A former deputy speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Chief Adeniyi Akintola has revealed why he didn’t attend secondary school.
According to the Ibadan-born senior advocate, who is also the Bamofin of Ibadanland, all he has achieved were through dint of hardwork and grace of God. He made this revelation in an interview with Punch.
Akintola, who speaks and writes Hausa very well as he grew up in Jos, Plateau State, revealed that he was too poor to have gone to secondary school.
Hear him: ”I have no secondary school education at all. I was actually admitted to Olivet Baptist High School and Ibadan Grammar School but the money was not there to attend. The fee was just five pounds. Then I lost my grandfather and I became an apprentice in a mechanic workshop. But I would run away from the workshop and read on my own. I passed the O Level as a private student. Then, I went to the Ogun State Polytechnic where I made the best result in Higher School Certificate and Cambridge examinations. Later I went to the University of Ibadan to read Law and later Political Science.”
On why he chose law, he said that “Initially, I was admitted to study Sociology at the University of Ife. I obtained the form and chose Sociology without any guidance. Don’t forget that I had no secondary education. I was already at the university preparing for my matriculation, when I ran into Professor Iluyomade, he was the one God used to direct my life. He advised me to go and read law.”
Revealing how he almost his life in the process of practising laws, he explained that: ”I was attacked at the Court of Appeal in Ibadan over the impeachment case of Senator Ladoja and I had to escape from the scene in an unmarked small car. My car was vandalised in the process. I know the attackers, we all live in Ibadan and I still see them. In the election petition against former Ekiti State Governor, Segun Oni, in Ado-Ekiti, I moved across the court to have my lunch in a nearby eatery when gunshots started reeling in my direction. I escaped miraculously. I abandoned my car there and it was vandalised too. In Owerri, Imo State, Bauchi and Abeokuta, I had similar experiences. Sometimes, I would book three hotel rooms in my name but end up sleeping elsewhere. Sometimes too, I would leave home in a car and reach my destination in another car. All these were the safety measures I took to escape intimidation and suppression. I was in Benin at a time attending to election petition when juju was planted all over my office in Ibadan. But God took over. I have relatives who refuse to associate with me because they are afraid of being attacked by my enemies. Someone once said that he would rather not fly in the same aeroplane with me because it was not safe. These are the hazards of the job.” He revealed that he would have become a musician if not for providence. “I would have been a musician but not the kind that sings immoral music we hear now. I love musicians whose songs have message. Musicians like Aruna Ishola, Yusuf Olatunji, Ebenezer Obe and Sunny Ade have music that have philosophical meaning. ”I don’t have social life. I work and read all the time. I am not a member of any club; I don’t drink, smoke or attend parties. I am actually a member of Ibadan Recreation Club but in the last three years, I have not been there. I cherish every minute of my life and if I feel that I have wasted any of them, I ensure that I gain it back,” he added
