Video: Maybe at 90, I’ll Be a Lawyer — Adeyemo on His Next Academic Ambition

Q: Who is Moses Alake Adeyemo beyond the titles of Chief, Dr., former Deputy Governor, and APC Chairman?
A: I was born in Igboho, under the Orelope Local Government Area of Oyo State, on April 4, 1946. My mother is from Igboro, and I chose it as my political base. After attending Modern School, I taught in a primary school in Igboro. I later went to Ghana, where I attended a teacher training college between 1966 and 1970. I subsequently sat for my O-Level examinations as a private candidate and obtained seven subjects in the GCE in 1972. I obtained my GCE A-Level in 1974. I returned to Nigeria and applied to the University of Ibadan (UI), the University of Lagos (UNILAG), and the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN). I chose UNN, where I studied Finance and graduated in 1979. I joined WEMA Bank and spent almost 14 years there before moving to North South Bank, owned by the late Chief Michael Koleosho of Saki town. I worked there for about seven years before the bank ran into problems. I am a banker. I prefer to be addressed as a banker rather than a politician. I retired from banking before joining politics. So, I am a banker, a politician, and a teacher.
Q: As a successful banker, you also own a microfinance bank?
A: I may not really agree with you if you say I own a microfinance bank, but I am a stakeholder in Igboho Microfinance Bank, which still exists today. In 2002, after I retired from banking, I was made the caretaker chairman of Saki East Local Government. After that, I returned to the University of Ibadan to study for a Master of Science in Banking and Finance between 2002 and 2004. I later returned to the microfinance bank as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, a position I held for six years. While I was there, my late father, Chief Michael Koleosho, asked me to contest for the position of Deputy Governor. He is the foundation. He is the father of my progress and achievements.
Q: Was politics something you always wanted to pursue?
A: I had never planned to become a politician. I was passionate about my environment, so I joined politics. I do not regret joining politics.
Q: How were you picked as the running mate to the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi?
A: The party zoned the deputy governorship to Oke-Ogun. Six of us competed for the position, and I was chosen. At the time, I was very simple, and I never knew I could become a Deputy Governor. I was created to be gentle and simple. I cannot change, and I will not change until I die.
Q: What was your relationship with Ajimobi like during your eight years in office?
A: The relationship was very cordial, and I believe it was cordial because of my gentility. My boss was really my boss. Everybody knows that Ajimobi was not easy, but God made it possible for us to work together for eight years without any major problem. There were occasions when I did not agree with everything he said. But I was not the boss. There will always be conflicts between a governor and his deputy because deputies sometimes want to prove that they are deputies. But somebody is your boss. He used to say publicly that I was the most respectful and loyal deputy governor he had ever seen. This encouraged me that I was doing the right thing.
Q: Is Ajimobi older than you?
A: He says that, but I am older than him. Ajimobi was born in 1949, while I was born in 1946. Who is older?
Q: How easy is it for you to maintain your humility?
A: It is inborn. I believe that even if a 20-year-old boy is your boss, you have to respect him. Even if my child is made my boss, I should respect him. That is why I am nicknamed Baba Jeje.
Q: What is the one thing you wanted to accomplish as Deputy Governor but could not?
A: I thought I could make a difference in my constituency. I was able to secure employment for 18 people in my father’s town as well as 36 people in my mother’s town. Altogether, I was able to get jobs for 54 people. I also wanted to tar the road from the headquarters of my local government, Ago-Amodu, to Ogboro, my mother’s place, but I was unable to do it.
Q: After completing your second term as Deputy Governor, why did you return to the classroom?
A: When I was in primary school, I was very brilliant. I received prizes for my academic performance throughout the six years I spent there. I was also among the three best students in my Modern School and one of the best students in teacher training college. When I was in Ghana, I traded in cloth for six years before going to teacher training college. One day, it occurred to me that I was a brilliant person, so why should I take trading as my vocation? I decided to go back to school. After my Master’s in Banking and Finance, I felt age was telling on me. Finance involves a lot of calculations, and I could no longer do calculations as easily as before. So, I decided to study Peace and Conflict Studies because it does not involve calculations. I registered in 2019 and finished in 2023. I spent four years on a programme that was supposed to last about one and a half years because of lecturers’ strikes. I made a 6.3 CGPA on a seven-point scale. Immediately after that, I started my PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies. I defended my thesis on April 21, 2026, completed the corrections on May 5, and was pronounced a PhD holder. I am also pursuing another PhD in International Relations at Lead City University.
