way, Lagos. On the sideline of the get together at his place on Saturday , the 4th January, the Erinje born prince had an exclusive chat with Steve Ovirih on his upbringing, his youthful days, the perennial power outage in Okitipupa among other issues.
Excerpts:
How has life been after retirement, sir?
Prince Olatujoye : Well, we thank God for life and we thank God for everything He has allowed us to do since retirement. And I will quickly add that I am a lawyer , so I am not retired . Yes , I left the public service at the Central Bank of Nigeria as a legal adviser and Director of legal services . Immediatiately I left the public service , I started private practice as a lawyer and I have my office both in Lagos and Abuja ; so as you can see, I am still much in active service ; I am still in legal business.
TP.net – How was growing up like ?
Prince Olatujoye: Some years back , I was born in the village called Okerugbo now part of Ondo state but then it was in the Western Region. My father was the traditional ruler of the place. I grew up as a young boy at Okerugbo going to the farm with my dad and mum and getting involved in farming activities . Later , I had the rare opportunity of coming to the town with my senior brother who is now late, Prince Francis Olatujoye. So , I immediately started my primary school at C & S primary school Ode -Irele, I am not so sure if that’s the name the school is still called now. I spent two years there; I was the best pupil in my set and that got me so many prizes. I left for Akotogbo , and I was there for three years; I attended St.Michael Primary school there. I left again for Okitipupa where I attended St. John’s primary school. Yes, I continued to remain the best pupil and of course, it earned me further prizes. From there , I found my way to Methodist High school, Okitipupa between 1964 and 1968. When I was through with secondary education, I picked up a job at the Ministry of Finance ; I was at the Accountant- General’s office , Lagos. My salary as a clerk at the Accountant -General’ s office , Federal Ministry of Finance was £16.10 per month.
For me, growing up was okay because in those days you find out that once you leave secondary School, your father would say , you are now a big boy so go and fend for yourself but that was not to happen in my own case.
I had to stay a few years ; a number of my colleagues moved to UK, Germany, and other choice countries for further studies after some few years in their places of work. I also made attempt to travel but it did not work out. So I sat for A levels at the UI extra mural study center at Ebute Metta and I passed. That was how I found my way into The University of Lagos to study Law .Of course, I really never wanted to study Law because I was a science student but I guess that was what God destined for me. I left Unilag in 1977, I was called to the bar in 1978 and I did my service year at the Ministry of Justice , Ilorin, Kwara state. At the same time, I was a part time Lecturer at the Kwara state College of Technology now Kwara Polytechnic. I eventually left there for the CBN in 1979.
What are the challenges you encountered as a youth growing up in Okitipupa?
Prince Olatujoye: No serious challenges! I did not really encounter any difficulty or challenges growing up in Okitipupa. I was with my sister , so my experience is the normal experience of every young boy of my age growing up at that time. Recall I told you at a time I left Okerugbo for other communities before I came to Okitipupa where I ended up at Methodist High School after my years at St. John’s Primary school. Growing up at Okitipupa was fun particularly when I got to MHS where I met a lot of good friends with whom we are still together till date .
TP.net – Can you recall any of your high school experience?
Prince Olatujoye : Yeah! ( Laughs….) I can! There is a particular one I can vividly recall: I was with my friend, Martins Okunfolami; he will be here very soon. I remember there was this Inter house athletic competition at the Government Field opposite Methodist High school there . We were there and my friend , Martins , stood up to talk with a female student of Stella Maris College, who of course was our junior. Along the line, the girl felt infuriated and started sounding rude. So, I went to her and reprimanded her . I won’t mention the name of the girl ( laughs …) I told her : hey girl, do you know this guy is actually your senior?
What did we find later? The girl in question went back to our school and reported us to our teacher. She accused us of what we didn’t do . I also don’t want to mention the name of the teacher. The teacher didn’t bother to hear our own side of the story before he tongue lashed myself and Martins . He caned us very severely . After that, we were given two palm trees to uproot as our punishment for the alleged misconduct. That was a long time ago but we thank God for such experiences that stimulated our resolve to excel in life.
