Governor Ademola Adeleke has disclosed how the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, once saved him from media blackmail while he was in the Senate.

Adeleke said the first lady, then a Senator in the 8th Senate, was his saving grace after he was caught sleeping by the media during plenary.

The governor spoke on Tuesday during a reception organized for Tinubu alongside other State Governors’ wives at the Government House, Oke-Fia, Osogbo, ahead of the Turning of Sod of the Alternative High School for Girls.

According to Adeleke, “I want to welcome you to Osun State. You are a detribalised First Lady. I remember that she was my senior colleague at the 8th assembly.

“There was a time when the media caught me sleeping in the Senate, so they wanted to blackmail me. I told them how tedious our job is in making bills and having several sleepless nights over Nigeria. We don’t sleep till 4 a.m. most times. They (the media) were not listening to me; I almost fell for their blackmail. So, I ran to mama (First Lady) when she was going to Lagos, and I told her that I wanted to ask her something. I said I was sleeping, and the media came to me that they saw me sleeping, and it seemed they wanted to collect something from me.

“She told me, ‘ma da won lohun’ (don’t answer them), let them go and write whatever thing they want to write, and tell them that you are a human being because they have done that to me before.

“I made use of what she told me. That helped me out of paying a lot of money. So anytime we have issues, we always go to her because of her wealth of experience.”

Yusuf Oketola is a trained journalist with over five years of experience in the media industry. He has worked for both print and online medium. He is a thorough-bred professional with an eye of hindsight on issues bothering on social justice, purposeful leadership, and a society where the leaders charge and work for the prosperity of the people. CONTINUE READING