Yemi Agboola is a Senior Information Technology (IT) Consultant in the United Kingdom. In this interview with SEGUN KASALI, he shared the story of his little beginnings before stardom and many other issues.
People say you have been an all-rounder from childhood?
I won’t say I was bad but I was one they call a troublemaker. Despite being a troublemaker, I noticed God gave me a retentive memory. I could grab what I read and remember it. It made life easier for me when it comes to academics. I lost my dad quite early in life but I got grown-ups like the first child of my father (who will clock 70 years old next year) to watch over me. He readily stepped into my dad’s shoes after he died. So, growing up was interesting, memorable and I won’t say I lacked anything. My father had enough money to take care of everybody. He left it in his will that everybody must be a graduate.
How was life when he died?
His death really hit me because I thought I did not have anyone to call my father. I did not know how much it would look like when it comes to needs, but it was all good when the oldest one stepped into the bigger shoe. Honestly, I did not lack financially but in terms of father figure. This person I just mentioned who stepped in as my father was one of the pioneers of JKK as a Computer Scientist. Besides, I remember I would have gone into Medicine, but I realised that I could not stand blood.
Why Medicine at first instance?
This was because I loved it and was passionate about it. Even till today, when you talk about medicine, I gravitate towards it. I love things being neat. I love the fact that doctors are more respected in the society and the fact that the natural care is inborn. But, because my brother was into IT, I went into it and there has been no regret whatsoever.
How brilliant were you despite being a trouble maker?
I was not a failure. I was among the top brilliant people. I was always at every party. My social life was as good as my academic life. There were lots of nightclubs in Ikeja and I was the type that would roll out in cars at night with my friends. I lived on Oshilaja Street in Ikeja. I recall that my friends used to pay me to write lyrics on cards because I was lyrically insane then. I am quite the poet. When you see me, you would think this guy is a bad guy/ruffian, but because I am neat and I am also a member of literary and debating society; I comport myself if I want to. Whenever we wanted to write exams, those bad guys would surround me because they knew I would be able to teach them.
You must have been dubbed with nicknames?
Yes, I got ‘small boy’ and ‘pretty face’. The reason for the nicknames was because I moved with friends that were a lot bigger than me. That was why it was difficult for anyone to pinpoint me if anything goes wrong meanwhile I must have been the strategist behind it. I grew with friends whose parents were commissioners. I was born in Mercy Hospital, Ita Eleye, Lagos Island before we moved to Ikeja and I liked to dress. I remember some of my mates would be waiting to shop from where I bought my clothes. Life at Federal University of Technology, Minna was another story.
Tell us about that…
I studied Computer Science at the university. I still maintained my social life at the university. One day, the guys I partied with were fighting and betting over my result, but I did not know about it. One of them came to meet me and asked if that was my registration number. He made a bet over his life that it couldn’t have been Yemi’s result, but the other guy said that it was Yemi’s result. They were arguing amidst all this before one of the “bad guys” came to ask if the registration number was mine. Then I asked what the problem was. He could not believe that was my result. What they did not know was that I had got the right orientation from my older siblings before transiting to the university. I recall they told me that the university is very easy with 40 percent of your marks based on assessment and attendance and your professor can do anything with the 40 marks but the 60 percent is your exams. So, my brothers had already told me that, thereby making life easier for me. So, I make sure I attend classes and get between 28 and 31 in tests. During exams, I made sure I scored more than average, but those guys were not privy to such information.
So, what happened when they found out you were the one?
They were surprised and some of them hated me, but one of them called Mohammed Wanka came to me, and wanted us to do everything together. So, he started asking how I did this and that. Eventually, I told him there was no gimmick and explained to him I read on my bed more often than not rather than going to the library, except I have some assignments I needed to do and thereafter I go to parties.
Which of the parties can’t you forget?
Don’t let us go there. There were lots of parties, but the good thing was that I also learnt from them. Like I said, I come from a humble background.
What did life present to you after school?
I knew I was going to do my National Youths Service Corps in Lagos because that was where all my brothers served and you know my eldest brother was in JKK. As at that time, banks were the ones paying well, even to a corps member. So, I was posted to UBA and was given N6,000, but guess what? I did not go to UBA and people thought I was crazy. God has a way of ordering people’s path. I said I wanted an IT firm because I wanted to develop myself in IT as computer was the new thing then.
So, I got one that paid me between N3,000 and N4,000, but, I got more when I started the job eventually. It was a wonderful small IT company in Ikoyi set up by an Ikwerre man. When I got there, I taught him how to use computers. So, what I discovered was that he would bring in expatriates to execute the contracts. His own was just to get contracts from Shell and other top companies and execute them. So, I was in real money that even UBA could not pay me. Despite telling NYSC I was getting N4,000, I was being given N10,000 and I lived like a big boy. After my service year, he wanted to retain me but I eventually moved after I got a new job.
How did you meet your wife?
I met her through a friend of mine, Denrele. One weekend, he said we should go and see one of his friends in her house in Apapa. When we got there, somebody descended from the stairs and I was like who is this angel? In this country? She is quite taller than me and that is why my children are 6’3. She is very beautiful. I remember I was lyrically insane. I recall there was a time she told me not to call her line that her colleagues thought I was working in MTN because of the way I talk. So, I eventually asked her out and here we are today.
READ ALSO: Dangote refinery: No guarantee of lower fuel prices — NNPCL