The teacher is in Lagos too and I recall he was a Director of a government agency when I was also a Director. There were times I would feel like I should walk up to him and remind him, ” hey teacher, do you remember what you did so so year….? ( Laughed…) Well, that is part of life , anyway and we thank God our teacher is alive and kicking just like us.
TP.net – You said you really never wanted to study Law because you were a science student. If you had not studied Law, what would it have been?
Prince Olatujoye: Medicine of course. If I had not ended up a Lawyer, I would have become a Medical Doctor. I am very sure of that.
TP.net- You grew up in Ikale Land where there was light; but for eight years running, there hasn’t been light in the community. How does this make you feel?
Prince Olatujoye : It will be wrong to say I grew up in Ikale Land where there was light because there was equally no light then. It was after I had left that there was electricity supply. However, when I built my house in Okitipupa years back, there was electricity supply and everything was metered. Yearly you would find me at home during the Christmas festivity . As you have rightly noted, there has not been electricity supply to the place for many years now and it is quite unfortunate. I could recall that when I lost my first wife and we had to take her home for burial there was no light in the town. It’s really a sad thing for Okitipupa not to have light up till now. I understand a number of steps have been taken towards restoring electricity to the place . At Abuja, we concerned Ikales sent delegations to the state Governor, who happened to be my classmate and friend in the Law school and we were given a promise that was reassuring. I equally understand there is another young man, the Executive Director, NDPHC, Ife Oyedele who is also working his own angle assiduously to ensure that electricity is restored . However, for now things have not really changed . The power outage situation has not changed! It has affected the artisans, affected their business and affected the local economy. People have to depend on fuel in their generating sets to have light in their homes and a whole chunk of their income goes into this recurring expenditure; it is severely telling on our local economy. I will sincerely appeal to the state government to remember its promise to us as regards ensuring that light is restored to our area and we are also appealing to Disco concerned to see the need to urgently reconnect Ikale Land to the national grid as a new decade begins.
TP.net : Your scholarship program for indigent Ikale students, is still on?
Prince Olatujoye : Quite well. The scholarship program started before I left CBN and I left CBN in 2010. To the glory of God , we have sustained the program from which graduate Doctors, pharmacists , Lawyers, Engineers and others have been produced. It is my humble way of giving back to the society and my humble medium of appreciating God for keeping me this far. For now the scholarship is for brilliant but indigent students and the criteria is passing O’ levels , qualifying for university admission with a good score in Jamb and then passing the aptitude test. There is a young man in Ikale who coordinates the aptitude test and I think the test will come up anytime soon . The other one I am trying to embark on is the one that is outrightly for indigent students: a scholarship scheme that will give indigent but intelligent students opportunity of financial assistance without aptitude test once it can be proven that the would be university undergraduates are indigent but intelligent because it has been observed that the aptitude test places a kind of restriction on the number of candidates that the scheme could cater for.
TP.net – What is your assessment of the level of Development of Ondo southern District?
Prince Olatujoye: I am not always around, but when I visit there I am not always impressed with what I see. We just talked about the absence of electricity there and you know that is a great minus for development. Feelers from the district show that development has been stagnant and that is a cause for concern. I think the state government will have to do more to assure the people of the south senatorial district as the place is obviously yearning for economic growth. I hope the Governor will listen to the plight of our people. We really have to give kudos to Late Gov. Agagu even though he started so late but his development stride dominate the entire southern senatorial district.
P.net -Your advice for the youth of the district .
Prince Olatujoye : The youths should be up and doing. Social misconducts like internet fraud, kidnapping , banditry , armed robbery and all the other social vices should not be heard among our youths. They should indulge the ‘ Omoluabi ethos’ that the Ikales are known for and are proud of . Our youths should always remember that education is key , thus they should equip themselves with adequate education with which they can boldly face the future.
TP.net – Ondo state governorship election holds in this year 2020. What is your advice for the people of Ondo state?
Prince Olatujoye: It’s good to know this is another election year for the good people of Ondo state. I have confidence in the Governor who is there now, Gov Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN. It is reasonable that if the party should pick him as their flag bearer, people should rally round him and give him their adequate support. We hope he will do well for the people of Ondo southern senatorial district in his second term.
TP.net- Thank you for your time and happy new year once again.
Priince Olatujoye: Thank you too Steve. I wish you guys the best in the new year.
