{"id":3215,"date":"2017-01-09T10:48:54","date_gmt":"2017-01-09T09:48:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/?p=3215"},"modified":"2017-01-08T21:57:47","modified_gmt":"2017-01-08T20:57:47","slug":"met-husband-youth-corper-gov-aregbesolas-wife-alhaja-sherifat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/met-husband-youth-corper-gov-aregbesolas-wife-alhaja-sherifat\/","title":{"rendered":"I Met My Husband While He Was A Youth Corper  Gov. AREGBESOLA&#8217;s Wife, Alhaja SHERIFAT"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><strong>Talks About Their 30-Year Marriage<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola is the delectable wife of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,\u00a0 the governor of the State of OSUN. She has been a major fulcrum of support for her husband. Through the tempest that preceded the revalidation of Ogbeni\u2019s mandate and the earlier years of relentless and raging activism, she was the invincible bulwark ensuring that the home-front remained unaffected and unimpaired while providing enough stimuli and strength to keep Ogbeni going. One of the few first ladies who does not believe in the gaudiness and contrived glamour of office, Alhaja Sherifat would rather complement her husband\u2019s people-centric activities than compete for attention with him. In this interview with JIDE JEGEDE, contained in a special brochure done on her husband,\u00a0 she reveals intimate details about the man who is changing the lives of the people of the State of Osun.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Your husband is seen as tough. From being a relentless activist to his emergence as the executive governor of the State of Osun how does it feel being his wife?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A tough man? You might see him as a tough man but I don\u2019t see him as such, I see him as a friend, a husband, a companion and a good father to his children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How has the journey been since you came together as a couple?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We met so many years ago and we got married exactly 30 years back. So far so good, as you know, there is no marriage that does not have its own challenges. My own challenge was only during the struggle for his political ambition. Even with that, we can be said to be the best couple in the whole world. The time of his political struggle was so tough, especially when he was detained and put in Yaba Police Station (Lagos). The one that really made me feel so bad was when my daughter was around. The subsequent ones I was able to manage them because I was alone. But this particular one, our daughter was around. Her witnessing<\/p>\n<p>what we have been going through was really touching for me. I felt so bad. That was the only one that I felt so bad about. But thank God, we were able to manage it and victory came eventually.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So much happened during the struggle to reclaim Ogbeni\u2019s mandate especially when party agents were killed and he was being persecuted; as his wife, were you not scared for his life?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Of course, I was. There were so many things that made me fear for his life. First of all, I really feel for those who lost their lives and I pray the God Almighty to be with their families. During the I struggle, so many things happened but there was a particular one on the judgment day when his application was thrown out for the second time by the election petition tribunal in Osogbo here. That was before he went to the Appeal Court and won. I told him then that after this, there is no more appeal and nothing again. I told him I meant it. He said if he goes for the appeal, what would happen? I said he should just wait and see, but insisted that I meant what I was saying. He asked if I was sure; and I said I was. He said \u2018okay, I have heard you, I won\u2019t go for the appeal again\u2019. Fortunately, he called Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (I call him Big Daddy), and told him what I said. In less than 15 minutes, Big Daddy called me. I didn\u2019t have his number because I didn\u2019t have any cause to call him. If I needed to talk to him, would talk to my husband first. So that day, I saw that strange number but I didn\u2019t pick it. Later, Mrs. Remi Tinubu called me and I picked. She said, \u2018where are you?\u2019 I said \u2018I am home\u2019. She said \u2018your daddy has been calling you, why didn\u2019t you pick his call?\u2019 I said \u2018I didn\u2019t know it was him\u2019. She said I should hold on for him. He (Asiwaju Tinubu) now said \u2018Sheri awa\u00a0n lo si appeal o, a ma a lo si appeal\u2019 (Sheri, we would go to the Appeal Court). I said \u2018yes sir!\u2019 A maa fight e tan ni (We would make sure we finish the battle)\u00a0 I said \u2018yes sir!\u2019 And that was all. I later accused my husband of calling Asiwaju to talk to me. Later, Mrs Tinubu came and met me crying and asked why. I said I was fed up\u00a0 and that we should just forget about it. She really encouraged me and to God be the glory today because we went for the appeal and God answered our prayer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you feel when the news came that he eventually won at the Appeal Court despite your earlier warning against it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was happy because it was a Friday. Some days to the judgment, I already knew that something good was going to happen but I couldn\u2019t figure out what it was. I kept on having the feeling that something was about to happen, but what it was, I didn\u2019t know. I was just crying. I cried to the extent that my husband called Mrs. Tinubu to come over. She came and when she asked me what the problem was, I\u00a0 could not say anything. If\u00a0 anybody asked me I wouldn\u2019t be able to answer. Instead, I would still be crying. When you say don&#8217;t cry\u2019, I would start again. That was how I knew that something was going to happen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>But you didn\u2019t know what it was?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I didn\u2019t know<\/p>\n<p>But you knew that the Appeal Court was about to give its judgment on your husband\u2019s matter?<\/p>\n<p>In fact, I didn\u2019t put my mind on the Appeal Court issue.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Couldn&#8217;t you connect the two?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I couldn\u2019t at all. I had erased the issue of politics in my life. I had erased it totally. So I was not thinking about the appeal court matter. But Mrs Tinubu told me that some days to that day that God revealed to her that\u00a0 He had answered my husband\u2019s prayers through that cry.