At the event attended by the owner of Ethnic African Stories, he also spoke of how he was ejected from Lagos House, his official residence within 24 hours after the Murtala Mohammed cøup of 29 July, 1975 and how he had to be rescued by a few friends and firms including Julius Berger, the German construction giant.
Here is his touching words at the event:
“Many of you may not know that when the cøup happened in 1975, I had nowhere to move when we were asked to move from our residence within a week. I had nowhere to move Funmi (his wife) and the children. I had no house of my own.
That night they lifted the curfew, I think I was the only one on the road as I went to then head of Julius Berger Nigeria to go and plead that my house which I live in now, which was built on contractor-finance, should be made available to me so I could pay later.
The head of the company, with tears in his eyes, said Bolaji, you’ve been a good man and I cannot allow a man like you to be treated shabbily. We will move our men out and let you come in.
My brother in Ibadan also sent his car to come and move Funmi and I and my family to live with him for the period of the holiday. When the schools were about to reopen, we came back to Lagos.
When the cøup happened, we were packing out of Lagos House and nobody was there to give me a hand, even the Ministry of Works that I created did not. Everybody took cover. It was only my then Principal, Adeyemi Bero, who brought a truck to help me. The head of Julius Berger also sent his workers in broad daylight to come and bring my things to their yard.”
He then added: “In 1981, I had a very bad car accident on the Lagos-Ibadan road. My ribs got broken and entered my lungs. It was so bad that I had to be taken in an ambulance to the Shagamu Hospital. From there I was moved to Lagos University Teaching Hospital and placed on a stretcher at the emergency ward and when I saw the condition of other people with broken heads and dangling limbs, I told myself that if I don’t blow my trumpet that night, I would d!e.
I started looking around and I saw a doctor passing by and I forced myself, grabbed him and informed him that I am a former Governor of Lagos. That was when they started giving me attention.
In 1987, my brother d!ed and Julius Berger came to my rescue again. In 2003, I suffëred a stroke and Julius Berger came to my rescue and took me to Germany and I was put under intensive care till I got my balance back. So if you see me still struggling today, it is as a result of what I suffëred back then.
In 1990, a fire started in my home at night and I was away in England. Funmi was the only one around when the fire engulfed the whole house and it was razed to ashes. A neighbour called me and I called my German friend who put me on the next flight to Nigeria only to see my wife on borrowed attires from one of our neighbours. The house was however rebuilt and now in a better condition.
I have been a lucky man. You could be hardworking in life, you could be anything you want to be, but I always believe in elements of luck. If you have it on your side, you see things going your way.”
Two other things he said were:
- Life is a passing face and I have resolved to enjoy the remaining part of my existence with my wife.
- I will continue to be of use to Nigerian leaders whenever they need my advice because my only wish is to see Nigeria taking its place among the comity of nations.
His experience is contained in the book: ‘My Life of Service With Integrity’ which has 12 chapters and 250 pages.
He left the world on October 30, 2019.
Credit: Ethnic African Stories