By Yomi Owope
LIFE can only be understood backwards, said Kierkegaard. And for people who attain any kind of significance in the world, every decade presents an opportunity for personal introspection and public scrutiny, for better or for worse.
This is especially true for public officials and for Bamidele Abiodun, who was born 60 years ago this month in Glasgow, Scotland. It was during a tumultuous time in Nigeria, a year of two coups d’etat, eventually leading to a civil war mere months after her birth in July 1966.
The businesswoman, philanthropist and wife of Governor Dapo Abiodun CON. of Ogun State, grew up in Ibadan,in the university community where her father was a professor and her mother an administrator. She remained in Ibadan for about 20 years, attending the International School, Ibadan (ISI), and then graduating from the University of Ibadan before moving to Lagos.
She married her teenage sweetheart. Friends say she would sneak out of her sheltered existence inside U.I. and make the two-hour journey to see her then boyfriend (now husband) Dapo, who was at the University of Ife. She laughs this story off, saying she doesn’t quite remember: “Maybe it happened once or twice.”
Leaving the university community was her first experience of the real world. After her national youth service and first work experience, it was time to decide her future.
“I got married early,” she said of a simpler time when this was what was expected of young women after they completed their education. She set herself to the task of starting a family and raising five children, who are her pride and joy. Two are development bankers, one is an entrepreneur, and a fourth is wrapping up college.
Her second child and first son, Oluwagbemiga, popularly known as DJ Olu and a close associate of music star Davido, died in October 2017, causing her unspeakable sorrow. Nothing in her life had prepared her for the moment she received the call in Dubai. It was the call that would change everything, and the eight-hour flight back to Lagos was hell on earth, she said. “I have not been to Dubai since that night nine years ago.”
She doesn’t speak about it publicly, but an emotional social media post on ‘Gbemiga’s birthday last year gave an indication that she still mourns his loss but continues to show strength for the sake of her other children.
“Despite my faith in God,” she said, “I am honest with myself enough to know that this is an enduring pain.”
She always said that her life is divided into two – before ‘Gbemiga and after – but she has not allowed this define what her future would be or cloud the joys of her current existence: “there’s always so much to be thankful for,” she said recently. The family started a scholarship endowment in his name, disbursing nearly 100 million naira to hundreds of less privileged children and youth since 2024.
She decided to return to school in 2023 to pursue a master’s degree in public policy. Getting admitted to the University of London was the easy part. She would soon discover that trying to balance family, business, her work as first lady and doing weekly assignments would lead to years of little sleep and a struggle to keep up with her younger classmates.
“It took months to adjust to the learning environment,” she said. “I hadn’t been in school in more than 30 years, so the modern way of school was hard.”
This wasn’t helped by the fact that she had to travel back and forth between Abeokuta and London, often arriving on Monday morning when she had a test to write. She put in the work but still could not believe when she received the email that she passed, and her dissertation on primary healthcare had been accepted.
The master’s project was a direct result of her work as first lady of Ogun State and founder of Ajose Foundation, where she has found a purpose in helping people. “There’s nothing more fulfilling than being in a position to assist someone in need,” she said, “especially where there is a notable difference in their circumstances after they met with you.”
The self-funded foundation was launched after Governor Abiodun’s election, with an outreach to widows and children with special needs. It has since expanded into programmes in economic empowerment and health, with a widely acclaimed yearly medical mission partnership with U.S-based Nigerian doctors.
Mrs Abiodun founded her company, Brixworth Limited, in the early 2000s, when she traded diesel in jerrycans. She still sells diesel today and says the worst part of being in this business is that you’re stuck between debtor clients and sudden price swings. “Those two issues alone can bring you to financial ruin,” she said, adding that she has been tempted to quit several times in the more two decades she has run the business.
Many of her programmes are funded by her business as well as friends and institutional partners whose vision aligns with hers, including the governor’s office and the Office of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu CON, whose Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) has invested more than 200 million naira in Ogun State alone. It’s a vision she aims to keep alive after office, she says, “because I have been blessed with opportunities that very few people ever experience.”
Mrs. Abiodun is many things to many people. To the young people she has mentored over the years, she is “Aunty Bams.” Friends know her simply as Bamidele, while those closest to her affectionately call her Bamsy. People who have met her often say she is reserved, friendly and approachable, with a calm and composed manner.
“Keep it simple,” is what guides her approach to fashion, she says. She is a longtime supporter of homegrown tailors and often wears adire pieces made from fabrics produced by young artists and emerging designers from Abeokuta, Oshogbo and Lagos. Her style is “whatever’s comfortable,” she says, rather than what is trending. She is deliberate about blending contemporary Western influences with traditional Nigerian tailoring.
In 60 years, Mrs. Abiodun believes that she has grown in wisdom, and her life’s experiences have combined in shaping who she is becoming. With her husband transitioning from a two-term governorship assignment to a potential senatorial career, she will likely remain in the public eye or the foreseeable future.
Asked what she wants for her birthday this year, she said nothing. And how she feels about turning 60? She said, “I am happy and very grateful.”
