The President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Musiliu “MC Oluomo” Akinsanya, has reflected on his rise from a bus conductor to one of Nigeria’s most influential transport union leaders.
MC Oluomo spoke at the 50th golden jubilee birthday celebration of Islamic singer Hafsat Adegoke and the unveiling of her new album, which Fuji musician Saheed Osupa attended.
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The transport union leader, who has repeatedly faced public ridicule over his spoken English and educational background, said practical experience had given him a greater understanding than many people with university degrees.
MC Oluomo also pointed to his children’s achievements as proof that his lack of formal schooling did not stop him from prioritising education, revealing that they have become a doctor, a lawyer and an engineer.
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He said at the event held in Alausa, Lagos State, on Sunday: “It’s not about being proud, I’ve been spending money since I was 13 years old. I worked as a conductor from 12pm to 6pm. I would go to Danjuma Cinema to watch Indian movies with my own money, and in turn, I would go home to give my mother money for her food.
“That’s what I did until I got to this stage. I didn’t enter the NURTW as a bastard. I learned the work, mastered it, and got to where I am today. I didn’t go to school, but the knowledge and understanding I possess in my head are greater than those held by people with degrees.”
Children
Furthermore, the 51-year-old maintained that he was illiterate, but he had educated his children well, and they were now doing very well in their respective fields.
“I used to tell people that if I am uneducated, glory be to God. My children today are a doctor, a lawyer, and an engineer, and they are in America. God should not let our children die an untimely death”, he added.
MC Oluomo further recounted his humble beginnings, when he used to eat at Taibatu Adelanwa’s home, the mother of Saheed Osupa.
He said, “That’s the King of Music, Saheed Osupa, sitting over there. We were having a conversation, and I bent down to greet him. He asked why I did that, and I said it was because he is older than I am, and secondly, because I ate Tuwo at his mother’s side when I was young.
“May her soul rest in peace. Osupa and I were so close; he knew everything about me, starting from my childhood days.”
Men
Additionally, MC Oluomo criticised the rate at which married men neglected their responsibilities towards their wives.
He said any man who refused to fulfil his responsibilities towards his children and wife was an enemy of God.
“I used to say that any man on earth who does not take care of his children is an enemy of God, because the person we are celebrating and spending money on today, if a time comes when we stop spending that money, will be left with only him and his children.
“In today’s Nigeria, seventy-five per cent of women are mothers of two, three, four, five, six or seven children, and they are the ones who pay their children’s school fees, accommodation, clothes and food,, said MC Oluomo.
Women
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He praised the resilient women who had taken over responsibilities many husbands had abandoned.
“If she has a mother, she will still be paying for her house rent, others, and if she has a sister, she will not want her sister to end up like her, not because they are widows.
“They have husbands, but because some men prefer paying school fees for children born outside their marriage rather than for their real children. But in their old age, they will cry.”
MC Oluomo last made headlines when he hosted Yoruba actor Olanrewaju “Baba Ijesha” James and his wife, fashion entrepreneur Abiodun Tokunbo, in Abuja.
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