My Wife Fits Perfectly Into The Ministry She Runs

• Mr. YUSUF, Husband Of LAGOS Youth & Soc. Deve. Commissioner, UZAMAT AKINBILE-YUSUF

He was a very proud man at the 3rd City People Political Awards which held recently in Lagos. Mr Yussuf accompanied his extremely gorgeous wife, Pharm. (Mrs.) Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf, Lagos State Commissioner for Youth and Social Development to the Awards event where she picked up a Special Recognition Award for her sterling performance as Commissioner and head of the Youth and Social Development Ministry. He was obviously overwhelmed with joy when his wife dedicated the award to him while giving her acceptance speech. They both cut the picture of two newly wedded love birds who are extremely fond of each other. City People Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL, engaged this very warm and amiable man in a brief chat and got him to talk a bit about himself and about his wife, the Commissioner, giving us an insight into the kind of woman she really is outside of her office.

How do you feel about your wife picking up a Special Recognition Award in Politics for her sterling Performance as the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development in Lagos State?

I feel very happy. I am very excited right now. In fact, let me be honest with you, I’m not even sure I can find the right words to express how I feel at the moment. She has been an amazing woman and I’m very proud of her. Everyone in the family is proud of her. I am proud to be her husband and I will continue to support her to the very end. I also thank the City People group for the honour they have given to my wife today, I can only wish them more grease to their elbow.

Tell us, what line of business are you into, sir?

I am an outdoor practitioner, I’m into media as well. But I can tell you I’m a politician now because she has dragged me into politics too. I have learnt a lot from her and together we have done quite a lot of things together. We thank God and we give Him all the glory.

How has it been being the pillar of this amazing woman?

It has been wonderful. God is the pillar of everybody. But I’m happy to be her husband. I believe that however you lay your bed so you shall lie on it. She is Godly first and foremost. She’s God fearing, she’s prayerful and she’s hardworking. She’s trustworthy and she’s kind. And when I got to know about her portfolio at the Ministry of Youths and Social Development, I knew she was going to take the ministry to the peak. This is because by her nature, she’s a social worker.

I can tell you they’re social workers in their family. And that’s what we do in our family too, we always want to see everybody looking good and happy. Long before now, she’s been spending a lot of money mentoring the youths to ensure that they’re guided and upright in all that they do. And she’s always more particular about those youths battling with one challenge or the other. Mentoring these youths and helping them overcome their challenges is what gives her joy the most.

How did you feel back there on stage when she dedicated her award to you?

Of course, I feel greatly honoured. She made me feel proud today. Naturally, I am the head of the family and she’s the neck, but the head cannot do anything without the neck. She has also, by so doing, sent a very clear message to all men out there that you should, please, believe in your wife, trust your wife and stand by your wife. And, most importantly, don’t abuse your wife, because whatever you do, people are watching. Children are watching. They are waiting to take over from you, and I’ll tell you, I’m hoping, my female children will take over from her when they grow up. Even the male children too. And it is possible when you’re prayerful. This is the woman that wakes every one of us up in the house and says, oya, go and pray. And the women, I’ll tell them, appreciate your men. Appreciate your husband. She appreciates me a lot. I was overwhelmed by emotions moments ago on the stage when she said she was dedicating the award to me.

I honestly do not know precisely what I have done to deserve this, but that will spur me to even go the extra mile to do more for her. I will also like to implore the men out there to do same thing-do their best and support their wives. This recognition given to her just goes to show that people are watching you. In our local government, Alimosho, people watch her. At the state level and perhaps national, people are watching. I can remember years back when she called me to say she wanted to embark on an empowerment program. We had to pull all our resources together to do the empowerment. She had told me the entire project would not cost more than three to four million naira, and I said, ok, let’s put it together. But at the end of the day, it cost us a fortune. But there was no going back, we had to forge ahead with it. And such has happened time and time again.

Share with us, when was the first time you met your wife and where?

I met her ten years ago, and you won’t believe me, I met her at the market. The first time I met her, I was like hmm.. Then, we started working together, doing business together and then, somehow we started. Today, we thank God for everything. We thank God for the journey so far. She’s a very wonderful person.

You are one man who clearly appreciates his wife so much, how would you advise other men who do not seem to share this passion with you?

The men should try to cross over and join the right path. Appreciating and supporting your wife every step of the way is the right path to take so that we can be celebrated like this anywhere. And your children will appreciate you too. Your family will appreciate you and even the men out there will appreciate you. Look at what City People have done here today, they have shown that, despite the fact that we have a lot of negativity around us, a lot of issues, they are saying there are still a lot of people who are doing good that should be celebrated. This will inspire and motivate a lot of people who are present. There would be a few women who may have resolved that, ‘I’m going to celebrate my husband the way Uzamat celebrated her husband today.’ It’s something that will make any man feel great. And believe me, I’ve not even done as much as I would love to do for her and for my children too, and that would spur me to do a lot more. Trust me, I’ll spoil her. And with God by my side, I will always be there for her because it can only be God.