….Says Nigeria has best of professionals in Diaspora
Q: Since you started practising here,would you say you have added anything to your experience in the United states aside from going to Law school here?
Yes ive gotten a lot of cases here.For instance, I got a case decided last week.My client is in the US .
I only hired somebody here just for me to be help an elderly person secured his estate here.
How did it go?
We took it over.
We’re you able to speed up the trial here based on your experience in the United States?
Yes,I had to be appealing to my client there. We have to appoint a new administrator on behalf of the estate for my client here and I got a lawyer here to represent my brief.
Exclusive: My father’s strictness moulded me and contributed to my success in life – Otubusin
As a former President of Egbe Omo Yoruba in the United States,what we have witnessed is this Japa syndrome among our Youths. Would you say they can endure there as fresh migrants?
Are things so easy for a young man to get there and have a rosy picture as painted for them? Is it in our interest for our youths to just go out there especially promising ones among them?
It is not as easy as they thought but they have to task yourself. It’s a place to excel but you can’t be lazy. You must be ready to work hard but you see the money you are working for in your pocket. You can easily stay there too. Luckily,we now have a lot of people who are mentors to new comers there and we didn’t have that luxury.
I wish I could have gotten a mentor when I got there but now people will come to my office what do I need to do and I’ll give them the advice on what to do and how they can go through the system to become what they want .That was not in existence when we got there. If it were things would have been different.
What can the government do to make the youths stay?
By making this place a better place for them to excel. I remember in my own set we use to say we are checking out and now they say..Japa
That means “go and not return”.
Oh is that what they mean?
Yes.
We didn’t feel like that,we just want to check out and read and get back.
But now, we stay there because of the situation here.
My kids I don’t expect them to come back.
Is it because they were born there?
No even the twins that I had here,they went to The Bells and when they were going to be 18, I took them to America so they can become a citizen.i don’t expect to come back here. What are they coming here to do?
Their mates asking them to come.. not that their mates are not smart, but Nigeria is Man o Man.
If your parents doesn’t know anybody,you’ll just be there. The atmosphere is not good.
The environment here is not good.
A situation where our government spent a lot of money to train them and to migrate out later.
For instance, last year about seven thousand doctors and nurses trained in Nigeria have travelled out and it means we spend our money to train our children who are readily available to other countries .what is our gain?
I can tell you something today. When you are talking about best doctors in America ,most of Nigerians are in top of their profession in the US.
In Houston where I live,we have the likes of Dosekun,Dr Docemo etc. These people are top on their respective disciplines and places . When you go to their hospitals,they are well known and the young ones here that studied in US ,I give us another ten years Nigeria will excell more in America.
Look at in sports they are coming out top in America basket ball,football,name it.
What of home?
Home is not conducive for them to come.
How do we turn it around when our youths are migrating?.
The only way we can turn it arround is by getting good leaders.Who will create the atmosphere for others to live.
How can I doctor that is used to going to the hospital,have all the equipments to use coming here ordinary simple oxygen they don’t have it. People are buying it here for the hospital.
When I had COVID ,when they were about to release me,discharge me,they’ve already sent COVID machine to my house.
And when I was ready to leave the hospital,they’ve already given me one that I will take with me anywhere I go. I could have been dead assuming I had it here. I could have been dead. Though Time was not built in a day but you have to have focus on how to better your people for us to reach where those nations are now.
You must have followed the campaign in the last two months,do you see Nigeria been able to electing right leaders that will do all this things you mentioned in this years election?
We are electing the people the parties they gave us.
Why I am saying this is that only APC candidate ,Asiwaju Tinubu is talking about Nigeria,others spoke based on their ethnic sentiments.
What is the problem.?
The fundamental problem is that we are not Nigerians.All of us are nit Nigerians. That is the fundamental problem.im a Yoruba man first before becoming a Nigerian.
