In 1981, you had the second best WAEC result in West Africa, how were you able to achieve this?

In 1981, we did Higher School Certificate, HSC, examination and like every other student I sat for three papers. I did History, Economics and Geography. And I happened to have been the person with the second best result of ‘A’ in Economics, ‘B’ in History and ‘B’ in Geography, which is ABB. The best result then was AAB, scored by one of the students from the same FGC, Warri, Fidelis Odita, now a Professor. We both went ahead to the Universiy of Lagos. And he was actually made a Queen’s Counsel before the age of 40. I think God just gave me natural talents. I may not be the best of students that you would like to have as a teacher, but somehow, I strive to do my best, and that happened to be one of those things I achieved.

How were you able to cope when you lost your dad at a tender age?

If there is any singular event that actually shaped my life more than anything else, I think it was the death of my father. It was a turning point in my life. It was supposed to have deprived me of my future, but it brought out that leadership instinct in me and that personality we are all sharing today. I lost my father two weeks after I finished my examination, and it was quite a hard time becaue my mother was a housewife and I had other siblings. The ones who were my senior were in school and I just finished HSC. So, I had to choose between searching for work or struggling to go to school. God helped me, and I made the right choice. I decided that I was not going to live the life of my father and that I was going to challenge myself and be as hardworking as possible to be successful in life. That was how I decided that I would do everything possible to succeed as an accountant. At the age of 11, I had an encounter with one of my father’s friends and he challenged me and said ‘you, can you ever be an accountant?’ He was an accountant in one company. That hit me real hard. That was when I decided that when in secondary school, I would take the subject, Principles of Accounts. And I did that in form 3. That was why I also went ahead and got the points I scored in my HSC. I remained focused and told myself that I wanted to succeed in life and to be an outstanding accountant and I went ahead at the age 21 to be a graduate of accounting, had a masters in accounting at the age of 23, and became chartered at the age of 24. But all that journey was a culmination of that event that happened at the age of 11 when my father died.

When you are in a very hard or bad situation and you remain focused and hardworking, you will achieve the unusual. I became a leader to my other siblings, and also played the role of a leader in the house to my mother because my other siblings were outside Lagos and I happened to be in Lagos. In short, I became a father figure as a young man at the age of 19. So, the whole idea of the drive to excel was inculcated in me at a very early age and I had a combination of good friends around me that were also supportive.

With your qualification, you could have chosen a career in the private sector, but you opted for the public sector. What informed this?

I actually did not choose a career in the public sector. At the period in 1984 or 85, what was in vogue was to work in a finance house or a bank. And even before I left the university, my dream was to be a banker. I was fortunate enough that when I went for the National Youth Service, I served at the Central Bank Of Nigeria, CBN, in Sokoto. But when I came back, I stayed at home for three months and couldn’t get a job. The dream of working in a bank became elusive, but I tried not to lose my mind. The job that came to me was the job at the Lagos State Waste Disposal Board as an accountant in 1985. I can say that beyond my wishes, I found myself going into the civil service. With all my qualifications and attempts, the finance houses and the banks kept refusing to take me. I made several attempts, but fate or destiny said I was designed for the civil service and led me there. If you look at the kind of qualifications I have and the background I was coming from, I should naturally have gone to work in a bank, but I found myself at the Waste Disposal Board. And when I needed a bigger job, it happened to be at the Local Government, and not the private sector. At the end of the day, I worked for 27 years in the public service. I am excited that I was able to give to humanity what the God-endowed gift allowed me and I am also happy for who I am today.

How was your career in the civil service?

I had a rewarding career in the civil service. I joined Lagos State Civil Service at the age of 22. It was within the civil service that I became a chartered accountant and had my masters degree in accounting. It was also while working in the civil service that I got a Fulbright scholarship at Boston University; it was within the civil service that I became the youngest person to have ever attained the position of Auditor General at the age of 37. I must have put a whole lot in for Lagos State for me to have been able to achieve such positions at a young age without necessarily having to know anybody. For me, the work comes first. I love contributing to progress in this equally progressive government and touching the lives of people I came in contact with. I worked in six different Local Governments for 13 years, starting my local government career after leaving the Waste Management Board in 1988 as Assistant Treasurer in Badagry Local Government. I worked in this council between 1988 and 1991. I have worked in Somolu Local Government before as their council auditor and treasurer. I have worked in Mushin Local Government as their council treasurer. In Ajeromi Local Government, I was their council treasurer. In all those years, I was always in a position to improve on government’s delivery of service. This made it possible for me as a young man to have reached the peak of my career as a local government staff at the age of 29 when I became the council treasurer of Alimosho LG. All these places I have gone, I worked with lots of people who were older than me in various positions. Being able to manage and sustain sensitive positions at a young age from location to location without blemish speaks a lot about my competence and character. That is the experience I now want to bring into this next position that I am aiming for.