Q: Why International Relations?
A: That one is related to politics. I am a politician.
Q: What was the most difficult part of pursuing a PhD at that stage of your life?
A: The most difficult part was writing the thesis. It is not easy. Your supervisor can cancel everything you have written, and you will have to start all over again. If your supervisor wants to be polite, he will say, “Can you change this and that?” He is telling you politely that what you have written is not good enough. You write the preliminary pages, literature review, theory, methodology, analysis, findings, and recommendations. If there is anything that is not satisfactory, the lecturers will not accept it from you. Another difficult stage is the abstract. You will be asked to summarise more than 200 pages in a maximum of 500 words. My thesis is more than 200 pages. Ha-ha!
Q: How long did it take you to finish your abstract?
A: I was going and coming. Whenever I returned, my supervisor would cancel something and tell me, “Go and do this.” When I returned, he would find another mistake. I would go and correct it. A lecturer told me that even after getting a PhD, if your abstract is given to somebody, the person will still find something to correct.
Q: Who was your doctoral supervisor?
A: Professor Benjamin Aluko.
Q: How would you describe him?
A: He is a complete gentleman. He is an Ijesa man and a very nice person. If a student is hardworking, attends classes, and does what he is asked to do, there will not be any problem. Some people spend 10 years on their programmes at the University of Ibadan, although things are changing gradually. I spent only four years. They told us the programme was for three years, but it is difficult to complete it in three years. It is a very difficult programme.
Q: Did you have any problem choosing your PhD topic?
A: No, I did not. We were asked to present three topics, out of which one would be chosen. It was my first topic that they approved. It relates to politics. The topic was “Factionalisation in APC and Outcome of 2023 Gubernatorial Election in Oyo State.” It was about why we (APC) lost the 2023 election.
Q: What was responsible for the factionalisation, and what lessons were learnt?
A: Let me tell you why I chose the topic. In the 2023 election, the APC won the three senatorial seats in Oyo State. We also won nine out of the 14 House of Representatives seats, losing only five. With this, we believed we had won the governorship election. But that was not the case. We lost the governorship election because of conflict. It was very painful to have lost that election.
Q: How did you resolve the conflict that arose from the primary?
A: I think the conflict that characterised the governorship primary was the main problem. If there had been no conflict among the governorship aspirants, there might not have been any problem. Our main conflict was between Senator Teslim Folarin and Bayo Adelabu, Penkelemesi. The conflict lingered for a long time. The supporters of Penkelemesi decided to join Accord. Those who did not join Accord did not vote for Teslim. Teslim and Penkelemesi are giants in the APC in Oyo State. Most of Adelabu’s supporters voted for the PDP. It was APC members who made the PDP win. That was the summary of what happened in 2023.
Q: Is the emergence of Senator Sharafadeen Alli not causing any conflict now, or has the conflict been resolved?
A: After the primary, we instituted a reconciliation committee led by Senator Olufemi Lanlehin. The committee submitted its reports on the State and National Assembly elections and the governorship primary. Once we implement the recommendations of the committee, all will be fine. We will approach the elections as a formidable party.
Q: Is there any challenge the Oyo APC is facing?
A: Having competitors is a challenge. Egbe Paki (APM) is there to contend with. It is a fact that it is not easy to beat the incumbent governor. But we are sure we are going to beat (APM), by the grace of God.
Q: What is your assessment of the administration of Governor Seyi Makinde?
A: He was lucky that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has brought in more money from the Federal Government. When we were in government, we were getting about N5 billion monthly. Now, Seyi Makinde is getting about N50 billion monthly. So, he has a lot of money to do things in Oyo State. Politics aside, he has constructed many roads, which I personally appreciate. If he did not do them, there is nothing we could do. Apart from that, nothing else.
Q: What are the shortcomings of his administration?
A: It is not for me to say he ought to do this or that. He knows what he wants to do, and he knows what he has not done.
Q: What are the first areas you believe should receive urgent attention if the APC returns to government?
