A senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Adeniyi Akintola has shared a very personal and touching stories regarding his upbringing in Ibadan.
The legal icon who is also a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Oyo State shared the story of his childhood during a breakfast media chat with Southwest Group of Online Publishers held at Inn Hotel, Ibadan.
Akintola who was a gubernatorial aspirant in 2019 said , “It is true like Mr Chairman said, that not many people know so much about me. People thought they knew so much but some will discover along the line that they know very little about me.
There is nothing love like self made, no man is self made, God made all of us and if you are in doubt, why not cast your mind to your days at the primary schools, how many of you were in school, how many of you graduated to Secondary Schools? Some fell by the way side.
How many of you made it to higher institutions of leaning and saw it through and how many are alive today?
” Our God is the God of the universe, without him, nothing can be made possible. My life has been like that of Joseph and I grew up not knowing my biological parents even though they were both alive. I was a foster child. I was fostered out at the age of six to the last wife of my grandfather. ”
“My grandfather was a local champion in our area at Omi-Adio. He was a rich man by local standard at that time and he was from the lineage of the Ibikunle family and Ikubiyi family.
So, I grew up with affluence under him but by the local standard of the time, my grandfather was an icon because we used to have people who the Yoruba call (Iwofa), they were coming to work on the the farms. That was how I grew up.”
“However, things changed immediately after my primary school education when my grandfather died and my foster mother died. It was then I got to know who my biological father and mother were.
Until I left the University, I never knew my siblings of the same parents. So, most people who claimed to be my uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters, I never knew them before.”
“So, I don’t attach so much importance to my achievements because, it has been through the Grace of God. That’s why when you see everything around me, you see divine favour.My offices, divine favour, my houses, divine favour.
I enjoy the favour of God. I know the grace of God is like roving van that’s not static but moves. When you have your time, make judicious of it. Nothing is static, only God’s plan is sacrosanct.”
