Elder Olutayo Soyode, father of the wife of the Vice-President, Dolapo
Osinbajo, says in spite of his daughter’s position and the exalted
office of her husband, he dreads going to Aso Rock for a visit.
movement would be monitored and he would need to sign various forms
before he could go out.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Punch, the 74-year-old said he
loved to be free and he wasn’t the type to sit in one place and be
watching television under heavy security.
Soyode, who was a close associate and son-in-law to late Chief Obafemi
Awolowo, said it was the will of God that Prof. Yemi Osinbajo rose from
being a university lecturer to become the Vice-President, and that all
her daughter wanted to be was a confectioner despite being a qualified
lawyer.
He recalled that by the time his late wife (Dolapo’s mother) was
delivered of Dolapo in the UK where they met, he was believing God to
have a male child, as it was customary in his family to have a male as
their first child. However, he said if she had been a male, he might not
be as close to her as they are today.
When asked how often he visits the villa to see his daughter’s family,
he said, “I don’t go there often. Going there is like going to jail, as
far as I’m concerned. It’s like locking me up. The way you see me, do I
look like someone that can be kept in one place and before I could go
out, I have to sign papers and there would be plenty phone calls? I
would just run mad, because I’m not used to such.
“I’m a free man. That place (Aso Rock), is a very good place but I’m not
the type to live there, so I don’t go there often. Anytime I go, I do
give them time, like telling them I was coming for two days. I don’t
even live with them. Let us say we are in Abuja now, you possibly can’t
visit me for this interview. They won’t allow you to come in, and if you
have to, you would have to sign different papers.
“If I go there, I would be there alone, watching television. I can’t do
that. I would rather stay where they can visit me and anybody can see
me.”