FATAI AKINADE AKINBADE
ENGINEER (CHIEF) FATAI AKINADE AKINBADE
FATAI AKINADE AKINBADE is a man of many faces. He is a thoroughly schooled Civil Engineer, a politician of no mean repute, an astute businessman and to cap it all, a man of the people. The Prince of Agbowu from Ogbaagbaa in Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area of Osun State, was born to Pa and Mrs. Like many people in the world today, he w
as never born with silver spoon. Fatai just like many of his age group then joined the trade of his father, drumming. The young Fatai was so versed in the art of drumming that within a short period, he became a household name in Iwo and its environs. However, despite the seeming instant success and the attendant accolades from the trade (drumming and singing), the ever calm Akinbade, refused to be carried away by the gusto of the rollicking drum. Rather, the frugal talking Ogbaagbaa born Prince was determined to have formal education. Like Bishop Eboda, Fatai believes that the difference between success and failure is commitment. And so as he was still junketing about with his drums, his education was equally going on unhindered. He attended St. James Anglican School, Ogbaagbaa between 1964 and 1969 and Catholic Commercial Secondary Modern School, Iwo between 1970 and 1973 and later Catholic Technical College, Ile-Ife between 1975 and 1978. In the year 1973 and 1974, Alhaji Akinbade was in Lagos in search of the then popular white collar job. He was to be employed as a factory worker in one of the industries at the Ikeja Industrial Estate but his inability to grease the palm of those in charge of recruitment with a sum of #6.00 cost him this job. This made him to venture into salesmanship job (marketing drugs inside molue buses in Lagos). He started this job with the intention of using it as a platform for raising the #6.00 needed for gratification to secure a job in the factory. The high returns from drug marketing made him to stay put on the job for almost two years (1973 to 1974). Pa Akinbade, that is, the father to the Secretary to the State Government has to persuade him out of the Molue drug business. The dream of the said man is to have his son educated and this made Alhaji Akinbade to return home to take a teaching appointment. He was at Methodist Primary School, Isero now in Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area. He left the teaching job for the Catholic
Technical College, Ile Ife in 1975, where he studied bricklaying and concreting. The Catholic Technical College located at Eleyele Area of the ancient city of Ile-Ife was then a developing area where a lot of construction activities were going on. This provided the young Akinbade the opportunity of putting to practice what he learnt in the classrooms. He was always in his khaki then as he was actively involved in many building projects. Despite his been a field man, he always led his class throughout his schooling days and he passed all his final papers in distinction. Alhaji Akinbade, on completion of his course at the Technical College returned to Kaduna State for employment. It is to be noted that the Secretary to the State Government used to be in Kaduna for vacation jobs during his school days at the Technical College and was always employed as a professional bricklayer. It was with ease that he got employed as a full fledge supervisor by BenFobil Construction WA Limited Kaduna. The Company deployed him to Jos where he supervised to completion the Police Headquarters there. He also handled another major construction work at the Nigeria Institute of Trypanosomiasis Research Centre in Von near Jos. The love for education and professionalism made Alhaji Akinbade to resign from this Company and came back home in 1980. That year, he missed the opportunity of getting admitted to the Pre-ND Programme at the Ibadan Polytechnic but secured admission into the NCE Technical of the same institution. While pursuing the NCE Technical course, he sat for and passed the qualifying examination into the Pre-ND Civil Engineering Course. This made him to spend four years pursuing the OND course in Civil Engineering. On completion of this course, Alhaji Akinbade joined Adold Engineering and Construction Limited Lagos, and later EFEL, Nigeria Limited, also in Lagos. It was while working with this Company that Alhaji Akinbade returned to Polytechnic, Ibadan for his HND Programme in the year 1987 to 1989. Alhaji was shutting between Lagos and Ibadan almost on daily basis. He has to effectively combine his job at Lagos and the academics works at school in Ibadan both on full time basis. That is, full time academic works in addition to his official assignment at EFEL Nigeria Limited. He successfully managed the two with none suffering because of the other. At the end of the day, Alhaji Akinbade passed out with high grade. It is interesting to note that as Fatai was doing all these, his interest in party politics was equally flaming. As such, he was at different times, in the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN) National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN). Fatai is a grassroots politician. And the fact that which party he finds himself in, at any point in time, normally controls his local government and to certain extent the adjourning communities, bear eloquent testimony to this. The reason for this, he espouses, “Any Politician who is worth his/her calling without a base, is like a solder without barracks”. Fatai was between 1979-1983, the Chairman, Youth Wing, Iwo North Local Government of the NPN and, a Chairmanship candidate of the NRC in Ola-Oluwa Local Government in 1990. By 1994, he was appointed the Osun State Commissioner for Works, Transport, Land and Physical Planning by Navy Captain Anthony Udofia. “Character” like Abraham Lincoln observed “is a personal credentials and no man is a man of honour without this”. This probably informs why even when Colonel Anthony Uzoma Obi took over from Udofia in 1996, Fatai was the only Commissioner retained while the remaining were dropped
