Akinbade: Brings Experience To The Race

Fatai Akinade Akinbade, born on 2nd April, 1955 is a certified Civil Engineer, a politician, a businessman, and a Prince of Agbowu from Ogbaagbaa in Ola-Oluwa Local Government Area of Osun State.

He attended St. James’ Anglican School, Ogbaagbaa between 1964 and 1969 and Catholic Commercial Secondary Modern School, Iwo between 1970 and 1973 and later Catholic Technical College, Ile-Ife between 1975 and 1978.

At Catholic Technical College, Ile-Ife he studied Bricklaying and Concreting. It was in this college that his talent began to manifest as the school provided the young Fatai, the opportunity to put into practice, what he learnt in the classrooms. He was always in his “khaki” due to his active involvement in several building projects. Despite being a field man, he led his class throughout his school days in different academic engagements. Fatai passed all his final papers in distinction.

On completion of his course at the Technical College, he went to Kaduna State for employment. It is instructive to note that he used to be in Kaduna for vacation jobs during his school days at the Technical College and was always employed as a professional bricklayer. It was with ease, therefore, that he got employed as a full-fledged Supervisor by the then BenFobil Construction WA Limited, Kaduna. The company deployed him to Jos where he supervised the completion of the Plateau State Police Headquarters. He handled another major construction work at the Nigerian Institute of Trypanosomiasis Research Centre in Vom, near Jos.

He later left the company to become a student of The Polytechnic Ibadan where he first had his OND in Civil Engineering. On completion of this course, he joined Adold Engineering and Construction Limited, Lagos, and later EFEL, Nigeria Limited, also in Lagos. It was while working with this company that he returned to The Polytechnic, Ibadan for his HND programme which he completed in 1989.

While Fatai was doing all this, his interest in party politics was equally flaring. As such, he was at different times, in the defunct National Party of Nigeria (NPN), National Republican Convention (NRC) and the Democratic Republic of Nigeria (DPN). Fatai is a well-pronounced grassroots politician.

In 1994, he was appointed Osun State Commissioner for Works, Transport, Lands and Physical Planning by Navy Captain Anthony Udofia (rtd). When Colonel Anthony Obi (rtd) took over from Udofia in 1996, Fatai was the only Commissioner retained. Similarly, by the time Obi left office in 1998, which saw the emergence of Colonel Theophilus Bamgboye (rtd), the Ogbaagbaa born Prince was again retained as a Commissioner in the state.

Akinbade held the position till he quitted in 1998 to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he rose to later become its State Chairman. Even as a Commissioner, Fatai still craved to have more knowledge, which saw him proceeding for his Post Graduate Diploma (PGD) in Civil Engineering at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), between 1996 and 1998. He later became the Secretary to the Osun State Government for seven years.

This forthright, accessible, humane, cosmopolitan and unassuming politician was once a board member of Delta Steel Company, Aladja, Delta State. He was the Politician of the Year 2003 Award Winner of the OSBC Chapel of NUJ and the NTA Ile-Ife Merit Award 2004. In the same year 2004, he was enrolled into the prestigious Hall of Fame of Osun State Council of NUJ  and honoured by the Ifetedo Klob 1984 with the Award of Excellence in Leadership (2004) and was given Award of Excellence by the Osun State Council of Ansar-ul-Deen Society of Nigeria (2018).

Akinabde’s first attempt in the governorship contest was during the Sani Abacha Era when he prepared to run on the platform of the then Democratic Party of Nigeria (DPN), but for the botched process. He also attempted in 1999 and 2011 after which he joined the Labour Party where he ran for the governorship seat in 2014.

Fatai is now back in the PDP and prepared to slug it out with other aspirants of the PDP and above all at the September 22, 2018 governorship poll.

As a traditional chieftaincy title holder, Fatai is the Bada of Okuku; Mayegun of Ikire-Ile, Bashorun Asoludero of Iba, Olu-Omo of Iwoland and Omolojuoba of the Source.

He is a member of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Nigerian Association of Technology Engineers, Osogbo Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture; Nigerian Institute of Building among others. Aside from having vested interest in AKFAT (Nig) and Agbowu Commercial Ventures, he also has interest in some other business ventures, such as the Hospitality, transportation and real estate, among others.