I've learnt a lot from Amosun, say Funmi Wakama

Mrs Funmi Wakama

Mrs Funmi Wakama

Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta

Mrs Funmi Wakama
Mrs Funmi Wakama

Olufunmilayo Wakama, nee Coker is a household name in Nigeria. As News Manager at the NTA headquarters in Abuja, she cut a significant following for herself, well ahead of her assignment in Ogun state as the first female chief press secretary for Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

In her reflection on her assignment in Abeokuta, she described Governor Ibikunle Amosun as a hardworking, focused and decent man, who thinks all the time about how to modernise Ogun State.

“I thank God for the opportunity to work with Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who in his quest to get the best hands to work with him, without any prior relationship, sought me out. It is indeed a privilege to have passed through this ‘Political College’, under the leadership of His Excellency. I also thank him for the opportunity to serve my state, in this capacity.

“All he eats and breathes is Ogun state and how to modernise it. His dream is to take the state to greater heights by making it a highly industrialised and safe haven for the citizens and investors alike. This he has been able to do successfully. We have all learnt to key into his vision because his passion is highly infectious.

“His energy level is indescribable and we try to catch up with him. Everything must be Ogun standard, which is the benchmark for minimum irreduc­ible standard for development in the state. I have found him to be very honest and sincere with the people. He has kept his social pact with them. Even his adversaries, in spite of themselves, have at various times acknowledged his vision and passion.

“Working with him is not a walk in the park, I must confess. It requires a lot of hard work and energy. You must be dedicated and share his passion. A governor who would not want to stay away from his duty post because of his passion to serve the people. We even have a joke around here that he rushes back from his trips outside the state in order to ensure that the beautiful bridges he constructed will not disappear and in return, he says that he is governor of Ogun State and not of Abuja or elsewhere. These are senior jokes, so we all keep straight faces and do not laugh.

“I must confess that it has been very challeng­ing but most importantly, it’s been about service to the good people of Ogun State. Sometimes I look back and wonder how I was able to make it this far, because you are the CPS to such a hardworking governor who effortlessly walks several kilometers without showing any sign of exhaustion or tiredness. And I don’t mean pleasure walks, but real hard work, which entails inspection of projects far into the night, person­ally ensuring that things are properly done.

“During the campaigns, we traversed the length and breadth of the state. We campaigned in the 236 wards in all the 20 local government areas. We held meetings with interest groups and so many associations. We consulted with our royal fathers and other leaders of thoughts. They said that they have never witnessed such transformation as under the present administration.

“The young, old, male, female, are always swarming around him; wanting to see, touch and just behold the face of the master builder of our time. They do not get tired of seeing him. We have been able to deliver largely on the five-point agenda which are affordable qualitative education; effi­cient healthcare delivery; increased agricultural production/industrialisation; affordable housing and urban renewal and rural and infrastructural development and employment generation,” she revealed.

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The former News Manager at NTA in Abuja, who was the first person to be appointed officially by the governor in 2011 described the days working with Amosun, hectic.

“To work with him, one must be full of energy and vitality and believe me when I say this; there are days when we are in the office till 1:00 am and sometimes beyond and I don’t mean receiving visitors at the Government house. You must be on top of your game, because he does not suffer fools gladly. You must be full of energy like I said earlier and be ready to work. He is a man driven solely by his passion to deliver the dividends of democracy to the good people of Ogun State.

“On our first day at work, the governor and his team from the Transition committee, inspected the entire secretariat. Yes, you need to know the Oke Mosan secretariat to appreciate this. As a TV girl, who had no knowledge of what I was in for, I was all dressed up and in a pair of Stiletto shoes, thinking it was going to be ‘all about Media Relations and Management’, don’t forget that I came in from a background of glitz and glamour, having worked in the television industry for twenty three years. I have since found out that it is not a tea party. That man is a workaholic and can kill”,she jokingly said.

On how she felt when the governor contacted her for the job, the Abeokuta-born veteran broadcaster hinted: “honestly, my first reaction was how did he know about me? I then called my husband to inform him.

“At the dinner table, we discussed it extensively, looking at the implication on the family and how I would cope since we had never lived apart. It was of course imperative for me to do a lot of research on him.

“I asked questions from those who should know and everyone kept saying, he is a very decent, hardworking professional,thorough,who is well focused and I have found all of that to be true. What they probably forgot to mention is that the man is a workaholic”.

The elegant woman, who turns 50 next year says she attends six to seven assignments in a day, but despite that, she will consult with her media team to decide on which to give prominence for publications.

“We owe a lot of the successes we have recorded so far to the governor’s political dexterity. Let me put it this way, as part of his determination to rid the state of criminal elements, he has on several occasions, commando style, led operations to quash their activities, two of such readily come to mind,” she said.

She then gave an insight into her background. “I was born as Olufunmilayo Yetunde Coker in 1966 in Lagos but now known as Olufunmilayo Yetunde Wakama. I am a graduate of Mass Communication from the Ogun State (now Moshood Abiola) Polytechnic, also went through the portals of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, NIJ, Lagos as well as the University of Abuja, where I obtained respectively in these institutions; a Postgraduate Diploma in Journalism and Masters in Public Administration. I must mention that in my educational cap is a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Relations from the Business Education Examination Council, Lagos.”

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