Similarly, by the time Obi left office in 1998, which saw the emergence of Colonel Theophilus Oladapo Bamgboye, the Ogbaagbaa born Prince was still retained. So, successfully, Akinbade served three different administrations in the State spanning a period of four years as a Commissioner. Those four years could be described as the watershed of his political astuteness. The then Works and Transport Commissioner used those years to push himself into Public centrality, consciousness and acknowledgement as he utilized the then World Bank Assisted Road Projects of the Military Administration to lay the firm foundation of the first class inter-city and inter-state road net work which Osun enjoys today. Mention can be made of Awo–Ogbaagbaa-Iwo road, Osogbo-Ibokun-Oke Imesi-Ekiti road, Ada-Ibokun-Ilesa-Idominasi road, Ede-Ara-Ejigbo road, Apomu-Orile-Owu-Araromi Owu road, Ilesa-Ifewara road and the celebrated Osogbo west by-pass dual carriage way, during that same time. This position he held till he called it quit when the ovation was loudest in 1998 to join the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) where he rose to later become its
State Chairman. Today, it is on record that Fatai is the first Commissioner to resign honourably in the State. More importantly, even as a Commissioner, Fatai still craved to have more knowledge, which saw him going for his Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Civil Engineering at Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) between 1996 and 1998. His belief in this regard, is deeply rooted in the saying of the Talmud that, “He who adds not to his learning diminishes it”. Also, Fatai is of the strong conviction like the B. King that, “The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you”. Alhaji Akinbade was not only a foundation and financial member of the PDP, but equally contested as the running mate to the PDP gubernatorial candidate in 1999 in Osun State. PDP came to power on the 29th of May, 2003. Fatai who was a member of the Youths mobilization Committee of the PDP at the National Level assumed the prestigious position of Chairmanship of the PDP in Osun State in 2000. A position he occupied robustly to the administration of many within and outside the State. He as the the State Chairman and so the generalissimo of the party utilized the political machinery of PDP to over-run a sitting government and so brought PDP to power on May 29, 2003 and has since then been serving as a Secretary to Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola led State Government. Fatai had countless opportunities to be away from his people but had always said no such offers. More so, when he believes like Thomas Sankara that, “A step with the people is better than a hundred without them”. Like Bertham Von Suttner, he equally believes that, “After the verb “to love”. “to help” is the most beautiful verb in the world. Fatai’s passion for helping people regardless of their beliefs, creed, tribe, ideology or religion, has no equal. This explains why some of his admirers have come to identify him with the acronym. FAA” ‘F’ for faithfully ‘A’ for Accessible and Articulate. As a traditional Chieftaincy title holder, Fatai is the Bada of Okuku as bestowed on him by his Royal Highness, Oba Abioye Oyelade Ibironke I and as well as Mayegun of Ikire-Ile as conferred on him by his Royal Highness, Oba Karonwi Oyediran Ojubanire. He also holds the title of Bashorun Asoludero of Iba conferred on him by Oba Ibrahim Bamigbiade, the Eburu of Iba among several other titles. He is the Olu-Omo of Iwoland, and Omolojuoba of the Source. He is a member of many professional bodies such as Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Nigerian Association of Technology Engineers, Osogbo Chambers of Commerce Industries, Mines and Agriculture and Nigeria Institute of Building among others. Aside from having vested in interest in AKFAT (Nig) and Agbowu Commercial Ventures, he has interest in some other business ventures. It is the function and responsibility of the SSG to integrate and implement all matters of state policies. This role Alhaji Akinbade is playing with a high sense of commitment, team work, candor and humility that baffles even his opponents. He comes out as an SSG who has cut off arrogance from political power. In the process, he has succeeded in demonstrating to Nigerians how to have political power like a giant but never to use it as a giant. He strikes many as a boss who speaks less and act more, talkless but listens the more. With these attributes, he has succeeded in endearing himself to the young and the old in Osun State. To say the people love, admire and respect him for this is to say the obvious. His humility, his approach to life and leadership style have combined to bestow on him as well as earned him greatness. This astute and unassuming politician was once a board member of the Delta Steel Company Aladja, Delta State. Alhaji Akinbade is the politicians of the year 2003 Award Winner of the OSBC Chapel of NUJ and NTA Ife Merit Award 2004. In the same year 2004. Alhaji Akinbade was at a meeting of all elected and other stakeholders of PDP in Iwo Zone selected as the Leader of the Party in Iwo Federal Constituency. He was admitted into the prestigious Hall of Fame of Osun State Council of NUJ in September, 2004. Fatai who is married with promising children, has visited many countries of the world including US UK, Netherlands, China, Australia, Italy, Belgium, Canada, Israel, Saudi Arabia and many African Countries.
