My wife pillar of my life –Senator Ajegbo
…Narrates how he carried bullet lodged in his body for 25 years after Nigeria-Biafra war, survived cancer and COVID attacks as he celebrates 75 years birthday
• Weeps over Nigerias bad economy
By Agatha Emeadi
Senator Mike Ajegbo is a Nigerian lawyer, senator and politician who has been in the constitution-making process of Nigeria since 1988. Among many other political views, Ajegbo who has seen the good and ugly sides of the country wants Nigerians to pray for the success of the President Tinubu administration. With the clock ticking towards his 75th birthday, Ajegbo is expectedly excited and looking forward to attaining the milestone age with joy and gladness. With a special thanksgiving service coming up, he looks back at the journey of life, filled with gratitude to God for His grace and mercy that have helped him survive his five-year battle with cancer and COVID-19. Excerpt:
How do you feel about attaining the age of 75?
It is a very exciting time for me in the sense that God has favoured me in all aspects of life. In physical health, emotional and business-wise. It is a time I need to thank God. I look back a lot these days, and the most important thing is that I have no regrets at 75. One thing that always happens in life is that when I hit a brickwall and look around very well, I notice there is a door or window opened to support me. So, I move on. Also looking back, those I started life with, not many of them are still around today. Not many have been blessed the way the Lord has blessed me. So, there is everything to be thankful for at 75.
Since there is nothing to regret, what are the milestones you can identify with?
It is not a question of achievement, but what God has given. When I was in primary school, I had what is more like a secluded life. I recall a holiday during the Christmas period. On the 26th of December, which is Boxing Day, I went out with masquerades. I took a tasty drink with high alcohol content, and then passed out. Luckily, in that crowd, somebody who knew me then carried me back home and I was given the last sacrament according to Catholic faith. Everybody thought I was gone, but I woke up about 3:00 a.m in the hospital and that was the first major thing that happened to me in life. Another experience was during the Nigeria-Biafran war, I had two bullet wounds that I could have died from, but God saved me from them. One of the bullets in my shoulder was lodged in my body for about 25 years. It was painful and I still could not raise my left hand fully. I later went to the hospital, and it was removed. Again, when I left the Senate in 2003, I travelled out of the country for my check-up. A week later, my doctor called me and asked me to come back, which I honoured. He carried out another test and I was diagnosed with cancer of the prostate. My Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test result was very high. I came back to the United Kingdom (UK) and my doctor sent me to Royal Mason Hospital. They treated and booked me for other treatments including radiotherapy. Then the last day of the radiotherapy was December 31, 2004. I was not even following the timetable given to me. Spiritually, I told myself that this would end and it ended because after three months, I went for a check-up and the cancer disappeared. Here I am today. Not all those who had similar experiences survived it. Then, the latest that God did for me was during COVID-19. My wife, daughter and I all had COVID in the same house, yet we all survived. Therefore, I want to use this opportunity to thank God for what He has done in my life. So, why shouldnt I thank God? Why should I have any regrets whatsoever? Then, in terms of business, I am not doing badly. I am not among the billionaires-in-dollars lists, but I am not hungry either. These are the reasons why I am thanking God at 75.
Nigerians woke up to the shocking news that Africas richest woman, Mrs Folorunsho Alakija and her husband of 30 years had parted ways. Yours of over 40 years is still intact. What has been the secret?
I got married in 1980.
How did you meet your wife?
It was a Friday night. I was a young man then. A friend of mine had invited us to a party in Surulere, Lagos State and informed us that there would be ladies at the party. I attended with a friend of mine who resides in Ibadan, Oyo State, but spends most of his weekends in my apartment in Surulere. While at the party, we waited for over an hour and a half, no one showed up. We told our host we would leave, and we eventually left. On our way, we met another set of friends who convinced us to attend another party in Victoria Island which we all went for. At the party, the musical instrument, and the lights were put off to fix things. As the lights came on, my other circle of friends recognized me, and we all exchanged pleasantries. I took my seat as a gentleman. Then I noticed a very interesting lady and went to pick her up and hit the dance floor. After the dance, I walked back to her seat, and then I saw my wife sitting beside her and stood there. When the next music came on, I asked her (my wife) for a dance, which she obliged, and I never left her until I wanted to take my leave. Then, I told her that I wanted to invite her on Saturday, but would be very upset if she turned my invitation down to honour another persons invitation. So, instead of a tentative Saturday, I invited her to join me to play tennis at Ikoyi Club on Sunday. I was already a member of the Ikoyi Club then. We, therefore, agreed and I went and picked her up from the Nigeria Law School hostel at Igbosere. We left for the Ikoyi Club and that was how we started. We met on February 8th, 1980 and got married on November 8th, 1980.
Sir, if one calls you a ladys specification one might not be wrong because you have all that women require – the security, accomplished profession, handsome, up-to-date financially, calm mien. How do you stay away from women?
The answer is very simple. If you love your wife and have been living a contented life, what else then do you want? It is not that temptations will not come your way; they will definitely come, but it is your choice to either go in with it or look the other way. Look at my phone (showing the phone screen) I have 124 blocked contacts, they are all women.
Why did you block them?
They want to get in touch with me. As they insist on getting in touch with me, I tell them, it is not by force. The most important thing about marriage is trust. Once you trust each other, every other thing becomes history. There is no person that does not get tempted. Like Christ said, he did not come for the saints, but for the sinners. So, when you fall, you get up and remember God, our Creator.
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So, how has it been in the last 44 years?
I would not have been as happy as I am happy today if I had married another woman. My wife who is from Delta State is the calm type, not greedy, and does not look at other people. Again, she is not excited by worldly possessions. Her own lifestyle has also made me a contented person.
How about your children?
