The Inside Story From Team Moremi

The driver: Karim Rasaq

Rasaq, an indigene of Osogbo, Osun State, became the late Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka’s driver in 2008. The pair hit it off.

He said: “She brought me to Ekiti. I am an Osogbo person. She never took me as a driver. I would eat and drink with her. I have been with her since January 2009. She never fought me on anything. Actually, I joined her in 2008. She then just recently retired from the bank. She never told me she was a politician. There is no pride about her. She would tell people about me ‘that is my brother who drives me’. She used to say she liked me because I never stole from her.

The cook: Bosede Adeyeye

A cook in her official residence in Ado Ekiti, Bosede Adeyeye, did not get to know the late Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka until she became the deputy governor in October 2010.

She found her a loving personality.

She said: “Mama Funmilayo was exceptional. She would pity you. If you had any problem, don’t tell her because that would become hers immediately. She was always satisfied with whatever we cooked here. She would make you feel good as a cook. She would always come with gifts for us anytime she travelled out. She was always having soothing words for us as well. She would say ‘I would be there when your children are marrying’. She knew how to hug and make people really loved.”

The Personal Asst.: Adeteju Okuyiga

Mrs. Okuyiga knew the late Mrs. Funmilayo Olayinka for years.

She said the late deputy governor knew her when she was still wearing diapers. They shared the good times and the bad ones. She was with her at work and while the illness held her down.

According to her, she learnt a lot of lessons from the deceased, especially that loyalty has rewards.

Mrs. Okuyiga said: “Iya was open to everybody. The way I would talk about her is the same way the driver, the gardener, launderer, any other associate would talk about her. We were just sisters before I became her PA. She knew me from my diapers. She was a workaholic. She would send messages anytime of the day and expect a reply immediately. She was a perfectionist par excellence. She would work and work and work. She was firm, truthful, bold, courageous, a thoroughbred disciplinarian but soothing and loving. She would crack jokes with anybody. She taught me the virtue of loyalty, saying it has rewards. She hated incompetence, indolence, lying, malingering and laziness. She was courageous in a way I find most inspiring. She fought the ailment till she could fight no more. Despite being in pains, she was the one consoling the sympathisers.”

The Special Asst.: Lekan Fadeyi

Their relationship predated his years as her Special Assistant, Media and Communcations.

He worked with her at the United Bank for Africa (UBA).

It was from her he learnt that it was possible for someone to occupy a high position and still be humble.

According to him, she believed in repaying good deeds done to her.

Fadeyi said: “She was a mother, confidant, trainer and lover of God and humanity. This was a woman who would take delight in your family and your growth as an individual. I never had any reason to oppose her on any issue. There were cases when she summoned me to her office and whenever I explained things to her, she listened and allowed me to be. She did not know how to keep malice. Somebody just told me this afternoon (yesterday) that whenever the deputy rebuked him, she would make him realise why she rebuked him. The overall purpose was to develop you. Mrs. Olayinka never called me by my official designation. One day she sent for me, and the person called me Lekan. When I showed up, the person fidgeted, realising I was the one.

“When she invited me to come and work with her at UBA, I never realised until that time that a person could occupy such a high position and still be humble. She never let off airs. She would never forget any good thing done to her. Any good thing you did her, she would find a way of repaying you. I am sure she died a non-debtor. She was ever first to instigate favours.”

By Sulaimon Salawudeen

This article was first published in The Nation

Last modified: April 28, 2013