If you can eliminate that basic premise that we are all Nigerians first and we behave like one regardless of where we belong and like ethnicity and religion,Nigeria will go a long place.
Look at when we play football, football unite us more than anything.Nobody cares..they will shout Nigeria, Nigeria.
As I alluded earlier,Nigerians are the easiest people to govern. Give them what Awolowo did in the West.
Had it been that they allowed him to rule,he had already laid the foundation to govern the country.
For example when they wanted to out the clause that anybody that wanted to secede in our constitution,he suggested it. That is the fore sight. Had it been they allowed it,we won’t be where we are. Our leaders just want for themselves,me,me . meaning temi, temi.
Our leaders just what is it there for me and they forget that you can’t take all this things when you die. You are going to leave it here and the children you leave behind are just going to destroy everything.
So what do you think Nigerians can do for a better country?
Nigerians should think about Nigeria first and what is best for Nigeria. If they answer that statement,there will be a change.
You are now 70 and you spoke so much about your late Dad and how he imparted you. What do you expect of your own children?
I don’t want to say they fear me,I don’t want to say that. I will say they respect me because they knew they had a father who is a no non sense father. Even my wife use to tell me,you can’t raise them the way your father raised you it’s a new generation.But I say whether they are new or not, this are my children.
They are a new generation and achievers now that they are grown up,they don’t know me anymore.She is the one enjoying.
They always say Dad we know much about you,you got everything.
But I use to say though I had everything if you buy me ordinary belt I’ll cherish it more than anything.
What do you expect from your children?
I want them to remember the child of whom they were.
At 70 ,how do you intend to spend the rest of your life?
I can’t change.
I mean in terms of attitude and philosophy of life?
I can’t change.ive been structured and it has aided me. I don’t need to reinvent the wheel. But I’m more lenient now and I’m no more hard on people as I was. When I’m with my grandchildren,they take the youthful part of me and I love to be with them.im so fund of my grand children.
What contribution do you want to make to humanity?
As a former President of Egbe Omo Yoruba,what do you think the Diaspora can do to get a good government.
The only thing we can do is to continue to apply the pressure. We don’t have the voting power.
No matter what you say to people here and you can’t vote, you can’t do more.when we are there and talking, once they are giving an opportunity to come here,they join them. They forget everything.
Are you saying they are not committed?
Only few are among them.
I know the two sides.
Including those agitating for Yoruba nation?
In Egbe Omo Yoruba we’ve been pronouncing that we want a Yoruba nation within the context of Nigeria not to secede.
I want to make that clear. We don’t want to leave Nigeria.leave us the way we were under Obafemi Awolowo and let see what we can do.
Are you saying Yoruba Nation out of Nigeria is not feasible?
We are not even cohesive as a people.Yorubas are more divided than any group in Nigeria.
Is it possible to think same way..like the saying..a ko le sun sibikan,ka Kori sibikan?.
But that is wrong..asipa owe niyen. We need to unite first..ki a Koko gba Omo lowo ekuro na, and then we deal with each other when we’ve gotten our independence.
You can’t ask of the death that killed your father until you get the sword…ki a to bere iku to pa Baba eni,a gbodo mu eku Ida lowo.
What is your charge to the youths?
The youths are even worst than us,all they want is money,money, money. I can remember when I was young,I was talking about millions.
All you need to do is go to a club here in Victoria Island and Ikoyi and you see how they spent life. The kind of cars that they drive. Those are the kind of money they could’ve saved and create jobs for their fellow youths.
Perhaps their lifestyle is informed by the way they got the money?
But look at Otedola ,Dangotte,Adenuga etc they impart a lot of families. All this youths when they say they want to create jobs,beside them ,you don’t see in flow of people,only three people and they are making money. How is that impacting the rest?
We can’t rely on the government to do everything for us.we have to change everything with our own hands for us to get a better country.
Advice to the youths?
They have to change attitudes and reorientate themselves.look at the countries they are emulating and see how those countries started for them to reach where they are today.
