Let’s meet you
I am Hon Pat Tekobo, some call me Iyawo Ijebu, while others call me the voice of the voiceless women. I stand for women and I happen to be the immediate past chairman of Lagos State Supervisors for Women Affairs and I am in the same position in Ajeromi Ifelodun. I started women’s affairs poverty alleviation for Ajeromi Ifelodun.
I did two terms as a supervisor for women’s affairs. Presently, I am the special aide to Senator Idiat Adebule Oluranti representing Lagos West Constituency, who was also the former deputy governor of the State. I have handled a lot of rape cases and uncountable domestic violence cases.
I have been to hotels where I brought out young underage girls who were selling their bodies. I took them to General Hospital to know their health status before putting them into vocational skills and also taking them back to their families. I am just a simple person from Delta but married to a Lagosian. But I was born here in Lagos and because I am married to an Ijebu man that’s why they call me Iya Ijebu.
Let’s add figure to this rape cases and are they rampant here?
Rape cases are increasing every day that’s why I tell most of the girls I nurture that you have to take care of yourself because indecent dressing attracts a lot of this. In most cases, it may not even be indecent dressing, it has to do with the mindset. There’s one dirty case I have where a man defiled an eight-day-old baby and the baby unfortunately died. I have a case where about six boys raped just one girl.
I have over 82 cases and most of them are in Kirikiri Correctional facility because I work with the police once I have such cases and I don’t go with my car. We do arrest by 2:am, 3:am and I have never collected a dime, it’s just that I have passion for that, standing for the women that’s why I am the voice to the voiceless women out there.
Do you have a platform?
Yes. I have a platform and I am who I am today through this group BACO because nobody knew me before. Kamalrudeen Ayinde Bayewu, the present chairman of the Lagos State Civil Service Commission made me what I am today and to God be the glory. I have a platform we started with BACO, but my platform is House of Love Initiatives, HOLI, but it’s not too pronounced because of where I am coming from which is BACO, my group. So, most of them, I push under BACO because I have a group in BACO which is BACO Babes. So, I work with my girls that I nurture because of such, and most of them have experience because they go out with me most time.
You must have done a lot
Yes. That’s why I told you I can’t put a figure to it because from my last count, we should have over 82 cases and I am talking about rape cases because I have a lot of domestic violence cases too. I have brought a lot of families together where husband and wife separated due to little issues they were separated and not divorced. I try much to counsel them with my little experience in marriage. I talk to them and bring them together to know that it’s just about patience, tolerance, understanding, and communication. So I have a lot of cases.
I had one bitter experience the other time. There was one hotel I went to, which is close to Trinity, I normally go on Friday and so I took the bus to go and pick up these underage girls because I heard there would be strip dancing. I didn’t know that they already recognized my face. On that fateful day, they saw me coming and immediately I alighted, they held a stick and chased me away. Most of the hoteliers fight me because they use these small girls to make money and to market their hotels too. I have had some bitter experiences.
The recent one I had whereby six boys raped a girl, one of the boys that raped the girl happened to be a landlord’s son and the landlord threaten the tenant with an eviction notice that was the victim’s mother. The woman came to me and said she was no longer interested because they were threatened. I told her not to worry because I had taken over the case. Most times, if we have such cases; I take them to the General Hospital because I have my doctor that takes care of these things, so I speak to them and I don’t call their names because of security and the society, you have to protect their interest. I told her she should not worry that we were going to treat the child, unfortunately for the girl she didn’t know she could not have a child because her womb was damaged and I prayed God would do his miracle in her life.
This man traced me to my house and brought out ₦500,000 that I should forget about the case and I told him it was not about money. Even if I have not seen ₦500,000, I am not interested because I have a conscience and I have children and it can be anybody tomorrow. I don’t collect bribes in this case, this is a dirty case and you want me to sweep it under the carpet. So the man started threatening me with phone calls in unusual places, calling my spouse and I told him that he could not kill me because he didn’t make me. I am working for the government and I am working for my conscience and the society. Finally, I got four of them, and to God be the glory they are serving their jail terms in Kirikiri Correctional Facility.
I have through the government taken a lot of people to Kirikiri, I mean those that committed the crime of rape because most times I stand as a witness. Then for domestic violence, I have two cases and those men are in Kirikiri too; where the man used hot iron on the wife’s private part and the other one was cutlass which he used to hit her in the head.
As a politician, what have you used your office to do for the women and what have you done to create awareness to ensure that these things don’t happen?
That means you don’t know me. I have done a lot of training and seminars for women. I have to bring young mothers and I mean girls who had babies without spouses, some don’t even know who got them pregnant. We have a group they are 92 now, I register them in Akere aside from the old women. I hold meetings with these people and seminars, and I go to secondary school and I talk about their dress. I hold seminars for young married women and mothers, on how to talk to their children. Aside from every other thing, if we don’t have family values it’s a big problem because it’s not about money. When you go out very early in the morning, you are not there for your family and whatever you make there’s nobody for them to take care of.
Most of us mothers, pursue our careers, and businesses and forget the home. Our children go to school, we don’t know what they eat, what they do, and the kind of friends they keep. Once in a while, hold parties with your kids, and if you do that you will be able to know who your children are moving out with or you tell them to invite their friends and when they come you, will see their characters. Character is like smoke, it’s not hidden then you will be able to know who they are moving with, and who is influencing them negatively or positively. Just follow this and you advise them and tell them you want to see their parents. You will talk to the parents because we mothers have left the home and it’s affecting us negatively.
Most of our children don’t even know how to cook. We organize cooking competitions for them and we get to know where they’re lacking. We have done a lot for them. We started a vocational training program in Ajeromi Ifelodun, go and find out even this summit, I organized a summit when I was doing my second term in office, where we had a panel of discussants. We talked about things that are disturbing women, the values we can inculcate into our family, and how we can bring up our children. If you watch now mothers are competing with their children in terms of dressing. Aside from that, tell mothers not to just focus on the girl child, but focus on the boys as well because they’re going to become fathers tomorrow. We have empowered women massively.
Are these numbers you gave just Ajeromi alone?
Yes, it’s just Ajeromi alone but I do a lot outside because when I was the immediate past chairman of supervisors for women’s affairs in Lagos State, I had colleagues who were first-timers and they would call me and I would tell me what to do. Then I was working closely with the commissioner for women’s affairs and when cases come up like that I will call and tell her that we need help and she will direct me where to go.
Again, if it concerns other local governments, I will direct them on what to do and where to go. If I add incidences from other places outside Ajeromi, it will be more than this 82. This figure is just for Ajeromi Ifelodun.
About five years ago I investigated a story because somebody said, if I check that from Okoya to Boundary there’s hardly a house that doesn’t have a 17-year-old with a child.
That’s why I said we have young mothers without spouses. I registered them at Akere with their babies. They go for immunizations and medical checks with their babies. We brought them together and I collaborated with Lagos State then to talk to them that it’s not the end of the world only if you’re focused. You know what you want. We have a lot of young mothers who are supposed to be children. How do they nurture the little ones they have given birth to? We have a lot of young girls, it’s not just Ajeromi, we continue talking to them, holding seminars to sensitive them.
