- Wife Of New ONDO Health Commissioner, OLUWATOYIN ADEGBENRO
- Speaks On Her 20-Year Marriage To Dr. WAHAB ADEGBENRO
Talk of one active and vibrant social media person and a mathematics guru in Ondo state and Mrs. Oluwatoyin Adegenro’s name will be mentioned. This woman of style and an educationalist is the pretty wife of Ondo State Commissioner for Health and Chairman/ CEO Crown Hospital, Akure, Dr. Wahab Adegbenro. The Commissioner is a frontline politician and philanthropist in the Sunshine State. This mother of 2 is a native of Ijebu Igbo in Ogun state. She is a graduate of Agric Engineering from Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA). Though, she studied Agric Engineering, but owing to her passion for Mathematics, she opted for a teaching line where she teaches Mathematics. She is a civil servant who teaches at Ijapo High School, Akure. City People’s Ondo/ Ekiti Correspondent, ADEOLA SHITTU, was at her Akure residence where she opened up on her marriage success and her passion for Mathematics. Enjoy.
Let me start by congratulating you on the appointment of your husband as the Commissioner for Health in Ondo State, who is Mrs. Oluwatoyin Adegbenro?
Thank you very much, I’m Mrs. Oluwatoyin Adegbenro, a trained engineer, but found myself in teaching. Somehow I have developed passion for teaching and I teach Mathematics. Aside that, I love writing, you see, I like to write about current issues and putting things right in the society. I attended St. Benedict private school, Abeokuta.
My parents were teachers and it accounts for why I was put in school at a very tender age of one and that was very rare, I mean not so common, I later went to Federal Girls College Akoka, Wurri in the defunct Gongola State now Taraba State, I was there for a year and owing to crisis in the North, my parents relocated me to the Federal Government Girls College, Sagamu. After my WASC, I proceeded to Federal University of Technology Akure, {FUTA}where I studied Agric Engineering and after that, I got married to my husband in Akure.
At a point, I found out that there weren’t so many options for me as an agric engineer. The field is not one that encourages you to be on your own. So, I had no option but to do something and I found myself in the teaching line. Initially, I wanted to run away from teaching, but somehow, I found myself in the teaching profession and today I have developed myself in the field and my desire and passion for teaching are now strong, I love teaching now.
Can You Share with us how you met your husband and what attracted him to you?
I want to believe my coming to Akure was divine for a purpose and one of it was meeting my husband. You see, I met my husband in a very funny and interesting way and I will say God brought both us together. The whole journey started in 1994. We met a year after the June 12 election’s annulment of late MKO Abiola. I recall that during that period, there was riot everywhere, but unfortunately, for me, we were to resume school. So, I was in school (FUTA), but the school was empty as students were yet to resume, so I decided to visit my family’s friends (Mr. &Mrs. Akinyede).
They were my guardians in Akure, with the aim to return to school the next day, but overnight I began stooling vomiting and very early in the morning I took a cab to take me back to school, so that I can use the school clinic service (Health Center) for my treatment. But I couldn’t reach the school health center because the intensity of stooling and vomiting was very high and the cab driver was so concerned that before getting to school anything could happen.
So, he decided to take me to the nearest hospital, which happened to be Crown Hospital and before asking of anything I was put on the bed and I was treated. By the evening of that same day, I was much better and I was told my bill. At first, I was scared that where would I get the money to clear my bill because I was a student. So, I requested to see the doctor. On seeing the doctor, I explained to him and I pleaded for reduction of my bill as I was a student and I explained how it all happened to him.
All he said was “madam please go” I felt somehow at first, but he repeated it and I left the hospital without paying a kobo for my medical treatment. So, a week or two later, I was at a popular Akure market to do shopping. I felt I should stop at the hospital to say thank you to the doctor and one thing led to the other and the rest is history. So, that was how we met. His kind gesture attracted him to me.
How long did you date him before marrying him?
We dated for some years, but in 1997, I became Mrs. Adegbenro and I will say I have no regret taking such a decision till date.
