•Talks About Her Successful Career & Life @ 60
ESV Ibironke Ogun is a beautiful woman at 60. But you will not know because she looks refreshingly young. And many people often remind her that she looks way younger than her age. She retired last June from the public sector, after 25 years of working with OPIC real estate firm in Ogun State. Since then, she has been taking things easy, trying to revive her Nursery school which she started way back in 1994. Being a proud Ijebu woman, one would have expected her to have joined the popular Regberegbe Obinrin Akile Ijebu.
As expected, members of the highly prominent age group had already reached out to her to become a member. But she has been taking her time.
In this interview with City People Publisher, SEYE KEHINDE and DAMILOLA AKANDE, ESV Ibironke Ogun revealed her life at 60 and her plans now that she has retired. See excerpts below:
Let us start by asking you to introduce yourself.
I am an Estate Surveyor. So we call ourselves ESV which means Estate Surveyor Valuer. So I am ESV Ibironke Ogun. I am a Fellow of the Institution. I once occupied the position of state branch chairman and was the first female Chairman of that state. I am also the first female fellow of the branch.
How do you see being first this, and first that?
I like being the first and I wish I can have more. And it is good to be first in things that you do. Don’t just say you are first but actually be first in what you do. I am happy that I was the first female Chairman of the Ogun State branch too. That has inspired me to mentor a lot of members. I like to carry a lot of people along.
How do you see the growth in the real estate sector over the past few years?
This is a profession in a larger society. So real estate is still growing and has not gotten to where it is supposed to be. The profession has made its mark in a lot of areas, but we can still do more. I believe that there is a lot more that can be done to ensure that the real estate sector is getting to that level at which we will all be proud.
How do you think the government can help the real estate sector to achieve more growth?
My journey to the Government sector was the desire I got after working in the private sector for 10 years. I like to explore and experience a lot of things. So I decided to leave the Private sector where I had a lot of juicy opportunities. I got an offer at the Ogun State Property and Investment Corporation (OPIC) and by the grace of God, I retired recently, June 7th, 2022 when I clocked 60, after spending 25 years with them. Honestly, government involvement in real estate comes with so many challenges which include, change in government and the Nigerian System of continuity which can be frustrating. It is just recently you see the new government trying to ensure things done by the previous government are being completed.
In my own Corporation, we also experienced that. Anytime there is a change in government, we would also have a change in leadership. So every person with their idea brings in their ideas, as the Civil Servants are always there waiting. Sometimes, you as an experienced civil servant working for years with whatever you have learnt may not be useful to the new leadership. They always want it their way.
I know with the person I served with before I retired is someone that has a listening ear. He is very nice and also an Architect. He gave a lot of us an opportunity to make an input to the development of the organisation and the state. So we are just a body of professionals in the system, the generality of the system works, and every organisation in the system works. So I feel we cannot be an exception because a company cannot come out now and claim their company is a hundred per cent. They must have one or two challenges they will be battling which will probably be linked to government involvement or things not going on well with the larger society.
Why has it been difficult for us to provide housing for everybody?
There is nothing impossible because we have examples in other countries, where we see that their main focus is to house their citizens. If we all believe in that, it still boils down to government involvement.
The major obstacle in my own perspective is the Land Use Act where we have the lands vested in the government of the state.
I am sure the interpretation will be good and they can make available land that they will use in building different levels of housing we need which are the High, Medium and Low. So, this is something the government can do. I am just afraid that with my experience, I have seen that there are a lot of things, unknown to us that is a stumbling block to whether private or government should prove housing that is not open to everybody and its always very painful to learn that we cannot focus on that. When we are still complaining about the housing deficit, you see an individual having 20 buildings locked up.
A lot is wrong with us when it comes to providing things for others. If we know that whatever we own, we account for them, I think things will get better. There is no accountability because nobody wants to know and you even use it to brag because that is the order of the day here. In a country where you must account for what you have and it has been regulated that you cannot have more than a certain number, it is in such a country you can plan to have this kind of housing plan. A lot has been done, but by the time you start this project and a new government comes in, it becomes abandoned. It is so disheartening, I am just praying for that messiah to change things. We need to change things all over because the beginning has been very bad. I am sure we can rewrite the whole thing if we want to. You see some buildings empty while some people sleep under the bridge. You go to villages and see big houses locked up with their owners abroad. What is going on with us? I pray we have a change in the people that rule us. Sometimes, we point out the leaders but we are also involved in this. We have the same mindset but a positive orientation will stop all of us from having things we don’t need and then give to people that need them.
Now that you are retired, what do you do?
I have not always been a Civil Servant that sleeps. Over time, even before I joined OPIC, I already started a Nursery School. This school was founded in 1994 and I joined OPIC in 1997 even though it was at its formative stage. I try to ensure that things are going on, we started very small but I am glad that things are going on because I don’t just leave them to people managing them. I try to put in my own input. Now that I am retired, I intend to reorganise and bring it to be the dream school I wanted. Also, my practice is also there even though we were not expected to practice while in government service, I still have my clientele, I still have people that believe so much in me. I will put in my practice fully and it is going to be Ibironke Ogun and Company or Associates. I will bring that out and I will focus on my school. For now, I am still trying to relax and enjoy myself after 25 years in service.
Where were you born and where did you grow up?
I am a Shomolu woman. I was born there and I had my youth years in Shomolu and Surulere in Shitta precisely. At age 6, I had to go back to my father’s place at Surulere. I had my primary school in Surulere. So, I am a Shitta Girl and I am proud of that. There is a lot of story in Shitta because Shitta for me was a learning ground when everyone was enjoying it, I was busy learning things.