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Please, tell us specifically what kind of a man Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is at home?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Whao! He is fantastic. That is a very good question. He is a fantastic man. Sometimes, if I look at him, I ask myself, do I really deserve this man? He is a very good husband, a God-fearing person. I don\u2019t know how to qualify him. He has the love of people in his mind. He is a free giver. If possible, he could pluck his eyes and give to another person. He cares for others more than himself. He is a very nice man. He is my friend, my husband, my father, my companion, and a good father to his children.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Can you take us back to how he proposed to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>(Loud laughter) That was 30 years ago. Fantastic! That is good. How he proposed to me? He walked up to me and he proposed to me.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Just as simple as that?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, as simple as that. He saw me, came over and said I\u2019m Rauf. I said yes, what do you want? He said can we be friends and I said that is fine. That was all and that was how we parted that day. That was in Kaduna when he came for his mandatory one year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, you met in Kaduna?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, and after that I didn\u2019t see him for the next three months. He then came back later and said the Nigeria External Telecommunication (now NITEL) had offered him a job. According to him, his station would be in Oyo State but he refused and requested to be brought to Kaduna because of me. That was how we started.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Does he have a pet name for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pet name? No.<\/p>\n<p><strong>He calls you by your first name?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Then, he did. But now he calls me Mama Kabiru.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you call him?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I used to call him \u2018Brother\u2019 when we started. He said he is not my brother, that he is my friend and my husband. When we got married, we had Kabiru. So, I have been calling him Baba Kabiru since. We don\u2019t have any pet name.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is his favourite dish?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He doesn\u2019t have one. He eats anything I prepare for him.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking at his projects as the Governor of the State of Osun, which of them do you like most?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The one I like most is the infrastructural development, the road, building of new schools, health care for the children, upgrading the environment and all the others because they are all centered on the people he is serving.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You mean you like all the projects?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yes, they are fantastic and are uplifting the state of Osun and the lives of its people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What would you advise him on governance if you were asked?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is nothing than to tell him to continue to give his best to the people of the state. My concern now is for him to complete what he has started.<\/p>\n<p><strong>There is no area you think you can tell him to improve on?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t think so. He is doing everything at once. If he asked me from day one, I would have asked him to start one and finish it before embarking on another. But I think politics is not like that. It is about doing everything at a time. Where they see that infrastructure agriculture, schools and all are going on at the same time, they say you are doing well. You can see that even if I would have to advise him on governance, it would not go right.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Unlike many other first ladies, you don\u2019t jump around to make noise about yourself and your pet projects. Is this the way you like it or it was by Ogbeni\u2019s design?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>First and foremost, let me correct the impression about the fact that others go up and down. There is no role for any first lady. We were not voted for, so, there is no Office of the First Lady. The role of the first lady is to take care of the home front; take care of the governor, the family, his visitors and anything that has to do with the Government House. You can see that even if a first lady is doing a particular programme, it is just to keep herself moving so that she does not sit at home doing nothing and get bored. Two, I don\u2019t blame others who do projects. I do projects too in my own capacity, but in a very low key. There is no point making noise about it because even when you are not making noise, people would still know and they<\/p>\n<p>would refer to it. You don\u2019t need to make noise.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Is that your decision or that is the way your husband wants it?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is my own life. I like being simple.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Given the experience you and your husband had in pursuing his political ambition, would you encourage any of your children to go into politics?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With this situation, I don\u2019t think I would advise any of my children to venture into politics. I don\u2019t think so.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What if they have interest and they are so passionate about it like their father?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>That would be based on their own personal decision. But if they want my advice, I would tell them not to venture into anything called politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Talks About Their 30-Year Marriage Alhaja Sherifat Aregbesola is the delectable wife of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola,\u00a0 the governor of the State of OSUN. She has been a major fulcrum of&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3216,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,17],"tags":[1324,82,81,1323],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/aregbesola_with_wife__jpeg_875366981.jpg?fit=360%2C357&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44888,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/bolanle-ambode-attends-national-women-conference\/","url_meta":{"origin":3215,"position":0},"title":"PHOTO NEWS: Bolanle Ambode Attends National Women Conference","author":"Folashade Kadiri","date":"February 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Wife of Lagos State Governor, Her Excellency Mrs. Bolanle Ambode attends the opening ceremony of National Women conference, with the theme; \u201cVirtuous Woman \u2013 Pushing for Greater Development\u201d, organised by Osun Officials\u2019 Wives Association (OSUNOWA), on Tuesday, 27th\u00a0February 2018, at Oshogbo, Osun State.