You have been married for 20 years to a politician and medical doctor, what are the secrets of your successful marriage?
Hmmmm, I will say understanding and trusting of the wife or husband is the key word in any marriage and this has been helping me. You see, the word understanding is very important in every marriage, my husband is a people’s man, so he would always have people around him. He is one person, who would never push people away.
He is kindhearted, he is highly compassionate and he does not believe in amassing wealth. For Instance, if he has #1,200 and someone needs #1,000, he would give the person N1,000 despite his immediate needs. So, if I’m not the understanding type, I might not like that kind of thing because he would rather satisfy others, who have needs and he would pray to God to satisfy his own needs.
So, understanding each other is important in every marriage. Second is trust. If you are married to a medical doctor as my husband or a man, who is compassionate about something, you would have women flocking around him, you have people, who want to take advantage , but you need to trust him that he won’t do something wayward.
That the people you see around are people who need help and he is just assisting them. On that note. whatever one needs to talk about comes under the two headings. Trust and understanding. Aside God’s faithfulness on us, I will say understanding my kind of man and trusting him have been keeping our marriage going in the last 20 years.
How do you cope with the challenges?
Though, life is full of its challenges, but in my case, I will say there hasn’t been any big challenge, because I’m married to a man who is kind, kind to a fault and very understanding. He is a man who will never discourage you, no matter how wrong you are. He does not condemn you rather he is the best shoulders one could rest on. So, I will say I don’t have
He does not condemn you rather he is the best shoulders one could rest on. So, I will say I don’t have ,much challenges in my marriage and I’m lucky to have married a man much older than me. So, he sees me more as a daughter and if I have to offend him, he would only say ‘see this small girl’. So, I’m lucky because the challenges are something I can cope with.
You are trained as Agric Engineer, but you find yourself teaching Mathematics, how were you able to cope?
The truth is that I have always had passion for Mathematics right from my secondary school days. Again, my dad of blessed memory was also a Mathematics teacher, who retired as a school principal, I grew up to know that my dad was a vice principal when I was age 5 or 6, and soon after, he became the principal. Even as principal, he taught mathematics.
It will interest you to know that any school my dad was posted to, immediately he resumed, the teachers taking mathematics in senior classes would be advised to take another class, while my father took over the Senior class. Even when he retired, after 3 months of staying idle, he was an old student of Molusi College Ijebu Igbo and a legend at Oyemekun Grammar School, he went back to the school and told the Principal that he could not do without teaching and he told him that he should allow him teach Mathematics without collecting any money. He then volunteered to teach regular classes, so that passion was what he passed on to us.
As at when I was in SSS1, I was already taking my senior in SSS 3 Mathematics, so I had that passion and in my WASC I had A1, so the passion was there, though Geography is my best subject, but I had passion and natural talent for Mathematics. So, when I took the decision to take up teaching job, I didn’t wait for them to list the options, I told them Mathematics and I have been doing perfectly well. I won’t blow my trumpet, but in Ondo State today, I’m one of the best mathematics teachers.
What Is Fashion To You?
Fashion, to me, is an act of looking comfortable in what you put on, dressing well, looking nice in whatever you put on and not emulating others. But rather wearing what suits me and what I’m comfortable in, that is fashion to me.
You are married to a politician, medical doctor, who is now Ondo State Commissioner for Health. How do you intend to cope with this new role?
My husband is the commissioner, I’m not the commissioner, I am a teacher, while he goes to his office, I go to my school pick up my piece of chalk and teach. My duties are still the same. Don’t forget this is not the first time he would be appointed commissioner. He was the pioneer Commissioner for Culture and Tourism and Commissioner for Health. So, nothing is changing and nothing would change in my roles.
You are married to a politician, What is the experience like?
Everybody is a political animal, you are a politician I am a politician, there is a politics in church, even in the home, so we are all politicians, so getting married to a politician is like getting married to a pastor, a lawyer, an engineer, there is no big deal.
How do you relax?
I relax by reading, meeting people, and taking care of my family and home.