I wake up very early to hawk eggs, the picture of the whole of Surulere Street is in my head, especially the Games village. I will take a tray full of eggs as early as 4.00 am to be back before 6.00 pm to take care of my Uncle’s children. In the evening, I will go to sell provisions in a tray. That was what I knew how to do. I didn’t even have a choice because that is what I was expected to do. You must do the work. So, when I come back I still meet the children sleeping I wake them up and then take care of them before going back to take care of myself and then go to school. So, in school, I was always late so instead of staying for 6 years, I ended up doing 7-8 years. I did not go to secondary school early because of that but thank God today, it has improved my skill of entrepreneurship and where I am today, I was prepared well for it because I can sell anything. I did not have the time to enjoy the place because I was always selling and people saw me as an house help. Thank God today that, that training has made me know that hard work pays off.
After Surulere, I moved to Ijebu-Ode for my secondary school at Muslim Girls High School, Ijebu-Ode. Due to my timing with school, I was not so much of a bright student. I had to attend extra lessons for 2 years after primary school. I was mocked by my classmates who were admitted before me. I was later admitted and finished in 1982. I was 2 years behind but thank God it’s history today. After secondary school, I became wiser so I was insisting on going for Food Technology because cooking was my hobby, but Chemistry failed me because I was good in the subject but I kept getting pass. The pass would not allow me to do Food Technology, so I kept on writing the exam, I registered at Our Lady and then went back again to Muslim Girls High School to sit for the exam as a full student despite the fact that I was the head girl in my set. I started searching for a job to get some money to rewrite the exams for my Chemistry. Then, I sent my application to a bank through late Mr Boye, the Branch Manager of the bank then. He told me I had good result but can’t use it to work in a bank. Then he on his own got me admission to Kwara College of Technology and I was given the opportunity to pick between Town Planning and Estate Management. To me, town planning meant service to a larger community, so I wanted to pick Town Planning but Mr Boye told me that Estate Management can make one an instant millionaire. I quickly jumped on Estate Management by chance. After that, I came back to do my one-year attachment with a firm of Mark Odu & Company.
To them, I was very good so during my one year, I was retained even after getting admission at Yaba Tech. I was there as Pupil Estate Surveyor and Valuer. That was how I started with LSDPC and I was not so smart to know that I had to show some interest to be retained. While working as a Corper in LSDPC, I relieved about 3 Officers and I thought that would give me the merit for them to retain me but I did not let them know I wanted to work there.
I came out and joined Mark Odu fully and was with them for 8 years. From there, I moved to a private firm into construction company CCIA owned by the Awosikas. I stayed there for 2 years and due to my versatility in businesses, I went into other businesses. During the time of my NYSC, I got married and after having my daughter I needed a Creche to put her in but did not find any suitable enough. While I was struggling with that a sister of mine told me that she has a place in Akinyode that she abandoned as a nursery and if I can pick it up and do a creche. I went there and saw it, it was like a basement. Then from there, the story of Roonie School came up. I was combining that with work, while doing that I was also selling eggs. I used the sales of eggs to buy my first car, a Toyota Corolla. I was popular with Mama Olore Eleyin in Akinyode.
You turned 60, some months back, but you still look younger than that age. How have you been able to keep looking refreshingly young?
People say that a lot, Even during the period I was trying to package what I was to do for my 60th birthday and retirement, someone told me to go and check properly if truly I am 60. I laughed. But I am.. All I know is my younger sister was born in 1964 and we are 2 years apart so with that I know my age. I know people forget their age to be younger, not older. I want to believe it is the Grace of God and my kind of person, despite my difficult beginning. My family is well known in Ijebu-Ode. But my father was a teacher and librarian in UNILAG. He was a disciplinarian and I was conscious of that while growing up. So I grew up believing not to let my family down. It is a family filled with learned people so I knew at a young age that I had to work hard to be able to walk tall. It is also a fact that the girls in our family are beautiful.
We call ourselves The Ogun Babes. I also ensure that I have a healthy living style. If you come to my house, you have to follow that too so people see my house as Ile-Alakowe. To me, I believe you must create a lifestyle for yourself.
Can you share your routine with us?
Firstly, I am a Muslim and I observe most of the prescribed fastings. Over the years, I have taken Mondays and Thursdays, fast as a lifestyle too. With this, my days of eating are limited because we also have this middle one that comes up in between the month, that goes for a total of 11 days, in a month. If I am good in health I try to observe this fast completely. My life starts when I wake up to say the Alfajr prayer and morning prayer. I have some days I exercise in my estate and I walk as well and introduced this to the estate. I observe water therapy where I take warm water. I take room temperature water, I take fruits in the morning.
Maybe that is what has kept me like this. I don’t eat much too, so what is good for me may not be good for you so it is the grace of God. Maybe it is a gift from God. My mother will be 90 next year in January and she looks good too.
When you turned 60, how did you celebrate it?
I did not want to do much. I wanted a very solemn time. A few years back, I had a big function like my daughter’s wedding and I felt it was just too close to have another big party. Apart from that, my 50th was celebrated in a very big way. I had 2 weeks of action, going from one orphanage to the other, going to pray and empower people. Then the party was big, I had fun, there was a general aso-ebi with gele. It was a big affair, but I felt I did not want a party except when the children want to. My 60th coincided with my retirement and I have always had most of my parties in Lagos. So I did not want to sneak out of Ogun State without doing anything. People did not really know I was in Ogun State because I am more of a private person. Then it occurred to me that I could do a lecture kind of party. It was like a seminar retirement platform and I merged my 60th to it even though some people helped me blow it up. I had a lecture at Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) and I packaged things for people. It was nice and people enjoyed it. It was titled Challenge of Nigeria’s Public/Civil Servants Retirees.
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