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DSC5262.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DSC5262.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DSC5262.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DSC5262.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/DSC5262.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":125399,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/interior-minister-rauf-aregbeshola-pours-encomium-on-wife-at-59\/","url_meta":{"origin":3215,"position":1},"title":"Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbeshola Pours Encomium On Wife At 59","author":"Damilare Salami","date":"September 27, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The current minister of interior, Rauf Aregbesola, has poured encomium on his wife, Sherifat Aregbesola as she celebrated her fifty-ninth birthday. The former Osun state governor took to his Twitter page on Thursday morning to pen a heartfelt message to his \u201clovely\u201d wife. He also shared some photos of Sherifat\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Celebrity Lifestyle&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Celebrity Lifestyle","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/celebrity-lifestyle\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rauf Aregbesola, Wife, Sherifat Aregbesola,","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Rauf-Aregbesola-Wife-Sherifat-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Rauf-Aregbesola-Wife-Sherifat-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Rauf-Aregbesola-Wife-Sherifat-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Rauf-Aregbesola-Wife-Sherifat-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":53343,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/city-people-magazine-set-to-honour-osun-1st-lady-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3215,"position":2},"title":"City People Magazine Set To Honour OSUN 1st Lady","author":"Seye Kehinde","date":"July 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"For Her Remarkable Success With SHERI Care Foundation (SCARF) Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola, the pretty wife of the Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is a humble and easy going woman. She is very caring and accommodating, traits which have endeared her to the people of the state\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/First-Lady-of-Osun-State-Alhaja-Sherifat-Bidemi-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/First-Lady-of-Osun-State-Alhaja-Sherifat-Bidemi-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/First-Lady-of-Osun-State-Alhaja-Sherifat-Bidemi-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/First-Lady-of-Osun-State-Alhaja-Sherifat-Bidemi-Aregbesola.jpg?fit=750%2C500&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":52092,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/city-people-magazine-set-to-honour-osun-1st-lady\/","url_meta":{"origin":3215,"position":3},"title":"City People Magazine Set To Honour OSUN 1st Lady","author":"Seye Kehinde","date":"June 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"For Her Remarkable Success With SHERI Care Foundation (SCARF) Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola, the pretty wife of the Governor of the state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola is a humble and easy going woman. She is very caring and accommodating, traits which have endeared her to the people of the state\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2-new.jpg?fit=559%2C681&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2-new.jpg?fit=559%2C681&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/2-new.jpg?fit=559%2C681&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22973,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/gov-aregbesola-double-celebration\/","url_meta":{"origin":3215,"position":4},"title":"Gov.\u00a0 AREGBESOLA In Double Celebration","author":"Abiola Orisile","date":"June 5, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Celebrates 60th Birthday In OSOGBO And Son, KABIR Weds In LAGOS These are good times for the Governor of Osun, Engr. Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola. He clocked 60 last month and his eldest son, Kabir, also got married. But trust the Osun governor known for his modest and frugal lifestyle, the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"rauf-aregbesola","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rauf-aregbesola.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rauf-aregbesola.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rauf-aregbesola.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":964,"url":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/not-bank-account-anywhere-challenge-bank-thinks-gov-aregbesola\/","url_meta":{"origin":3215,"position":5},"title":"&#8216;I do not have a bank account anywhere, I challenge any bank who thinks I do&#8217;- Gov Aregbesola","author":"Reporter","date":"December 22, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Executive Governor of the State Of Osun, RaufAregbesola has state that he has no bank account in any bank either locally or internationally. He made this known during an exclusive interview session with the Publisher of City People Magazine, Seye Kehinde. In his words; As surprising as it may\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Media&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Media","link":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/news\/media\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"rauf-aregbesola","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rauf-aregbesola.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rauf-aregbesola.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rauf-aregbesola.jpg?fit=600%2C400&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3215"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3217,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3215\/revisions\/3217"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3215"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3215"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.citypeopleonline.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3215"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}