A: First, all our bad roads should be taken care of. Second, we must ensure our education system is properly supported. Primary and secondary schools should be well built and renovated. We should also take good care of our teachers. Now that the state government is getting a lot of money, teachers should be paid very well. The salaries of workers should also be increased. Teachers should benefit from the increase in revenue the state government is receiving from Abuja. In the universities, professors are getting a paltry amount. Somebody who is teaching those who will build Nigeria is receiving a small salary. Some of them cannot even afford to buy fuel for their cars.
Q: What is your take on state police, local government autonomy and regionalism?
A: There are pros and cons to state police. A state police force that is not properly monitored could become an instrument that some governors would use for their personal interests. They could abuse it. If we look at it from another angle, however, it has its benefits. If there is a security issue in Oyo State and a security officer is sent from Adamawa State, it will be difficult for that officer to know where the criminals are and how to tackle the problem in an unfamiliar state. If you are a native of the area, you will know where to go and how to apprehend criminals terrorising your state. By and large, state police is okay. If America and European countries can have state police and county police, why cannot we do it? I have a little challenge with regionalism. I do not see why we should bring back something that we abandoned more than 50 years ago and say we are developing. Let us go for true federalism. Local government autonomy has already been achieved. It is just a matter of time before it is fully implemented. Once we begin to implement local government autonomy, there will be more development than what we have now. When we were in government, we were sending money to the local governments, and they were using it to tar local government roads. If you go to some local governments now, bush has overgrown them. They only go there to collect salaries. The current governor of Oyo State (Engr. Seyi Makinde) says he does not believe in local government autonomy, but it is in the Constitution. So, why will he not believe in it?
Q: You have been a student, professional, politician, Deputy Governor, postgraduate student, and now party chairman. Which of these roles has taught you the most about life?
A: If I want to be sincere, I will say politics has taught me the most about life. When a real politician tells you, “Good morning,” look at the time yourself before you accept that it is truly morning. That is politics for you. If you understand their behaviour, you will not have a problem. When they tell you that somebody is your enemy, just know that it is about what they want to eat. They cause problems between people.
Q: How did you blend into student life while in school?
A: To me, there is no discrimination among students. A student is a student, irrespective of who you are. I decided to come and study, so I should see myself as a student. The moment you want to discriminate yourself from others, you will begin to have problems. I was very close to the other students. When lectures were over and I wanted to leave the school, I would carry about six students in my car. When we got to the gate, I would drop them, and everybody would go to his or her house. They would even sit on one another’s laps. I enjoyed the scene. When you are in Rome, you do as the Romans do. When you are in Nigeria, you do as Nigerians do. If you want to behave like an American in Nigeria, it will not work well. I made myself available to everyone. As a student of the University of Ibadan, I think God had a purpose for me to go there. I am a Christian and a Baptist. God wants anybody who helps others to be blessed, and I want God to help me. While at UI, God used me to help some people who could not pay their school fees. I am still paying their fees up to today. Whatever and whoever you are, make sure you share what God has given you with other people.
Q: How did you manage your time as a student and politician? When did you have time to study?
A: I wish you would come to my house. I have a library that has been described as better than
some school libraries. My library is well equipped. After school hours, I get home, eat, bathe, and read. Every day, when I get home, I spend four hours reading. Up to today, I still read.
Q: What has politics given you that you never expected?
A: Recognition. Anywhere I go, I am recognised. To me, money is nothing.
Q: If you had the opportunity to speak directly to young Nigerians who want to enter politics, what would you tell them?
A: I would advise them to make sure they first have a profession before getting into politics. If you are given an office, the maximum period you have is four years. There are so many people now who want to become local government chairmen. What happens if you are not given the chance again? You will become jobless. It is better to have a profession first. As I told you, I was once a banker. It was after I retired from the banking industry that I joined politics. Before I joined politics, I had three houses. My advice to our youth is that they should take it easy.
Q: Are you still going to undertake another programme in the university?
A: I wanted one of my children to be a lawyer, but unfortunately, they are all science students. Nobody is interested in becoming a lawyer among them. I am interested in becoming a lawyer. I am thinking of going back to the university to study Law. When I finish my law degree, I will go to law school. That is my next project. I want to become a lawyer. Maybe at 90, I will be a lawyer.