I am blessed with four children and four grandchildren. What I wanted for my children was to study and live in any part of the world they like to live in. While they were young, after their secondary education, I sent them to foreign countries for their studies. But as schools vacate, they come back with the next available flight. All have graduated and are doing various things in Nigeria. I am proud of them; their patriotism. It is not that they cannot live abroad, but they chose to be here.
Do you have a role model, even in your profession?
Actually, when we were growing up, we looked up to the late Dr Pius Okigbo who was the economic adviser to the Federal Government then. So, many of us dreamt of going to study Economics to be like Pius Okigbo. But my father being a lawyer and the first Attorney General of Eastern Nigeria, a judge of the Supreme Court saw me study law. Again, during my National Youth Service in the then Benue/Plateau, the military governor was Col. Mohammed from Kwara State, before the Gideon Orkah coup on February 13, 1976, which brought Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo as Head of State. I had already established some friendships in the state and was relating with the movers and shakers then. There was also a French man who also became a friend in Jos. Another gentleman I met when I finally came to Lagos was Alhaji Ishyaku Ibrahim and we became friends. One Saturday morning, I drove to his house in Ikoyi, and he asked me to join him at a trade fair. The first stand we visited was for the French man who recognized me and we renewed our friendship. I introduced myself as a lawyer who was willing to deal with legal issues. He rather offered that I become a director in his company because he made inquiries about me from the then Attorney General who highly recommended me.. His international companies then were IPTC West Africa Ltd and Thompson CSF where I was exposed to international business added to my law practice. In the same practice, I went to the Constituent Assembly in 1988/89. I was also in the Constitutional Conference of 1994/95 and in the Senate between 1999 and 2003. Also, in 2007. I went to the Political Reform Committee under President Olusegun Obasanjo. The 1988/89 reform committee was under President Ibrahim Babangida, that of 1994/95 was under General Sani Abacha. After I left the Senate in 2003, I got cancer which I battled for five years.
What happened to MINAJ Television station?
I got the license to establish MINAJ Television in 1993 and came on fully in 1994/95 and went international in 1997. I was the first African channel in Europe who was on Sky Satellite. So, one thing I realized at the end of the day was that politics and business do not go together because in 1998, my company MINAJ had the license for English Premiership for all Africa. We had French and Nigerian leagues and the German league as well. So, along the way, I went to establish an African network and was working on it. While I was in Kenya with my team, my wife called me from London that the late Dr. Alex Ekwueme was calling to talk to him. I returned his call and he asked what I was doing outside Nigeria, and asked if I had registered for politics. I said no because if I register, my people will drag me into politics. I know they would want to drag me to run for governorship and that is one job that I do not like. I promised him I would come home and register. When I came into Lagos, I changed my mind and registered in Lagos which afforded that I will be eligible for federal office, the Senate. In this process, I lost track of the English Premier League because it escaped me to tidy up the processes because I was busy campaigning for the Senate. Then, a lot of people were ready to buy the sub-rights from me which came and went. I do not regret anything like I said earlier. By that time, I had started to offer satellite dishes because there was no Internet then. I had my dish in Botswana, Zimbabwe, so all the countries could receive the signal. After I went to the Senate, I didnt think MINAJ was properly nurtured the way I was doing it, so instead of going into debt, I had to give up on MINAJ.
There is so much hunger, hardship and frustration in the land. Do you think it is an indictment of the poor performance of the Tinubu administration as argued by analysts?
If you are on top of a mountain and sometimes start going down, no matter your strength, you cannot hold it. It has to go down for a while before you can stop, and this is what is happening to our country. We have had eight years of General Buharis administration where there were no checks and balances, no control of what is happening. Of course, I will say the Nigerian economy is strong. Because if it had been in other climes, the country would have collapsed. One of the reasons I supported Peter Obi was that he had a clear idea of what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, we did not get any brief from President Tinubu. Now that he is on the table, whether we like it or not, we should hope for the best because we are Nigerians. This is not the time for destructive criticism, but more constructive criticism; if the economy collapses, the country collapses, it will affect all of us. He will be there for years. So, we have to pray for the country to survive for the next four years before we go to the polls again. I think Tinubu should get good advisers who can put the right policies in place, to stop the drift. When we were under Buhari, things were bad, but they did not appreciate how bad the economy was because there were so many palliatives like petroleum subsidy and waivers given, all sorts of things were happening. For the first time, we are seeing reality. Where do we go from here? He is the president; he is the only person that can pull Nigeria out of this mess in the next four years. So, he needs prayers and good counsel to get us out of where we are because it is our country. Any problem encountered is for all of us.
Where do you think they are missing it completely?
This is not the time to tear down the house. I am saying this with all sincerity. At 75, we have seen the best that a Nigeria can offer. I gained admission to study Law in University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Ife, Osun State in 1971/72. I was the secretary general of National Union of Nigerians Students then. What happened then was that once you gained admission and paid for the term, you were given a booklet of meal tickets The meal tickets were for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
What do you think about the continued detention Mazi Nnamdi Kanu (MNK)?
Nnamdi Kanus issue is a mixture of politics and criminality. When it suits whoever is in charge, he plays politics with it using the court as a shield that this is what the court has decided. And in some places, they do not obey court orders. It is rather a sad situation because he should not have been kidnapped from Kenya. Now that he has been kidnapped and having issues, it is rather unfortunate.
What do you think about the protests from some angles in the country and the fact that Igbo people are not protesting?
What are we protesting? Would the protest put food on our tables? We dont have to protest because things are hard. If people are protesting against certain government policies, its different. The talked-about protest has no determined goal. Protest without objective, just to protest? It makes no sense to me. It is like sit-at-home in the Southeast, who are we hurting? Stopping people from doing their legitimate business is very wrong.